World News

Australia’s east coast battles rising COVID-19 cases

MELBOURNE, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Australia's east coast states of New South Wales and Queensland faced an escalating battle against the COVID-19 Delta variant on Sunday, with millions under strict…

Read More Here

A look at Australia’s path to reopening international borders

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a four-stage plan to greater freedom from coronavirus restrictions, saying Australia will have to vaccinate 80% of its adults against COVID-19 before it can…

Read More Here

COVID-19 cases surge in Sydney, police cordon off downtown to prevent rally

New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, reported 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, as police cordoned off downtown Sydney with multiple checkpoints to prevent a planned anti-lockdown…

Read More Here

Australia PM says need 80% of adult population vaccinated before reopening

Australia will have to vaccinate 80% of its adults against COVID-19 before it can consider reopening its border, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday as he announced a four-stage…

Read More Here

Australian military to help enforce Sydney COVID-19 lockdown as cases rise

Australia's military will help enforce a lockdown in Sydney after the city of 6 million posted a record daily rise in COVID-19 cases on Thursday and state authorities said the…

Read More Here

Sydney adds four weeks to lockdown as Australia COVID-19 cases spike

The Australian city of Sydney extended a lockdown by four weeks on Wednesday after an already protracted stay-at-home order failed to douse a COVID-19 outbreak, with the authorities warning of…

Read More Here

Olympics-Rugby-Australia advance in Sevens but mighty Fiji await in quarter-finals

Australia scraped into the quarter-finals of the Olympic Rugby Sevens on Tuesday, after a wet morning session completed the pool stages at the Tokyo Stadium, and will face defending champions…

Read More Here

Dieter Brummer: Home and Away actor dies aged 45

Australian actor Dieter Brummer, who was best known for his role as Shane Parrish on TV soap Home And Away, has died aged 45. Brummer was found dead at a…

Read More Here

Australia sees COVID-19 cases climb, police warn against protest repeat

Australia's most populous state reported a rise in new COVID-19 cases on Monday despite a weeks-long stay-at-home order, while police vowed to crack down on any repeat of a wild…

Read More Here

Australians may face longer lockdown after mass protests

Australia's New South Wales logged its second-highest daily increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases of the year on Sunday amid fears of a wave of new infections after thousands of…

Read More Here

Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak throws harsh spotlight on Australia vaccine rollout

Australia's New South Wales state on Friday reported its biggest daily rise in new COVID-19 cases this year, prompting a tighter lockdown in Sydney and a request for additional vaccine…

Read More Here

Australia’s drug regulator approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds

Australia's drug regulator has approved Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for use with 12 to 15-year-olds, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Friday, as the country fights an outbreak of the…

Read More Here

Australian states squabble as NSW seeks vaccine priority amid COVID ’emergency’

Australia's largest state of New South Wales on Friday urged the federal government to divert vaccine doses to Sydney, the epicentre of a flaring COVID-19 outbreak, raising objections from other…

Read More Here

Bubble burst: New Zealand suspends quarantine-free travel with Australia

New Zealand will pause its quarantine-free travel arrangement with Australia for at least eight weeks starting Friday night, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said, as Australia fights an outbreak of the…

Read More Here

Australian regulator to probe Amazon, eBay among online markets

The Australian antitrust regulator on Thursday began an inquiry into the local units of Amazon.com Inc, eBay Inc and other online markets to ensure fairness in a sector where sales…

Read More Here

Australian PM apologises for COVID-19 vaccine delays as cases spike

Australia's prime minister apologised for a sluggish COVID-19 vaccination programme on Thursday, while the country's most populous state reported its biggest one-day spike in infections in 16 months and warned…

Read More Here

Coronavirus cases in Australia spike again despite weeks-long lockdown

Coronavirus cases in Australia spiked again on Thursday, despite a weeks-long lockdown, with authorities warning that infections would rise more and take a toll on the economy as the country…

Read More Here

Australia’s Brisbane named host of 2032 summer Olympic Games

TOKYO, July 21 (Reuters) - The Australian city of Brisbane will host the 2032 summer Olympics, after the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday approved the recommendation of its executive board.…

Read More Here

Australia, under lockdown, sees jump in COVID-19 cases

Australia's two largest states reported sharp increases in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, a blow to hopes that lockdown restrictions would be lifted with more than half the country's population…

