Australia

Coronavirus can survive on banknotes and glass for up to 28 days – Australian researchers say

The virus that causes COVID-19 can survive on banknotes, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, much longer than the flu virus, Australian researchers said on Monday, highlighting…

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Australian state of New South Wales to ease Covid-19 restrictions

Australia’s most populous state announced that it will ease restrictions despite reporting the biggest one-day jump in new Covid-19 cases in six weeks. New South Wales said that from this…

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NSW’s Premier held secret close relationship with investigated Chinese politician

The premier of Australia's most populous state told a corruption inquiry on Monday that she had had a secret "close personal relationship" with a politician under investigation for monetising his…

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Australia Victoria’s State of Emergency and Disaster extend by four weeks

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced that he has extended the State of Emergency and the State of Disaster by another four weeks. "I've just signed paperwork to extend the…

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Australia reports no COVID-19 deaths for third day

Australia recorded no coronavirus deaths for a third straight day on Saturday, but it’s hotspot city of Melbourne faced a prolonged lockdown as new infections stayed stubbornly above the target…

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Australia records second day without Covid-19 death for first time in three months

Australia reported its second straight day without any Covid-19 deaths on Friday, the longest stretch without any fatalities from the virus in three months.Australian states and territories reported 16 cases…

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Australia immigration law ‘to require English test’

Australia will require foreign partners of existing residents to pass an English language test before gaining a permanent visa, its government says. The controversial immigration requirement, if approved by parliament,…

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US and Australia discuss China’s malign activity in region

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, discussed on Tuesday shared concern over China's "malign activity" in the region, a state department official said. Pompeo…

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Britain open to Aussie-style EU trade deal but Australia wants more

As Britain's negotiations with the European Union on a post-Brexit trade deal go down to the wire, Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his country could trade with the bloc on…

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Australia’s Bondi beach closed due to crowds

Sydney’s Bondi Beach was closed on Monday afternoon after as thousands of Sydneysiders flocked to the seaside to enjoy warm public holiday weather. The decision to close the beach came…

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Australia to spend more on jobs in budget based on COVID-19 vaccine

The Australian government said on Sunday it will earmark an additional A$1.2 billion ($859 million) in wage subsidies in the 2020/21 budget and that its frameworks assume that there will…

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Australia increasing police patrols

Police in Australia's coronavirus hotspot state of Victoria stepped up patrolling on Saturday as hundreds of people in the city of Melbourne breached stringent lockdown restrictions and flocked to beaches…

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Six months after shutting its borders, Australia’s to allow New Zealanders to enter

Australia will within weeks allow residents of New Zealand to enter the country without having to quarantine, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said on Friday, as Canberra seeks to revive…

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Australian job vacancies surge in the three months to August

Australian job vacancies surged in the three months to August, official data showed on Thursday, as the easing of coronavirus restrictions across much of the country spurred demand for labour.…

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Australian firm says its nasal spray reduced coronavirus growth in animal study

Australian biotech company Ena Respiratory said on Monday that a nasal spray it is developing to improve the human immune system to fight common cold and flu significantly reduced the…

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Australia’s virus hotspot sees 5 new cases, on track for Christmas opening

Australia's coronavirus hotspot Victoria recorded a single digit rise in new cases for the first time in three months on Monday and lifted some of the state's tough restrictions, as…

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Reports Cardinal Pell returning to Vatican

Cardinal George Pell, Pope Francis’ former finance minister, will soon return to the Vatican during an extraordinary economic scandal for the first time since he was cleared of child abuse…

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Victoria, Australia set to accelerate easing of restrictions

Victoria, Australia's second most populous state and the epicentre of the country's COVID-19 outbreak, will accelerate the easing of social distancing restrictions as infections slow to fewer than 20 cases…

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Australia says world needs to know origins of COVID-19

The world’s nations must do all they can to understand the origins of COVID-19, Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday, comments that could worsen tensions with China. Addressing…

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Photo Story: Snowfall in Victoria, Australia

