Australia & Pacifics

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s opposition leader said he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday in the second week of a campaign ahead of the May 21 election.

Anthony Albanese, the 59-year-old leader of the center-left Labor Party, said he was feeling fine and would isolate at his Sydney home for a week.

“While at home, I will continue my responsibilities as alternative prime minister and will be fighting for a better future for all Australians,” Albanese said in a statement.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The U.S. is sending two top officials to the Solomon Islands following a visit last week by an Australian senator over concerns that China could establish a military presence in the South Pacific island nation.

The White House said Monday that later this week, Kurt Campbell, the National Security Council Indo-Pacific coordinator, and Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, will lead a delegation of U.S. government officials to the Solomon Islands, and will also visit Fiji and Papua New Guinea.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s prime minister on Monday warned that thousands of asylum seekers will attempt to reach the country by boat if the opposition party wins elections on May 21.

The annual number of asylum seekers arriving in Australian waters by boat peaked at more than 20,000 in 2013, the year the conservative government was elected and began turning back boats in a military-led policy known as Operation Sovereign Borders.

SYDNEY, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's regional tourism businesses are expecting a very busy and profitable four days as city visitors tour the countryside during the Easter break which begins on Friday.

The National Australia Bank (NAB) estimated tourists would generate more than 890 million Australian dollars (about 663.3 million U.S. dollars) for regional economies throughout the holiday.

SYDNEY, April 14. /TASS/: Australia’s government has imposed economic sanctions against 14 Russian companies and organizations over the situation in Ukraine, Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said on Thursday.

MELBOURNE, April 14 (Reuters) - Australia's most populous states will face blackout risks from 2025 if new power capacity is not built in time to replace the country's biggest coal-fired plant, due to be shut that year, the energy market operator said on Thursday.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) released an updated outlook for the electricity market to reflect a decision by Origin Energy (ORG.AX) in February to bring forward the closure of its Eraring power plant by seven years to 2025. 

Wellington, Apr 11 (AP-PTI) New Zealand will send a military transport plane and a support team of 50 to Europe, as well as give money to Britain to buy weapons, as it significantly steps up its response to the war in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that the C130 Hercules plane would travel throughout Europe to carry much-needed equipment and supplies to key distribution centers. She said the plane wouldn't fly directly into Ukraine as most military equipment is transported into the country by land.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The son of a single mother who raised him on a pension, Anthony Albanese had a humble start to life for an aspiring Australian prime minister.

But despite his disadvantaged upbringing in public housing in Sydney, the man known since childhood as Albo has risen to the top of the center-left Australian Labor Party and is now only an election away from potentially realizing his ambition to lead the national government.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an election on May 21.

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — In at least one sense, Scott Morrison is the most successful Australian prime minister in years.

He is the first to survive in office from one election to the next since 2007. That year, the government of Australia’s second-longest-serving Prime Minister John Howard was voted out after a reign of almost 12 years.

Between Howard and Morrison, there have been four prime ministers including Kevin Rudd who served twice during an extraordinary period of political instability in Australia.

WELLINGTON, Apr 3 (NNN-AGENCIES) – New Zealand reported 8,810 new community cases of COVID-19 today, said the Ministry of Health in a statement.

Among the new community infections, 1,555 were in the largest city, Auckland, and the rest of the cases were identified across the nation, according to the Ministry.

In addition, there were 31 new cases of COVID-19 detected at the New Zealand border, said the Ministry.