Oceania

Sydney beaches close after first fatal shark attack in 60 years

SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Several Sydney beaches, including the iconic Bondi and Bronte, were shut down on Thursday after a swimmer was killed in a shark attack, the first…

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Shark attack kills swimmer in Sydney bay

SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - A shark attack on Wednesday afternoon killed a swimmer off a Sydney beach, causing "catastrophic injuries", police and ambulance services said. Local media said it…

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New Zealand’s Ardern labels anti-vaccine mandate protests ‘imported’

WELLINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday she felt demonstrations against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate now entering their second week were an "imported"…

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Australian police urge protesters to leave capital

(Reuters) - Australian police have given thousands of protesters until the end of Sunday to leave occupied areas of the country’s capital, as days-long rallies continue against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.…

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Australians told to get COVID boosters to be considered fully vaccinated

SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Australian residents will need to receive booster shots to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19, although authorities said foreign travellers will continue to need only…

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Australia thwarts Chinese plot to fund election candidates

SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Chinese spies sought to fund candidates for Australia's centre-left Labor opposition party in an upcoming federal election but the plot was foiled by the national…

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Australia lists koalas as endangered

SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Australia on Friday listed koalas along much of its east coast as endangered after the native marsupial's habitats were hit by prolonged drought, bushfires and…

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Blinken in Melbourne says Australia demonstrated best of humanity

MELBOURNE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told students in Melbourne that Australia had showed it was capable of the best of humanity, transforming the…

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Qantas inbound bookings rise as Australia eases border curbs

SYDNEY, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd has seen a significant rise in international ticket searches and bookings since Australia said it would reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers…

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WATCH: New Zealand protesters block streets outside parliament

Hundreds of people protesting vaccine mandates and pandemic restrictions blocked streets outside New Zealand's parliament on Tuesday with trucks and campervans, inspired by similar demonstrations in Canada. The "convoy for…

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New Zealand’s Maori Party calls for Queen to be removed as head of state

New Zealand’s Māori Party has called for the Queen to be dropped as the country’s head of state, on the day she marked 70 years since her ascension to the…

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Australia to welcome back international tourists from Feb. 21

SYDNEY, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Australia will fully reopen its borders to all vaccinated visa holders from Feb. 21, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, nearly two years after…

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Photo Story: Bushfires in Western Australia

A handout photo made available by Western Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) shows firefighters battling a bushfire in Bridgetown, Western Australia, 06 February 2022. Multiple fires were…

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New Zealand PM Ardern urges unity on COVID on Waitangi Day

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern urged New Zealanders on Sunday to unite in their battle against COVID-19, as the pandemic forced the country to celebrate its national…

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Australian PM signals reopening borders to tourists ‘not far away’

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that the reopening of the country's borders to international tourists may not be far away, adding that the…

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Fortress New Zealand delays full reopening until October

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) - New Zealand on Thursday announced a phased reopening of its border that has been largely closed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but…

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Australia’s COVID-19 hospital admissions fall to lowest in weeks

SYDNEY, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Australia's COVID-19 hospitalisation rate fell to its lowest in nearly three weeks on Wednesday, while a steady rate of daily infections raised hopes the worst…

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Tonga goes into lockdown over COVID cases

Tsunami-hit Tonga said two wharf workers had come down with COVID-19, prompting the previously virus-free nation to go into lockdown on Wednesday, but the waterfront workers were not on docks…

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Australia boosts spending to protect koalas

Australia will spend an additional A$50 million ($35 million) in the next four years to protect koala habitat and slow the decline of the vulnerable species, the government said on…

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New Zealand PM Ardern is self isolating after exposure to COVID positive case

WELLINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has gone into self-isolation until Tuesday after being deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for…

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Australia wants Kanye West fully vaccinated before any concert tour

Hip-hop artist Kanye West will have to be fully vaccinated if he wants to play concerts in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday, after media said the performer…

