Australia & Pacifics

SYDNEY, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW) will invest more than 120 million Australian dollars (about 83 million U.S. dollars) in biosecurity measures to help combat animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and lumpy skin disease.

The state government announced on Monday that the investment will deliver 65 million Australian dollars (about 45 million U.S. dollars) for the development of mRNA synthetic vaccines for both the FMD and lumpy skin disease.

WELLINGTON, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 400 homes in Nelson of New Zealand's South Island have been evacuated after the region has been hit hard by continued heavy rain, flooding and landslides.

Local states of emergency remained in place for the West Coast and Nelson-Tasman regions due to the current severe weather, according to the National Emergency Management Agency on Friday.

The agency said in a statement that severe weather has caused flooding that requires evacuations, with further impacts possible.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Heavy rain continued to pelt New Zealand on Thursday, causing further disruptions and road closures from a storm that has already forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.

Residents in the northern part of North Island found themselves isolated after landslides, fallen trees and floodwaters blocked highway access. The stormy weather also forced some schools to close, airlines to cancel flights and business to shutter.

WELLINGTON, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand recorded 4,489 new community cases of COVID-19 and 16 more deaths from the pandemic, the country’s Ministry of Health said, today.

New Zealand reported 1,686,020 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 1,794 confirmed deaths, since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020, the health ministry said.

Currently, 496 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospitals in the country, including 13 in intensive care units or high dependency units, showed official data.

SYDNEY, Aug 17 (NNN-AAP) – The record-breaking downpours and flash floods that plagued Australia’s eastern states in recent years are predicted to return, largely due to another La Nina weather event.

The nation’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), issued a warning yesterday that, there was a 70 percent chance of the destructive La Nina striking between Sept and Nov, with heavy rainfalls continuing into the summer months of Dec to Feb.

SYDNEY, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australia's former prime minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday he decided to be secretly sworn in to five key ministries during the coronavirus pandemic because he felt responsibility for the nation was his alone.

Morrison, who stepped down as leader of the Liberal Party after losing a general election in May, addressed a news conference to answer a barrage of criticism from the Labor government and his own party over the unprecedented assumption of powers.

SUVA, Aug 16 (NNN-PIN) – Fiji is expected to receive at least 500,000 foreign tourists this year, said a Fijian official today.

The figures on tourism are looking comfortable, and half a million tourists are expected to visit the island nation this year, Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Tourism, Shaheen Ali, was quoted as saying by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation (FBC).

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ellia Green realized as a young child -- long before becoming an Olympic champion -- that a person’s identity and a gender assigned at birth can be very different things.

Now, about 20 years later, one of the stars of Australia’s gold medal-winning women’s rugby sevens team at the 2016 Olympics has transitioned to male.

WELLINGTON, Aug 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Food prices were 7.4 percent higher in July, 2022, compared with July, 2021, New Zealand’s statistics department, Stats NZ, said today.

In July 2022, the annual increase was due to rises across all the broad food categories measured, Stats NZ said.

Compared with July, 2021, grocery food prices increased by 7.5 percent; fruit and vegetable prices increased by 10 percent; and meat, poultry, and fish prices increased by 7.7 percent, statistics show.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The U.S. deputy secretary of state said Monday the prime minister of the Solomon Islands “missed an important opportunity” by failing to attend a memorial service to mark the anniversary of a key World War II battle, amid concerns the South Pacific island nation is building closer ties with China.

Wendy Sherman and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy were among dignitaries who attended a dawn service near the capital Honiara on Sunday to commemorate the Battle of Guadalcanal.