ACT

Canberra (Australia), Jun 17 (AP-PTI) Australia has raised the age for which the AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended to 60 from 50 after the shot was blamed for a 52-year-old woman's death last week from blood clots in the brain.

Health Minister Greg Hunt described the decision on Thursday as conservative and reflecting the relatively low risk of catching the virus in Australia.

Australians aged between 50 and 59 are now recommended to use the only other vaccine approved in Australia, Pfizer.

12 May 2021; MEMO: The Australian government has informed Israel's largest private arms company, Elbit Systems, that its military will stop using its Battle Management System (BMS) from mid-June.

Canberra (Australia), Mar 29 (AP-PTI) Australia's leader on Monday reassigned some key members of his Cabinet and launched a new task force as he tries to address a series of sexual misconduct scandals that have rocked his government.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison removed embattled ministers Christian Porter and Linda Reynolds from their high-profile roles.

Canberra, Mar 15 (AP-PTI) Australians rallied in the capital and other cities Monday demanding justice for women and calling out misogyny and dangerous workplace cultures as the government reels from two rape allegations.

Outside Parliament House in Canberra, the crowd of hundreds was mostly female and most wore black. They carried placards including Justice for Women and Men, Own Your Guilt.

Canberra, Feb 19 (AP-PTI) Australia's prime minister on Friday urged Facebook to lift its blockade of Australian users and return to the negotiating table with news publishing businesses, warning that other countries would follow his government's example in making digital giants pay for journalism.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described Facebook's move Thursday to prevent Australians accessing and sharing news as a threat.

Sydney, Jan 3 (AP-PTI) More Australian states and territories are reimposing travel restrictions to prevent the coronavirus spreading from new outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria states

The Australian Capital Territory has shut out non-residents who have been in the northern beaches of Sydney, where the outbreaks are most concentrated, Greater Sydney and other smaller centers, unless they have an exemption.

Canberra, Dec 8 (AP-PTI) Australia's government will reveal legislation in Parliament on Wednesday that would make Facebook and Google pay for journalism.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Tuesday that the legislation to create the News Media Bargaining Code will be scrutinized by a parliamentary committee following its introduction and before lawmakers vote on it next year.

This is a huge reform, Frydenberg told reporters. This is a world first. And the world is watching what happens here in Australia.

Melbourne; 17 Nov 2020 (UMMN): The Humanism Project (THP) of Australia, a human rights and political advocacy organisation of the Indian diaspora based in Australia, has written to the Australian PM Scott Morrison expressing its disappointment at the visit by Australian High Commissioner to India, Barry O'Farrell to the headquarters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on 15 November 2020.

Canberra, Nov 1 (AP/PTI) Australia has recorded no new locally transmitted coronavirus infection for the first time in five months.

In Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, which had the highest number of cases in the country, residents were enjoying the first weekend of cafes, restaurants and pubs reopening to walk-in customers.

The city only has one mystery case without a known source. There are 61 active cases left across the state, down from 70 on Saturday.

Canberra; 03 Sep 2020 (UMMN):  A week after India's CAA figured in a NSW assembly motion, another Senator spoke about India's human rights record in the Federal Parliament on 3 September 2020.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters gave a speech on 3 Sep 2020 in the Australian parliament about global human rights abuses in which she raised human rights abuses in India, and harsh and discriminatory measures in Kashmir. Her speech can be read via the link below;