Residents sled in the snow near Greendale, Victoria, Australia, 25 September 2020. A cold front from Antarctica brought hail, thunderstorms, snowfall to New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria. Snow…

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Australia to overhaul bankruptcy laws to help firms over COVID-19

Australia on Thursday unveiled its biggest shakeup in bankruptcy laws in nearly three decades, allowing small businesses to trade while insolvent and take more control over debt restructuring, in a…

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Australia plans disposal of hundreds of stranded whale carcasses

Australian officials on Thursday began planning the grim task of disposing of almost 400 whale carcasses as hopes faded there would be many more survivors of one of the world’s…

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Photo Story: Photographic exhibition praises Victoria’s health workers

A man wearing a face mask walks past an outdoor photography exhibition on healthcare workers in Melbourne, Australia. The photographic project by Phoebe Powell aims to acknowledge the people working…

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Australia counts record 470 stranded whales as rescue continues

Rescuers were racing against the tide on Wednesday to free whales beached off the Australian coast, with more than half the estimated 470 mammals in the country’s biggest stranding on…

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Australia’s virus hotspot may speed up lifting curbs as cases fall

Australia's coronavirus hot spot of Victoria is considering easing curbs sooner than previously flagged, the state's premier said on Wednesday, as the two-week average of new infections in the city…

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Australian PM Morrison’s approval rating rises, poll shows

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s approval rating has risen slightly, a poll showed on Monday, as measures by the conservative government to tackle the coronavirus pandemic helped to maintain his…

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Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot reports lowest daily rise in infections since June

Australia's coronavirus hotspot of Victoria reported on Monday its lowest daily rise in infections in three months, although state Premier Daniel Andrews said there were no plans yet to ease…

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Australia virus epicentre state says new cases drop to 3-month low

The Australian state at the centre of the country's coronavirus outbreak on Sunday reported a sharp daily decline in new cases, raising the chances that it will be released from…

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Australia COVID-19 hotspot records fewest cases since June

The Australian state at the centre of the country's coronavirus outbreak on Saturday reported its lowest daily increase of infections in three months, putting it on course to relax a…

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Australia’s jobless rate slips, but youth face tough times

Australia's jobless rate unexpectedly slipped from a 22-year high in August as employment surged past expectations helped by part-time work, but the economic toll from the pandemic has hit young…

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Australia says daily COVID-19 cases fall to 3-month low

Australia on Thursday reported its lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in nearly three months, as states said restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the virus will be…

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Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot on track for easing lockdown

Australia's Victoria state on Wednesday said the daily rise in infections in its coronavirus hot spot of Melbourne has eased further, putting it on course to relax an extended hard…

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Australia records first day without a Covid-19 death in two months

Australia on Tuesday recorded its first day without a COVID-19 death in two months, as states began to lift restrictions amid growing confidence that a second wave of infections has been…

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Australia coronavirus deaths pass 800 but new daily infections fall

Deaths related to the novel coronavirus in Australia reached 803 on Saturday, but new daily infections in the country's largest hot spot continued to fall. Victoria state, the epicentre of…

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Virgin Australia to cull a third of its Boeing 737 fleet under new ownership

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd said on Wednesday it is returning a third of its fleet of Boeing Co 737 planes to lessors and financiers as part of a turnaround plan…

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Australia says not worried about AstraZeneca’s suspension of COVID vaccine trials

AstraZeneca Plc's suspension of its COVID-19 vaccine trials after a participant's unexplained illness did not mean the vaccine had been scrapped and showed safety standards were being adhered to, Australia's…

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Australia evacuates journalists from China amid ‘national security’ probe

China correspondents for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the Australian Financial Review (AFR) sought shelter in Australia's embassy in Beijing and consulate in Shanghai as diplomats negotiated with Chinese officials to allow them…

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Australia expects to receive AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine within months

Australia expects to receive its first batches of a potential COVID-19 vaccine in January, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, as the number of new daily infections in the…

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Australia’s COVID-19 epicentre Melbourne extends hard lockdown

