CANBERRA: Australian businesses will be forced to accept cash as payment for essential goods and services under a government mandate.

SYDNEY: Over half of Australia's animal and plant species experienced declines following the country's 2019-20 megafires, new research has found.

CANBERRA: The Australian government has announced a new plan to force social media companies to take proactive steps to ensure the well-being of their users.

SYDNEY: New research has found a link between high-speed internet activities and Australia's growing rate of obesity.

SYDNEY: One adult is dead and one child has suffered serious injuries after a truck crashed into a kindergarten in Australia's state of Victoria on Monday, local police said.

SYDNEY: Researchers from Australia and Germany have for the first time cured patients suffering from toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), a deadly skin disease, said a news release on Monday.

CANBERRA: The Australian government has appointed the country's first anti-slavery commissioner.

CANBERRA: The Australian government has said it will make vaccination against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) free for newborns and pregnant women starting in 2025.

CANBERRA: Australia's National Cabinet on Friday agreed to the government's proposed social media legislation - the first of its kind in the world - that sets a minimum age of 16 to access social media in the country.

SYDNEY: Residents of a town in the Australian state of Queensland have been evacuated due to a threat posed by a fast-moving bushfire.

SYDNEY: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday visited the Sydney Murugan Temple along with Parramatta MP Andrew Charlton to celebrate Diwali with the country's Hindu community.

SYDNEY: A Sydney university has launched a new initiative to boost screening and treatment for cervical cancer in the South Pacific.

CANBERRA: Australia's annual inflation rate has fallen to its lowest level in over three years, official figures have revealed.

CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed funding for two clean energy projects on the country's east coast.

CANBERRA: Three teenagers have been arrested for stabbing at a shopping centre in South Australia (SA), police said on Thursday.

SYDNEY: A large-scale study of brain volumes by an Australian institute published on Tuesday has revealed links between genetic variants in brain size and conditions including Parkinson's disease.

CANBERRA: Wild populations of Australian endangered animals will be vaccinated against a deadly strain of bird flu in an attempt to limit its impact.

CANBERRA: One in five Australian women have experienced stalking, new data has revealed.

CANBERRA: The Australian government has upgraded its travel advice warning for Israel and Palestine, telling Australians not to travel to the area.

CANBERRA: The Australian government has announced a crackdown on card payment surcharge fees.

NEW DELHI: Shortly after teenaged opener Sam Konstas was named in the Australia A squad for the upcoming red-ball games against India A, New South Wales head coach Greg Shipperd heaped rich praise on him, saying he is a player who has the potential to play for the senior team.

CANBERRA: Australia's Prime Minister has paid tribute to those who were killed and injured in the Bali bombings on the 22nd anniversary of the attack.

SYDNEY: A pilot who was killed when he crashed a helicopter into an Australian hotel during an unauthorised flight was under the influence of alcohol at the time, an investigation has found.

NEW DELHI: Nick Kyrgios is touting his long-awaited grand slam comeback in season's opening major Australian Open, tournament director Craig Titley said.

TEHRAN: The Iranian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Australian ambassador over his government's "biased stance" towards the recent developments in the region.

CANBERRA: Australian research has found a link between snoring and elevated blood pressure.

CANBERRA: The number of visa applications by international students to study in Australia has fallen by half following a government crackdown to reduce the country's migrant intake.

SYDNEY: The children of mothers who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) are more likely to suffer from poor health outcomes, Australian research has found.

CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has appointed a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.

SYDNEY:Two foreign nationals have been charged over two unrelated drug importations with around 50 kg of illicit drugs seized at Sydney Airport in 48 hours, according to a joint media release published by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and Australian Border Force (ABF) on Sunday.

SYDNEY: An Australian teenager has been charged over the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old in the Australian state of Victoria.

SYDNEY: A man has been arrested in Italy over the 1977 murders of two women in Melbourne, Australian Police have confirmed.

SYDNEY: Australian researchers have developed a new method of making ammonia that could significantly cut carbon emissions caused by the process.

CANBERRA: The Australian government has reiterated its warning to citizens not to travel to Lebanon following the explosion of communications devices used by Hezbollah.

NEW DELHI: Former Sri Lankan men’s cricketer Dulip Samaraweera has been banned from holding any positions in Australian cricket for 20 years following an integrity investigation, where he was found to have committed a serious breach of the Code of Conduct.

