Page 28 - Australia

Envoys of 6 nations present credentials to Prez Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday received credentials from the envoys of six nations, including Australia and the Netherlands, at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, an official statement said. Those who presented their credentials were Capaya Rodriguez Gonzalez, the Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela; Victor Hugo Echeverri Jaramillo, the Ambassador of the Republic of Colombia; and Ambassador of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Ali Achoui, it said. The statement, issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, said Kenneth Felix Haczynski da Nobrega, the Ambassador of the Federative Republic of Brazil; Philip Green, the High Commissioner of Australia; and Ambassador of the Kingdom of Netherlands Marie Louisa Gerards also presented their credentials.

L&T wins 'significant' order to build 2.3 mn tonne urea plant in Australia

Diversified group L&T on Monday said it has secured a "significant" order from Perdaman Chemicals & Fertilisers to build a 2.3 million tonne urea plant in Australia. On completion, this facility will be the largest urea plant in Australia and one of the largest in the world, the company said. Without disclosing the deal value, L&T said it was a "a significant order". Generally, significant order indicates a value between Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,500 crore. "We've adopted a policy to not reveal commercial details of contracts as the value can change by the time of completion," L&T Group Chairman and Managing Director-Designate, SN Subrahmanyan said. The contract has been awarded by Italian firm Saipem & Clough -- the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor of Perdaman, which is an Indian-owned company. L&T' Energy Hyrdocarbon contract involves fabrication and supply of process and piperack modules for the 2.30 MT per annum urea plant along with a ...

US, Japan, Aus plan navy drills in South China Sea: Philippine official

The United States, Japan and Australia are planning a joint navy drill in the South China Sea off the western Philippines this week to underscore their commitment to the rule of law in the region after a recent show of Chinese aggression in the disputed waters, Filipino security officials said Sunday. On August 5, Chinese coast guard ships used water cannons against Philippine vessels in the contested waterway where disputes have long been regarded as a potential flashpoint and have become a fault line in the rivalry between the US and China in the region. The drill will include three aircraft and helicopter carriers sailing together in a show of force and undertaking joint drills. Their commanders are set to meet with Filipino counterparts in Manila after the offshore drills, two Philippine security officials told The Associated Press. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not allowed to publicly discuss details of the planned drills. The US plans to deploy an ...

IAF postpones October's mega multilateral air exercise to next year

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will host a mega multilateral military exercise next year that was originally planned for October. The exercise, 'Tarang Shakti', is likely to be held in the middle of 2024 as a number of participating air forces conveyed to the IAF that they will not be able to join the wargame if it is held this year, sources in the defence and military establishment said on Wednesday. The exercise is expected to witness participation of around 12 air forces and the focus of the wargame will be to improve military cooperation and enhance interoperability, they said. It will be the biggest air exercise being organised in India. It is learnt that air forces of France, the UK, Australia, the US and Japan would participate in the exercise. Six countries will participate in the Tarang Shakti with their aerial assets like fighter jets, military transport aircraft and mid-air refuellers while six other nations were invited as observers, the sources said. In the last few mont

Everything you need to know about Deputy CM of Chhattisgarh T S Singh Deo

Chhattisgarh Assembly election 2023: The titular maharaja of Surguja, T S Singh Deo is currently serving as a Cabinet Minister for Health in the Chhattisgarh government

Australian court fines Dell unit $6.5 mn for misleading customers

Dell has been penalised for making misleading representations on its website about discounts for add-on computer monitors

Police report 'emergency incident' after airliner returns to Sydney Airport

A commercial airline flight from Australia to Malaysia returned to Sydney on Monday after an emergency incident, officials and media reported. Malaysia Airlines flight MH122 left Sydney Airport at 1:40 pm for an eight-hour flight to Kuala Lumpur and landed back on the runway at 3:47 pm, Nine News reported. Someone purporting to be on board tweeted that a person was threatening staff and passengers, Nine reported. It said a passenger holding a backpack had threatened to blow the plane up. Crew had checked the backpack and found no explosives, it added. Australian Federal Police said in a statement they were responding to an emergency incident at the airport, but provided no other details. The plane was parked on the end of a runway hours later with emergency vehicles nearby, Nine reported. Sydney Airport said it was supporting emergency agencies in the management of an incident. The airport is operational with flights arriving and departing, an airport statement said.