Read More Here

Australia man ties bedsheets together to escape 4th floor hotel quarantine – police

A man in the Australian city of Perth escaped mandatory quarantine in a hotel by scaling down a rope made of tied together bedsheets from a fourth-floor window, police said on…

Read More Here

Australia’s Victoria extends COVID-19 lockdown by seven days

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Victoria state extended its COVID-19 lockdown by seven days until July 27 as officials sought more time to quell an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta…

Read More Here

Australian PM Morrison’s approval rating slumps on slow vaccine rollout

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval ratings fell to the lowest level in more than a year, according to a poll published on Monday, as a sluggish COVID-19 vaccine rollout…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Australia to extend COVID-19 lockdown in Victoria amid Delta outbreak, woman from Sydney dies of COVID

Australian authorities said Victoria state would extend a COVID-19 lockdown beyond Tuesday to slow the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, despite a slight drop in new infections in…

Read More Here

Australia, under lockdown, reports slight dip in COVID-19 cases

SYDNEY, July 18 (Reuters) - The Australian state of Victoria reported a slight dip in new COVID-19 infections on Sunday, raising hope a short lockdown would quash an outbreak of…

Read More Here

EPA’s Eye in the Sky: Harden, Australia

An aerial view of a canola crop near Harden, New South Wales, in Australia. Photo: EPA-EFE/MICK TSIKAS

Read More Here

Sydney tightens lockdown as Australia’s COVID-19 cases rise

The Australian city of Sydney on Saturday ordered a shutdown of building sites, banned non-essential retail and threatened fines for employers who make staff come into the office as new…

Read More Here

Australia races to stem COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney, Melbourne

Australian officials urged people to obey lockdown measures that cover around 40% of the country's population as an outbreak of the highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant again picked up pace…

Read More Here

UPDATED: Melbourne enters lockdown, joining Sydney as virus spreads in Australia

The Australian state of Victoria was ordered into a five-day lockdown on Thursday following a spike in COVID-19 infections, joining Sydney city as the country's two main population hubs battle…

Read More Here

Sydney’s COVID-19 cases ease but lockdown extension still on cards

Australian authorities reported a slight easing in new COVID-19 cases in Sydney on Tuesday, but left open the possibility of extending a lockdown in the country's largest city to douse an outbreak…

Read More Here

Australia’s COVID-19 Delta outbreak worsens despite Sydney lockdown

The prospect of an extended lockdown in Sydney loomed on Monday as Australian health officials reported yet another record daily rise in COVID-19 cases for the year, fuelled by the…

Read More Here

Australia reports first 2021 COVID-19 death, highest case number

Australia reported its first coronavirus-related death of the year on Sunday and a 2021 record 77 new cases of the virus in the state of New South Wales, which is…

Read More Here

Australia’s New South Wales reports 2021 record daily rise in COVID-19 cases

MELBOURNE, July 10 (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported on Saturday its biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of COVID-19 so far this year, as…

Read More Here

Sydney to face prolonged COVID-19 lockdown amid record 2021 cases

Australian authorities on Friday pleaded with Sydney residents to stay at home, warning a three week lockdown may be extended as they struggle to control a COVID-19 outbreak, with the…

Read More Here

Sydney sees worst day of 2021 as Delta COVID-19 outbreak spreads

Australia's New South Wales state on Thursday reported its biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of COVID-19 for the year as officials struggle to stamp out a growing cluster…

Read More Here

Sydney locked down for another week as Delta COVID variant spreads

The leader of Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Wednesday ordered a week-long extension of Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown, warning new cases are bound to rise as the country's biggest…

Read More Here

As COVID cases rise, Australia’s New South Wales says next 2 days ‘critical’

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) on Monday said the next two days would be "absolutely critical" in deciding whether a two-week anti-coronavirus lockdown in Sydney, set to end on July…

Read More Here

Australian officials report biggest daily COVID-19 caseload for 2021

Australia's New South Wales state recorded its biggest daily rise in COVID-19 infections this year, even as residents in several major cities across the country were released from snap lockdowns…

Read More Here

Australian job vacancies surge to record, firms struggle to find workers

Job vacancies in Australia hit record highs in the May quarter to be 57% above pre-pandemic levels, while businesses in all sectors reported difficulties in finding workers in a rapidly…

