Page 6 - Australia

Australia expels Iranian ambassador over alleged antisemitic attacks

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of directing at least two antisemitic attacks in Australia and said the country is expelling the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday. Albanese said that Australian intelligence services had connected Iran to attacks on a Sydney restaurant and a Melbourne mosque. There has been a steep rise in antisemitic events in the two cities since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023. ASIO has gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion. The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks, Albanese told reporters, referring to the main domestic spy agency.

India, Australia conclude 11th round of talks for comprehensive trade pact

India and Australia on Saturday concluded another round of negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement to strengthen economic ties between the two countries. The two countries have implemented an interim trade deal in December 2022, and are now in negotiations to widen its scope into a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement. "The 11th Round of India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) negotiations was held in New Delhi from 18-23 August 2025, further advancing the shared objective of strengthening bilateral trade and economic partnership," the commerce ministry said. The negotiations covered a wide range of areas, including goods, services and mobility, digital trade, rules of origin, legal and institutional provisions, environment, labour, and gender, bringing greater understanding for convergence in the remaining provisions, it added. To maintain momentum and achieve convergence, both partners will continue the negotiations in virtual ...

Netanyahu accuses Australia of betrayal for recognising Palestinian State

Ties began taking a turn for the worse last week when Australia announced it would join France, the UK and Canada in recognizing a Palestinian state at next month's United Nations summit

Google fined $36 mn for anticompetitive deals with top Australian telcos

Google has agreed to pay a 55 million Australian dollar ($36 million) fine for signing anticompetitive deals with Australia's two largest telcos that banned the installation of competing search engines on some smartphones, the US tech giant and Australia's competition watchdog said. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a statement it had commenced proceedings in the Australian Federal Court on Monday against the Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific division. The court will decide whether the AU$50 million ($36 million) penalty is appropriate. Under the anticompetitive agreements, which were in place for 15 months until March 2021, Telstra and Optus only pre-installed Google Search on Android phones sold to customers. Other search engines were excluded. In return, the telcos received a share of the advertisement revenue Google generated from those customers. Google accepted that the agreements were likely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition,

Qantas fined $59 million for illegally sacking 1,800 staff during Covid

A judge on Monday fined Qantas Airways 90 million Australian dollars (USD 59 million) for illegally firing more than 1,800 ground staff at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The penalty is in addition to the AUD 120 million (USD 78 million) in compensation that Australia's biggest airline had already agreed to pay its former employees. Australian Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said the outsourcing of 1,820 baggage handler and cleaner jobs at Australian airports in late 2020 was the largest and most significant contravention of relevant Australian labour laws in their 120-year history. Qantas agreed in December last year to pay AUD 120 million (USD 78 million) in compensation to former staff after seven High Court judges unanimously rejected the Sydney-based airline's appeal against the judgment that outsourcing their jobs was illegal. The Transport Workers Union, which took the airline to court, had argued the airline should receive the largest fine available AUD 121,212,000 (

Australian lawyer apologises for AI-generated errors in murder case

A senior lawyer in Australia has apologised to a judge for filing submissions in a murder case that included fake quotes and non-existent case judgments generated by artificial intelligence. The blunder in the Supreme Court of Victoria state is another in a litany of mishaps AI has caused in justice systems around the world. Defence lawyer Rishi Nathwani, who holds the prestigious legal title of King's Counsel, took full responsibility for filing incorrect information in submissions in the case of a teenager charged with murder, according to court documents seen by The Associated Press on Friday. We are deeply sorry and embarrassed for what occurred, Nathwani told Justice James Elliott on Wednesday, on behalf of the defence team. The AI-generated errors caused a 24-hour delay in resolving a case that Elliott had hoped to conclude on Wednesday. Elliott ruled on Thursday that Nathwani's client, who cannot be identified because he is a minor, was not guilty of murder because of mental

India, Australia hold talks on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation

India and Australia on Tuesday held talks focusing on developments relating to nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and security of outer space. The discussions took place at a meeting of India-Australia bilateral dialogue on disarmament, non-proliferation and export control. "The two sides discussed developments in the areas of nuclear, chemical, biological disarmament and non-proliferation, outer space security-related matters, conventional weapons including AI in military domain and multilateral export control regimes," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. It said the dialogue facilitated enhanced mutual understanding and appreciation of national perspectives and global developments on non-proliferation and disarmament issues. The Indian delegation at the talks was led by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs) in the MEA. The Australian side was led by Vanessa Wood, Ambassador for Arms Control and Counter-Proliferation in the

Asia stocks mostly on the rise as tariff truce supports sentiment

Markets have held modest ranges in recent weeks, waiting to see whether the world's two largest economies can agree on a durable trade deal or if global supply chains will again be upended

Australia to recognise Palestinian state; joins France, Britain, Canada

Australia will recognise a Palestinian state, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday, joining the leaders of France, Britain and Canada in signalling they would do so. His remarks followed weeks of urging from within his Cabinet and from many in Australia to recognise a Palestinian state and amid growing criticism from officials in his government over suffering in Gaza, which Albanese on Monday referred to as a humanitarian catastrophe. Australia's government has also criticised plans announced in recent days by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu for a sweeping new military offensive in Gaza. Albanese told reporters after a Cabinet meeting Monday that Australia's decision to recognise a Palestinian state will be formalised at the United Nations General Assembly in September. The acknowledgement was predicated on commitments Australia has received from the Palestinian Authority, Albanese said. Those commitments included no role for Hamas in a Palestinian government, ...

