Australia

SYDNEY/COPENHAGEN, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A Chinese professor at the University of Copenhagen conducted genetic research with the Chinese military without disclosing the connection, the university told Reuters, in the latest example of how China's pursuit of military-civilian technology is tapping into Western academia in the strategically sensitive area of biotechnology.

The professor, Guojie Zhang, is also employed by Shenzhen-based genomics giant BGI Group, which funds dozens of researchers at the university and has its European headquarters on the university's campus.

CANBERRA, Nov 15 (NNN-XINHUA) – Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, lost ground as the nation’s preferred leader, a poll found.

The latest Newspoll, which was published last night, revealed that, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Anthony Albanese, has closed the gap to Morrison.

It found that 46 percent of respondents identified Morrison as their preferred PM, compared to 38 percent for Albanese.

It is the tightest gap between the two since Mar, 2020, and marks a major turnaround from Feb when Morrison led 61-26.

SYDNEY, Nov 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Residents in parts of Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have been warned by local emergency services, to prepare to evacuate, as heavy rainfall has caused rising water levels.

Floods could displace more than 8,000 people in the rural town, Forbes, about 380 km west of Sydney, and located along the banks of the Lachlan River, which runs through central NSW.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) predicted that water levels could rise as high as 10.65 metres, slightly higher than the previous major flood event in the area in 2016.

MELBOURNE, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Several thousand people rallied in Melbourne against new vaccination mandates on Saturday, with a few comparing the state government to Nazis and calling for violence against politicians, local media said.

In Australia, where 83% of people aged 16 and above have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus, nationwide vaccinations are voluntary. But states and territories have mandated vaccinations for many occupations and barred the unvaccinated from activities such as dining out and concerts.

Nov 13 (Reuters) - A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck a sparsely populated area of Western Australia, 24 km (15 miles) from the small town of Marble Bar, the U.S. Geological Survey said on Saturday.

The European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said the quake had a magnitude of 5.9, and was at a depth of 40 km (25 miles). The area has a very hot desert climate.

SYDNEY, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The "stiff competition" between the United States and China in the Indo-Pacific does not have to turn into a new Cold War, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, describing the United States as "doubling down" on its presence in the region.

Earlier on Thursday China's President Xi Jinping said the Asia Pacific region must not return to the tensions of the Cold War era, and warned against forming small circles on geopolitical grounds. 

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court ruled on Wednesday that a police officer cannot use his law enforcement job as a defense against a charge of murdering an Indigenous man.

The seven High Court judges unanimously agreed that Constable Zachary Rolfe could not rely on a statute that states a police officer is not “civilly or criminally liable” for performing law enforcement work “in good faith.”

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday announced plans to encourage people to buy electric vehicles weeks after his government was accused at a U.N. conference in Scotland of being a laggard in fighting climate change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the price of the technology would reduce in time and offered no subsidies to buyers of electric cars.

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Australia's largest city of Sydney will further ease social distancing curbs on Monday, a month after emerging from a coronavirus lockdown that lasted nearly 100 days, as close to 90% of people have got both doses of vaccine, officials said.

Although limited to people who are fully inoculated, the relaxation in the state of New South Wales, home to Sydney, lifts limits on house guests or outdoor gatherings, among other measures.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — While people are now able to travel freely in Australia’s more populated east, COVID-19-free Western Australia will maintain its tight restrictions into next year, state leaders said Friday.

Western Australia is the largest state, covering a third of Australia’s land area. It also has the nation’s lowest vaccination rates, in part because the state has had few infections and life has been relatively normal throughout the pandemic.