Australia & Pacifics

CANBERRA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced funding to establish a national and reliable flood warning network.

Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, and Murray Watt, Minister for Emergency Management, on Monday said 236 million Australian dollars (157.2 million U.S. dollars) will be spent over the next decade on the National Flood Warning Infrastructure Network to protect communities from disasters.

SYDNEY, May 13 (NNN-AAP) – Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Justin Tkatchenko, has stepped aside and Prime Minister, James Marape, will oversee the foreign ministry in the interim.

The announcement of the office of the Prime Minister, late yesterday afternoon, came, after Tkatchenko’s daughter faced criticism for social media videos she made, while accompanying the minister to London, for King Charles’s coronation, and the foreign minister’s defence of his daughter, drew further harsh criticism from the public.

SYDNEY, May 9 (NNN-AAP) – The health authority in the Australian state of Queensland, issued an alert today, warning local communities against taking illegally sourced drugs.

The alert came, after the seizure of counterfeit medications containing life-threatening substances.

According to Queensland Health, tablets found in various investigations this year, have tested positive to protonitazene, a very strong opioid that can be fatal even in small amounts.

SYDNEY, May 7 (NNN-AAP) – Over a thousand people rallied in Port Kembla, in Australia’s state of New South Wales, yesterday, to protest plans to establish a local base for nuclear submarines, at the heart of the AUKUS agreement.

Members from the local activist group, Wollongong Against War and Nukes (WAWAN), carried a banner that read: “No war no nukes.” Union representatives and members of the Australian Labour Party, also joined the rally, some other banners read “No to AUKUS,” “No nuclear submarine,” and “No place for a nuclear base.”

05 May 2023; MEMO: Expressing "frustration" over continued incarceration and the US pursuit of whistleblower, Julian Assange, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the case "needs to be brought to a conclusion", Anadolu News Agency reports.

SYDNEY, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) are one step closer to finding treatments for the prevention of inflammation in severe COVID-19, after completing a new study into how immune cells respond to the virus.

The study, published in the Science Signaling journal in April, has revealed that the majority of immune cells, which contributed to chronic inflammation, are not infected with the COVID-19 virus.

SYDNEY, May 2 (Reuters) - Australia said on Tuesday it will ban recreational vaping and tighten other aspects of e-cigarette laws in the biggest crackdown on the tobacco industry in more than a decade to try to stop an alarming rise in teenage vaping.

The government aims to ban all disposable vapes, which often comes in fruity flavours, ban the import of non-prescription vapes and limit nicotine levels, aiming for the sale of vapes to be confined to helping smokers quit.

SYDNEY, May 2 (Reuters) - Australia's central bank on Tuesday stunned markets by raising its cash rate 25 basis points when traders had looked for an extended pause, saying inflation was way too high and warned that even further tightening may be needed to bring it to heel.

The unambiguously hawkish policy stance sent the Australian dollar soaring and bond futures tumbling as markets quickly lifted the peak for interest rates.

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Fiji's former attorney general, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, who is also general secretary of the Pacific island nation's main opposition party Fiji First, was taken into custody on Monday after being charged with abuse of office, police said.

The charge relates to a complaint lodged by an election official in February, Fiji police said in a statement.

"Mr Sayed-Khaiyum remains in custody and will be produced in the Suva Magistrates Court tomorrow," the statement said.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said Monday he personally favors his country becoming a republic, but it’s not a change he intends to push for as leader.

Hipkins made the comments to reporters hours before he was due to depart for this week’s coronation of King Charles III in London.

New Zealand, a former British colony, is self-governing but Charles retains a largely ceremonial role as head of state and king. Charles is represented in New Zealand by a governor-general.