Australia

Melbourne anti-lockdown protests fizzle out as daily cases hit pandemic high

Melbourne's streets were largely quiet on Thursday after three days of anti-lockdown protests, with hundreds of police officers on patrol in the city to prevent another rally as COVID-19 cases…

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UPDATE – Magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes near Melbourne, tremors rattle southeast Australia

SYDNEY/MELBOURNE, Sept 22 (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck near Melbourne on Wednesday, Geoscience Australia said, one of the country's biggest quakes on record, causing damage to buildings in…

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EU’s Breton says issues in transatlantic ties ‘much broader’ than submarine row

WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Strains in transatlantic ties have been building for years and cannot be reduced to just frustration over Australia scrapping a $40 billion submarine deal with…

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EU foreign ministers to discuss submarine dispute on Monday

European Union foreign ministers will on Monday discuss Australia's scrapping of a $40 billion submarine order with France, a move that has enraged Paris and cast a shadow over free trade…

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EU-Australia deal more complicated after sub dispute – EU lawmaker

Australia's scrapping of a submarine order with France has made a planned EU-Australia trade agreement more complicated, although negotiations should continue, the chair of the trade committee of the European…

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North Korea warns U.S. risks ‘dangerous nuclear arms race’ over Australia submarines

North Korea warned on Monday that the United States risked a dangerous nuclear arms race by providing submarine technology to Australia, criticising its "double standards" and vowing counter-measures. Last week,…

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Australian PM departs for Quad meeting amid French submarine deal fallout

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday departed for Washington to meet with leaders of the Quad grouping amid criticism over his government's decision to abandon a $40 billion submarine…

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Sydney COVID-19 cases fall as curbs ease in virus hotspots

Australia's New South Wales (NSW) state on Monday reported its lowest rise in daily COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks as some lockdown restrictions were eased in Sydney, the…

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Australia’s two largest states trial facial recognition software to police pandemic rules

Australia's two most populous states are trialling facial recognition software that lets police check people are home during COVID-19 quarantine, expanding trials that have sparked controversy to the vast majority…

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Australia reports 1,607 COVID-19 cases as states learn to live with virus

Australia reported 1,607 new coronavirus cases on Sunday as states and territories gradually shift from trying to eliminate outbreaks to living with the virus. Victoria, home to about a quarter…

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Australia’s PM Morrison says understands France’s disappointment over submarine deal

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday he understood France's disappointment over Canberra's cancellation of a submarine deal in favour of a pact with the United States and Britain…

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Australia says it regrets France’s ambassador recall decision

Sept 18 (Reuters) - Australia said on Saturday it regrets France's decision to recall its ambassador to Canberra over a security deal made with the U.S. and the UK, but…

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In escalation over submarine deal, France recalls envoys from U.S. and Australia

PARIS/CANBERRA/WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - France plunged into an unprecedented diplomatic crisis with the United States and Australia on Friday after it recalled its ambassadors from both countries over a…

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Photo Story: The Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin Beach

People walk past the sculpture by artist Danger Dave titled 'Damien Hirst looking for sharks' at the Swell Sculpture Festival at Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast, Australia. The Swell…

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New Zealand, Australia travel bubble suspended for longer amid Delta outbreaks

New Zealand suspended quarantine-free travel with Australia for a further 8 weeks on Friday, extending a halt in the so-called travel bubble between both countries, as they deal with fresh…

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NZ says Australia’s new nuclear submarines must stay out of its waters

WELLINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday that Australia's new nuclear-powered submarines would not be allowed in its territorial waters under a long…

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Australia COVID-19 cases rise but vaccination surge gives hope

SYDNEY, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Australia's Victoria state reported its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 cases of the year on Thursday as a surge in vaccinations nationwide raised hope for…

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UPDATED: Australia to build eight nuclear-powered submarines under new Indo-Pacific security pact

Australia will build eight nuclear-powered submarines under a new Indo-Pacific security partnership with the United States and Britain that analysts say will likely rile China, which will see the pact…

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Cyber crime spreads in Australia as COVID-19 pushes more people online

Australia reported on Wednesday a 13% jump in cyber crime in the past year, with about one incident in four targeting critical infrastructure and services as working from home during…

