Australia & Pacifics

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s prime minister said a fake image of an Australian soldier posted on a Chinese official’s Twitter account was “truly repugnant” and Canberra was demanding it be taken down, amid deteriorating relations between the two countries.

Scott Morrison called a media briefing to condemn the posting of the image, which depicted an Australian soldier holding a knife to the throat of an Afghan child, and said Canberra was seeking an apology from Beijing.

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand’s workplace regulator has filed charges against 13 parties following an investigation into a volcanic eruption on White Island in 2019 which killed 22 people.

A surprise eruption on the White Island, also known by its Maori name of Whakaari, on Dec 9 last year, killed 22 people and injured dozens.

Majority of them were tourists from countries like Australia, the United States and Malaysia who were part of a cruise ship that was travelling around New Zealand. There were 47 people on the island when the volcano erupted.

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has told 13 special forces soldiers they face dismissal in relation to a report on alleged unlawful killings in Afghanistan, the head of the country’s army said on Friday.

An independent report published last week in redacted form said there was evidence that 39 unarmed Afghan prisoners and civilians were killed by 19 Australian soldiers.

SYDNEY, Nov 26 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Residents in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) were warned today, to prepare for a weekend of unusually high temperatures with a “severe” chance of bushfires.

Maximum temperatures were forecast to be over 40 degrees Celsius in some places, with maximum temperatures 15 to 18 degrees hotter than the Nov average.

“This will increase the fire risk across the state with very high and severe fire danger likely on the weekend. Plan and prepare now,” the NSW Rural Fire Service said.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia’s prime minister said he’s “thrilled and relieved” after Iran released in a prisoner swap a 33-year-old academic who was imprisoned for more than two years on spying charges, but added it would take time for Kylie Moore-Gilbert to process her “horrible” ordeal.

Iran first announced on state television that it had freed the British-Australian scholar in exchange for three Iranians held abroad. The report was scant on detail, saying only that the Iranians had been imprisoned for trying to bypass sanctions on Iran.

SYDNEY, Nov 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) – The Australian state of Victoria recorded its first day with zero active COVID-19 cases, in close to nine months today, marking the official end of a severe second wave.

Victoria’s cases peaked at over 700 per day in early Aug, however were brought under control by a state-wide lockdown which has since ended.

“We now have zero active case in our state. The one remaining active case has now been cleared of the virus and discharged from hospital,” Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, said in a press conference.

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia’s top military official said on Sunday the country’s defence force must ‘own’ a recent report on soldiers committing crimes in Afghanistan and pledged changes to ensure that atrocities do not happen again.

The report, published on Thursday after an inquiry into the conduct of special forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, found that senior commandos forced junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to “blood” them for combat..

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Saturday that the findings of a report that the country’s special forces allegedly killed 39 unarmed prisoners and civilians in Afghanistan were “disturbing and distressing”.

The report, published on Thursday after an inquiry into the conduct of special forces personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, found that senior commandos forced junior soldiers to kill defenceless captives in order to “blood” the troops for combat.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A shocking Australian military report into war crimes has found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians.

Australian Defence Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said Thursday the shameful record included alleged instances in which new patrol members would shoot a prisoner in order to achieve their first kill in a practice known as “blooding.”

CANBERRA, Nov 16 (NNN-AGENCIES) – A coalition of health groups wrote an open letter to Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, calling for urgent action on climate change.

The letter from 29 groups, including the Climate and Health Alliance (CHA), the Australian Epidemiological Association (AEA), and the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), warned that climate change is accelerating and posing an “existential threat to humanity.”