SYDNEY:: NEW reported 25,235 new cases on Wednesday, its second highest daily increase in the month of March, the first highest being a result of a backlog of cases earlier in the month, Xinhua news agency reported.

CANBERRA:An expert on Sunday warned that Australia is set for a return of influenza in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Cases of influenza hit an all-time low in Australia in 2021 as a result of strict lockdowns and border closures that were implemented to prevent the spread of Covid-19, reports Xinhua news agency.

CANBERRA:Australia's national science agency on Sunday announced its commitment to help reduce the country's plastic waste by 80 per cent over 10 years.

SYDNEY: The Australian consumer watchdog has filed a lawsuit against Meta, the owner of Facebook, saying that the social network allegedly engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing scam advertisements featuring prominent Australian public figures.

SYDNEY: Australians on Saturday marked the 90th anniversary of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.A host of events littered Sydney's harbour as locals and tourists rang in the bridge's 9th decade of regular use, including a spectacular lighting up of the bridge at night, a number of pop-up art galleries and museums displaying the bridge's history, musical and dramatic performances, and a commemorative vintage train ride, reports Xinhua news agency.

SYDNEY: The Australian consumer watchdog has filed a lawsuit against Meta, the owner of Facebook, saying that the social network allegedly engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing scam advertisements featuring prominent Australian public figures.

CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday announced his intention to declare floods in the country's north-east as a national emergency.

CANBERRA: Voter confidence in the Australian government has fallen to its lowest level in two years, a new poll published on Monday revealed.

MELBOURN: World No. 30 Danielle Collins stormed into the 2022 Australian Open final after beating No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, here on Thursday.

MELBOURNE: American Madison Keys made it to her fifth career Grand Slam semifinal, and her second at the Australian Open, shocking defending French Open champion and No.4 seed Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-2 at Melbourne Park here on Tuesday.

MELBOURN: The Indo-Croatian pair of Rohan Bopanna and Darija Jurak Schreiber made a first-round exit from the 2022 Australian Open mixed doubles tennis event after losing to Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev and Ukraines Lyudmyla Kichenok, here on Saturday. Bopanna-Schreiber lost 6-1, 4-6, 9-11 in one hour and three minutes of the first-round match.

SYDNEY: World No.9 Paula Badosa of Spain overcame a strong challenge from world No.4 Barbora Krejcikova, defeating the 26-year-old 2021 French Open champion 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) to claim the Sydney Tennis Classic title on Saturday.

CHANDIGARH: Indian players Yuki Bhambri and Prajnesh Gunneswaran made their exit, losing their second qualifying matches in the Australian Open Tennis Championship in Melbourne on Wednesday.

CANBERRA: Australia's labour market has bounced back from coronavirus lockdowns that affected more than half the population late in 2021, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced on Monday.

MELBOUNE: World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic has added further mystery to his participation in next year's Australian Open -- where he is the defending champion --, reportedly opting to skip the ATP Cup, scheduled in Sydney from January 1-9.

SYDNEY: Australian researchers have developed a test which can provide highly accurate readings for Covid-19 from a finger prick of blood within 20 minutes.

WASHINGTON:American tennis player Jennifer Brady has pulled out of next month's Australian Open due to a left foot injury, the tournament organisers said on Sunday.

SYDNEY: Former Australian cricketer-turned-commentator Michael Slater has been arrested after he allegedly sent several text messages and made phone calls to the person he was charged with stalking and harassing in October this year.

CANBERRA:Australian homelessness has increased during the pandemic despite a drop during the first wave of infection.Homelessness Australia on Tuesday published an analysis of federal government data on the number of Australians requiring homelessness support, Xinhua news agency reported.

MELBOURNE: World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic "probably won't" play the Australian Open beginning January 17 next year as his father Srdjan feels the tournament organisers' decision to not allow unvaccinated players -- or players who don't share their Covid-19 vaccination status -- amounts to "blackmail".

CANBERRA:The Australian government has delayed the reopening of the country's borders amid concerns over the Omicron variant of Covid-19.Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Monday night that the National Security Committee (NSC) pushed the planned easing of border restrictions for international students and visa holders back from December 1 to December 15.

SYDNEY: The Australian states of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, as two major entry ports of the country, have introduced 72-hour isolation requirements for all international arrivals as health authorities scramble to sequence for the new Omicron variant in arrivals from southern African countries.

CANBERRA:Researchers from Australian National University (ANU) have embarked on a voyage to unlock the secrets of the Earth's inner layers.

