Australias Archives

Tonga discusses debt with China, Australia’s Wong to visit

SYDNEY, June 1 (Reuters) – Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong will travel to the Pacific island kingdom of Tonga on Friday, days after her Chinese counterpart visited and discussed Tonga’s heavy debts to Beijing, Tonga’s government said. Wong will also visit Samoa for its 60th anniversary of independence celebrations, in her second visit to the […]

Travel

Global Political Calendar: Biden’s Asia trip, Australia’s election

Finland will announce whether it will join NATO on May 15. A day later, its neighbor Sweden will decide whether to follow suit. Also next week, U.S. President Joe Biden will start his trip to Asia on Friday, and Australia’s election will kick off on Sunday. Sweden and Finland: It’s decision time for whether to […]

Travel

Strategic divergence: Australia’s Southeast Asia challenge

Australia’s relationships with countries in Southeast Asia are not bad. The prime minister or foreign minister could happily turn up in any regional country and receive a warm welcome. Last year, Australia signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – one of just two countries to receive this accolade […]

Travel

As Australia’s climate changes, Japanese encephalitis spreads

Placeholder while article actions load ECHUCA, Australia — A dust cloud soars behind farmer Tim Kingma’s pickup truck as he drives down a gritty dirt track to a neat row of pig sheds. The landscape is flat and muted: dry, mostly treeless ground and patchy grass. At this farm in the southeastern state of Victoria, […]

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Covid-19 outbreak and bungles dampen Australia’s holiday mood, take toll on PM

SYDNEY – The current Australian summer – during which the country was supposed to enjoy a carefree holiday season, filled with travel, festivities and sport – has not quite turned out as planned. Instead, the new year period has been marked by a series of national setbacks, including failures in the Covid-19 testing regime and a […]

Travel

What Djokovic deportation says about Australia’s border-control policies

Melbourne, Australia Weary after two years of some of the harshest COVID-19 border restrictions in the world, many Australians wanted tennis star Novak Djokovic kicked out of their country for traveling to a tennis tournament without being vaccinated. But the backdrop to the government’s tough line on the defending Australian Open champion — and Prime […]

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Australia’s jet fuel demand battered by omicron, but medium-term outlook brighter

Highlights Qantas Group cuts flight capacity as staff, holiday-makers isolate due to omicron Australia’s 2022 jet fuel demand seen around 46% below 2019 levels: Platts Analytics But Asian jet fuel prices elevated by tight supply The prospects of near-term recovery in Australia’s jet fuel demand remain bleak as a surge in omicron infections upend staffing […]

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Omicron Roils Australia’s Exit From Zero-Covid Strategy

ADELAIDE, Australia—Australia’s shift to living with Covid-19 after keeping cases near zero for much of the pandemic was based on a bet that a high vaccination rate would limit severe illness and hospitalizations. On both scores, this country of 26 million people is doing well. Evidence so far suggests the Omicron variant, which accounts for […]