Australia

Sydney to further ease COVID-19 curbs on Monday as vaccinations pick up

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Australia's largest city of Sydney will further ease social distancing curbs on Monday, a month after emerging from a coronavirus lockdwon that lasted nearly 100 days,…

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Swimmer missing after shark attack off Western Australia coast

(Reuters) - A swimmer was missing off the coast of Western Australia on Saturday after what authorities said was an attack by possibly two sharks and "heroic" attempts by witnesses…

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Australia hits ‘magnificent milestone’ with 80% rate of vaccinations

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia reached on Saturday a full inoculation rate of 80% of those aged 16 and older, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison called a “magnificent milestone” on the…

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Australia’s Great Barrier Reef will survive if warming kept to 1.5 degrees

A study released on Friday by an Australian university looking at multiple catastrophes hitting the Great Barrier Reef has found for the first time that only 2% of its area…

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Australia’s biggest states open borders in time for Christmas season

Australia's Victoria state removed entry restrictions to citizens of neighbouring New South Wales on Friday, allowing almost blanket reciprocal travel between the country's two biggest states ahead of the busy…

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UPDATED: Police have charged a Western Australian man over the abduction of four-year-old Cleo Smith

West Australian police have charged a 36-year-old man in relation to the alleged abduction of Cleo Smith after the four-year-old was found alive and well 18 days after she disappeared.…

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Australia’s CBA offers crypto trading, breaks ranks with industry

SYDNEY, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia will become the country's first main-street bank to offer a platform for retail customers to trade cryptocurrencies, breaking industry ranks as…

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UPDATED: Four-year-old Australian girl missing from campsite found alive after two weeks

A 4-year-old girl who went missing from an Australian outback campsite more than two weeks ago has been returned safely to her parents after she was rescued by police from…

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Thailand, Australia, Israel ease travel curbs as lockdowns bite elsewhere

Thailand, Australia and Israel eased international border restrictions significantly on Monday for the first time in 18 months, offering a broad test of demand for travel worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic. The…

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Thailand, Australia ease international border curbs spurred by pandemic

BANGKOK/SYDNEY, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Australia and Thailand eased international border curbs significantly on Monday for the first time in 18 months, offering an early litmus test of the demand…

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France’s Macron says Australia PM lied over submarine deal

SYDNEY, Nov 1 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron said Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison lied to him over the cancellation of a submarine building contract in September, and indicated…

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Australia set for international border reopening for vaccinated public

MELBOURNE, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Quarantine-free travel from New Zealand to Australia will resume from Monday, Australia's tourism minister said on Sunday, as the country readies itself for a partial…

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Australia’s Melbourne back to the races, shops as vaccination rate hits 80%

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city which has endured nearly nine months of lockdowns since the start of the pandemic, saw people flocking to shops and gigs for the…

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Australia plans to make Google offer alternative search engines on smartphones

SYDNEY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - An Australian regulator said it wants to make Google install a "choice screen" on smartphones so users can pick another search engine if they want,…

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Australian supermarkets form ‘task force’ to tackle pallet shortage

SYDNEY, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Australia's two largest supermarket operators have formed a "task force" to solve a shortage of delivery pallets, the No. 2 grocery chain said on Thursday,…

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Australia eases COVID-19 travel advisory ahead of border reopening

Australia on Thursday eased its COVID-related travel advice for several countries including the United States, Britain and Canada as it prepares to reopen its borders next week for the first…

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FACTBOX-Australia prepares to reopen borders for first time during pandemic

SYDNEY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Australia will start lifting its outbound travel ban for fully vaccinated residents from Nov. 1 amid a strong uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, as Sydney and…

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Australia to lift outbound travel ban for vaccinated residents from next week

All fully-vaccinated Australian citizens and permanent residents will be able to leave the country without a special exemption from Nov. 1, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia eases coronavirus restrictions…

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Australia looks to roll out COVID-19 booster shots soon as curbs ease

Australian officials plan to roll out COVID-19 booster shots soon to prevent a resurgence of cases, as residents in the two largest cities of Sydney and Melbourne begin to enjoy…

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Australia plans to force parental consent for minors on social media

