Tag: Australia

INC Members in Australia and New Zealand join the global launch of the “I Am Proud to be a Member of the Church of Christ”

(EAGLE NEWS)– The formal launch of the project “I Am Proud to be a Member of the Church of Christ”  was conducted in several venues in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Mackay, Darwin, Adelaide, Sydney, and Tasmania in Australia as well as in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand. Some places were connected live thru video link from the Philippine Arena where the main event was held. The church members looked forward for this memorable day and […]

Australia, Indonesia mull joint South China Sea patrols

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia is considering joint patrols with Indonesia in the disputed South China Sea, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday, in a move set to irk Beijing. The possibility was raised by Jakarta during meetings between Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian officials including Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu last week. “We have agreed to explore options to increase maritime cooperation and of course that would include coordinated activities in the […]

Deal struck for world’s biggest marine reserve in Antarctica

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP)– The world’s largest marine reserve aimed at protecting the pristine wilderness of Antarctica will be created after agreement was finally reached Friday with Russia dropping its long-held opposition. The deal, sealed by the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) at an annual meeting in Hobart after years of negotiations, will see a massive US and New Zealand-backed marine protected area established in the Ross Sea. It will cover more than 1.55 […]

Australia set for more heatwaves amid climate change: study

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia is set to experience more heatwaves, with record-breaking hot weather becoming “normal” across the continent as climate change pushes up land and sea temperatures, a government report warned Thursday. The biannual State of the Climate report from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and national science body CSIRO said Australia was already experiencing more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons, and projections showed temperatures would likely keep rising. “Australian temperatures […]

‘Many more’ corals die in Great Barrier Reef bleaching

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — More corals are dying and others are succumbing to disease and predators after the worst-ever bleaching on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef, scientists said Wednesday. A swathe of corals bleached in the northern third of the 2,300-kilometre (1,429-mile) long biodiverse site off the Queensland state coast died after an unprecedented bleaching earlier this year as sea temperatures rose. And researchers who returned to the region to survey the area this month said […]

Shark attacks surfer in Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A man escaped with cuts to his leg Monday after a shark crashed into his board while he was surfing near popular tourist spot Byron Bay in eastern Australia. Beaches in the area, some 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Sydney, were closed for at least 24 hours after the early morning encounter, with the victim taken to hospital by a friend. “It is believed that the shark emerged from under […]

Barrier Reef report card paints bleak picture

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia Thursday admitted more needs to be done to protect the Great Barrier Reef from pollution after a government-backed report painted a bleak picture of the natural wonder. The giant ecosystem is under pressure from farming run-off, development, the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and the impacts of climate change, which saw mass a bleaching event this year that killed swathes of coral. Canberra insists it is doing more than ever before to […]

6.9-magnitude quake hits off PNG: USGS

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — A strong 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Papua New Guinea on Monday, officials said, but no Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued. The tremor was estimated at a depth of 35 kilometres (22 miles) in the New Britain region of the country, some 418 kilometres northeast of the capital Port Moresby, the United States Geological Survey said. © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

Reprieve for Australian sub-Antarctic island station

by Martin PARRY SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s permanent sub-Antarctic research base at World Heritage-listed Macquarie Island has won a reprieve from closure and will instead get a multi-million dollar revamp, the government said Friday, in a boost for science. The Australian Antarctic Division announced in September the station on the island — which lies in the Southern Ocean between Australia and Antarctica — would shut after almost seven decades due to environmental contamination concerns and […]

Australian state backflips on greyhound racing ban

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s most populous state made an embarrassing backflip Tuesday on its plan to ban greyhound racing after sustained industry and public pressure, admitting it “got it wrong”. New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announced in July that his government would shut down the sport from July 1 next year after a series of scandals including “live baiting” and the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs. But the controversial decision was […]

Wild weather hits South Australia after mass blackout

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — South Australia braced for a second night of severe weather Thursday, with tens of thousands of homes still without power after “catastrophic” storms knocked out supply to the entire population. The total blackout caused chaos and widespread damage was reported, as authorities warned of more wild conditions to come including floods, high winds, heavy rain and surging tides. The state’s premier Jay Weatherill said “twin tornadoes” had hit northern areas, where […]

Families: investigation found MH17 downed from pro-Russia rebel held territory

  (REUTERS)  International prosecutors investigating the downing of a Malaysian airliner two years ago have concluded it was shot down by a Russian-made missile fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, victims’ family members said on Wednesday. Families were informed of the prosecutors’ findings shortly before a news conference was due to start in the central Dutch city of Nieuwegein on the outcome of the investigation. A surface-to-air missile hit Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on […]