FIFA Women's World Cup: England beat Colombia 2-1, meet Australia in last 4

The tests keep coming for England at the Women's World Cup and the Lionesses keep roaring. Alessia Russo fired England into the semifinals with a second-half goal to beat Colombia 2-1 on Saturday in a game that showcased the resolve of Sarina Wiegman's team and set up a clash with co-host Australia. We always find a way through," said Russo, whose goal completed a come-from-behind win after Leicy Santos had given Colombia a first-half lead. One of the strongest things about this team is we never give up. England advanced to the last four for the third consecutive Women's World Cup, despite going into the tournament with a host of key players out injured. Kiera Walsh was then sidelined after hurting her knee in the second game of the group stage and Lauren James is serving a two-game suspension for stepping on Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie in the round of 16. Yet England keep coming up with answers. We've had lots of challenges, and we've got through these challenges," Wiegman

Women's World Cup: Australia edge France on penalty to reach semi-finals

Australia edged France on penalty kicks Saturday to reach FIFA Women's World Cup semi-finals for the first time. Cortnee Vine took Australia's 10th penalty from the spot and calmly converted it to give the Matildas a 7-6 win in the shootout after the quarterfinal match finished 0-0 after regulation and extra time. The Australians missed two earlier chances to clinch a dramatic shootout. But ultimately, it didn't matter, as they ended a long curse for tournament hosts. The Australians became the only team other than the United States of America to advance past the quarterfinals of a Women's World Cup as the host nation. Australia will play either England or Colombia next Wednesday in Sydney for a spot in the final. Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold kept the Matildas in the game in extra time and made a string of clutch saves in the shootout before and after missing her own attempt that could have sealed the win. Both teams had chances to win it in regulation, and Sam Kerr's f

Australian PM Anthony Albanese to attend G20 summit in Delhi on Sept 9, 10

Australia on Saturday announced that its Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will attend the G20 summit in Delhi on September 9 and 10. The Australian prime minister's visit to India will be part of his three-nation tour. The other two countries that he will be visiting are Indonesia and the Philippines. "From September 9-10, the Prime Minister will attend the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi," the Australian government said in a statement. It said G20 is the world's pre-eminent forum for global economic cooperation and the leaders will focus on navigating the global economy back to strong, sustainable and resilient growth.

Australia to host Exercise Malabar for the first time from August 11-21

The Malabar series of maritime exercises commenced in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between the Indian and the US navies

BCCI expecting to breach $1 bn mark from selling home media rights

The Indian cricket board is expecting to breach the USD 1 billion (INR 8200 crore approx) mark in its cumulative earnings from selling the separate TV and digital rights for India's 88 home games during the five-year period till March 2028. The highlight of this new cycle will be 21 home games against Australia (five Tests, 6 ODIs and 10 T20Is) along with 18 games against England (10 Tests, 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is) out of the 25 Tests, 27 ODIs and 36 T20Is. During the last five-year phase (2018-23), the BCCI had earned USD 944 million (INR 6138 crore approx in 2018 exchange rate) from Star India with a price per international game being Rs 60 crore (digital plus TV). Unlike last time, the BCCI will invite separate bids for TV and digital rights after a whopping INR 48,390 crore earning during the IPL media rights auction where Reliance won the digital bid and Star won the TV rights. The bidding process will once again be conducted through e-auction just like it happened with the IPL med

Commonwealth Games: Why the event is struggling to find a host country

Alberta on Friday pulled the pin on a bid for the 2030 Games, stating the $2.68 billion price tag was too expensive for taxpayers

China lifts tariff on Australian barley in a sign of improved relations

China is lifting a stifling 3-year-old tariff on Australian barley starting Saturday a sign of an improving bilateral trade relationship since Australia's government changed. China effectively closed its door to Australian barley in May 2020 by imposing an 80.5 per cent tariff after the previous Australian government angered Beijing by calling for an independent inquiry into the origins of, and responses to, the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, both governments confirmed the resumption of trade in the grain that was worth 916 million Australian dollars (USD 602 million) in the year before China blocked imports. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the breakthrough, which comes as he plans his first visit to Beijing as government leader before the end of the year. This is a very positive decision, Albanese told reporters. When Albanese's government was elected in May 2022, he demanded Beijing drop a series of official and unofficial trade barriers against Australian ..

Bazball unpacked: Controlled aggression or crash, bang, wallop approach?

England's thrill-a-minute playbook devised by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes could revitalise Test cricket

Brookfield, RIL sign MoU to explore renewable opportunities in Australia

Under the MoU, Brookfield will collaborate with RIL to assess potential capital investment and skill development opportunities in Australia's renewable energy sector

Reliance partners with Brookfield for Australia's renewable energy push

Brookfield Asset Management said in March it will invest A$20 billion and A$30 billion over the next ten years in Australia along with it partners in renewable energy projects

Delhi-bound AI flight returns to Melbourne due to medical emergency

A Delhi-bound Air India flight returned to Melbourne due to a medical emergency after being airborne for more than one hour on Sunday morning, according to an airline official. The flight AI309, operated with a Boeing Dreamliner, took off again after de-planing the unwell passenger and his family members and later landed at Delhi airport in the evening at around 2130 hours. The official said that one passenger was feeling unwell and a doctor onboard suggested that the passenger needed to be hospitalised. Since it was a medical emergency, the flight which was airborne for a little over one hour returned to Melbourne in the morning, the official said. Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be immediately ascertained.

US, Australia to cooperate with India to ensure security of Indo-Pacific

During the meeting, the two countries reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing interoperability with the militaries of the Pacific through a range of exercises

US to expand military footprint in Australia to counter China's dominance

The two countries also announced plans to further cooperate on space issues as well as step up integration of Japan into military planning