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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand will not lift a decades-long ban on nuclear-powered vessels entering its waters in the wake of key ally Australia’s decision to develop a nuclear submarine fleet, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday. Ardern said her Australian counterpart Scott Morrison had briefed her on Canberra’s plan to develop nuclear-powered submarines with the help of the United States and Britain. She described the deal as “primarily around technology and defence […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Thursday the country would acquire long-range US Tomahawk cruise missiles, as it strengthens military defenses in the face of a rising China. “We will be enhancing our long-range strike capability including Tomahawk cruise missiles to be fielded on the Royal Australian Navy Hobart class destroyers and joint air-to-surface standoff missiles extended range for our Royal Australian Air Force capabilities,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra. […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Australia’s decision to build nuclear-powered submarines in a new partnership with the United States and Britain rather than buy them from a French firm was “regrettable”, the French government said Thursday. “This is a decision contrary to the letter and the spirit of the cooperation that prevailed between France and Australia,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. “The American choice, which leads to the removal of an ally and a […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sydney authorities moved to lift curfews for coronavirus hotpots Wednesday, as infection numbers stabilised and vaccination rates surged. Almost three months after activity in Australia’s largest city was frozen by lockdown orders, state authorities announced easing restrictions for the worst-hit areas. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the 9 pm to 5 am curfew for virus hotspots would be lifted from Wednesday, in what Sydneysiders hope signals the beginning of […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Virus lockdown rules were relaxed for fully vaccinated people in Sydney on Monday, with small groups allowed to meet for picnics for the first time in months. Families and friends gathered in parks and at beaches, reuniting 11 weeks after an outbreak of the Delta variant brought Australia’s biggest city to a virtual standstill. The rules remain strict, with just five fully vaccinated people allowed to gather outdoors for up to […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Locked-down Sydney residents could enjoy a beer at the pub as soon as next month if the double-dose vaccination rate hits 70 percent, under an official “roadmap to freedom” released on Thursday. Officials in the eastern state of New South Wales, which includes Sydney, said stay-at-home orders would be lifted for fully vaccinated people once it hits the interim Covid-19 vaccine target for adults. The roadmap gave no date but current […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — An Australian mother said Tuesday she felt “blessed” after her three-year-old son with autism was found alive, scooping muddy water from a creek in dense outback terrain after a three-day hunt that gripped the country. Police sent a helicopter with thermal imaging equipment but failed to spot the little boy in the hours after he was first reported missing on Friday morning at his family’s remote property in the eastern state […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A man has died following a shark attack in Australia despite the efforts of “incredibly brave” surfers and bystanders who came to his aid, authorities said Sunday. The man, believed to be in his 20s, was mauled by the shark at Emerald Beach near Coffs Harbour, about six hours north of Sydney, according to paramedics. Emergency crews, including a helicopter medical team, rushed to the scene just before 11:00am local […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Britain will send four million Covid-19 vaccine doses to Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday, as his country raced to halt a deadly virus outbreak. The Australian leader said the planes delivering Pfizer vaccine doses were “on the tarmac” in the UK and would deliver “four million doses of hope” within weeks. Several of Australia’s largest cities are in lockdown and case numbers and deaths are steadily rising, as the […]
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — A lockdown of Australia’s second-biggest city Melbourne will be extended, authorities announced Sunday as they struggle to quash a stubborn coronavirus Delta variant outbreak. Almost seven million people in Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state were scheduled to exit a four-week lockdown on Thursday, but state premier Dan Andrews said it would no longer be possible with case numbers rising by 92 overnight. It is the city’s sixth lockdown of the pandemic, […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Sydney extended its two-month-old lockdown for another month and introduced a partial curfew Friday, as Australia’s largest city struggled to contain a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the “difficult” decision, telling the city’s population of five million it was time to “bunker down”. “Unfortunately the case numbers continue to grow,” she said. “This is what life will look like for most of us until the end […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian airline Qantas said Wednesday it would make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for staff, as the company bids to get planes back into the skies. The national carrier is one of the first major Australian firms to mandate vaccines for employees, saying the rule would also apply to its budget offshoot Jetstar. Pilots, cabin crew and airport staff must be fully vaccinated by November 15, with other staff members given until March […]
