Australia to settle more immigrants outside major cities
MELBOURNE – The Australian government says its increasing the number of visas for skilled workers willing to migrate to the country’s regions in a bid to ease pressure on major cities,…
Tourists line up to scale Australia’s Uluru hours ahead of climb ban
YULARA, Australia – Hundreds of tourists have formed long queues to climb Australia‘s Uluru soon after dawn, a day before a permanent ban on the climb takes effect following a decades-long…
Chinese ship leaves Vietnam’s waters after disputed South China Sea surveys
HANOI – A Chinese oil survey vessel that has been embroiled in a tense standoff with Vietnamese vessels in the South China Sea left Vietnamese-controlled waters on Thursday after more than three…
Chinese businessman blames Australia tax probe on politics
MELBOURNE – A prominent Chinese businessman and Australian political donor has dismissed an investigation by Australia’s tax authorities into his assets as politically motivated. Huang Xiangmo, linked in the past…
Australian intelligence agency wants more resources to counter foreign interference
SYDNEY – Australia’s national intelligence agency said in a report published this week that it does not have enough resources to collect intelligence on potential foreign agents and their efforts…
Bulgaria frees Australian convict Palfreeman from detention centre
SOFIA – The Bulgarian government has released Australian Jock Palfreeman, who was convicted of murder in 2009, from an immigration detention centre, more than three weeks after a court granted…
Australia bars entry to Vietnamese woman for failing to declare raw pork
SYDNEY – Australia has refused entry to a Vietnamese woman for failing to declare 10 kg of raw pork, seafood and poultry on arrival in Sydney, its first expulsion under…
Vietnam pulls DreamWorks’ ‘Abominable’ film over South China Sea map
HANOI – Vietnam has pulled DreamWorks’ animated film “Abominable” from cinemas over a scene featuring a map which shows China’s unilaterally declared “nine-dash line” in the South China Sea, state…
Australia to invest $1b in dams for drought-stricken region
MELBOURNE – Australia will invest $1 billion to revamp water infrastructure in rural and regional communities in the drought-stricken New South Wales. The federal and the New South Wales governments…
Senior Australian minister says China is behaving badly, draws rebuke
SYDNEY – A senior Australian government minister has said China was behaving in a way that was inconsistent with Australian values by targeting political parties and universities in Australia, drawing…
