Australia & Pacifics

SYDNEY, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Dutchman Wiebe Wakker pulled into Sydney on Sunday having traveled 95,000 km over three years in his fully electric powered car.

In a journey which took him across 33 countries including Turkey, Iran, India and Malaysia, Wakker hoped to prove the viability of electric vehicles and spread a message of sustainability.

While not officially a world record, due to the car being modified for electric power, the 95,000-km distance is reportedly the longest ever driven in an electric vehicle.

SYDNEY, April 8 (Xinhua) -- An experimental facility launched in the Australian State of Queensland on Monday will test a new way to purify bore water, industrial wastewater and sea water for drinking.

For the past three years, researchers from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), along with Japanese chemical conglomerate Asahi Kasei, have worked to develop a method by which solar energy or industrial "waste heat" can be used to desalinate water samples.

5 Apr 2019; DW: A New Zealand judge on Friday ordered the accused Christchurch shooter to complete a psychiatric assessment to determine if he is fit to face trial for the murder of 50 Muslim worshippers.

The March 15 shooting at two mosques caused major reforms to New Zealand's gun control laws and sparked criticism of social media platforms, which allowed the rampage to be livestreamed.

Charged with murder

SYDNEY, April 5 (Xinhua) -- A mathematics professor from Australia's University of New South Wales (UNSW) has solved a 48-year multiplication puzzle which will give computers the ability to multiple large numbers much faster.

Associate Professor David Harvey, from UNSW's School of Mathematics and Statistics, on Thursday published a method to multiply large numbers which proves an academic theorem first proposed in 1971 by German mathematicians, Arnold Schonhage and Volker Strassen.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Parliament passed legislation on Thursday that could imprison social media executives if their platforms stream real violence such as the New Zealand mosque shootings.

Critics warn that some of the most restrictive laws about online communication in the democratic world could have unforeseen consequences, including media censorship and reduced investment in Australia.

3 Apr 2019; DW: The Australian man accused of killing 50 Muslim worshippers in a shooting spree at two mosques in New Zealand will be charged with 50 counts of murder and 39 counts of attempted murder at a second court appearance on Friday, New Zealand police say.

Police added that other charges "are still under consideration." The suspect had earlier had a single representative murder charge filed against him for the killings on March 15.

CANBERRA, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has ruled out risking Australian lives to bring the children of Islamic State (IS) fighters stranded in Syria back to Australia.

Responding to reports that three children of Khaled Sharrouf, an Australian who left the country in 2013 to fight for IS in Syria, have been found stranded in a Syrian refugee camp, Morrison said that any operation to return the children to the family in Australia would be too risky.

Wellington, Apr 1 (AFP) New Zealand will crack down on firearms ownership this week after the Christchurch mosques massacre that claimed 50 lives -- and the Kiwi gun lobby, for the most part, is okay with that.

In stark contrast to the United States, where even the most minor curbs on gun ownership meet ferocious opposition led by the National Rifle Association, New Zealand gun owners agree action is needed.

The March 15 rampage by a white supremacist gunman has been a shock to the collective system.

Australian whitist terrorist, who has killed 50 worshippers in two Christchurch mosques, has lodged a formal complaint over prison conditions.

According to New Zealand media reports, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant has lodged a complaint about his rights in prison, and being denied access to visitors and phone calls.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian appeals court on Friday dismissed a bullying case brought by an engineer who accused his former supervisor of repeatedly breaking wind toward him.

The Victoria state Court of Appeal upheld a Supreme Court judge’s ruling that even if engineer David Hingst’s allegations were true, flatulence did not necessarily constitute bullying.

Hingst said he would take his case to the High Court, Australia’s final court of appeal.