Australia & Pacifics

CANBERRA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Australian authorities have identified a large area in the Indian Ocean where they will focus the search for a capsized Chinese fishing vessel.

A spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) told Xinhua on Thursday that, based on drift modeling, a remote 12,000 square km zone has been identified to search for the vessel.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Months before an election, New Zealand’s government on Thursday offered some modest financial relief to many people by making most prescription medicines free and increasing subsidies for child care and public transportation.

But the government’s annual budget plan was notable for its lack of big new initiatives. Since taking office earlier this year, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has promised a back-to-basics approach and axed many of the more ambitious — and contentious — plans of his predecessor, Jacinda Ardern.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China opened its doors on Thursday to Australian timber imports for the first time in more than two years, in another sign that the tattered bilateral relationship is being repaired.

Timber was on a list of Australian exports subjected to official and unofficial Chinese trade barriers imposed in 2020 after Australia called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The list that included coal, wine, barley, beef, seafood, cotton and copper was estimated to cost Australian exporters $14 billion a year.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police said Thursday they had arrested a man and charged him with two counts of arson in connection with the fire at a Wellington hostel that killed at least six people.

Police said the investigation is ongoing and they could file more serious charges in relation to the deaths at the scene. Earlier, police said they had launched a homicide investigation.

Police Inspector Dion Bennett said Thursday they are confident they’re not seeking anybody else in connection with the fire.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Papua New Guinea had declared next Monday a public holiday in anticipation of an historic visit by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the region.

Police were tightening security, billboards were going up, and people were getting ready to sing and dance in the streets. Expectations were high for what would have been the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to any Pacific Island nation.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A truck driver was charged Wednesday after seven children were hospitalized with serious injuries when he rear-ended a school bus on the outskirts of Melbourne in southeastern Australia, officials said.

The dump truck that Jamie Gleeson was driving hit the back of a school bus carrying 45 students and caused it to overturn Tuesday afternoon at an intersection in Eynesbury, a semi-rural community west of Melbourne, police said. Head injuries, arm amputations and suspected spinal injuries were reported by a hospital official.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out a so-called Quad summit taking place in Sydney without President Joe Biden, saying the four leaders will talk at the Group of Seven meeting this weekend in Japan.

Albanese said Wednesday he understands why Biden pulled out of the summit to focus on debt limit talks in Washington since they are crucial to the economy. The summit including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had been scheduled for May 24.

CANBERRA, May 16 (NNN-AAP) – Australia’s banks have joined forces to launch a new tool to prevent fraudulent transactions.

The Australian Banking Association (ABA), whose membership includes 20 of the country’s biggest banks, announced the new Fraud Reporting Exchange (FRX) platform, today.

The new real-time reporting tool will allow banks to quickly report fraudulent payments, to stop customers from losing money to scams.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A fire ripped through a hostel in New Zealand’s capital overnight, killing at least six people and forcing others to flee the four-story building in their pajamas in what a fire chief on Tuesday called his “worst nightmare.”

Six bodies were found but not all areas of the building had been searched yet because the roof on the top floor had collapsed, bringing down debris and making the area unsafe, said Bruce Stubbs, the incident controller for Fire and Emergency New Zealand.

CANBERRA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government has announced funding to establish a national and reliable flood warning network.

Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, and Murray Watt, Minister for Emergency Management, on Monday said 236 million Australian dollars (157.2 million U.S. dollars) will be spent over the next decade on the National Flood Warning Infrastructure Network to protect communities from disasters.