Australia

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - A British-Australian woman jailed in Iran has been identified as Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a specialist in Middle East politics at the University of Melbourne.

The academic’s family issued a statement through the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade saying they were in close contact with the Australian government, and thanking both the government and Moore-Gilbert’s university for their support.

“We believe that the best chance of securing Kylie’s safe return is through diplomatic channels,” the family said in the statement.

MELBOURNE/LONDON (Reuters) - Three Australian citizens have been detained in Iran, the Australian government said on Wednesday, adding that it was helping the families of the three but gave no further details.

The brief statement from Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade came after the British newspaper the Times reported that two British-Australian women and the Australian boyfriend of one of them had been jailed in Iran.

CANBERRA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has blocked access to eight websites hosting violent content from the Christchurch terror attacks.

According to the News Corp Australia on Monday, the latest action came after a unilateral move by Australian internet providers to ban 45 websites hosting the footage and the alleged killer's manifesto after the attack in March.

Melbourne, Aug 31 (AFP) A Tamil family of four -- including two Australian-born toddlers -- have been moved to a remote island off the coast of Indonesia, despite a court order blocking deportation, their lawyer said Saturday.

The family -- who are fighting to remain in Australia because they fear persecution in Sri Lanka -- were moved to Christmas Island detention facility overnight, lawyer Carina Ford said, speaking in Melbourne.

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The Australian government will invest 15 million Australian dollars (10.08 million U.S. dollars) in a network of fast-charging stations, for electric vehicles.

Angus Taylor, the Minister for Energy, announced today (Monday) that, the funding will be given to Evie Networks, a fast-charging start-up, from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (AREA).

New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Asia Pacific Group of the FATF, a global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering, has put Pakistan in a terror 'blacklist' for its failure to curb funnelling of funds to groups responsible for scores of attacks in India, officials here said on Friday.

While putting Pakistan in an 'Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List', the Financial Action Task Force's Asia Pacific Group also found that the country was non-compliant on 32 of 40 compliance parameters related to terror financing and money laundering, they said.

SYDNEY/DUBAI (Reuters) - Australia will join the United States in a security mission to protect merchant vessels traveling through key Middle East waterways after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.

Foremost among the areas to be patrolled is the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, through which about one-fifth of the world’s seaborne crude flows out of the Gulf.

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, expressed sympathy for victims of child sexual abuse, after Cardinal George Pell lost his appeal, against sex abuse convictions.

Victoria’s Court of Appeal, on Wednesday (today), upheld Pell’s conviction on five charges.

Speaking shortly after the verdict was delivered, Morrison told reporters in Canberra that, Pell will be stripped of his Order of Australia honour, which he was awarded in 2005, for “service to the Catholic church.”

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Cardinal George Pell’s lawyers argued in his appeal that there were more than a dozen “solid obstacles” that should have prevented a jury from finding him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of molesting two choirboys.

CANBERRA, Australia, Aug 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack’s recent comments on climate change, was denounced by the opposition party as “ignorant.”

“These are ignorant comments from the acting prime minister, as he should know better,” said Richard Marles, opposition Australian Labour Party leader.

McCormack said, Pacific island nations will survive climate change, “because many of their workers come here to pick our fruits.”