Page 32 - Australia

Sydney's city council cancels Khalistan event planned for next month

A city council in Sydney has cancelled a Khalistan propaganda event planned for next month due to security reasons, a media report said on Friday. Acting on security agencies' advice, permission for the event organised by the 'Sikhs For Justice' group in Blacktown City was revoked by the city council, The Australia Today newspaper reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Sydney on May 24 to attend the Quad Summit to be hosted by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. "Council has, this morning, cancelled this booking as it is in conflict with adopted Council policy and due to risks to Council staff, Council assets and members of the public which cannot be practicably mitigated," a statement by the council said. Banners and posters of the event placed around the city were removed, citing a lack of approval. An investigation is also underway against the Victoria-based group, the report said. A connection to unaccounted money trail is what we are looking int

Wildfires in Australia likely contributed to unusual La Nina event

Researchers have found that the catastrophic Australian wildfires in 2019-2020 contributed to ocean cooling thousands of miles away, ultimately nudging the Tropical Pacific into a rare multi-year La Nina event that dissipated only recently. The research, led by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), US, is published in the journal Science Advances. Because the emergence of La Nina can often be predicted months in advance, it's an important phenomenon for seasonal climate forecasts. "Many people quickly forgot about the Australian fires, especially as the COVID pandemic exploded, but the Earth system has a long memory, and the impacts of the fires lingered for years," said NCAR scientist John Fasullo, lead author of the study. While not uncommon, a La Nina occurrence for three consecutive winters is rare. The recent run of La Ninas, beginning in the winter of 2020-21 and continuing through last winter, is only the third string of three in the historical record, which dates

ICC Rankings: India slips to 3rd spot, Australia remains world No 1 in ODIs

India dropped to third position behind Pakistan and three points adrift off world number one Australia in the latest ICC ODI men's Team rankings announced on Thursday. Five-time world champions Australia improved their rating from 113 to 118 following the annual update, maintaining a slender lead over Pakistan (116 points) and India (115 points). According to the ICC release, "Prior to the annual rankings update, Australia were at the top with 113 points with India behind them on decimal count. "Pakistan were ranked third, with 112 points and briefly went to the top of the charts after their victory in the fourth ODI against New Zealand this month. Pakistan could have stayed at the top position had they managed to complete a 5-0 clean sweep against New Zealand. With only three rating points now separating the top three teams, an interesting battle at the top of the rankings is imminent in the year of the World Cup. The ICC's annual rankings considered all ODI series completed sin

Australia follows India to ban vaping as it becomes an epidemic among teens

The Australian government will ban the import of non-prescription vaping products including non-nicotine devices

Australia Treasurer Chalmers warns China boom can't stop global headwinds

Chalmers is expected to announce Australia's economy has returned to surplus for the first time in 15 years on Tuesday night, benefiting from surging revenues

Ahead of PM Modi's visit, yet another Hindu temple vandalised in Australia

Temple authorities also found a Khalistani flag hanging on the gate, and reported the matter to New South Wales police

US effort to extradite WikiLeaks founder Assange not worth it: Australia PM

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed frustration at the United States' continuing efforts to extradite WikiLeaks founder and Australian citizen Julian Assange, saying: There is nothing to be served by his ongoing incarceration. Albanese's comments Friday in an Australian Broadcasting Corp. interview appeared to escalate diplomatic pressure on the United States to drop the charges against the 51-year-old Assange, who has spent four years in Britain's Belmarsh Prison fighting extradition to the United States. Before that, Assange had taken asylum for seven years in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. Albanese said Assange's case had to be examined in terms of whether the time Assange had effectively served was in excess of what would be reasonable if the allegations against him were proved. I just say that enough is enough. There is nothing to be served by his ongoing incarceration, Albanese said. I know it's frustrating, I share the frustration. I can't do more than m

6 injured after gas explosion at recycling plant in Australia's Victoria

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson confirmed that six people were hospitalised with upper-body injuries

