Australia & Pacifics

CANBERRA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for curbing Facebook's influence, after the technology giant banned Australians from accessing some news content on the social media platform in response to the government's proposed media bargaining code.

The pages of health departments, governments, fire services and the Bureau of Meteorology were also wiped.

In a post on Facebook on Thursday, Morrison vowed that his government would not be "intimidated" by the move.

Canberra, Feb 19 (AP-PTI) Australia's prime minister on Friday urged Facebook to lift its blockade of Australian users and return to the negotiating table with news publishing businesses, warning that other countries would follow his government's example in making digital giants pay for journalism.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Facebook's move Thursday to prevent Australians accessing and sharing news as a threat.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — One woman channeled her anger to ensure buildings are safer. Others have found peace after heartbreaking losses. Ten years after an earthquake killed 185 people and devastated Christchurch, New Zealand, some of those profoundly affected are sharing their journeys.

___

‘NOT THE STORY OF MY LIFE’

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday the ongoing peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban movement in the Qatari capital Doha is the best opportunity to reach a permanent political solution to the conflict in Afghanistan.

The prime minister announced in a statement that her country will pull its last six troops out of Afghanistan by May as part of the Doha agreement concluded in February 2020 between the US and the Taliban, which stipulated the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Facebook announced Thursday it has blocked Australians from viewing and sharing news on the platform because of proposed laws in the country to make digital giants pay for journalism.

Australian publishers can continue to publish news content on Facebook, but links and posts can’t be viewed or shared by Australian audiences, the U.S.-based company said in a statement.

Australian users cannot share Australian or international news.

International users outside Australia also cannot share Australian news.

CANBERRA, Feb 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – More than 100 Australian plant species had their all known populations burned, during the 2019-20 “Black Summer” bushfires, a study found.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), recently published the comprehensive study on the impact of the fires on Australia’s plants.

It found that 816 species had at least half the area they grow destroyed by fires. More than 150 species of native plants are estimated to have lost 90 percent or more of their ranges.

Wellington, Feb 17 (AP-PTI) A lockdown in the New Zealand city of Auckland will end at midnight, the government announced Wednesday after concluding a coronavirus outbreak had been contained.

This is good news, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, will relax its third lockdown on Wednesday after authorities contained the spread of a COVID-19 cluster centered on hotel quarantine.

The Victoria state government has yet to say whether spectators will be allowed to return to the Australian Open tennis tournament under the same conditions as before the five-day lockdown.

Health authorities will soon settle on a final crowd figure for the final days of the tournament, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said.

Wellington, Feb 16 (AP-PTI) For a second consecutive day, New Zealand reported no new community cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, raising hopes that a lockdown in Auckland will be lifted Wednesday.

Just how three family members contracted the disease remains a mystery. After the cases were found, top lawmakers hurriedly placed New Zealand's largest city into a three-day lockdown, the nation's first in six months.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s largest city of Auckland will be placed in a three-day lockdown beginning just before midnight Sunday following the discovery of three unexplained coronavirus virus in the community.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move Sunday evening after an urgent meeting with other top lawmakers in the Cabinet. She said they decided to take a cautious approach until they found out more about the outbreak, including whether the infections were of the more contagious variants.