Australia

22 Feb 2019; AFP: China and Australia on Friday denied reports Australian coal was being blocked from entering the Asian country, with Canberra seeking to quell fears that worsening diplomatic tensions are damaging the nations' crucial trading relationship.

18 Feb 2019; DW: A cyberattack this month targeted the Australian parliament's computer network. Prime Minister Scott Morrison reassured Australians that the country's electoral infrastructure was not affected by the hack.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday that a recent hack on political parties had likely been carried out by a foreign nation. The announcement followed a swift investigation by Australian security authorities. 

11 Feb 2019; DW: Representatives of France and Australia signed off on a record-breaking submarine deal in Canberra on Monday after nearly two years of frustrating talks.

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s leading cybersecurity agency is investigating a breach of the country’s federal parliamentary computing network amid speculation of hacking by a foreign nation.

Lawmakers and staff in the capital, Canberra, were made to change their passwords on the system after the overnight breach.

A joint statement from House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan says there’s no evidence that data had been accessed in the breach, but investigations are continuing.

08 Feb 2019; AFP: Hundreds of thousands of cattle weakened from a severe drought are feared to have died in record-breaking floods in northeastern Australia, authorities said Friday, as they stepped up efforts to feed surviving livestock.

Incessant rains over an almost two-week period have flooded swathes of Queensland state, with the full scale of the devastation on drought-hit cattle stations becoming clearer as floodwaters recede.

07 Feb 2019; DW: Australian airline Qantas Airways on Thursday announced it had formally canceled an order for eight Airbus A380 superjumbo jets.

"Following discussions with Airbus, Qantas has now formalized its decision not to take eight additional A380s that were ordered in 2006," a Qantas spokesperson said. "These aircraft have not been part of the airline's fleet and network plans for some time."

04 Feb 2019; AFP: Australia's military has been deployed to tackle devastating "once-in-a-century" floods that have inundated homes, schools and airports in the country's northeast, forcing hundreds to flee and bringing crocodiles onto the streets.

The Australian Defence Forces delivered 70,000 sandbags, deployed amphibious cargo vehicles and helped pluck flashlight-wielding residents from their rooftops Monday, as monsoon rains drenched the northern state of Queensland.

04 Feb 2019; DW: A major inquiry into scandals at Australia's banking and financial services firms has referred more than 20 cases to regulators for possible prosecution, and called for substantial changes in the sector.

The wide-ranging Royal Commission was called in late 2017 as public outrage mounted over allegations of dodgy financial advice, life insurance and mortgage fraud involving lenders, including the "big four" Australian banks.

03 Feb 2019; DW: Unrelenting torrential rain lashed parts of the northeastern state of Queensland on Sunday, bursting river banks and inundating roads and homes.  

Local authorities issued a number of flash flood warnings for the area surrounding the coastal city of Townsville, which has just experienced its wettest seven days on record. Some 1,012 millimeters (40 inches) of rain was dumped there over the past week, compared to the previous high of 886 millimeters in 1998.

SYDNEY, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Brisbane International Airport went into emergency lockdown on Saturday night after a man allegedly entered the international terminal carrying a knife.

Following a swift and extensive security response, the man was taken into custody by police who used non-lethal weapons to subdue him.

"There is no evidence to suggest the incident at the international airport is terrorism related; it is a domestic violence-related situation," police told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.