Wellington, New Zealand | XINHUA | New Zealand’s successful management of COVID-19 pandemic means quarantine-free travel between New Zealand and Australia will start on April 19, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Tuesday. The conditions for starting to open up quarantine free travel with Australia have been met, Ardern told a …
Read More »Chinese FM spokesperson: Australian Govt should apologize to Afghan people
Beijing, China | XINHUA | The Australian government should formally apologize to the Afghan people for the violent crimes committed against the civilians, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday. It should make a solemn promise to the international community that such atrocities will never happen again, spokesperson Hua …
Read More »Australia threatens WTO action as dispute with China deepens
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Australia threatened Tuesday to take China to the World Trade Organisation to counter a fresh round of punitive sanctions, as the two countries clashed over an investigation into the origins and spread of the coronavirus. Canberra said it may seek remedial action to overturn almost 81 …
Read More »Serena ends three-year title drought, gives winnings to bushfire appeal
Auckland, New Zealand | AFP | Serena Williams ended a three-year title drought and donated her winner’s cheque to victims of the Australian bushfires in an emotional WTA Auckland Classic final on Sunday. Williams raised expectations for this month’s Australian Open, where she can equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand …
Read More »Thousands trapped on Australia beaches encircled by huge fires
Sydney, Australia | AFP | Thousands of holidaymakers and locals were forced to flee to beaches in fire-ravaged southeast Australia Tuesday, as blazes ripped through popular tourist areas leaving no escape by land. Four thousand people were trapped on the foreshore of the town of Mallacoota and many others sought …
Read More »Two-try debutant Herschel Jantjies stars for Springboks
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Debutant scrum-half Herschel Jantjies scored two tries as South Africa beat Australia 35-17 Saturday in the opening match of the Rugby Championship season in Johannesburg. The Western Stormers half-back claimed the first and fourth Springbok tries before being warmly applauded when substituted 14 minutes from …
Read More »Smith, Warner hungry as Australia launch World Cup campaign against Afghanistan
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Steve Smith and David Warner will seek redemption on the biggest stage as they re-launch their one-day international careers for Australia against Afghanistan at the World Cup on Saturday. The star batsmen were both banned for a year for their roles in a ball-tampering scandal …
Read More »Australian tourists detained after illegally flying drone in park
Kisoro, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Two Australian tourists, who illegally flew drones in a Ugandan park, are in trouble for allegedly spying on Uganda. They are 52-year-old Michael Laurence Seebeck and 38-year-old, Van Benen Naam Fleur. The duo was intercepted by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) game rangers in Mgahinga …
Read More »Australia, Singapore ban Boeing 737 MAX jets, more airlines ground plane
Singapore, Singapore | AFP | Australia and Singapore on Tuesday banned Boeing 737 MAX planes from their airspace and airlines around the world grounded the jets following a second deadly accident in just five months. On Sunday a new Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to …
Read More »Five years on, five theories about MH370’s disappearance
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | AFP | On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering the biggest hunt in aviation history. Only a few fragments of the jet have been found, all on western Indian Ocean shores, and search efforts ended …
Read More »