Australia

CANBERRA/WASHINGTON, June 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — PM Scott Morrison has spoken to US President Donal Trump after an Australian TV crew was allegedly assaulted by police in Washington, reports say.

Morrison has also asked the Washington embassy to investigate the incident.

Channel 7’s US correspondent Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim Myers were attacked while covering Monday’s protest outside the White House.

CANBERRA, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Australia remains "on track" in the fight against COVID-19, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday.

Following a meeting of the National Cabinet, which is comprised of the prime minister and state and territory leaders, Morrison told reporters that Australia is in a better position than he hoped for when the coronavirus pandemic hit the country in January.

However, he warned that there was still a high risk of further outbreaks that could undo all of Australia's progress on preventing the spread of the virus.

SYDNEY/LONDON (Reuters) - The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Airbus SE A320 jet that crashed into a crowded residential district of Karachi last week killing 97 people on board was insured for $19.7 million, an airline document showed.

Pakistan’s National Insurance Company Ltd was the insurer and Marsh was the reinsurance broker for PIA’s annual policy that runs until Dec. 29, the document on the airline’s website showed.

SYDNEY, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Australian clinical research organization Nucleus Network announced Tuesday the commencement of dosing the first human participants for the Phase 1 trial of a COVID-19 vaccine on behalf of U.S.-based biotechnology company Novavax.

Novavax is developing the SARS-CoV-2 Recombinant Spike Protein Nanoparticle vaccine -- NVX-CoV2373.

21 May 2020; AFP: A bitter row has broken out between Australian states, with some refusing to reopen domestic borders to outsiders despite a steep drop in coronavirus infections.

Several states making up more than three-quarters of the Australian continent shut their doors to compatriots from areas like Sydney and Melbourne in late March and are refusing to reopen them.

The debate has highlighted a dilemma set to face the world, as cities, regions or countries emerge from the pandemic at different speeds.

SYDNEY, May 18. /TASS/: Over 100 countries have backed Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, The Australian reported on Monday, citing the country’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

"There is positive support for an independent review into the pandemic to help the world learn the lessons necessary to protect global health," she said, as quoted by The Australian. "This is about collaborating to equip the international community to better prevent or counter the next pandemic and keep our citizens safe," Payne pointed out.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia urged China on Sunday to respond to its requests to discuss easing tensions between the two trading partners after Canberra called for an international enquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus.

China, accusing Australia of playing “petty tricks”, has recently suspended beef imports from four of Australia’s largest meat processors and is considering imposing hefty tariffs on imports of barley.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned citizens to brace for more bad news as data released on Thursday showed the country’s monthly job losses rose to a record high because of coronavirus lockdown measures.

The unprecedented employment data provided a stark illustration of the pandemic’s effect on the national economy, which had experienced an unbroken run of growth for more than two decades.

12 May 2020; AFP: More than 30 years after American Scott Johnson was killed in a suspected gay hate crime in Australia, police said Tuesday they had arrested and charged a man with his murder.

Detectives arrested the 49-year-old in the leafy Sydney suburb of Lane Cove on Tuesday and laid murder charges the same day.

The suspect's name was not released.

The breakthrough in the cold case came two months after the victim's family doubled a police reward in the case to Aus$2 million (US$1.3 million).

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Oil futures rose on Tuesday, boosted by an unexpected commitment from Saudi Arabia to deepen production cuts in June to help drain the glut in the global market that has grown as the coronavirus pandemic crushed fuel demand.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures climbed to a high of $30.11 a barrel and were up 0.8%, or 24 cents, at $29.87 at 0206 GMT, reversing some of the previous session’s losses. The benchmark fell $1.34 on Monday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures were up 1.6%, or 38 cents, at $24.52 after touching a high of $24.77.