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Sydney nightly curfew to end as COVID-19 vaccinations hit fresh milestone

A curfew imposed on more than two million people in the 12 Sydney suburbs hardest hit by the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant will end on Wednesday night, authorities…

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Australia’s daily COVID-19 cases near 2,000 as Delta gains ground

Australia's COVID-19 daily cases topped 1,900 for the first time in the pandemic on Friday as an outbreak fuelled by the highly infectious Delta variant continued to gain ground in…

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Sydney pubs to open in mid-Oct as end of COVID lockdown looms – with cases set to rise

Sydney's cafes, restaurants and pubs are set to reopen in the second half of October after months of strict COVID-19 lockdown, even as the Prime Minister warned higher case numbers…

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Australian media outlets liable for Facebook comments, court finds

Australia's biggest news publishers including Rupert Murdoch's the Australian are responsible for comments that readers post on their corporate Facebook pages, the High Court ruled on Wednesday. The court dismissed…

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Australia’s NSW reports rise in COVID-19 cases; vaccinations accelerate

Three-quarters of people over the age of 16 in Australia's New South Wales (NSW) have now had at least their first vaccination dose, the state reported on Wednesday, along with…

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Vaccination rates surge in Sydney’s hard-hit suburbs as cases dip

COVID-19 daily infections in Sydney fell for a third straight day on Tuesday but still lingered near record levels as the outbreak spurred a spike in vaccination rates in the hard-hit western suburbs of…

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Photo Story: Australian boy, 3, rescued after four days lost in bush

Missing three-year-old Anthony is carried from an ambulance before being transported to hospital after being found on his family's property near Putty, southwest of Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia,…

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Sydney COVID-19 cases may hit peak next week as Australia steps up vaccine rollout

Authorities in Australia's New South Wales, the epicentre of the country's biggest coronavirus outbreak, said on Monday daily infections were expected to peak next week, as they look to speed…

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U.N. urges Australia to speed up efforts to drop coal

Australia's government should increase its efforts to phase out coal or else climate change will dramatically damage the country's economy, Selwin Hart, the United Nations special adviser on climate change,…

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Australia reports 1,684 new COVID-19 cases but planning a merry Christmas

Australia reported 1,684 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday as authorities race ahead with vaccinations in a bid to end lockdowns on the populous southeast coast in the hope…

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Surfer dies in shark attack off Australian beach

A surfer died on Sunday after being bitten by a shark off a surfing beach on Australia's east coast, paramedics said. The incident took place off the Emerald Beach, some…

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Australian PM flags quicker reopening after COVID-19 vaccine swap with Britain

Australia has secured 4 million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in a swap deal with Britain, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as he looks to convince states and…

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Australia looks to clear way for offshore wind farms

Australia's conservative government introduced legislation on Thursday that could help clear the way for offshore wind farms to go ahead in a country considered to have massive offshore renewable energy…

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Australia’s Commonwealth Bank taken to court over oil and gas financing policies

A Commonwealth Bank investor has sued the lender, demanding to see internal documents on its decisions to finance fossil fuel projects to ensure it has complied with its own environmental…

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Australian doctors warn of risks to hospitals once COVID-19 curbs ease

Australian doctors on Thursday warned the country's hospitals are not ready to cope with the government's reopening plans, even with higher vaccination rates, as some states prepare to move from…

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Australia aims to ‘live with virus’ instead of eliminating it

Australian authorities on Wednesday extended the COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne for another three weeks, as they shift their focus to rapid vaccination drives and move away from a suppression strategy…

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Melbourne drops COVID-zero plans, shifts focus to rapid vaccinations

Australian authorities on Wednesday extended the COVID-19 lockdown in Melbourne for another three weeks, as they shift their focus to rapid vaccination drives and move away from a suppression strategy…

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Australia in vaccine swap pact with Singapore as COVID-19 cases surge

Australia will receive 500,000 doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Singapore this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Tuesday, after Canberra agreed a swap deal in a bid to curtail surging coronavirus…

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Australia considering new laws for Apple, Google, WeChat digital wallets