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Australia suffers deadliest day of pandemic, expands booster eligibility

SYDNEY, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Australia suffered its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday with nearly 100 deaths, but several large states said they expect hospital admissions to…

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Magnitude 6.2 earthquake strikes Pangai, Tonga – USGS

Jan 27 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck about 219 km (136.1 miles)west-northwest of Pangai, Tonga, on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said. The earthquake was at…

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Protests, citizenship festivities mark contentious Australia Day holiday

MELBOURNE, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Thousands rallied against the mistreatment of Indigenous people across Australia on Wednesday as citizenship ceremonies took place to mark the country's national day intended to…

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EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Canberra, Australia

Aerial view of Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. Via EPA-EFE/ALEX ELLINGHAUSEN

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Australian children facing ‘generation-defining disruption’ due to pandemic, experts say

The indirect effects of the pandemic on children and adolescents are as substantial – if not more so – than the impact of being infected with Covid-19, paediatricians in Australia…

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Man pleads guilty to kidnapping Australian girl Cleo Smith

SYDNEY, Jan 24 (Reuters) - An Australian man pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of abducting a 4-year-old girl from an outback campsite, the Western Australia justice department said,…

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Two Australian states to test school students twice weekly for COVID

Australia reported 58 deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, as the two most populous states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, said students would be tested twice weekly for the Omicron…

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Photo Story: The volcanic plume from Tonga’s underwater volcano eruption seen from space

A handout picture made available by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows the atmospheric plume from an underwater volcano eruption in the Pacific nation of Tonga pictured from…

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New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern cancels her wedding amid new Omicron restrictions

SYDNEY, Jan 23 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has cancelled her wedding as the nation imposes new restrictions to slow the community spread of the COVID-19 Omicron…

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Tongans deafened by volcanic blast as they fled for safety

When Tonga's Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano violently erupted, sending shockwaves and tsunami across the Pacific, the blast in the small island nation was so deafening that fleeing families could only…

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Western Australia state to stay shut as Omicron stalks the east

SYDNEY, Jan 21 (Reuters) - The state of Western Australia has cancelled plans to reopen its borders on Feb. 5 citing health risks from a surge in Omicron cases elsewhere…

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Planes, ships head for devastated Tonga as aid operation ramps up

The first aid flights reached Tonga on Thursday with more en route, five days after a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami, as communities awaited a ship with equipment to scale…

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Australia jobless number dives to lowest since 2008 as case builds for rate rise

SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Australian employment raced ahead in December as the jobless rate fell to its lowest point since 2008, showing strength that should help the economy weather…

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First foreign aid plane from New Zealand arrives in Tonga

Jan 20 (Reuters) - An aid flight from New Zealand carrying humanitarian supplies arrived in Tonga on Thursday, five days after the South Pacific island nation was hit by a…

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Scientists warn of ‘unprecedented’ environmental disaster with acid rain and ash from Tonga volcano

Tonga’s massive underwater volcanic eruption could result in years-long damage to coral reefs and fisheries that are vital to the local economy, scientists have warned. The Pacific Island nation’s government…

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Melbourne looks at feasibility of hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games – report

Local government officials in Melbourne are looking at the feasibility of the city and surrounding region hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, local media reported on Wednesday. The 2022 edition of…

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New Zealand navy ships taking water, other supplies to tsunami-hit Tonga

Jan 19 (Reuters) - Two New Zealand navy vessels will arrive in Tonga on Friday, carrying much-needed water and other supplies for the Pacific island nation reeling from a volcanic…

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Tsunami-hit Tonga islands suffered ‘catastrophic’ damage-reports

Tonga's small outlying islands have sustained major damage from a massive volcanic eruption and tsunami, the United Nations said on Tuesday, with downed communications and a blanket of ash hampering rescue…

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Photo Story: Before and after the Tonga volcanic eruption