CANBERRA: People in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW), finally released from their Covid-19 lockdowns, are digging deep into their wallets as they return to retail shops and restaurants, according to latest figures from the country's biggest bank.

Thousands without power after devastating South Australian storm, crops "wiped out"

CANBERRA:  The Australian government on Thursday ruled out additional funding to help hospitals cope with the ongoing Covid-19 outbreaks.

CANBERRA:More than 10 percent of Australia's shark species are at risk of extinction, a government report has found.
The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) marine biodiversity hub on Tuesday published the first-ever complete assessment of extinction risk for all Australian sharks, rays and ghost sharks (chimaeras), Xinhua news agency reported.

CANBERRA: Australian Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Christian Porter on Sunday resigned after accepting an anonymous donation to fund personal legal fees.

CANBERRA: Andrew Barr, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said on Saturday that the region's coronavirus lockdown may not necessarily end when 70 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated as the country continues to battle the third wave of the pandemic.

NEW DELHI:Defence Minister Rajnath Singh met his Australian counterpart Peter Dutton in Delhi on Friday and discussed defence cooperation as well as emerging regional issues.

CANBERRA:The Australian government on Monday warned of scams targeting people relying on Covid-19 disaster payments.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) recently revealed that along with major banks, it has identified a slew of scams related to coronavirus support payments, reports Xinhua news agency.

DUBAI:Indian Premier League (IPL) side Punjab Kings on Saturday roped in Australian pace bowling sensation Nathan Ellis for the remainder of the 2021 IPL season beginning in the UAE on September 19.

SYDNEY: The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) saw another disastrous day with a record daily high of 356 new local cases and four deaths on Tuesday.
What is more concerning is around one third of the new locally acquired cases were in the community while infectious, the Xinhua news agency reported.

CANBERRA:Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since March 2020, according to the a new poll published on Monday.
The Newspoll survey said that Morrison's personal approval rating has fallen into negative territory for the first time since the coronavirus hit Australia, reports Xinhua news agency.

CENBERRA: Australia's medical regulator on Friday provisionally approved Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 years.

SYDNEY: Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) was on alert as a new locally acquired Covid-19 case was confirmed in Sydney on Wednesday.

CANBERRA: Almost two thirds of Australians think the country's Covid-19 vaccine rollout is not going well, a survey has found.
Researchers from Australian National University (ANU) on Wednesday published the latest report from an ongoing survey of more than 3,000 adults' attitudes towards the pandemic and vaccine rollout, the Xinhua news agency reported.

CANBERRA: Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has denied suggestions that the government's decision to ban travel from India amid the country's worsening Covid-19 situation was motivated by racism.

CANBERRA:Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday that the country's remaining troops in Afghanistan will leave in September.

BENGALURU: Global software major Wipro on Thursday announced buying Australia-based Ampion for $117 million (Rs 858 crore), as it provides cyber security, Dev Ops (software development and IT operations) and engineering services.

MELBOURNE: Australia's Victoria will resume receiving international arrivals from April 8, nearly six weeks after the state banned international flights due to cases detected at quarantine hotel that triggered a five-day lockdown.

SYDNEY: Two Australian business consultants have been detained in Myanmar while trying to leave the country which is gripped by unrest following the February 1 military coup, a local media report said on Monday.

CANBERRA: Thousands of Australian women gathered across the country on Monday to protest against misogyny in the federal Parliament.
Protesters participated in more than 40 rallies, calling for an end to "sexism, misogyny, dangerous workplace cultures and lack of equality" in politics and the community at large as part of the 'March4Justice', reports Xinhua news agency.

CANBERRA: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe on Wednesday said that the country's economy has performed better than expected in terms of pandemic recovery due to to virus suppression and targeted stimulus measures.

CANBERRA: Australia's Attorney General (AG) Christian Porter has identified himself as the government minister facing a historical rape allegation and fronted the media on Wednesday to deny the allegation.

SYDNEY: Top tech giants like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, TikTok and Twitter have agreed on adopting the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation that aims to address the spread of fake news and disinformation on online platforms.

MELBOURNE: World number two Rafael Nadal on Monday entered the Australian Open quarter-finals for the 13th time after getting past Fabio Fognini in their fourth round contest.

MELBOURNE: Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev on Monday entered the men's singles quarter-finals of the Australian Open for the first time after a commanding straight-sets win over Mackenzie McDonald.

