Page 42 - Australia

EAM S Jaishankar raises visa backlog issue with Australian authorities

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has that he took up with Australian authorities the issue of visa backlog, particularly related to students seeking to return to educational institutions in the country following the COVID pandemic, and was assured that the problem would be resolved by the year end. Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Australia, said this on Tuesday during an address to the Indian community here. "And I want to tell you that it was something that I took up with different ministers when I was in Canberra. We have a particular problem that students are facing," he said. The minister said that he was assured that the situation has improved and about 77,000 Indian students are back in Australia. "But you all know that the numbers should be and could be much higher and I was assured that by the end of the year the visa backlog, particularly in respect to students, would be cleared," he said. "It's not just students because there's a community there are also .

Australia India's important partner for Indo-Pacific stability: Jaishankar

Australia is an important partner for India in terms of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific and working together ensures that this region remains free, open, stable and prosperous, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday. Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Australia, in his address to the Indian community said during the visit he spent time with the Australian military. "They are a very important partner for us today in terms of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. In fact of the big changes in our relationship is the fact that today we both are members of the Quad mechanism and out working together in many ways ensure that this region remains free, open, stable and prosperous," Jaishankar said. "I have seen again even in the last year how much progress we have made just in the last few weeks. We have had two major exercises in Australia where the Indian military has participated," he said. He said the perception, the relevance of each country t

Targeting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths not acceptable: EAM

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that targeting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths is not acceptable in any part of the world and emphasised on the need for both sides in the Ukraine conflict to return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue as "this conflict is not helping anybody at all." Jaishankar made the remarks while responding to questions after his address at the Lowy Institute on the growing importance of India's relationship with Australia and the interests that both countries share as members of the security-focused Quad. "We really think that targeting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths is not acceptable in any part of the world," Jaishankar said while responding to a question on Russia's missile strikes targeting key cities across Ukraine on Monday, including the capital Kyiv which is being seen as the most intense attack since the conflict started on February 24. Jaishankar emphasised on the need to return to the path of diplomacy a

Indian-origin Sikh on trial for $10.4-mn crypto bungle in Melbourne

An Indian-origin Sikh and his partner, who received $10.4 mn from a cryptocurrency company by mistake, will face trial in Australia over allegations that they spent the money

Nord Stream breaches reminder of vulnerabilities in undersea infrastructure

The greatest single release of potent greenhouse gas ever recorded was caused by four breaches of Russia's Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, located near the territorial seas of Denmark and Sweden

West saw military dictatorship in region as preferred partner: Jaishankar

India has a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons because the Western countries opted a military dictatorship in the region as its preferred partner and did not supply weapons to New Delhi for decades, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday, in an apparent reference to Pakistan. During a joint press meet with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong here, Jaishankar also said that India and Russia have a long-standing relationship that has certainly served New Delhi's interests well. "We have a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons. And that inventory actually grew for a variety of reasons. You know, the merits of the weapons systems themselves, but also because for multiple decades, Western countries did not supply weapons to India, and in fact, saw a military dictatorship next to us as the preferred partner," Jaishankar said, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, which was a close ally of the US-led West during the Cold ...

Cost of living pressure overtakes Covid as Australians' top concern: Report

The rising cost of living has overtaken Covid-19 as the top source of concern among Australians, a new survey revealed on Monday

Hales in pole position to partner Buttler as opener, says England skipper

England white-ball skipper Jos Butter has indicated Alex Hales is in pole position to partner him at the top of the batting order in the upcoming T20I series against Australia and the ICC World Cup

EAM Jaishankar arrives in Canberra to 'Tiranga welcome' for bilateral talks

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar arrived in Canberra "to a Tiranga welcome" as he prepares to hold talks with the top leadership of Australia to further enhance bilateral cooperation

Two Indian students win prestigious Victorian Premier's Award in Australia

Two female Indian students in Australia - Divyangana Sharma and Ritika Saxena - have won the prestigious Victorian Premier's award

IndiGrid, Brookfield show interest in buying 2 transmission projects

Joint venture projects by Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd and Australia-based AMP Capital worth Rs 3,500-4,000 cr

Australia updates telecom law to protect customers' data after Optus hack

The Australian government announced changes Thursday to its telecommunications law to protect vulnerable customers after personal details were stolen in a major cyberattack on the nation's second-largest wireless carrier. The changes to Telecommunications Regulations allow Optus and other providers to better coordinate with financial institutions and governments to detect and mitigate the risk of cybersecurity incidents, fraud, scams and other malicious cyber activities, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said in a joint statement. What this is all about is to try and reduce the impact of this data breach on Optus customers and to enable financial institutions to implement enhanced safeguards and monitoring, Rowland told reporters. More than one in three Australians had personal data stolen when Optus lost the records of 9.8 million current and former customers including passport, driver's license and national health care identification numbers in a

David Warner, Mitchell Marsh return to Australia side for series against WI

David Warner and Mitchell Marsh will be up against the West Indies in a short two-match T20I series beginning at the Metricon Stadium with both sides preparing ahead of the T20 World Cup

EAM S Jaishankar to begin first New Zealand, Australia visit from today

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will kickstart his official visit to New Zealand and Australia from Wednesday

Shami, Chahar next in line after Jasprit Bumrah's exit from ICC T20 WC

With the BCCI confirming Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, the team has been dealt a major blow and speculation has begun who will lead the pace attack

Australian dollar slides as RBA opts for smaller hike; sterling on new high

The Reserve Bank of Australia said it decided to slow the pace of tightening because the cash rate had been increased substantially in a short period of time, but left the door open to additional hike

Shimron Hetmyer replaced by Shamarh Brooks in West Indies T20 WC squad

Cricket West Indies has announced Shamarh Brooks as the replacement of Shimron Hetmyer in the squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2022 after the latter missed his re-scheduled flight to Australia

Antipodean currencies advance ahead of rate decisions, dollar edges lower

The Australian and New Zealand dollars gained ground ahead of expected rate hikes from their respective central banks later in the week, while the dollar slipped against a basket of currencies

Australian hacker who breached 10 mn people's data concealed their identity

The computer hacker who stole personal data of almost 10 million customers of a telecommunications company in one of Australia's worst privacy breaches used techniques to conceal their identity, actions and whereabouts, police said on Friday. Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Justine Gough, who heads cyber investigations, said the international probe, that includes the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, into the Optus cyberattack last week would be long and complex. "You can be assured that our very clever and dedicated cyber investigators are focused on delivering justice for those whose personal information has been compromised, Gough said. The government blames lax cybersecurity at Optus, Australia's second-largest wireless carrier, for the theft of current and former customers' personal information. Cybersecurity Minister Clare O'Neil described the crime as quite a basic hack. She said Optus, a subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, also known as Singte

Most Australian High Court judges to be women for the first time in history

Most judges sitting on Australia's highest court will be women for the first time in the institution's 121-year history, the attorney-general said on Thursday. Justice Jayne Jagot will fill a High Court vacancy on its seven-judge bench when Justice Patrick Keane retires Oct. 17, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said. Jagot has been a Federal Court judge since 2008. Dreyfus said Jagot's gender did not figure in his decision to choose her after consultations with leading judges and lawyers. This was an appointment of the best possible person to the High Court," Dreyfus told reporters. Justice Jagot is an eminent jurist and brings tremendous experience and was nominated by very, very many people." Jargot will be the 56th judge and only the seventh woman to serve on the High Court since it was created in 1901. The four women to sit on the bench from next month will include Chief Justice Susan Kiefel. Keane leaves the bench after nine years and less than two weeks before he reaches the