Australian Parliament censures former prime minister
Australiaโs former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has listed his achievements in government including standing up to a โbullying" China as he unsuccessfully argued against being censured by the Parliament for secretly amassing multiple ministerial powers.
Australian PM raises trade 'blockages' with China's Xi
Australiaโs Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he raised with Chinese President Xi Jinping concerns about trade โblockagesโ but did not walk away from their first face-to-face talks with any promises that the $13 billion barriers to Australian exports would be lifted.
Australia PM Morrison defends record despite election loss
Scott Morrison says his conservative government had left Australia in a robust condition even as voters punished him for his handling of issues including climate change and the pandemic that gave the center-left opposition its biggest victory for almost a decade.
Climate Showdown Looms as Australian Disasters Mount
Australia, the driest inhabited continent, is repeatedly ravaged by bushfires and floods -- costly, life-claiming disasters that scientists warn have been exacerbated by a warming planet. Itโs also one of the worldโs biggest fossil fuel exporters and emitters per capita of greenhouse gases. Yet while most Australians insist they want more action to combat climate change, the countryโs conservative government -- in power since 2013 -- has resisted moves that might undermine key industries. As thi
washingtonpost.comClimate Showdown Looms as Australian Disasters Mount
Australia, the driest inhabited continent, is repeatedly ravaged by bushfires and floods -- costly, life-claiming disasters that scientists warn have been exacerbated by a warming planet. Itโs also one of the worldโs biggest fossil fuel exporters and emitters per capita of greenhouse gases. Yet while most Australians insist they want more action to combat climate change, the countryโs conservative government -- in power since 2013 -- has resisted moves that might undermine key industries. As thi
washingtonpost.comCoronavirus latest news: Pandemic behind us by October, says Sage member
Over half of Covid hospitalisations tested positive after admission Scientists considering 77 countries for green list Covid cases fall for sixth day in a row Sherelle Jacobs: Tory biosurveillance fantasy is chilling The delta variant can reinfect you โ but it's unlikely The worst of the pandemic could be behind us by late September, an expert has said, as the number of Covid-19 cases in the UK continued to fall. Professor Neil Ferguson - whose modelling led to the first lockdown in March 2020 -
news.yahoo.comAustralia's most elite men's club overwhelmingly votes to prevent women joining
An elite Australian menโs club whose roster includes former prime ministers on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted to maintain its 183-year ban on women members. Nearly 700 votes were cast at the Australian Clubโs special general meeting, with only 37 per cent in favour of allowing women to join โ well short of the three quarters vote required to pass the change. The Sydney club, founded in 1838, has counted prime ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, Cardinal George Pell and the billionaire Jame
news.yahoo.comRoyals' comments raise race issue in Commonwealth nations
It was expected the interview would expose more rifts in the royal family. Buckingham Palace said Tuesday the allegations of racism by Harry and Meghan were โconcerningโ and would be addressed privately by the royal family. It was encapsulated by one Twitter user in South Africa who wrote: โItโs Britain and the royal family. โI wish all the members of the royal family all the best, but my focus is getting through this pandemic. Lawyer Sunaina Phul said the Commonwealth โis relevant to the royal family, of course, because it shows that they ruled so many places.
Ex-Australian leader says Meghan and Harry's interview bolsters case to cut ties with U.K. monarchy
Sydney, Australia โ Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the television interview with Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, bolstered his argument for Australia severing its constitutional ties to the British monarchy. Turnbull met the couple in April 2018, four months before he was replaced by current Prime Minister Scott Morrison in an internal power struggle. Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state of โ the king or queen of the U.K., automatically our head of state?" Then-Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks as Australia's Minister for Justice Michael Keenan listens during a news conference in Sydney, Australia, July 30, 2017. Queen Elizabeth ll smiles amongst Australian flags being waved by the crowd after the Commonwealth Day Service, March 13, 2006, in Sydney, Australia.
cbsnews.comThe Latest: UK talk show host quits show over Meghan remarks
โI wish all the members of the royal family all the best, but my focus is getting through this pandemic. After Oprah Winfreyโs explosive interview with Prince Harry and Meghan, some people said the racism that the couple alleged was was something they expected. Markle also said he has โgreat respectโ for Britainโs royal family and he didnโt think they were racist. โWhen Meghan joined the royal family, every person of color in the U.K. was worried,โ she said. Ad___LOS ANGELES โ Prince Harry says he was โtrappedโ in the royal family before Meghan helped free him.