A handout composite satellite image made available by Copernicus, the European Union's Earth Observation Programme, shows imagery produced using data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite acquired on 2 January 2022…

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Australia PM blames Omicron for testing woes as COVID-19 cases hit downward trend

SYDNEY, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday the shortages of at-home antigen tests were "not unique" to the country as authorities deal with a…

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Australia, New Zealand step up efforts to aid tsunami-hit Tonga, Red Cross says scale of devastation could be immense

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand dispatched surveillance flights on Monday to assess the damage in Tonga, isolated from the rest of the world due to the…

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Australia’s daily COVID-19 infections dip below 100,000

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's daily coronavirus infections on Sunday fell below 100,000 for the first time in five days, amid expectations that the Omicron wave had neared its peak in…

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Magnitude 5.8 earthquake strikes Bougainville Region, Papua New Guinea – EMSC

(Reuters) - An earthquake of 5.8 magnitude struck Bougainville region, Papua New Guinea on Sunday, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said. The quake was at a depth of 400…

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UPDATE – Djokovic ‘extremely disappointed’ with cancellation of visa

UPDATE - MELBOURNE, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Tennis star Novak Djokovic boarded a plane bound for Dubai on Sunday evening, a Reuters journalist said, after the Australian Federal Court upheld…

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Casualty reports awaited from tsunami-hit Tonga with comms mostly down

WELLINGTON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Tsunami-hit Tonga remained largely uncontactable on Sunday with telephone and internet links severed, leaving relatives in faraway New Zealand praying for their families on the…

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Underwater volcanic eruption triggers tsunami warnings across Pacific

Wellington (dpa) - Tsunami alerts were issued across large parts of the South Pacific after an underwater volcano near Tonga erupted on Saturday and sent large waves crashing ashore the island kingdom. The…

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Australia COVID-19 infections hit record amid runaway Omicron outbreak

SYDNEY, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Australia on Thursday reported its biggest pandemic caseload with a runaway Omicron outbreak driving up hospitalisation rates as the surge put severe strain on supply…

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Djokovic free but Australia deportation threat still looms

Novak Djokovic swapped one court for another on Tuesday, hitting a few practice shots at Melbourne Park as he warms up for his bid to win a record 21st tennis…

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Virgin Australia to cut capacity by 25% as COVID-19 cases rise

SYDNEY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Virgin Australia said on Monday it would reduce capacity across its network by around 25% for the rest of January and for February due to…

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Australia vows to ‘push through’ Omicron wave as infections cross 1 million

SYDNEY, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Australia must "push through" the fast-moving Omicron outbreak, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, as infections surpassed 1 million, more than half in the…

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UPDATE – Australian court order Djokovic be released from immigration detention

MELBOURNE, Jan 10 (Reuters) - An Australian judge ruled on Monday that Novak Djokovic be released from immigration detention, finding the government's decision to revoke the tennis star's visa to…

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Australia’s New South Wales marks its highest COVID-19 death count

SYDNEY, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, recorded its highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths on Saturday as the Omicron variant sweeps the country and…

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Photo Story: Floods in Queensland, Australia

A house is seen surrounded by flood waters from the Mary River in the town of Tiaro, 198 kilometres north of Brisbane, Australia, 09 January 2022. Areas in Queensland's Wide…

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Djokovic had COVID-19 a month ago, had clearance to enter Australia – court filing

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic contracted COVID-19 last month but was not experiencing symptoms and had written clearance from Australia's immigration department before travelling to the…

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Sydney Omicron outbreak could peak by late January, modelling shows

SYDNEY, Jan 7 (Reuters) - The Omicron outbreak in Australia's most-populous state could peak by the end of January, official modelling showed on Friday, as authorities reinstated some restrictions in…

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Australia suffers record COVID cases, straining businesses and supply chains

SYDNEY, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Fuelled by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, Australia's daily coronavirus infections soared to a fresh peak on Thursday, overwhelming hospitals, while isolation rules caused labour…

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