Australia has announced that it will henceforth no longer recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing a decision taken by the government of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison sometime in 2018.
In a statement on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said; ‘Today the Government has reaffirmed Australia’s previous and longstanding position that Jerusalem is a final status issue that should be resolved as part of any peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people’.
‘This reverses the Morrison Government’s recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.’
Wong reiterated that Australia’s embassy would …
King Charles III has been officially named as the main monarch (King) in Australia and New Zealand on Sunday.
In Canberra, Governor-General David Hurley had also proclaimed “Prince Charles Philip Arthur George to be King Charles III, by grace of God, King of Australia”.
At a similar ceremony in Wellington, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hailed Charles, saying he “has long had an affection for Aotearoa New Zealand, has consistently demonstrated his deep care for our nation”.
The two ceremonies had also been relative formalities.
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Both former British colonies have …
The newly elected Prime minster of Australia, Anthony Albanese has vowed to end Australia’s reputation as a climate laggard and also try to reset their relations with the rest of the world he pledged to to form and categorise his government in time for the Tokyo summit.
Fresh from an electoral victory that ended a decade of conservative rule, Albanese signalled an era of fairer, greener, and less pugilistic politics for Australia.
“I want to change the country,” the 59-year-old centre-left leader said. “I want to change the way that politics operates in this country.”
It is still unclear whether …
Australia has finally terminated the job of at least 10 special force soldiers after the release of a report that found credible evidence of unlawful killings of unarmed prisoners, farmers, and civilians in Afghanistan, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said on Thursday.
This is coming after an independent report published last week in redacted form said that there is credible evidence that Australian Elite Soldiers unlawfully killed 39 people during the Afghan war, the long-awaited report has found.
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The killing which took place between 2009 -2013 saw soldiers kill unarmed …
Australia said its budget deficit will be 85.8 billion Australian dollars (AD) ($61.2 billion) in 2019-20 and AD184.5 billion in 2020-21.
This marks the biggest deficit since World War II, due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
“Australia is experiencing a health and economic crisis like nothing we have seen in the last 100 years,’’ Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, said in a press conference giving a special budget update on Thursday.
“The government has acted swiftly and decisively to provide economic support for workers, households and businesses of around AD289 billion or the equivalent of 14.6 percent of GDP,’’ …
Australia is losing US$2.5 billion every week its virus shutdown continues, according to figures announced Tuesday.
A million workers have also lost their jobs.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the restrictions on movement and gatherings were dealing a heavy blow to the economy.
“For every extra week that the current restrictions remain in place, the Treasury estimates that close to $4 billion will be reduced in economic activity, from a combination of a reduced workforce participation, reduced productivity, and reduced consumption,” he said in a speech in Canberra.
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Frydenberg revelation came …
Imagine finding this Burmese python on your front porch. Australia is famously home to all sorts of exotic animals, including snakes.
Australia and New Zealand have both closed their borders to all visitors except for citizens and permanent residents and their close family members.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told the press in Canberra on Thursday, adding that the travel ban means the deadline for any non-Australian-citizens or non-residents of Australia entering the country is Friday at 9 pm (1000 GMT).
Morrison said the travel ban was being put in place because about 80 per cent of the cases of coronavirus in Australia have come from either people returning from overseas or their relatives.
“Measures we have put in place have …
Thousands of tourists risked being stranded in Australia’s south east Monday, as a new heatwave left firefighters across the country bracing for another round of potentially catastrophic bushfire.
Hundreds of blazes are burning across Australia, which is experiencing a devastating summer bushfire season fuelled by a prolonged drought and climate change.
More than 30,000 people were told to evacuate Victoria state’s popular East Gippsland region Sunday amid fears soaring temperatures and gusting winds would stoke three large blazes, cutting off the last major road still open.
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Victoria Emergency Management …
New Zealand were facing a massive run chase to save the second Test and the series after they were dismissed for 148 in Melbourne on Saturday, with Australia batting again to rub salt in the wounds and extend their lead.
At the close on day three, the home team were 137 for four, building on their first innings 467 to be 456 runs in front.
First innings century-maker Travis Head was not out 12 and Matthew Wade was on 15, with skipper Tim Paine so far resisting the temptation to declare.
New Zealand began the day already in trouble on …
It was dragging him away.
A 15 foot scrub python has attacked a four-year-old boy in north Queensland.
He said screams of his son alerted him when the snake latched on to his son’s leg.
The brave father has told of the terrifying moment he saved his four-year-old son from a 15ft scrub python by killing it with a sledgehammer.
Mr Thompson saw the snake with its jaws locked around his son as it tried to drag the terrified youngster away.
Recalling the ordeal, he said: ‘Clifford was holding onto the side of the boardwalk and it was pulling him, …
New Zealand squandered the chance to remove star Australian batsman Steve Smith cheaply just before tea on the opening day of the day-night first Test at Optus Stadium in Perth on Thursday.
After Australia won a potentially pivotal toss in scorching heat and elected to bat, the home team was 160 for two at tea after facing some challenging bowling from the disciplined Kiwi attack.
Emerging batsman Marnus Labuschagne was on 68 and Smith was on 31, the pair having added 85 for the third wicket and batted through a second session that was tough going against accurate bowling.…
