South China Morning Post - Australasia

Coronavirus: Melbourne to lift curfew after nearly two months; India’s daily cases continue ...

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 05:47:24 GMT

An overnight curfew in Australia’s second-biggest city will be lifted from Monday, almost two months after it was imposed across Melbourne to counter a surging coronavirus outbreak.Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne residents would be free to leave their homes at any time for work, exercise, to buy essentials or provide care.The relaxation comes after 16 new infections and two deaths were reported in Victoria on Sunday and the state’s active cases fell below 400 for the first…

Indonesia’s scrapping of placement fees for migrant workers welcomed – except by agencies, ...

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 00:30:09 GMT

Indonesian migrant workers will no longer be required to pay their own placement and training fees under new regulations being introduced by Jakarta in a move that has been welcomed by workers and advocates alike, but that has Hong Kong employment agencies arguing it will make hiring domestic helpers from the country too expensive.Domestic workers from Indonesia have been charged about 15 million Indonesian rupiah (US$1,007) to secure a job in the city, though “in reality” many end up paying…

Rescuers save 108 whales in Australia’s biggest mass stranding

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 06:15:41 GMT

Rescuers on Saturday confirmed they saved a total of 108 long-finned pilot whales involved in Australia‘s largest mass stranding on Tasmania’s west coast. Rescuers said there were no more live whales in the harbour, after an estimated 470 whales became stranded this week.Authorities have revised the number of dead whales down to 350.Marine Conservation Programme biologist Kris Carlyon said on Saturday only one whale had restranded itself on Friday night, which was considered a success given 20…

Australia’s Tasmania is coronavirus-free, but economy reels from closed borders

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 03:30:09 GMT

In the southernmost reaches of Australia, the pristine island of Tasmania has virtually eliminated the coronavirus by cutting itself off from the mainland.The remote state’s four-month run without local transmission puts it among the world’s most successful places in curbing the Covid-19 disease.From Australia to India, are lockdowns working?But the economic cost for the island, where almost 1 in 5 jobs is reliant on tourism, is mounting.“It’s been devastating,” said Robert Pennicott from his…

As China opens embassy in Solomon Islands, a bitter feud over values fuels separatist bid

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 21:00:15 GMT

When China officially opened its embassy to the Solomon Islands this week, exactly a year after wooing the Pacific Island nation away from Taiwan, there were smiles all around.Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare said the diplomatic switch to Beijing had been the “right thing to do” and put the archipelago of about 690,000 people on the “right side of history”.“Today marks a new era of relations that signifies the permanent friendship of the People’s Republic of China and the…

China property developer follows Huawei with job cuts in Australia amid souring ...

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:00:14 GMT

Chinese state developer Poly Developments and Holdings will cut jobs at its Australian real estate arm as it moves to slow capital investments in Australia amid a coronavirus pandemic-led downturn and souring relations between the two countries.On Thursday afternoon, Poly Australia told more than 100 employees across its offices in Sydney and Melbourne that a “substantial” number of staff will be cut by the end of the year as the company restructures to cope with the impact of Covid-19 and…

‘We know the game China is playing’: Australian journalists who fled after diplomatic ...

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 12:45:22 GMT

Two Australian journalists who fled China earlier this month have offered a bleak outlook for relations between the countries, with one raising the possibility of Beijing slapping further restrictions on Australian exports.Michael Smith and Bill Birtles, who abruptly left the country after being questioned by state security officials, said on Thursday they saw little hope for an improvement in ties following months of escalating tensions between Canberra and Beijing.Australian journalists exit…

New Zealand identifies its first coronavirus case – seven months after infection

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 06:42:50 GMT

A coronavirus diagnosis has uncovered New Zealand’s first Covid-19 case, seven months after the infection occurred.“This infection occurred in late February following exposure to an infected person from Italy,” the Ministry of Health said. “At the time the family member was visiting New Zealand, they became ill with symptoms consistent with Covid-19, and the wider household then also became ill.“At the time, they did not meet the case definition for testing for people with defined symptoms who…

China-Australia trade ties remain strong for some businesses despite worsening political relations