Australia's coronavirus hot spot state of Victoria on Sunday extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne by two weeks to the end of September as infection rates have declined…

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Former Australian PM Tony Abbot named as UK trade adviser

Britain named former Australian prime minister Tony Abbott as a trade adviser on Friday, rejecting criticism that his conservative views on gender, same sex marriage and climate change made him…

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Australian PM wants internal borders open by Christmas, protests at virus restrictions grow

Australia's prime minister pressed states on Friday to reopen their borders by December and ease restrictions, as businesses and locked down households vented their frustration over deepening revenue and job…

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Australia’s coronavirus death toll surges

An Australian state reported a record 59 deaths on Friday, the highest ever daily total for the country, including previously unrecorded fatalities in aged care homes over the past several…

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Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot reports triple digit new cases for first time in 4 days

Australia's Victoria state on Thursday reported a triple digit rise in new COVID-19 infections for the first time in four days, denting optimism that a second wave of cases has…

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Photo Story: Australia’s Navy ship built in Spain departs towards Australia

The first of two Supply-class auxiliary oiler replenishment (AOR), designed and built by Spanish company Navantia for Australia's Navy, departs from Navantia's shipyard in Ferrol city, north-western Spain, towards Garden…

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Australian state of Victoria may ease restrictions

A second wave of infections in Australia’s coronavirus hot spot, the state of Victoria, eased further on Wednesday as authorities look to loosen lockdown restrictions that have shut large swathes…

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Australia slips into first recession in 30 years

Australia suffered its worst economic downturn on record last quarter as it battled the coronavirus crisis, while fresh outbreaks threaten to upend an already bumpy road to recovery and pile…

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Facebook threatens to block sharing of news if Australia moves ahead with controversial law

Facebook is using its platforms to target users in Australia telling them that they will not be able to share any local or international use should the country's Government go ahead…

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Australia’s Victoria states posts lowest COVID-19 case rise in two months

Australia’s Victoria state on Saturday reported its lowest rise in new coronavirus cases in almost two months, but authorities warned there would be no rush to lift social distancing restrictions.…

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Australia’s COVID-19 hotspot expects fewer than 100 cases a day by next week

Australia's second most populous state - the epicentre of the country's latest COVID-19 outbreak - said on Friday it expects to soon report just double digit daily rises in new…

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Photo Story: 4-year-old boy among people killed in violent storm in Melbourne

A fallen tree and power lines are seen on a damaged car along Kaola Street in Belgrave, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 28 August 2020. Fallen trees from wild winds have killed…

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Australia’s Victoria reports lowest rise in COVID-19 cases in nearly two months

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria on Thursday reported 23 deaths from the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 113 new cases, its lowest daily rise in nearly…

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Australian coronavirus antibody therapy aims for trial in early 2021

Australian researchers hope to start human trials of a coronavirus antibody therapy in early 2021, while a large-scale trial of a vaccine could begin by the end of this year,…

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Coronavirus deaths rise in Australia’s Victoria state

Australia’s Victoria state on Wednesday recorded its second-most deadly day of the coronavirus pandemic with 24 deaths, although fewer new infections were detected at the half-way mark of a strict…

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New Zealand extends Auckland coronavirus lockdown, Australia case numbers slow

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended a coronavirus lockdown in the country's largest city until the end of the week and introduced mandatory mask wearing on public…

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Rare snowfall across southeast Australia

Parliament House is seen in front of snow-covered hills surrounding the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) in Canberra, Australia, 23 August 2020. Antarctic air reaching Australia’s south east triggered snowfall down…

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Australia wrestles with coronavirus second-wave, 17 more dead

Australia recorded a further 17 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday but infections in the hard-hit state of Victoria, the site of all the latest deaths, are showing a downward trend,…

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New virus cases in Victoria, Australia, hit five-week low

Australia's virus hot spot state of Victoria recorded its lowest number of new infections in five weeks on Friday, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepared to build a framework for…

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