CANBERRA: Australia's Treasury on Friday revealed that it expects additional job losses when the government ends its coronavirus wage subsidy scheme in March.

MELBOURNE: Spectators will not be allowed at the Australian Open as Melbourne heads into a hard five-day lockdown announced by the Victorian government in response to the Holiday Inn Covid-19 cluster.

MELBOURNE: Spectators will not be allowed at the Australian Open as Melbourne heads into a hard five-day lockdown announced by the Victorian government in response to the Holiday Inn Covid-19 cluster.

MELBOURNE: India's Rohan Bopanna and his Japanese partner Ben McLachlan crashed out of the Australian Open men's doubles event after suffering a straight-sets defeat to South Korean pair of Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song in their first round contest here on Wednesday.

MELBOURNE: Serena Williams, in search for a record-tying 24th Grand Slam title, started her Australian Open campaign in an emphatic manner as she zipped past Laura Siegemund of Germany, 6-1, 6-1, on to notch her opening-round win on Monday.

ADELAIDE: A vital wildlife refuge for threatened species on a South Australian island is under threat from a bushfire.
Firefighting units from the South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) were on Wednesday deployed to Kangaroo Island, south-west of Adelaide, where a fire is threatening a patch of bushland that was unaffected by the 2019-20 'Black Summer' bushfires.

MELBOURNE: Former Australian fast-bowler Merv Hughes has been inducted into the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.
An integral part of Australian cricket's return to the top of the Test cricket rankings, Hughes' career spanned 53 Tests and 33 ODIs from 1985-94, taking 212 Test wickets at an average of 28.38.

CANBERRA: Leader of Australia's opposition Labor Party Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he is preparing for a federal election, promising to release his signature economic policies well in advance of votes being cast.

CANBERRA: Western Australia (WA) authorities on Saturday announced that the state will reopen its border to New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland from Monday as they have continued to record zero locally acquired Covid-19 cases.

CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday declared that the country has successfully has beaten a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
His declaration came after a meeting of the National Cabinet, which consists of the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders, to discuss Australia's ongoing response to the pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

DARWIN: The government of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) state has approved a proposed A$200 million ($155 million) Outback copper mine.
KGL Resources has been given the green light for its Jervois Copper Project, which chairman Denis Wood said would become a major supplier in the global copper market as demand increases, reports Xinhua news agency.

MELBOURNE:Tennis legends Serena Williams and Roger Federer have been confirmed among entries for the upcoming Australian Open.
Apart from the star duo, world number one Ash Barty and eight-time champion Novak Djokovic (SRB) will lead the fields at the tournament slated to be held from February 8-21.

CANBERRA: Following the discovery of a fast-growing Covid-19 cluster in Sydney, Australians have been forced to celebrate Christmas within locked state borders due to the imposition of stricter curbs to stem the virus spread.

SYDNEY: As of Monday, the public health order issued by authorities in New South Wales (NSW) requiring companies to allow staff to work from home has been lifted as the Australian state has not reported new locally acquired Covid-19 cases.

SYDNEY: A severe weather system lashing parts of Australia's east coast prompted over 850 calls for help over the weekend as heavy rain and winds caused severe flooding and other damages.

CANBERRA: An Australian Covid-19 vaccine under development by the University of Queensland (UQ) and local biotech firm CSL will not progress to Phase 2/3 trials after false positive HIV test results were reported, it was announced on Friday.

BRISBANE: Residents and visitors on Australia's Fraser Island on Tuesday were asked to prepare for the worst as an out of control bushfire swept towards a major tourist resort.

NEW DELHI: Residents in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) were warned on Thursday to prepare for a weekend of unusually high temperatures with a "severe" chance of bushfires.

CANBERRA:Australian police said that they have rescued 46 children and arrested 14 men after a probe into an international child abuse network.
The victims were allegedly subjected to crimes including sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation, the BBC reported.

SYDNEY:Australia's New South Wales (NSW) has stalled easing Covid-19 restrictions after new cluster outbreaks were reported in the state capital of Sydney, authorities said on Thursday.

SYDNEY: The Australian competition watchdog on Tuesday said it will examine the extent of competition between Google Play Store and Apple App Stores and whether more pricing transparency is needed in the mobile apps market in the country.

SYDNEY: An Australian-developed Covid-19 vaccine has shown promising results in pre-clinical testing, raising hopes for its potential effectiveness and manufacturability.