Australia & Pacifics

24 Jan 2019; AFP: China said Thursday that Chinese-Australian author and democracy advocate Yang Hengjun was detained on national security grounds, becoming the latest Western citizen to face such accusations from Beijing.

Yang's detention comes at a moment of heightened tension between Western countries and an increasingly muscular Beijing, prompting fears that he may be the victim of a dragnet by Chinese security services targeting foreigners.

23 Jan 2019; AA: Former world number one Serena Williams was knocked out in the Australian Open by seventh seed Czech Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Czech beat the 37-year-old American 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 to advance the semifinals. Williams missed four match points.

World number seven Pliskova will face world number four Naomi Osaka in the semifinals.

Naomi Osaka also defeated Ukrainian Elina Svitolina to advance to the semifinals in the Australian Open on Wednesday.

18 Jan 2019; DW: Temperatures are set to climb next week as heatwave conditions persist in parts of the country. The searing heat has had a particular impact on the Australian Open tennis tournament and a cycling event.

Australians have been offered a little reprieve this weekend before sweltering conditions to return to the southeast.

This week temperatures soared to as much as 15 degrees Celsius above the average, with 14 temperature records broken in the populous state of New South Wales (NSW) alone.

19 Jan 2019; AFP: Australian police on Saturday charged a man with the rape and murder of Israeli student Aiia Maasarwe, some three days after her body was found in Melbourne.

The 21-year-old was speaking to her sister on the phone when she was attacked just after midnight on Wednesday, on the way home from a comedy show.

Her body was found in bushes near a tram stop by passers-by several hours later.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — All of 17, never the winner of a Grand Slam match until this week, Amanda Anisimova is making quite a first impression at the Australian Open.

Anisimova showed precisely why there are those who consider her a possible future star, producing one spectacular shot after another Friday to upset 11th-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 6-2 and reach the fourth round.

“I want to win this tournament,” Anisimova said, tapping her right index finger on a table for emphasis at her post-match news conference. “Right now.”

18 Jan 2019; DW: Australian police have arrested a 20-year-old man over the murder and rape of an Israeli exchange student in Melbourne, officials said. The student was attacked while walking home after a comedy show.

A suspect has been arrested over the death of an Israeli woman, Australian police said on Friday, as mourners prepared to hold a vigil for the murdered Aiia Maasarwe in Melbourne.

Police said the suspect was male and 20 years old, but did not release any details.

Sydney, Jan 17 (AFP) An Israeli student has been killed in a late-night attack in Australia while she was speaking on the phone with her sister, police said Thursday.

Police appealed to the public for help tracking down the killer of 21-year-old Aiia Maasarwe, whose body was found early Wednesday near the campus of the Melbourne university where she was studying.

"This was an horrendous, horrific attack inflicted on a completely innocent young woman who was a visitor to our city," Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper told reporters in Melbourne Thursday.

SYDNEY, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Around 2,500 lightning strikes have ignited dozens of fires across Australia's southern island State of Tasmania on Tuesday, adding to a number of dangerous blazes which crews are already battling.

Adelaide, Jan 15 (PTI) India captain Virat Kohli called it an "MS classic" after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with sixes that reminded of his heydays, hammered home the point that the finisher in him is still alive.

Dhoni slammed an unbeaten 55 off 54 balls after Kohli laid the foundation for India's series-levelling six-wicket victory over Australia in the second ODI with a fluent century.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian state government on Tuesday announced plans to mechanically pump oxygen into lakes and rivers after hundreds of thousands of fish have died in heatwave conditions.

Up to a million dead fish were found floating last week in the Darling River in western New South Wales state and the state government announced that 1,800 more rotting fish had since been found in Lake Hume in the state’s south.