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BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — Tens of thousands of Australians were ordered to flee their homes Monday, as torrential rain sent floodwaters to record levels, leaving residents stranded on the rooftops of their homes. Eight people have died, and the country’s weather bureau has warned further severe thunderstorms and intense rainfall will cause “life-threatening flash flooding” across a swathe of the central Pacific coastal region. In the country town of Lismore, resident Danika Hardiman woke […]
by Maddison Connaughton Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Gas and mining projects in Australia are emitting significantly more greenhouse gases than their operators promised, with an environmental group reporting Thursday that one pipeline was releasing 20 times the initial estimate. During an 18-month investigation, researchers from the Australian Conservation Foundation found one-in-five fossil fuel companies reporting their emissions had exceeded the amount approved by the government. One gas pipeline in the state of Queensland, operated […]
BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) — One person was found dead in a submerged car and 10 others were reportedly missing on Wednesday after heavy rain caused flash flooding in eastern Australia and set off a string of emergency warnings up and down the Pacific coast. The body of the drowned 60-year-old was found early Wednesday in the state of Queensland, premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament, describing the incident as a “tragedy”. Almost half a meter (1.5 […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia announced sanctions on eight of President Vladimir Putin’s top security advisors on Wednesday following Russia’s “unwarranted, unprovoked, unacceptable” invasion of Ukraine. Pillorying Putin’s decision to order troops into breakaway Kremlin-backed statelets in Ukraine’s east, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a suite of sanctions that closely echoed moves from other US allies. Eight members of Russia’s security council will face sanctions, including travel bans, and Australia will move to target military-linked […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia opened its international borders to all vaccinated tourists Monday, nearly two years after the island nation first imposed some of the world’s strictest Covid-19 travel restrictions. A Qantas flight from Los Angeles was the first to touch down in Sydney at 6:20 am (1720 GMT) followed by arrivals from Tokyo, Vancouver and Singapore. “It’s fair to say we’ve all been waiting a long time to welcome visitors back to Australia,” […]
by Andrew BEATTY Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia’s largest coal-fired power plant will shut in 2025 — several years sooner than planned — operators announced Thursday, saying the facility is no longer viable given the low cost of renewables. Origin Energy told investors the “influx of renewables” was “undermining the economics” of the vast decades-old Eraring plant just north of Sydney. Australia is one of the world’s largest coal producers and the climate […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia on Thursday said it would list all of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas as a terrorist organisation, the latest Western nation to do so. Canberra had previously listed Hamas’ al-Qassam Brigades as a terror group, but the new designation will list the organisation in its entirety. Hamas currently controls the Gaza Strip, has vowed to “liberate” Jerusalem by force and has frequently carried out attacks on Israeli targets. “The views of […]
by Paul HANDLEY Agence France-Presse MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) – The top diplomats of the United States, Australia, Japan and India opened talks in Melbourne Friday on deepening their Quad alliance, hoping to blunt China’s expanding power across the Asia-Pacific region. “Together we are a vital network of liberal democracies committed to practical cooperation and to ensuring all Indo-Pacific nations, large and small, are able to make their own strategic decisions, free from coercion,” Australia’s Foreign […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) – Australia officially listed koalas across a swathe of its eastern coast as “endangered” on Friday, with the marsupials fighting to survive the impact of bushfires, land-clearing, drought and disease. Conservationists said koala populations had crashed in much of eastern Australia over the past two decades, warning that they were now sliding towards extinction. Environment Minister Sussan Ley said she had designated koala populations as “endangered” to offer them a higher level […]
PERTH, Australia (AFP) — Two out-of-control bushfires threatened lives and homes in Western Australia on Wednesday, with blistering temperatures set to intensify in the coming days. An emergency warning for the outskirts of Perth, the country’s fourth-largest city, was issued after a blaze that has now burned through about 100 hectares began Tuesday. Authorities are concerned about the fire reaching residential areas, as fierce winds strain containment lines. Emergency services have told residents they are […]
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AFP) – Volcano-devastated Tonga will close its borders Wednesday after Covid-19 was detected in the previously virus-free Pacific kingdom as it struggles to recover from last month’s deadly disaster, officials said. Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said two men tested positive this week in the capital Nuku’alofa and were in isolation. He said the men had been working in the city’s port, where humanitarian aid has been pouring in from around the globe since the […]
SYDNEY, Austalia (AFP) – Australia unveiled a billion-dollar package to protect the climate-ravaged Great Barrier Reef on Friday, hoping to prevent the vast network of corals from being removed from UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Conservative prime minister Scott Morrison announced the Aus$1 billion (US$700 million) nine-year plan, months after narrowly avoiding the reef being placed on UNESCO’s “in danger” list. “We are backing the health of the reef and the economic future of tourism operators, […]