Explosive Harry, Meghan interview reverberates across globe
This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry, left, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, speaking about expecting their second child during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. "Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special" airs March 7 as a two-hour exclusive primetime special on the CBS Television Network. Winfrey later said Harry told her the comment didnโt come from Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, his grandparents. AdThe situation became so difficult that at one point, โI just didnโt want to be alive anymore,โ Meghan told Winfrey. But Harry said the royal family was completely unable to offer that support to its own members.
Vigorous preparation returns as Biden calls other leaders
FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2021 file photo, President Joe Biden speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Twelve times since he took office, President Joe Biden has dialed up a world leader after reinstituting what was a long-held White House standard mothballed by Donald Trump: vigorous preparation. Twelve times since he took office, President Joe Biden has dialed up a world leader after reinstituting what was a long-held White House standard mothballed by Donald Trump: vigorous preparation. Biden made clear his desire to return to diplomacy after Trump withdrew from the Obama-backed international nuclear deal with Iran. White House press secretary Jen Psaki underscored that the Biden administration is recalibrating the relationship with the Saudis.
A worried Asia wonders: What will Joe Biden do?
As Americans celebrate or fume over the new president-elect, many in Asia are waking up to the reality of a Joe Biden administration with decidedly mixed feelings. (AP Photo/Lintao Zhang, Pool, File)TOKYO โ As Asia comes to terms with the reality of a Joe Biden administration, relief and hopes of economic and environmental revival jostle with needling anxiety and fears of inattention. Now, as Biden looks to settle tumultuous domestic issues, thereโs widespread worry that Asia will end up as an afterthought. A Biden White House wonโt โrisk antagonizing a country that is widely viewed in Washington as Americaโs best strategic bet in South Asia,โ he said. ___Foster Klug, the AP's news director for the Koreas, Japan, Australia and the South Pacific, has covered Asia since 2005.
Huawei quits oldest sports sponsorship deal after 9 years
Huawei will end its financial backing of the Raiders at the end of the current National Rugby League season. Last year, Huawei renewed its sponsorship deal for two years until the end of the 2021 season. The sponsorship was seen as an attempt to improve Huaweis public image in the eyes of lawmakers and senior bureaucrats who barrack for the Canberra team. Raiders board member Dennis Richardson, a former head of the Defense Department and of the main domestic spy agency, Australian Security Intelligence Organization, had been a vocal supporter of Huaweis sponsorship deal. Neither Huawei nor the team has ever made public the value of the sponsorship.
Australia's bushfires show drastic effects of climate change
Scientists say climate change is transforming Australia's environment, making it hotter and drier, and exposing it to longer, more intense fire seasons. "I think this is really redefining what it means to actually be living through a period of rapid climate change." Everyone has been aware of this except for those who, well, the climate change deniers are aware of it, but they choose to deny reality." And members of the current government argue it's not Australia's responsibility to act on climate change since the country only produces about one percent of global emissions. We've been told by senior public servants in Canberra that because we uttered two horrible words: climate change.
cbsnews.comFormer Australian PM calls party colleagues' conduct over climate change "idiotic"
When Williams reminded Turnbull he was calling conduct by members of his own party dangerous and idiotic, Turnbull did not waver. "Well, of course, it is dangerous and idiotic not to be taking the strongest action to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions," Turnbull said. Everyone has been aware of this except for those who, well, the climate change deniers are aware of it, but they choose to deny reality." He was replaced by Scott Morrison, who has minimized climate change and been criticized for his response to the fires. "Well, if we don't act, if we don't act, a wealthy advanced economy facing the harsh reality of climate change, if we don't act and show leadership, why would anyone else act?"
cbsnews.comUS vows 100% tariffs on French Champagne, cheese, handbags over digital tax
The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France's new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the government was exploring whether to open similar investigations into the digital services taxes of Austria, Italy and Turkey. "The USTR is focused on countering the growing protectionism of EU member states, which unfairly targets U.S. companies," Lighthizer said. His statement made no mention of proposed digital taxes in Canada or Britain. It did not specify an effective date for the proposed 100% duties.
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