Page 29 - Australia

Australian PM Albanese confident US will deliver nuclear-powered submarines

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Friday he was confident of securing bipartisan political support in the United States for a deal to provide his country with submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology. The so-called AUKUS partnership -- an acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- is being discussed by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in meetings with Albanese and other Australian officials in Brisbane on Friday and Saturday. Under the deal, Australia will buy three Virginia-class submarines from the United States and build five of a new AUKUS-class submarine in cooperation with Britain. Australian media have focused on a letter signed by more than 20 Republican lawmakers to President Joe Biden that warned the deal would unacceptably weaken the U.S. fleet without a plan to boost U.S. submarine production. Albanese said he remained very confident that the United States would deliver the three ..

Australia's 'affordable' housing crisis affecting international students

Indian students make up the second largest cohort of international students in Australia at 17% with just under 100,000 students after China at 22%

Turning 'Victoria's lemon into lemonade': Gold Coast pitch to host CWG 2026

Tate, who was the mayor of the city when it hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games, said that he was ready to turn, 'Victoria's lemon into lemonade' for the Gold Coast

Education minister Pradhan meets Australian counterpart Brendan O'Connor

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met his Australian counterpart Brendan O'Connor here on Thursday and discussed ongoing collaborations between the two countries in education and skill development. "The two countries should explore ways to replicate such processes in India and train the youth for the emerging job roles," Pradhan said. "Areas like agricultural technology, mining, water management, renewable energy and emerging technology like AI and robotics could be explored extensively. This the best moment for India-Australia engagement which is already at a historic high," he said. Recalling the signing of the agreement on 'Mutual Recognition of Qualification' signed between the two countries earlier this year, Pradhan called for its implementation so that a two-way mobility of students and skilled persons between the two countries could be facilitated. Pradhan also invited O'Connor for the 7th meeting of Australia-India Education and Skills Council scheduled to take

Here's why Australia's Victoria cancels hosting of Commonwealth Games 2026

Premier Daniel Andrews said that Victoria terminated its deal to host the muti-team event as the cost had sky-rocketed to around 7 billion Australian dollars from 2.6 billion Australian dollars

Chandrayaan-3 receives support from space agencies of US, EU and Australia

Chandrayaan-3, India's third lunar mission which was launched on Friday, involves collaboration with different space agencies including the European, Australian and US counterparts of ISRO. The Chandrayaan-3 mission is the latest in ISRO's Chandrayaan ('Moon craft') series of lunar missions which will demonstrate new technologies required for interplanetary spaceflight and aims to achieve India's first soft landing on another celestial body. The lander module is equipped with instruments to measure the surface temperature and seismic activity around the landing site, a laser retroreflector provided by NASA, and more. The rover's instruments will be used to investigate the composition of nearby lunar surface material. Surface operations will last for approximately 14 days. Communication is an essential part of every deep space mission. Ground stations on Earth keep operators safely connected to spacecraft as they venture into the unknowns and risks of space, said the European Space .

Australia, Brazil to grow pigeon peas for Indian market to meet demand

Officials said that the IPGA will promote pigeon pea farming in Queensland with the help of the Australian trade body Pulse Australia

Australia picks first female central bank head to shepherd through reform

Lowe will leave on Sept. 17, marking the end of his 43-year career at the bank. The decision comes as Lowe is due to accompany Chalmers to a Group of 20 meeting in India next week

EAM holds talks with Australia, Indonesia counterparts on common issues

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held a series of meetings with his counterparts from Indonesia, Australia and discussed bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual concern.Jaishankar also attended 2nd India-Australia-Indonesia trilateral alongwith Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi and Australian counterpart Penny Wong."Joined my colleagues @Menlu_RI & @SenatorWong for the 2nd India-Australia-Indonesia trilateral. Always good meeting between three Indo-Pacific maritime states. Plenty to talk about; plenty to agree," the EAM tweeted on Wednesday.EAM Jaishankar on Wednesday also met Laos Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith and discussed regional issues of mutual concern."Nice to meet Lao DPM & FM Saleumxay Kommasith. Discussed regional issues of mutual concern. Also reviewed our bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation," the EAM tweeted.Earlier on Wednesday, the EAM met ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn in Indonesia and suggested India-ASEAN

Ashes 2023: Australia didn't play by spirit of the game, says UK PM Sunak

UK PM Rishi Sunak is the latest one to jump into the controversy over Jonny Bairstow's dismissal in Lord's Test and slammed the Aussies for playing against the spirit of the game