Read More Here

Australia to halve arrivals from overseas

Australia will halve the number of arrivals from overseas as its coronavirus hotel quarantine system creaks under pressure from outbreaks of the highly transmissible Delta variant, Prime Minister Scott Morrison…

Read More Here

Australia’s NSW state says Delta outbreak grows despite lockdown

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Thursday warned that significant numbers of new COVID-19 cases were being found in the community, raising fears of fresh clusters as it reported…

Read More Here

Sydney’s COVID-19 cases rise, four Australian cities in lockdown

Australia's New South Wales (NSW), the worst-hit state in the country's latest coronavirus outbreak, reported 22 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as four major cities endure a hard…

Read More Here

Australia tightens lockdown amid Delta virus outbreak, vaccine chaos

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia reported a slight rise in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, while officials in several states tightened movement curbs and pushed for vaccinations to limit flare-ups of the highly…

Read More Here

Three Australian cities lock down in fight against Delta COVID-19 variant

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), reported a slight rise in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, while officials tightened curbs to contain flare-ups of the highly infectious Delta variant in several other…

Read More Here

Australia’s Sydney and Darwin in COVID-19 lockdowns

Sydney began a two-week lockdown on Sunday as a cluster of cases of the highly infectious coronavirus Delta variant rose to 110 in Australia's largest city, while an outbreak in…

Read More Here

Sydney, Australia’s largest city, in two-week hard COVID-19 lockdown

Sydney and some surrounding areas will enter a hard two-week COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday as authorities struggle to control a fast-spreading outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant that has…

Read More Here

Downtown Sydney, Bondi head for lockdown as Delta infections spike

Downtown Sydney and the city's eastern suburbs, which include Bondi Beach, will go into a one week lockdown from midnight Friday as authorities struggle to contain a spike in the…

Read More Here

Sydney faces ‘scariest period’ in pandemic amid Delta outbreak

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), reported a double digit rise in new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 for the third straight day as officials fight to contain…

Read More Here

Unliveable Sydney homes going for millions in Australia housing boom

Sydney houses with crumbling walls, shredded ceilings, and bathrooms and kitchens stripped of fixtures are getting snapped up for millions as buyers try to grab a slice of Australia's soaring…

Read More Here

Sydney isolated as COVID-19 clusters build; NZ tightens curbs in capital

Australia's largest city of Sydney re-introduced "soft touch" COVID-19 curbs on Wednesday to contain a widening outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant, mandating masks in offices while neighbouring states…

Read More Here

Australia’s New South Wales extends mask mandate for Sydney as virus cluster grows

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales (NSW), on Tuesday reported its biggest rise in new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in nearly a week, prompting authorities to extend a mask…

Read More Here

Australian PM promises more COVID-19 shots to states as Sydney cluster grows

Australian states and territories will get more doses of COVID-19 vaccines soon, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, as authorities look to avoid further delays in an immunisation drive…

Read More Here

Australia may list east coast koalas as endangered

Australia is considering listing koalas on the country's east coast as endangered, Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said on Friday in an emailed statement. Australia already classifies east coast…

Read More Here

Sydney reinstates masks to contain Delta COVID-19 variant

Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) reverted on Friday to making the wearing of masks mandatory on public transport in Sydney, as a cluster of the highly-infectious coronavirus Delta variant expanded…

Read More Here

Australia recommends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine only for people over 60

Australia will recommend AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines only for people aged 60 years and over, while Pfizer shots will be offered to others, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Thursday. Australia…

Read More Here

Pricey metals lure Australian thieves to strip cars of catalytic converters

Police in South Australia urged drivers on Wednesday to step up efforts to protect their cars, as thieves target the catalytic converters that scrub exhaust emissions, amid a surge in…

Read More Here

Sydney records first local COVID-19 case in more than a month

Australia's most populous city Sydney has recorded its first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in more than a month, stoking concerns of a fresh wave of infections on Wednesday. New…

Read More Here

Melbourne to end mandatory masks wearing outdoors, despite stubborn virus outbreak

Australia's second largest city will allow its five million residents to travel more than 25 kms (15 miles) from home and end mandatory masks wearing outdoors from Friday, despite the…

Read More Here