Australia and Oceania

Virus case forces Fiji cities into lockdown

SUVA, Fiji (AFP) — Fiji ordered two of its largest cities into lockdown Monday after the Pacific island nation recorded its first case of Covid-19 community transmission in 12 months. Health authorities said the case was a 53 year-old woman who was a close contact of a soldier who contracted the virus at a quarantine facility in Nadi. “To aid rapid contact tracing and reduce the likelihood of further transmission, we are announcing a lockdown […]

Hugs, tears as New Zealand-Australia travel bubble opens

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Emotions ran high Monday as excited passengers set off on the first flights to take advantage of a quarantine-free travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand, allowing families split by the pandemic to finally reunite. “(I’ll) yell, scream cry, hug, kiss, (feel) happy — all of these emotions at once,” Denise O’Donoghue, 63, told AFP at Sydney airport as she prepared to board her flight. The arrangement means that for the […]

Cyclone Seroja causes ‘widespread damage’ in Australia towns

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Two small Western Australian towns suffered “widespread damage” when Cyclone Seroja struck a part of the country that rarely experiences tropical storms, emergency services said Monday. The storm, which devastated parts of Indonesia and East Timor last week, brought lashing rain and winds of up to 170 kilometres per hour (105 mph) to areas officials said had not seen a tropical cyclone in “decades”. Authorities estimated that 70 percent of structures […]

Cyclone that ravaged Indonesia, East Timor set to hit Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian authorities on Thursday urged holidaymakers to evacuate a stretch of the country’s western coastline in the path of a cyclone that has devastated parts of Indonesia and East Timor. Tropical Cyclone Seroja is expected to hit Western Australia late Sunday or early Monday after tracking south. It is forecast to bring “destructive winds with gusts of 150 kilometres per hour (93 miles per hour) and intense rainfall that could cause […]

Australia halts AstraZeneca shots for under 50s over clot concerns

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Thursday joined a growing number of countries halting the use of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine for younger people over fears it can cause serious blood clots. In a further setback for Australia’s already halting coronavirus vaccine rollout, officials said the AstraZeneca shot should no longer be given to people under the age of 50, unless they had already received a first dose without any ill effects. Prime Minister Scott […]

Australia blames EU supply issues for slow vaccine rollout

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s prime minister on Wednesday blamed restricted vaccine supply from Europe for his country’s halting coronavirus inoculation efforts, as he faced growing public frustration over the sluggish rollout. Scott Morrison said vaccine shortages and “strict export controls” introduced by the European Commission meant Australia received just 700,000 of a contracted 3.8 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. His government, which received global praise for successfully containing Australia’s coronavirus outbreak, has […]

‘It’s the tone’: Palau president explains his China mistrust

  by Jerome TAYLOR Agence France Presse He leads one of the world’s smallest nations, but Surangel Whipps says Palau will not be bullied by anyone into deciding its future — least of all by China. Whipps, 52, became Palau’s president after last year defeating an opponent who favoured closer ties with Beijing. The Pacific nation of around 21,000 people is one of just 15 countries that still recognise Taiwan over China, something Whipps is […]

Snap lockdown ordered in Australia’s Brisbane after virus outbreak

  BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — More than two million people in Brisbane were ordered into a three-day lockdown Monday after a cluster of coronavirus cases was detected in Australia’s third-biggest city. It is the second snap lockdown of the greater Brisbane area this year, and comes after seven people tested positive for Covid-19 — the first significant community outbreak in Australia in weeks. “This is the UK strain. It is highly infectious. We need to […]

Australia begins long clean-up as floodwaters recede

RICHMOND, Australia (AFP) — Flood-stricken residents along Australia’s east coast began a massive clean up effort on Thursday as waters receded, revealing damaged homes, piles of debris and mud-caked roads. The region has been devastated by widespread flooding brought on by a torrential downpour that inundated towns, destroyed farmland and left two people dead. With the rain clouds finally clearing to reveal blue skies, thousands of people in Australia’s most populous state New South Wales […]

Australia’s ‘Big Wet’ eases, but thousands still isolated

by Andrew LEESON WINDSOR, Australia (AFP) — Rescue teams raced emergency supplies to flood-hit Australians Wednesday, as trapped residents waited for still-swollen rivers to ebb, so the long, hard clean-up can begin. Eight million people in Australia’s most populous state New South Wales woke to brilliant blue skies for the first time in a week, as a torrential downpour that has been dubbed the “Big Wet” finally ceased. But across the vast flood zone thousands […]

New Zealand drafts plans for Australia travel bubble

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand is finalizing a long-awaited travel bubble with neighboring Australia and will reveal next month when trans-Tasman trips can resume, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday. Speaking almost exactly a year after New Zealand closed its borders as Covid-19 swept across the globe, Ardern acknowledged many Kiwis were impatient for quarantine-free travel to and from Australia. But she said the government would exercise the cautious approach that has seen […]

Fresh deluge worsens ‘one in 100 year’ Australia floods

  SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) Torrential rain lashed Australia’s south east again Monday, worsening once-in-a-century flooding that has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes and shuttered hundreds of schools. The days-long deluge has inundated coastal areas of New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, with parts of Sydney experiencing what officials predicted would be the biggest flood in decades. On Monday, eight million residents were told to avoid unnecessary travel and work from […]