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 04:06:47 GMT

Trade between China and Australia continues to chug along with some businesses recording stronger sales in spite of the increasingly tense political conflict between the two countries, according to company officials.Australian and Chinese trading companies and their customers have brushed aside the negative political climate between their countries to press on with business, despite several blows to specific trade segments in the five-month-long conflict. These include moves by China to impose…

Australian rescuers rush to save stranded pilot whales off Tasmania, as dozens die

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 12:15:37 GMT

Rescuers on Tuesday set free around 25 whales that were marooned on a sandbar off the remote west coast of Tasmania in one of Australia’s worst beaching events, and hope to save more in coming days.Government scientists said about 90 of the 270-strong pod of pilot whales had died since they were spotted from the air in shallow water off the rugged coastline on Monday.Footage showed large numbers of the animals prone on a wide sandbar at Macquarie Harbour, about 200km (120 miles) northwest of…

Huawei plans more cuts to jobs, investment in Australia amid strained Beijing-Canberra relations

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 01:52:01 GMT

The Australian operation of Chinese telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies said it would continue to cut staff numbers and investment in the country amid strained relations between Beijing and Canberra.In 2018, Australia banned Huawei from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network citing national security risks, a move the company criticised as being politically motivated.“In simple terms the 5G ban on Huawei has cost us 1,000 hi-tech and high-wage jobs from the economy,”…

Israeli court rules woman can be extradited to Australia to face child sex abuse charges

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 11:43:22 GMT

An Israeli court ruled on Monday after years of legal wrangling that an ultra-Orthodox Jewish former school principal suspected of dozens of cases of sexual abuse of her pupils in Australia can be extradited to face trial.The ruling delighted her alleged victims as “a victory for justice”.The Jerusalem District Court, which in May determined Malka Leifer was mentally fit to stand trial, said in its ruling “the defendant can be extradited to Australia for the crimes attributed to her in the…

China will lose access to Australian space tracking station after contract expires

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 10:00:39 GMT

China will lose access to a strategic space tracking station in Western Australia when its contract expires, the facility’s owners said, a decision that cuts into Beijing’s expanding space exploration and navigational capabilities in the Pacific region.The Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) has had a contract allowing Beijing access to the satellite antenna at the ground station since at least 2011. It is located next to an SSC satellite station primarily used by the United States and its agencies…

Taj Mahal reopens even as India’s coronavirus cases soar; New Zealand eases restrictions

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 04:30:16 GMT

The Taj Mahal reopened to visitors on Monday in a symbolic business-as-usual gesture even as India remains poised to overtake the US as the global leader in coronavirus infections.India, home to 1.3 billion people and some of the world’s most crowded cities, has recorded more than 5.4 million Covid-19 cases. About 100,000 new infections and more than 1,000 deaths have been reported daily. But after a strict lockdown in March that devastated the livelihoods of tens of millions of people, Prime…

Video shows just how easily Covid-19 could spread when people sing together

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 03:00:11 GMT

Production of the reality TV show The Masked Singer was shut down last month after several crew members were infected with Covid-19.It’s one of several examples of Covid-19 transmission associated with singing around the world since March, prompting some jurisdictions to ban group singing altogether.In New South Wales, for example, choral singing is banned and there are “no singing” rules at weddings and nightclubs.Now our new study, which included filming droplets and aerosols emitted when…

Fewer coronavirus cases in Melbourne and South Korea as Japan travel increases

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 04:39:58 GMT

Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, has moved close to easing severe lockdown restrictions after recording only 14 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday.It was the second day in a row new infections fell below 30, after 21 were reported on Saturday, the lowest daily number since June 19. There were also five deaths recorded Sunday.Melbourne’s lockdown restrictions are due to be eased next weekend when child care centres will be allowed to reopen and gatherings of up to five people from two…

Australia has ‘painted itself into a geopolitical corner’ with China, but what is ...

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 00:50:44 GMT

Australia’s over-reliance on the goodwill generated by its free trade agreement with China to shield it from the ramifications of its political alliance with the United States could result in problems with Beijing for years to come, trade and foreign affairs experts said.The rapid deterioration in China-Australian relations is generally perceived to have been fuelled by miscalculations on both sides.While China has been accused of “punishing” Australia with trade blocks – such as anti-dumping…