Australian central bank leaves benchmark cash rate at 4.1%, warns of hikes

Australia's central bank left its benchmark interest rate at 4.1% at a policy meeting Tuesday after inflation fell to 5.6% in May from 6.5% a month earlier. The Reserve Bank has lifted the cash rate 12 times since May last year to reduce inflation to a target range of 2% to 3%. Higher interest rates raise the cost of borrowing for both businesses and consumers, slowing economic activity and helping to relieve price pressures that have flared after the slowdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bank governor Philip Lowe said there might need to be further rises. Some further tightening of monetary policy may be required to ensure that inflation returns to target in a reasonable time-frame, but that will depend upon how the economy and inflation evolve, Lowe said in a statement. The decision to hold interest rates steady this month provides the board with more time to assess the state of the economy and the economic outlook and associated risks, Lowe added. In a report, Oxford Economics s

Yen under pressure; Australian dollar slides as data shows inflation easing

The yen was under pressure against most other major currencies on Wednesday, even as Japanese authorities said they could intervene to prop it up, while the Australian dollar dropped

G20 infra working group meet: Focus shifts to QII indicators on second day

The sessions were co-chaired by Brazil and Australia, with the World Bank also giving a presentation

Australia dismisses Russia's bid for injunction to stop embassy's eviction

Australia's highest court on Monday dismissed Russia's application for an injunction that would have prevented Moscow's embassy being evicted from a site in the national capital Canberra. In dismissing the application, High Court Justice Jayne Jagot described Russia's challenge on constitutional grounds to a law terminating the lease as weak and difficult to understand. Parliament passed emergency legislation on June 15 that terminated Russia's lease on the largely empty block on security grounds because the new embassy would have been too close to Parliament House. Russia's lawyer Elliot Hyde had argued that the Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky would not have confidence in the integrity and security of a consular building already on the site if the embassy was not allowed to maintain possession until the challenge to the validity of the lease termination was decided. Elliot said a man who has been living on the site in a portable cabin at least since last week was a security guard. The

Cooperating with Oz parliamentary panel on contract probe: Infosys

Follows allegations that former MP helped Synergy 360 and its client, Infosys, win government contracts

Australia demands answers from Twitter on how it tackles online hate

Australia's online safety watchdog has issued a legal notice to Twitter demanding an explanation of what the social media giant is doing to tackle a surge in online hate since Tesla CEO Elon Musk bought the platform. Australia's eSafety Commission describes itself as the world's first government agency dedicated to keeping people safer online. The agency said Thursday that it received more complaints about online hate on Twitter in the past 12 months than any other platform and had received an increasing number of reports of serious online abuse since Musk took over the company in October. The Australian agency's boss, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, said she sent a notice to the San Francisco-based company Wednesday with 36 detailed questions on how Twitter's policies about hateful conduct are enforced. If Twitter does not respond with factual and truthful responses to all questions within 28 days, an Australian judge could fine the company up to 700,000 Australian dollars

Philip Green appointed as Australia's next High Commissioner to India

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Friday announced the appointment of Philip Green as Australia's next High Commissioner to India. Green, who was most recently Australia's ambassador to Germany, would succeed incumbent Barry O'Farrell. "The Australia-India relationship has never been closer. Australia and India share perspectives, challenges and a democratic heritage," Wong said, announcing Green's appointment. "We are working together, through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and as Quad partners, to promote a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, where sovereignty is respected," the foreign minister said. Green has previously served as Australia's High Commissioner to Singapore, to South Africa, and to Kenya.

Senator says sexually assaulted by 'powerful men' in Aus Parliament

The accused was expelled by his party but remains a senator

India, Australia add 15 new areas for talks on comprehensive trade deal

Collaboration in space, mining and sports are among 15 new areas mutually identified by India and Australia for negotiations under the comprehensive free trade agreement, a senior government official said on Thursday. For the first time, these new segments would become part of a trade pact being negotiated by India. Additional Secretary in the Department of Commerce Rajesh Agrawal said that the third round of talks for the proposed comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) will end on June 16 and the next round of talks is scheduled in July. India and Australia have already implemented an interim trade pact in December last year and now negotiations are underway to expand the base of that pact for a CECA. "In addition to five areas which we had committed and which will be taken up under CECA, there are 15 new areas where mutual interest has been shown by both sides," Agrawal told reporters here. The official teams on both sides are discussing these areas to finalise the

Automobile maker Mahindra & Mahindra launches SUV XUV700 in Australia

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd on Wednesday said it has launched its flagship SUV XUV700 in Australia. Given the strategic importance of the market, the introduction of the XUV700 in Australia marks the company's ambitious global expansion strategy and signifies the beginning of a new phase for the brand in the country, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said in a statement. Mahindra Australia, a subsidiary of M&M, is actively working on expanding its network. The focus is on enhancing accessibility and convenience for customers in metro locations, it added. "The introduction of the XUV700 in Australia marks a significant step for the Mahindra brand here," M&M President - Automotive Sector Veejay Nakra said. He further said, "The XUV700 has been engineered to cater to global markets and given its sensational success in the Indian market, we are confident that customers in Australia too will appreciate its class-leading attributes, advanced features, modern technology, and global ..