The Australian government is considering new laws that would tighten the regulation of digital payment services by tech giants such as Apple and Alphabet's Google. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he…

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Australian state warns COVID-19 hospitalisations to peak in October

Australia's most populous state New South Wales, the epicentre of its current COVID-19 outbreak, will hit a peak in intensive care hospitalisations in October as cases accumulate, amid reporting of…

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Australia’s COVID-19 cases hit new record as ‘reopening’ debate heats up

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia logged a record 1,323 local COVID-19 cases on Sunday as debate rages on whether the country should start living with the virus in the community, after initially…

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Australia’s New South Wales reports record 1,218 COVID-19 cases

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported a record 1,218 locally acquired COVID-19 infections on Sunday, exceeding the previous day's record of 1,035. Six more people…

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Australia logs record COVID-19 cases, driven by New South Wales

Australia reported a record 1,126 coronavirus infectious on Saturday, the vast majority in New South Wales, the epicentre of the Delta-fuelled outbreak. More than half of Australians have been in…

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Sydney cases dip as Australia debates COVID-19 reopening plans

Sydney's COVID-19 cases slightly eased on Friday but still hovered near record levels as the Australian federal government looks to press states to stick to a national reopening plan once…

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Australian businesses were spending big before lockdowns bit

Australian business investment jumped to two-year highs in the June quarter as firms ramped up spending plans for the year ahead, bullish plans that are now being threatened by coronavirus…

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Sydney hospitals erect emergency tents as COVID-19 cases hit record

Australia's new daily cases of COVID-19 topped 1,000 on Thursday for the first time since the global pandemic began, as two major hospitals in Sydney set up emergency outdoor tents…

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Qantas aims for international travel from December

Qantas Airways Ltd on Thursday said it was preparing for international travel with countries with high vaccine rates to resume in December, sending shares higher, as it reported a narrower…

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Australia pandemic panel backs reopening targets despite Sydney outbreak

Australia can proceed with its reopening plans when the country reaches 70%-80% vaccination levels, the government's pandemic modelling adviser said, even as some states hinted they may not ease border…

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Australia PM backs reopening targets, says COVID-19 lockdowns unsustainable

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday the country must begin to ease strict COVID-19 restrictions once vaccination rates increase, with over half of all Australians enduring weeks-long lockdowns…

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Australian PM Morrison defends lockdown strategy as daily cases hit record

Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended on Sunday Australia's lockdown strategy for tackling the coronavirus, saying it would stay until at least 70% of population is fully vaccinated, as daily infections…

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Police arrest hundreds of protesters as Australia reports record COVID-19 cases

MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australian police arrested hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday and seven officers were hospitalised as a result of clashes, as the country saw its…

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Sydney imposes nightly curfew as Australia battles Delta outbreak

Two million residents of Sydney will be under nightly curfew from next week to slow the highly infectious Delta variant of coronavirus that is spreading across New South Wales state,…

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Sydney vaccine rollout sped up as Australia’s COVID-19 cases hit high

Australian authorities began doling out emergency COVID-19 vaccine supplies on Thursday in the Sydney suburbs worst hit by an outbreak of the fast-moving Delta strain, as the country reported its…

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Sydney warned worse to come as Delta cases surge

Sydney's Delta outbreak has not peaked and residents must brace for more deaths, authorities said on Wednesday, as Australia's largest city continued to break records for new daily infections despite…

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Sydney COVID-19 cases set to rise, hospitals under pressure

COVID-19 cases are set to "rise substantially" in Sydney in the coming weeks despite a prolonged lockdown, authorities said on Tuesday, warning soaring infections have already put hospitals under enormous strain. Australia,…

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Sydney records deadliest day of COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne lockdown extended

Australia's biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, while residents in Melbourne face a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown…

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Australia’s New South Wales reports 415 new COVID-19 cases, near record high

SYDNEY, Aug 15 (Reuters) - New South Wales reported 415 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, down from the previous day's record 466, as Australia's most populous state…

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Sydney lockdown fines raised as Australia faces ‘worst’ COVID-19 situation

Australia will increase fines to people breaching lockdown rules in the state of New South Wales as it battles a record jump in local COVID-19 infections and Sydney, the state…

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