Here are the challenges facing incoming Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson

The 28-year company veteran replaces Alan Joyce, who will step down in November after 15 years in the role - one of the global aviation industry's longest tenures

No plans to add new members to Quad at this time, says White House

There is no plan to add new members to the Quad at this point in time, the White House has said ahead of the summit of Quad leaders in Australia later this month. Head of State from Quad countries -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi from India, and US President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet in Australia on June 24. The Quad was established two years ago. The Quad is still a relatively young partnership. There are no plans for new members at this time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. Quad members, she said, have agreed that for now, they'll focus on cementing the quad's many strengths. However, the Quad welcomes opportunities to work with a wide range of Indo-Pacific partners, such as through its Indo-Pacific partners on maritime domain awareness, which is delivering cutting edge maritime domain awareness technology around the region, she ...

PM Modi thanks Aus counterpart for hosting Quad security summit in May

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese for hosting the next Quad security summit in Sydney on May 24.

Aus inflation passes peak but cost-of-living pressures still felt: Official

Australia's Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday said the country has passed the peak of the inflation crisis but cost-of-living pressures would hang around

Eye on China: Australia plans biggest defence shake-up since World War II

Australia's military is not "fit for purpose" as it currently stands, the Defence Strategic Review released on Monday found

Australia to ramp up diplomatic ties with India, Japan in Indo-Pacific

Australia on Monday said it will deepen its diplomatic and defence partnerships with key allies in the strategic Indo-Pacific, including India and Japan, in response to China's growing assertion of sovereignty over the South China Sea and its threat to the global rules-based order. Unveiling the Defense Strategic Review in Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government set out a blueprint for Australia's strategic policy, defence planning and resources over the coming decades. The public version of the final report did not label China a direct military threat to Australia, but said Beijing's assertion of sovereignty over the disputed South China Sea threatens the global rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific in a way that adversely impacts Australia's national interests. It labelled the competition between China and the United States the defining feature of our region and our time and noted that America is no longer the unipolar leader of the Indo-Pacific. "Investing in our

Sydney Cricket Ground unveils gate named after Tendulkar on his 50th b'day

Honouring Sachin Tendulkar on his 50th birthday, a gate named after Indian batting legend was unveiled at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground here on Monday. Tendulkar, who turned 50 on Monday, scored 785 runs, including three centuries with a highest score of 241 not out (in 2004) in five Tests at the SCG, which he described as his favourite cricket ground outside India. Tendukar scored those runs at an incredible average of 157. "The Sydney Cricket Ground has been my favourite ground away from India. I have had some great memories at the SCG right from my first tour of Australia in 1991-92," Tendulkar said in a statement issued by the SCG. Another gate in the name of Brian Lara was also unveiled to mark 30 years since the West Indian legend's innings of 277 at the SCG. The gates were unveiled by SCG and Venues NSW Chairman Rod McGeoch and CEO Kerrie Mather, as well as Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley. All visiting cricket players will take to the field through the Lara-Tendulkar

Hybrid solar eclipse 2023: When, where and how to see rare celestial event

One of the rarest celestial events is about to happen today. A hybrid solar eclipse will be witnessed on Thursdays that occurs a few times in a century

First hybrid solar eclipse in a decade begins; it won't be visible in India

Hybrid eclipse goes from the annular to the total and then back to an annular eclipse

Iron ore miner NMDC exploring lithium reserves in Australia's Perth

Indian iron ore miner NMDC Ltd said on Wednesday it is exploring lithium reserves 124.3 miles (about 200 km) off Perth, Australia

Australia pauses rate hikes to assess tightening impact, inflation in focus

In March, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles saw a growth of 12 per cent, 69 per cent, 14 per cent, and 10 per cent, respectively

Australia to ban TikTok on government devices amid security concerns

Australia's federal government will ban video-sharing application TikTok on govt devices over fears that the application's security could be compromised