Australia & Pacifics

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government released a big-spending economic plan for the next fiscal year on Tuesday that includes hefty investments in defense and national security as relations with China worsen.

The government plans to spend 270 billion Australian dollars ($212 billion) over the next decade on upgrading defense capabilities to “promote an open and peaceful Indo-Pacific,” Treasury Department documents say.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Shoppers and staff at a New Zealand supermarket were being praised for their bravery Monday after authorities said they managed to stop a frenzied man from hurting others after he stabbed four people in a random attack, critically wounding three of them.

New Zealand Police Superintendent Paul Basham said he’d watched CCTV footage of the attack at a Countdown supermarket in the city of Dunedin and the actions of the bystanders in detaining the man until police arrived was “nothing short of heroic.”

Auckland, May 9 (PTI) A group of New Zealand cricketers and coaches, who were involved in the now-suspended IPL, arrived home by a private jet while another lot is expected to land here on Sunday.

Cricketers Trent Boult, Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham, Adam Milne and Scott Kuggeleijn, coaches and former players James Pamment and Shane Bond, and Royal Challengers Bangalore's director of cricketing operations Mike Hesson landed here late on Saturday night.

(Reuters) --- Australia will lift a ban on its citizens returning from COVID-ravaged India next week, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, as state officials reported that an outbreak in Sydney appeared to be contained.

Morrison stood by his decision to impose a biosecurity order last month barring all travel to and from India, a policy that drew heavy criticism from lawmakers, expatriates and the Indian diaspora.

(Reuters) --- New Zealand wants a more mature relationship with China that goes beyond trade ties and gives room for disagreement, particularly on issues of human rights, the Pacific nation's foreign minister said on Friday.

Nanaia Mahuta's comments come after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said this week that differences with its top trading partner were getting harder to reconcile, and the country's parliament unanimously declared human rights abuses were taking place against Uyghur people in China's Xinjiang region, angering Beijing. 

Male (Maldives), May 7 (PTI) Australian pace spearhead Pat Cummins believes if hosting the ICC T20 World Cup amidst raging COVID-19 pandemic is a "drain on Indian resources" or is "unsafe", it would be prudent to shift it to the United Arab Emirates.

The postponement of Indian Premier League after multiple cases of COVID-19 inside the bio-bubble has led to a big question-mark on whether the marquee ICC event should be held in India where a third wave is expected around that time.

CANBERRA, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Australia's medical regulator has linked five new cases of blood clotting to the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

John Skerritt, head of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, on Thursday announced that five recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine have developed clotting and low platelets.

The patients included two men in their 70s, one in 60s, and two women in their 50s and 60s.

SYDNEY, May 5 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) was on alert, as a new locally acquired COVID-19 case was confirmed in Sydney today.

Urgent investigations into the source of the infection and contact tracing are underway, said the state health department.

It was reported that the patient hadn’t travelled overseas recently, and he didn’t work in a hotel quarantine, border or health role.

Melbourne, May 5 (PTI) Australia pacer Pat Cummins feels the IPL organisers, in hindsight, could have "tweaked a few things" after deciding to host the league in India amidst a raging COVID-19 pandemic.

Cummins, a key part of the Kolkata Knight Riders team, said previous edition held in UAE was incredibly "well-run" and the organisers pushed it "little step further" by organising it at home this year.

The IPL was "indefinitely suspended" on Tuesday, following multiple COVID-19 cases inside the bio-bubble.

(Reuters) --- Australia will create a new disaster relief department to hasten the delivery of government aid, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Wednesday.

Australia has been ravaged by a spate of natural disasters in recent years, including huge bushfires across its east coast and cyclones across the west which bought widespread flooding.

While Australia has offered financial aid, some communities have complained they have been left waiting for assistance with rebuilding.