President Marcos embarks on his first official visit to Australia, strengthening ties and discussing important global issues. See more photos here:
Tag: Australia
President Marcos: Philippines on ‘frontline’ of maritime disputes, ‘will not yield’
CANBERRA, Feb 29, 2024 (AFP) – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos told Australia’s parliament his country was on the “frontline” of a battle for regional peace Thursday, pledging resolve as he sought support in maritime disputes with China. With Beijing’s warships loitering in waters off his country’s coast, Marcos told Australian lawmakers that “the Philippines now finds itself on the frontline against actions that undermine regional peace, erode regional stability, and threaten regional success”. He vowed […]
Bodies of missing Aussie TV presenter & partner found, police officer charged with murder
By Lili TISCH-BOSTOCK SYDNEY, Feb 27, 2024 (AFP) – Australian police found the bodies of a TV presenter and his flight attendant boyfriend in a rural area outside Sydney on Tuesday, acting on information from a police officer charged with their murder. The discovery ends an almost week-long high-profile search for the remains of entertainment journalist Jesse Baird, 26, and Qantas flight attendant Luke Davies, 29. A 28-year-old serving police constable who had previously been […]
Pop star’s dad in assault claim: Photographer alleges attack after Swift concert
Australian police are investigating claims Taylor Swift’s dad assaulted a photographer when the star and her entourage were disembarking a superyacht in the early hours of Tuesday morning. “Police have been told a 71-year-old man allegedly assaulted a 51-year-old man at Neutral Bay Wharf about 2:30 am, before leaving the location,” police spokeswoman Alicia McCumstie told AFP. “The younger man reported the incident and inquiries are now under way by officers attached to North Shore […]
Australia battles ‘volatile’ bushfire
Australian firefighters were working to contain a “volatile” bushfire in the southern state of Victoria on Friday, urging thousands of people to evacuate rural areas threatened by the blaze. The out-of-control blaze, about two hours’ drive northwest of state capital Melbourne, has already burned through about 10,000 hectares (24,000 acres) of forest and farmland. Almost 1,000 firefighters have been deployed to battle the blaze. “They will be supported by water-bombing aircraft, including the large […]
Policeman charged with murder of Australian TV presenter, boyfriend
SYDNEY, Feb 23, 2024 (AFP) – Australian police on Friday charged one of their own officers with the double murder of a TV presenter and his flight attendant boyfriend, whose bodies have yet to be found. Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said a 28-year-old serving police constable was charged with two counts of murder, after a high-profile three-day search across Sydney. Earlier this week, the chance discovery of bloodied clothes in a suburban rubbish bin […]
Bloodstained clothes in bin trigger search for missing Australian TV host
The chance discovery of bloodied clothes in a suburban rubbish bin has sparked a high-profile police search in Australia, after the suspicious disappearance of a TV presenter and his boyfriend. Police launched an investigation earlier this week after a member of the public stumbled across possessions belonging to the couple in a large bin on Sydney’s southern outskirts. The grisly find, which included a pile of blood-stained clothes, led detectives to the home of former […]
Australian bishop charged with rape and indecent assault after Vatican probe
SYDNEY, Feb 22, 2024 (AFP) – An Australian bishop is facing accusations of rape and indecent assault, becoming one of the most senior Catholics in the country to be charged with sex crimes. Emeritus Bishop Christopher Alan Saunders was arrested in Western Australia on Wednesday evening after a high-powered internal Vatican investigation spurred child abuse detectives into action. Police said he has been charged with 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault and two […]
Pacific power play: Australia plans largest navy since WWII
SYDNEY, Feb 20, 2024 (AFP) – Australia on Tuesday outlined a decade-long plan to double its fleet of major warships and boost defence spending by an additional US$7 billion, in the face of a quickening Asia-Pacific arms race. Under the plan, Australia will get a navy of 26 major surface combatant ships, up from 11 today. “It is the largest fleet that we will have since the end of the Second World War,” said Defence […]
Lightning scorches four people at Botanic Gardens near Sydney Opera House
SYDNEY, Feb 19, 2024 (AFP) – A lightning bolt scorched and knocked out four people near the Sydney Opera House on Monday as they sheltered under a tree during a violent electrical storm, rescue officials said. The four were struck beneath the tree in the Botanic Gardens, ambulance workers said, just a stone’s throw from the harbourside architectural masterpiece. “They all had a brief loss of consciousness,” said New South Wales ambulance service’s Dominic Wong. […]
Eastern Australia battered by powerful storms: one dead, hundreds of thousands without power
MELBOURNE, Feb 14, 2024 (AFP) – Storms packing powerful winds toppled trees, killed one person and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in eastern Australia, officials said Wednesday. The wild weather hit large swathes of Victoria on Tuesday, dumping torrents of rain and unleashing some gusts of more than 150 kilometres per hour (90 miles per hour), officials said. A 50-year-old dairy farmer was killed in the storm, apparently struck […]
Australian toddler rescued from arcade claw machine
SYDNEY, Feb 1, 2024 (AFP) – An Australian toddler who clambered into a “Hello Kitty” arcade claw machine and “was in no hurry to get out” has been saved in a smash-and-grab rescue, police said Thursday. Queensland police said that during a shopping trip three-year-old Ethan climbed into the machine — which was filled with stuffed toys — via the prize dispenser chute. Police video shows four officers sizing up the problem before shooing the […]
