Australia

SYDNEY, Dec 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia clocked its driest spring in 120 years of recorded history, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), revealed.

In its spring climate wrap-up, the BoM said, the majority of Australia received rainfall which was well below average, and that a number of recording stations, right across the country, observed their driest spring ever.

Spring 2019 was also Australia’s fifth hottest on record, with the highest temperature at 47.1 degrees Celsius, recorded in mid-Nov, in Western Australia.

SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian teacher held captive with an American colleague by the Taliban for more than three years believes U.S. special forces tried and failed six times to free them.

Timothy Weeks was released last month in a prisoner swap along with Kevin King, ending an ordeal that began with their abduction in 2016 outside the American University in Kabul, where they worked.

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Tram drivers in the Australian city of Melbourne stopped work today (Thursday), demanding higher pay and more reliable work schedules.

The halt of the world’s largest tram network, forced thousands of passengers onto replacement buses, following an ongoing dispute between the workers’ union and private operator, Yarra Trams.

The action took place between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. local time, with passengers riding on a tram at 10:00 a.m. requested to disembark at the next stop.

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s first underwater hotel is set to open on the Great Barrier Reef in the coming days, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in one of the world’s most spectacular natural environments.

Situated about 40 nautical miles off Airlie Beach, at Hardy Reef’s reconstructed pontoon, that was badly damaged by Cyclone Debbi in 2017, the 10 million-Australian dollar (6.8-million-U.S. dollar) Reef suites facility has two rooms with glass floors, walls and ceilings.

SYDNEY, Nov 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) – An Australian volunteer firefighter was arrested on Tuesday, and charged with deliberately starting seven fires, over a period, which encompassed Australia’s recent deadly bush-fire emergency.

Police allege that the man lit a fire in bush-land on Tuesday evening, before returning to respond to the fire, as part of his duties as a volunteer firefighter, shortly after which he was taken into custody.

PERTH, Australia (AP) — A self-confessed Chinese spy has given Australia’s counterespionage agency inside intelligence on how Beijing conducts its interference operations abroad and revealed the identities of China’s senior military intelligence officers in Hong Kong, media reported.

Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters Saturday that the detailed accusations of China infiltrating and disrupting democratic systems in Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan are “very disturbing.”

SYDNEY, Nov 21 (NNN-XINHUA) – Sydney’s normally picturesque skyline was once again blanketed by thick smoke today (Thursday), as around 50 bushfires continued to burn across Australia’s east coast.

Deemed “hazardous” by the New South Wales (NSW) State Department of Environment, health authorities have urged schools to keep children indoors, during lunch breaks.

“It’s important that if you do have children, just try and keep them indoors or discourage them from exercising too much outside,” Richard Broome from NSW Health told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

21 November 2019; AFP: Australia's Prime Minister on Thursday denied his climate policies had caused unprecedented bushfires ravaging the country and insisted his government was doing enough to tackle global warming.

As dozens of new blazes scorched the countryside and the country's largest city was cloaked in hazardous smoke, conservative leader Scott Morrison defended his climate record, saying Australia was "doing our bit".

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Regulators accused Australia’s Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) of 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering laws, saying the banking giant ignored red flags and for years enabled payments from convicted child sex offenders and “high risk” countries.

The oversight failure at Australia’s second-largest bank led to deep systemic non-compliance with anti-money laundering laws, financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC said in a civil court filing on Wednesday.

17 November 2019; AFP: An Australian man has been accused of deliberately lighting a fire to protect his cannabis crop, sparking an out-of-control bushfire as blazes rage along the country's east coast.

Four people have been killed and more than 300 homes destroyed in devastating bushfires that have razed more than one million hectares (2.5 million acres) along the eastern seaboard in just over a week.