Australia unveiled plans on Monday to make social media companies obtain parental consent for users under the age of 16, with multimillion dollar fines for failing to comply. Draft legislation…

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Australia’s Melbourne enjoys weekend of eased COVID curbs after long lockdown

Melbourne, Australia's second-biggest city, began its first weekend out of the world's longest string of COVID-19 lockdowns with spontaneous street parties, live music and packed pubs, bars and restaurants. Home…

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Australia says EU postpones trade talks for second time

Australia's trade minister said on Friday the European Union has postponed the next round of talks on a potential free trade deal for a second time, amid simmering anger over…

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Melbourne reopens as world’s most locked-down city eases pandemic restrictions

MELBOURNE, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Melbourne residents flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants and hair salons in the early hours of Friday after the world's most locked-down city emerged from…

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Australia should change laws to accommodate crypto, Senate report says

SYDNEY, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Australia needs to introduce new regulations for digital asset miners, such as tax discounts and a licensing regime for crypto exchanges, to be "competitive with…

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Melbourne readies to exit world’s longest COVID-19 lockdown

SYDNEY, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Millions in Melbourne are readying to come out of the world's longest COVID-19 lockdown later on Thursday even as cases hover near record levels, with…

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Australia tables laws to allow companies to switch to online AGMs permanently

Australia plans to allow companies to ditch physical shareholder meetings and move to gatherings that are completely online, making rules introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic permanent. A bill, which has…

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Melbourne welcomes vaccinated Sydney residents without quarantine

Travel restrictions between Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's largest cities, eased on Wednesday as Victoria opened its borders to fully vaccinated residents from New South Wales amid a rapid rise in…

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Australian passenger train derails after hitting abandoned vehicle

An early morning commuter train partly derailed after hitting a van abandoned on tracks near Sydney on Wednesday, trapping the driver and leaving others with minor injuries, authorities said. The…

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Tennis-No special deals to allow unvaccinated players at Australian Open: official

Australia's Victoria state will not do special deals with unvaccinated athletes to allow them to compete at major events, an official said on Tuesday, putting Novak Djokovic's Australian Open title…

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Melbourne to ease world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns

Melbourne, which has spent more time under COVID-19 lockdowns than any other city in the world, is set to lift its stay-at-home orders this week, officials said on Sunday. By…

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Coronavirus pandemic measures in Victoria

A person is seen Kitesurfing at the beach in Brighton, Melbourne, Australia, 16 October 2021. All authorised Victorian workers spanning from retail staff to pro sportspeople must now be partially…

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Australia’s Sydney to welcome overseas arrivals without quarantine

The Australian city of Sydney will allow the entry of fully vaccinated travellers from overseas from Nov. 1 without the need for quarantine, authorities said on Friday, although the easing of strict…

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Sydney to open for international travellers without quarantine

SYDNEY, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Sydney will open up to fully vaccinated international travellers from Nov. 1 without the need for quarantine, the country's most populous state said on Friday,…

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Australia sees more jobs lost to lockdowns, but recovery beckons

Australian employment fell sharply for a second month in September as coronavirus lockdowns forced firms to lay off workers, while the jobless rate was held down by another big drop…

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Melbourne set for COVID lockdown exit despite record cases as vaccinations spike

Melbourne will exit months of COVID-19 lockdown next week helped by a faster-than-expected vaccine uptake, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday, ahead of schedule even though daily infections…

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COVID-19 curbs in Sydney could ease early amid surge in vaccinations

New South Wales could ease more restrictions in Sydney a week earlier than planned on Oct. 18 as Australia's most populous state races towards its 80% double-dose vaccination target, the…

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Australians’ climate fears grow as government mulls tighter emissions targets

A record high number of Australians are worried about climate change, according to a survey published on Wednesday, confirming a growing shift in favour of climate action in a country that has suffered devastating bushfires…

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‘Freedom Day’: Sydney reopens as Australia looks to live with COVID-19

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Sydney's cafes, gyms and restaurants welcomed back fully vaccinated customers on Monday after nearly four months of lockdown, as Australia aims to begin living with the coronavirus and…

