Australia

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Beijing was targeting its Pacific aid to new diplomatic allies Solomon Islands and Kiribati while Chinese financial support across the region continued to decline, the Lowy Institute reported Monday in its latest annual analysis of regional assistance.

China’s aid to the Pacific has fallen from a peak of $287 million in 2016 to $187 million in 2020 — the lowest level since 2008, when the Sydney-based international policy think tank began quantifying support for developing island nations in the Pacific.

CANBERRA, Oct 30 (NNN-AAP) – Australia’s Treasurer, said today that, he could not say with certainty, when the power prices would start to fall.

With the government facing pressure to offer cost of living relief, Jim Chalmers said, he would not “put a date” on when Australians could expect power prices to peak, but that they would “moderate in time.”

CANBERRA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen Australian citizens left stranded in Syrian camps since the fall of the Islamic State (IS) have been repatriated by the federal government.

Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil confirmed that four women and 13 children arrived safely in Australia on Saturday morning.

The group -- the wives and children of radicalized Australians who joined the IS -- lived in the al-Hol and al-Roj camps in northeastern Syria.

SYDNEY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - A former U.S. military pilot and flight instructor who worked in China was arrested in Australia and faces extradition to the United States, Australian court documents and company records show.

Australian Federal Police arrested Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, on Friday in the rural town of Orange in New South Wales, and he appeared in court there on the same day, court records show and two police sources and his lawyer confirmed.

SYDNEY, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- About 100 people on board Coral Princess, the first large international cruiser to enter the waters of the state of Western Australia (WA) in two years, tested positive for COVID-19, local media reported.

The cruise ship, which has the capacity of carrying nearly 2,000 passengers, was scheduled to stop at several coastal regions of the state before returning to Sydney next month.

A WA Health spokesperson said the passengers and crew aboard the vessel had tested positive for COVID-19, the national broadcaster ABC news reported late on Monday.

CANBERRA, Oct 21 (NNN-AAP) – Flooding in Australia’s south-east will harm the country’s projected economic growth, the treasurer confirmed.

Ahead of handing down his first federal budget on Tuesday, Jim Chalmers, today said, modelling suggests, floods in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria will wipe 0.25 percent off, gross domestic product (GDP) growth, in the final quarter of 2022.

Thousands of homes and businesses have been affected by the floods, with more rain expected over the weekend.

SYDNEY, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC, one of the world's biggest investors, said it is factoring in the potential for a global recession and was prepared to stress-test its portfolio if need be.

GIC Chief Executive Lim Chow Kiat told Reuters in an interview that rising inflation poses a big risk and that central banks needed to get it under control to ensure global economic stability.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has reversed a previous government’s recognition of west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, the foreign minister said Tuesday, prompting consternation from Israel.

The center-left Labor Party government agreed to again recognize Tel Aviv as the capital. The Cabinet also reaffirmed that Jerusalem’s status must be resolved in peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

17 October 2022; MEMO: The Australian government has seemingly walked back on its decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, four years after its initial announcement that it would move its embassy to the city.

In a report by the Guardian newspaper, it was revealed that Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) deleted two sentences from its website within the past few days which proclaimed the move, indicating a decision to quietly cancel it.

SYDNEY, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Amazement is the right word to use when describing China's development achievements in the past ten years, Kiribati President and Foreign Minister Taneti Maamau said.

The chapter ahead would add color and excitement to the great story of the Chinese people and the country, Maamau said in a recent written interview with Xinhua.

Maamau recalled his first trip to China as "an eye-opener" to see the high living standards of the Chinese people. "This is a great achievement" testifying to the country's "people-centered development vision," he said.