Australia
Australian law allows workers to ignore after-hrs work calls
Australians yesterday cheered new proposed laws that give workers the right to ignore calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours, but some business leaders slammed it as overreach.
Large parts of Australia endure heatwave
Large parts of Australia yesterday sweated through heatwave conditions as authorities warned of a high bushfire risk in many parts of the country’s vast Western Australia state.
Hundreds evacuated as flood disaster unfolds in northeastern Australia
Stranded residents sheltered on a hospital roof as flash floods swamped northeastern Australia on Monday, with raging waters severing roads and flushing crocodiles into towns
Northeastern Australia hit by ‘life-threatening’ flooding
Near-record rain levels in north Queensland have caused “life-threatening” flooding, Australian authorities said yesterday, forcing the closure of Cairns airport.
Australia plans to halve migrant intake, tighten student visa rules
Australia on Monday said it would tighten visa rules for international students and low-skilled workers that could halve its migrant intake over the next two years as the government looks to overhaul what it said was a "broken" migration system.
Australia bans disposable vape imports from January 1
Australia will ban imports of disposable vapes from January 1, the government said Tuesday, in a crackdown quickly welcomed by doctors
Australia votes in landmark Indigenous Voice referendum
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a last-ditch appeal on Saturday for his fellow Australians to back a referendum to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution, as the country went to the polls to decide on the historic measure
China frees Australian journo jailed for 3 years
Australian journalist Cheng Lei was deported from China yesterday after more than three years in detention on espionage charges widely seen as politically motivated.
China frees Australian reporter after three years
China has released Australian journalist Cheng Lei after more than three years in detention, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Wednesday, adding she was now back in Melbourne
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch hands over empire to son Lachlan
Rupert Murdoch will step down as chairman of his global media empire, handing the post to son Lachlan, Fox Corp and News Corp announced Thursday
Australian doctors find live parasitic worm in woman's brain
A parasitic roundworm typically found in snakes has been pulled "alive and wriggling" from a woman's brain in a stomach-churning medical first, Australian doctors said Tuesday
Global warming predicted to cost Australia billions
Global warming could cost Australia’s economy hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming decades if workplaces cannot adapt to soaring temperatures, a government report said yesterday.
Father, five children dead in Australia house fire
Five boys and their father were killed after fire ripped through a house in Australia's Queensland state early on Sunday, police said
Australian man charged with sex crimes against 91 young girls
An Australian former childcare worker sexually abused 91 young girls in a "chilling" spate of crimes across 15 years, police said Tuesday after charging him with 1,623 separate offences, including rape
51 whales dead after mass stranding in Australia
Dozens of pilot whales have died just hours after stranding themselves on a beach in Western Australia, authorities said yesterday.
Aussie sailor, dog rescued after two months lost at sea
An Australian sailor and his dog have been rescued after two months adrift in the Pacific Ocean, surviving the ordeal by drinking rainwater and snacking on raw fish.
Caterpillar’s ‘traumatic’ venom traced to bacteria
A prickly American caterpillar’s trauma-inducing venom can punch a hole in cells thanks to a mechanism inherited 400 million years ago from bacteria, a team of Australian scientists said yesterday.
Ardern receives NZ top honour
Former prime minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday received one of New Zealand’s top honours, recognising her efforts for leading the country through the Covid-
