Australia

January 22, 2025 9:57 AM

Quad leaders reaffirm commitment to strengthen free and open Indo-Pacific

The United States, Australia, India and Japan recommitted to working together on Tuesday, after the first meeting of the "Quad" grouping's top diplomats since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. In a joint statement after the talks in Washington, hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day in the job, the foreign ministers of the Quad reiterated their shared commitment to fostering a free and open Indo-Pacific where "sovereignty and territorial integrity are u...

November 26, 2024 11:37 AM

Cricket-Stick or twist? Australia digests Perth mauling

After fixating obsessively over one spot in the batting order for the best part of the spring, Australia's media pundits and cricket fans have been handed a plethora of talking points by the abject defeat in the first test against India. India's 295-run victory was sealed inside four days at Perth Stadium on Monday, shattering Australian confidence that Pat Cummins's team could halt the long run of series losses at the hands of the game's financial superpower. If the humiliation of India being...

November 25, 2024 12:14 PM

Swimmer McKeon retires as Australia’s most successful Olympian

Australia's most decorated Olympian, Emma McKeon, announced her retirement from all forms of swimming on Monday (November 25), bringing an end to a glittering career in which she won 14 medals at three Olympics and 20 at world championships. The 30-year-old sprinter had signalled her retirement earlier this year at the Paris Olympics after winning a gold, silver and bronze in relays to help Australia to its most successful Summer Games. McKeon missed out on the London Olympics as a teenager bu...

November 17, 2024 1:37 PM

Australia, Japan, US reaffirm commitment to support India’s maritime surveillance in Indo-Pacific

Australia, Japan, and the United States on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to support India’s maritime surveillance efforts in the Indo-Pacific region while recognising the importance of closer collaboration in the field. Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Japanese Defence Minister Nakatani Gen, and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin III convened the fourteenth Trilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting (TDMM) on Sunday in Darwin, Australia. “We commit ...

November 14, 2024 3:57 PM

Over half of Australian species decline following 2019-20 megafires: report

Over half of Australia’s animal and plant species experienced population declines following the 2019-20 megafires, according to new research. The study, published by Melbourne’s Deakin University in Nature, analyzed the impact of the Black Summer bushfires on 1,380 animal and plant species across Australia, as reported by Xinhua News Agency. Findings show that 55 percent of species experienced declines after the fires, either due to reduced overall abundance or occupying fewer sites. The ...

November 5, 2024 10:24 AM

Australia, India say US election result won’t impact Quad group

Australia and India's foreign ministers said on Tuesday they were confident the Quad group of the U.S., India, Australia and Japan would continue to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific region regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Canberra she had met Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State in the previous Trump Administration, ahead of the U.S. election and had "a very good discussion". "One of the priorities for ...

October 15, 2024 12:40 PM

La Nina is becoming less likely, Australia’s weather bureau says

The likelihood of a La Nina weather event in coming months has decreased, Australia's weather bureau said on Tuesday, adding that if the phenomenon did appear, it would be weak and short-lived. The development of La Nina and its opposite, El Nino, are of huge importance to global agriculture, with La Nina typically increasing rainfall in eastern Australia, Southeast Asia and India and reducing rainfall in the Americas. "The chance of a La Nina event developing in the coming months has decrease...

September 25, 2024 3:53 PM

WikiLeaks’ Assange to make first public appearance since release in Strasbourg

WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange is set to make his first public appearance since being freed from a British jail when he gives evidence to the Council of Europe next month, his organisation said on Wednesday. Assange, 53, returned to Australia in June after a deal was struck for his release which saw him plead guilty to violating U.S. espionage law, ending a 14-year British legal odyssey. His wife Stella, who he married while in a top security London jail, said he would need some time to reg...