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Australia mulls measures making social media giants responsible for defamatory postings

MELBOURNE, Oct 10 (Reuters) - The Australian government is considering a range of measures that would make social media companies more responsible for defamatory material published on their platforms, Communications…

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‘Blood, sweat, no beers’: Sydney set to ease COVID-19 curbs

MELBOURNE, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Sydney was set to reopen after months in lockdown, officials said on Sunday, with businesses readying themselves to welcome fully vaccinated residents from Monday. New…

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Australia sees trade deal with EU by end-2022

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said he expected to finalise a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of next year, despite the EU's anger over Canberra's…

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Australia braces for more COVID-19 infections as country moves towards re-opening

Australia was bracing for more COVID-19 infections and hospitalisations, officials said on Saturday, even as it moves toward gradually easing pandemic restrictions with the vast majority of its people getting…

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‘A coward’s palace’: Australian PM slams social media amid defamation law controversy

Australia's prime minister on Thursday lambasted social media as "a coward's palace", saying platforms should be treated as publishers when unidentified defamatory comments are posted, pouring fuel on a raging…

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Sydney to exit COVID-19 lockdown next week after vaccination rate hits 70%

COVID-19 restrictions will be eased further in Sydney from Monday, authorities said, as Australia's largest city looks set to exit a nearly four-month lockdown after hitting its 70% full vaccination…

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Australia reports easing in new COVID-19 infections as vaccinations rise

New daily COVID-19 cases in Australia's Victoria and New South Wales states, the epicentres of the country's worst virus outbreak, fell on Wednesday as authorities look to start easing tough…

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Australia’s new COVID-19 cases top 2,000

Australia on Monday reported 2,029 new COVID-19 infections, up from Sunday, even as its two most populous states remained under extended lockdowns and vaccination rates rose. The state of New…

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Australia’s Delta outbreak spreads to new states

Australia reported more than 1,900 new infections of the Delta coronavirus on Sunday, health data showed, with authorities struggling to quell the outbreak in the two most populous states and…

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Qantas to bring forward restart of international flights to November

Qantas Airways Ltd said on Friday it would restart some international flights a month earlier than planned after the Australian government said fully vaccinated Australians could enter and leave the…

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Australia’s NSW state premier resigns after corruption watchdog launches probe

The premier of Australia's most populous state New South Wales (NSW), Gladys Berejiklian, resigned on Friday after a corruption watchdog said it was investigating whether she was involved in conduct…

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EU postpones trade talks with Australia amid submarine deal fallout

Australia's Minister for Trade Dan Tehan said on Friday talks with the European Union over a trade deal have been postponed, as a row over Canberra's decision to cancel a…

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UPDATED: Australia to lift COVID-19 travel curbs for residents from November, PM says

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday announced an 18-month ban on Australians travelling abroad will be lifted from next month, easing one of the toughest COVID-19 restrictions imposed globally.…

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Melbourne cases hit record despite two months of lockdown

Melbourne's COVID-19 cases surged to record levels on Thursday with officials blaming illegal home gatherings to watch a key sporting event for the spike as a hard lockdown to combat…

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Australia’s federal govt to cut COVID-19 income support

Australia's federal government will wind down emergency funding for people who lost work during COVID-19 shutdowns as vaccination rates increase across the country, putting pressure on state and territory leaders…

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CNN denies Australians access to its Facebook pages, cites defamation risk

CNN said it is preventing Australians from accessing its Facebook Inc pages after a court ruled that publishers can be liable for defamation in public comment sections and the social…

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Sydney’s COVID-19 lockdown to end sooner for the vaccinated

Australian authorities announced plans on Monday to gradually reopen locked-down Sydney, unveiling a two-tiered system that will give citizens inoculated for COVID-19 more freedoms than their unvaccinated neighbours for several…

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Australians find silver lining in lockdowns as wealth booms

Australians are finding a silver lining to lockdowns as super-cheap credit lifts the value of homes and shares to record highs, a windfall of wealth that gives consumers the means…

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Australia’s Victoria state logs record infections

Australia's Victoria state notched up a daily record of 847 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one death, government figures showed on Saturday as health officials warned the public to…

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