Australia & Pacifics

New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) Justice (retired) Madan B Lokur has been appointed to the Supreme Court of Fiji as a judge of its non-resident panel, according to sources.

Justice Lokur, who demitted office as a Supreme Court justice on December 31 2018, has been appointed in the new role for a period of three years.

The sources close to the former judge said that he received the offer from the Chief Justice of the Fiji Supreme Court on the day of his superannuation. The judge will join in his new role on August 15 this year, they said.

CANBERRA, May 15 (Xinhua): Australia will import grain for the first time in over 10 years as the country recovers from the devastating 2018 drought.

The Australian government has approved a single shipment permit to import bulk wheat from Canada to mitigate the rising domestic prices for grain caused by the worst drought in decades on the east coast, according to the report of Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday visited the two New Zealand mosques where 51 worshippers were killed by a gunman in March.

Guterres spent about 30 minutes inside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch talking to Muslim leaders and survivors of the attacks.

Outside the mosque, he told reporters that like many people around the world, he had been moved by the poignant stories of compassion and grace.

WELLINGTON, May 13 (Xinhua): New Zealand dairy company Fonterra has sold its ice cream company Tip Top for 380 million New Zealand dollars to British dairy giant Froneri.

Fonterra CEO Miles Hurrell confirmed the sale, saying it was a bittersweet moment for Fonterra. "Fonterra received a number of quality bids for Tip Top, we have secured a good price for our farmers and unit holders," Hurrell said.

It is understood that Fonterra had signed an agreement with the new owner to supply milk which ensured Fonterra farmers would continue to contribute to Tip Top.

9 May 2019; AFP: Red-faced bank bosses in Australia admitted to an embarrassing error Thursday, revealing their state-of-the-art $50 note had a typo.

The yellow and green note, which is worth around US$35, came into circulation last October. It has multiple security features -- including microprint of a speech by Australia's first female parliamentarian, Edith Cowan.

But the technology seemingly did not include a spellchecker.

SYDNEY, May 8 (Xinhua): The first-ever commercial flight to produce "zero waste" has taken to the skies on Wednesday, as part of a new initiative from the Australian airline Qantas to cut single-use plastics that end up in landfill.

Flying from Sydney to Adelaide, all products and packaging onboard QF739 will either be reused, recycled or disposed of as compost.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Citing lower global growth, New Zealand’s Reserve Bank on Wednesday cut the nation’s benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to an all-time low of 1.5%.

The cut brings New Zealand’s rate in line with Australia’s rate of 1.5%. It was New Zealand’s first cut since November 2016, when the bank also cut the rate by a quarter point.

A powerful but deep 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, officials said, cutting power and knocking items off shelves though there were no immediate reports of serious damage.

The quake struck at a depth of 127 kilometers (80 miles) about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the town of Bulolo at 2119 GMT Monday according to the US Geological Survey, and was felt in the capital Port Moresby about 250 kilometres away.

Officials said there were no immediate reports of major damage and the depth of the tremor meant there was no tsunami threat.

CANBERRA, May 7 (Xinhua): Australia's peak scientific body has launched a partnership with a leading cancer care provider to treat untreatable cancers.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) on Tuesday announced that it would work with GenesisCare in a 5.1 million Australian dollar (3.5 million U.S. dollar) partnership to develop treatments for the most fatal and difficult-to-treat cancers such as brain and pancreatic cancer.

Sydney, May 7 (AFP) Australia's election became a little more raucous on Tuesday when a protestor tried -- but failed -- to crack an egg on Prime Minister Scott Morrison's head.

The attacker's egg, thrown from close range, appeared to bounce off the politician at a Country Women's Association event in New South Wales.

The woman was wrestled away by Morrison's close protection security detail and could later be seen leaving the venue holding an egg carton.