Australia

(Reuters) --- Conflict with China over Taiwan "should not be discounted," but Australia will work with its allies in the region to try and maintain peace, Australian Defence Minister Peter Dutton said on Sunday.

"I don't think it (conflict) should be discounted," Dutton said in a television interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC) when asked whether the prospects of a conflict over Taiwan are growing.

He added that China has been increasingly clear about its reunification ambitions with Taiwan.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia has cancelled two Chinese “Belt and Road” infrastructure building initiative deals with a state government, provoking an angry response from Beijing.

The bilateral deals with Victoria state were among four vetoed under new laws that give the federal government power to overrule international agreements by lower-level administrations that violate the national interest, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said late Wednesday.

The “Belt and Road” deals struck with Beijing in 2018 and 2019 triggered the legislative response.

(Reuters) --- Australia said on Wednesday it has cancelled two deals struck by its state of Victoria with China on cooperation with Beijing's flagship Belt and Road Initiative, a far-reaching infrastructure and soft power programme.

Under a new process in Australia, Foreign Minister Marise Payne has the power to review deals reached with other nations by the country's states and universities.

Payne said she had decided to cancel four deals, including two that Victoria agreed with China in 2018 and 2019.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister has proposed spending an extra 539 million Australian dollars ($417 million) on hydrogen and carbon sequestration projects, seeking to burnish his government’s green credentials ahead of a climate summit to be hosted by President Joe Biden.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the money to be spent on building new hydrogen-producing hubs and carbon capture technologies would create more than 2,500 jobs while reducing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.

(Reuters) --- Australia will continue its review of coronavirus vaccines after a 48-year-old woman's death was likely linked to the inoculation, Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Saturday.

On Friday, Australia reported its first fatality from blood clots in a recipient of AstraZeneca's (AZN.L) COVID-19 shot. It was the third case of the rare blood clots appearing in people who have been administered the vaccine in the country. read more

CANBERRA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday that the country's remaining troops in Afghanistan will be withdrawn in September.

Morrison said Australia would follow the United States in ending its military presence in Afghanistan after 20 years in the country.

"Over the past two years we've been reducing our military presence in Afghanistan from a high of over 1,500 personnel to around 80 personnel currently," he told reporters.

SYDNEY, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A tropical cyclone hit Australia's west coast overnight, destroying hundreds of properties and leaving tens of thousands of residents without power.

Kalbarri, a popular tourist town 580 km north of Perth in the state of Western Australia and also home to about 1,400 residents, was hit hard by the cyclone, with no deaths or major injuries recorded so far.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - The European Union on Tuesday denied blocking shipments of 3.1 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine to Australia as it steps up scrutiny of vaccine shipments to address EU shortages.

An Australian government source told Reuters that the EU had blocked 3.1 million shots and the country had little hope of getting the remaining 400,000 doses it has been promised on time.

Canberra (Australia), Mar 29 (AP-PTI) Australia's leader on Monday reassigned some key members of his Cabinet and launched a new task force as he tries to address a series of sexual misconduct scandals that have rocked his government.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison removed embattled ministers Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds from their high-profile roles.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Two men trapped in vehicles hundreds of kilometers (miles) apart have become the first fatalities of record flooding on Australia’s east coast.

A car got trapped in floodwater northwest of Sydney at dawn Wednesday and emergency services later recovered it with a body inside, officials said. The body, believed to be that of a 25-year-old Pakistani national, has yet to be formally identified.