Australia lifts 2026 foreign student cap by 8%: Will Indians benefit?

Australia will raise its 2026 international student cap to 295,000, but tighter visa rules and housing shortages still trouble Indian applicants

Australia to admit 295,000 new international students in 2026; cap up by 9%

Australia will allow 295,000 new international students in 2026, with a strong push to recruit more from Southeast Asia

Australian court rejects X appeal in child safety case, orders legal costs

An Australian appeals court on Thursday ruled against X Corp., rejecting a challenge to a safety watchdog's demands for details on how the Elon Musk-owned company was combating widespread child exploitation material on its platform. Three federal court judges unanimously rejected X's appeal against a federal court decision in October last year that the company was obliged to respond to a notice from eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant on child abuse material being shared on X, which is incorporated in Texas. The judges also ordered X to pay the commissioner's legal costs. Inman Grant's office describes itself as the world's first government agency dedicated to keeping people safe online. Inman Grant has driven world-first legislation that will ban Australian children younger than 16 from social media platforms, including X, from December. The federal court case goes back to early 2023, when Inman Grant asked some of the world's largest technology companies to report on what they

First Australian-made rocket crashes 14 seconds after lift-off attempt

The first Australian-made rocket to attempt to reach orbit from the country's soil crashed after 14 seconds of flight on Wednesday. The rocket Eris, launched by Gilmour Space Technologies, was the first Australian-designed and manufactured orbital launch vehicle to lift off from the country and was designed to carry small satellites to orbit. It launched Wednesday morning local time in a test flight from a spaceport near the small town of Bowen in the north of Queensland state. In videos published by Australian news outlets, the 23-meter (75-foot) rocket appeared to clear the launch tower and hovered in the air before falling out of sight. Plumes of smoke were seen rising above the site. No injuries were reported. The company hailed the launch as a success in a statement posted to Facebook. A spokesperson said all four hybrid-propelled engines ignited and the maiden flight included 23 seconds of engine burn time and 14 seconds of flight. Gilmour Space Technologies had planned prev

Australia adds YouTube to under-16 social media ban ahead of Dec rollout

The new rules, set to take effect on December 10, will now apply to YouTube alongside Meta Platforms' Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X

Swaminarayan Temple in Australia's Melbourne vandalised with 'racial slurs'

President of the Hindu Council of Australia, Victoria chapter, Makrand Bhagwat, expressed deep shock at the vandalism of the holy place

Macquarie replaces CFO Alex Harvey as regulatory probes intensify

Harvey, 54, will also leave Macquarie's executive committee at the end of December and retire the following year after handing over to deputy CFO Frank Kwok

Aurum PropTech acquires home brokerage platform PropTiger for ₹86.45 cr

Aurum PropTech Ltd on Wednesday announced acquisition of housing brokerage platform PropTiger from Australia's REA Group for Rs 86.45 crore as part of its expansion plan. The company will issue preferential shares to REA India as consideration for the acquisition of PropTiger. In a regulatory filing, Aurum PropTech informed that the Board has approved "acquisition of 100 per cent equity shares of PropTiger Marketing Services India Pvt Ltd, India." The acquisition has been done from REA India Pte, Singapore, through an all-stock, strategic equity swap and execution of the Share Acquisition Agreement with REA and PropTiger. The board approved issuance of 42,42,537 equity shares (face value Rs 5) of the company on a preferential basis to REA, as a consideration for acquisition of PropTiger. The cost of acquisition is Rs 86.45 crore, it added. Post-issue of preferential shares, REA India will have 5,54 stake in Aurum PropTech Ltd. Gurugram-based PropTiger, which is part of REA India

Indian student, 23, hospitalised after racist assault in Australia

A 23-year-old Indian student in Adelaide brutally attacked in racist assault; suffers brain trauma, facial fractures

610 antiquities retrieved from six countries in five years, says govt

A total of 610 antiquities were retrieved from the US, the UK and four other countries over the last five years, the government informed Parliament on Monday. Union Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat shared this information in a written reply to a question on whether the government has conducted any survey or study regarding theft of Indian artefacts in the last five years; and details of the total number of artefacts recovered, still missing and unaccounted for over the same period. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) maintains up-to-date data of theft cases in respect of protected monuments, sites and museums under its jurisdiction, he said. On retrieval of antiquities from abroad, according to the data shared by him, in 2020, three artefacts were brought back from Australia and five from the UK. In 2021, 157 antiquities were brought back from the US and one each from Canada and the UK. In 2023 and 2024, the figures stood at 105 (the US) and 297 (the US) ...

Australia hosts largest-ever military exercise with 19 nations taking part

The largest-ever war fighting drills in Australia, Exercise Talisman Sabre, is underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships. Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia. This year, more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, will take part over three weeks, Australia's defense department said on Sunday. Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers. The exercise will also take part in Papua New Guinea, Australia's nearest neighbour. It is the first time Talisman Sabre activities have been held outside Australia. Chinese surveillance ships have monitored naval exercises off the Australian coast during the last four Talisman Sabre exercises and were expected to surveil the current exercise, .