Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

Australia’s center-left Labor Party government has been arguing since winning the elections last year that the United States should end its pursuit of the 52-year-old, who has spent four years in a British prison fighting extradition to the United States.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday the United States stands with countries fighting Chinese “bullying behavior” as he launched bilateral talks in Australia aimed at countering Beijing’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Australian city of Brisbane late Thursday ahead of annual bilateral meetings on Friday and Saturday that will focus on a deal to provide Australia, a defense treaty partner, with a fleet of submarines powered by U.S. nuclear technology.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Papua New Guinea leaders on Thursday to discuss developing the Pacific Island nation’s military strength and deepening security ties, as the United States competes with China for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Austin is the first U.S. defense secretary to visit the nation of 10 million people that was fiercely fought over during World War II and is gaining strategic importance in the U.S. struggle against Beijing.

CANBERRA, Jul 22 (NNN-AAP) – Researchers from Australia have discovered the remnants of a curry, dating back thousands of years in Vietnam, shedding new light on ancient trade routes.

Believed to be the earliest known curry in Southeast Asia, the 2,000-year-old meal was found by a team from Australian National University (ANU), at the Oc Eo archaeological site in Vietnam’s far south.

Analysis of micro-remains recovered from the stone grinding tools in a study published today, revealed a wide range of spices including ginger, turmeric, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon.

SYDNEY, July 22 (Reuters) - The United States commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, the first time a U.S. Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to China's expanding regional reach.

The Independence-class littoral combat ship - named after a Royal Australian Navy cruiser that was sunk while supporting the U.S. Marine landings on Guadalcanal in 1942 - was commissioned at a ceremony at an Australian naval base on Sydney Harbour, officially joining the U.S. Navy's active fleet.

SYDNEY, July 18 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) said on Tuesday that the agency is continuing its "alert" status for El Nino, with the chance of the weather event developing later this year still at 70 percent.

While central and eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures are exceeding El Nino thresholds, persistent changes in wind, cloud, and broad-scale pressure patterns towards El Nino-like patterns have not been observed by the weather bureau.

SYDNEY, Jul 11 (NNN-AAP) – Australian mining company, Illawarra Coal Holdings Pty. Ltd., has been ordered to pay out almost 2.9 million Australian dollars (about 1.9 million U.S. dollars), as it drained surface water without a licence over five years.

In a statement released today, the Natural Resources Access Regulator (NRAR) of New South Wales said that, the underground coal mine is at Kembla Heights, west of Wollongong, and the mine’s operations caused the incidental take of surface water without a licence from 2018 to 2023.

SYDNEY, July 6 (Reuters) - Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil on Thursday called Donald Trump Jr. a "big baby", after the son of the former U.S. president cancelled a planned speaking tour.

The younger Trump, who had been booked on a three-day tour of Australia that was scheduled to begin in Sydney on Sunday, cancelled the trip on Wednesday, with organisers suggesting the reason was visa issues.

CANBERRA, Jul 4 (NNN-AAP) – Australia will ease visa rules for Indonesian travellers, in a bid to boost economic ties between the two countries. Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, today met with Indonesian President, Joko Widodo in Sydney, for talks on visa requirements, trade and climate change.

During the Australia-Indonesia Annual Leaders’ Meeting, they discussed new initiatives to enable more Australian and Indonesian professionals to work in each other’s country.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate at 4.1% at a policy meeting Tuesday after inflation fell to 5.6% in May from 6.5% a month earlier.

The Reserve Bank has lifted the cash rate 12 times since May last year to reduce inflation to a target range of 2% to 3%.

Higher interest rates raise the cost of borrowing for both businesses and consumers, slowing economic activity and helping to relieve price pressures that have flared after the slowdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.