Australia flood crisis enters third week as heavy rains lash east
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Already-flooded towns across Australia’s east were on high alert on Monday after a weekend of heavy rains, with authorities warning a wild weather system could persist until later this week and trigger renewed riverbank bursts. Thousands of homes and farms over a wide swathe of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia’s two most […]
Australia floods crisis set to worsen amid forecast for more rain
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Thousands of residents across south-east Australia braced for renewed flooding on Tuesday as weather forecasters warned of more downpours later this week, while swollen rivers continued to roll downstream inundating farms, towns and homes. Australia’s longest river, the Murray, which straddles the border between the two most populous states of New South Wales […]
Australians take stock of flood damage amid warnings of more rain
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Thousands of Australians on Monday returned to homes and businesses to assess flood damage even as evacuation warnings remained in inland regions of the southeast and authorities warned of more rain ahead which could trigger renewed flooding. Major flood warnings are in place across many regions despite little rainfall over the weekend with […]
Flood waters swamp Melbourne as heavy rains slam three Australian states
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Thousands of people across Australia’s south-east were asked to evacuate their homes on Friday, including some in Melbourne’s west, after two days of incessant rains triggered flash flooding and fast-moving waters burst river banks. Large parts of Victoria state, southern New South Wales and the northern regions of the island state of Tasmania […]
Australian cardinal faces civil action
AP The father of a deceased former choirboy filed a lawsuit against Cardinal George Pell and the Catholic Church in an Australian court on Thursday claiming the parent suffered psychological injury over an accusation that the once-senior Vatican official sexually abused the son. Neither the father nor the son can be named under Australian laws […]
Australia suffers deadliest day of pandemic as Omicron drives up hospital cases
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia on Tuesday suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic as a fast-moving Omicron outbreak continued to push up hospitalisation rates to record levels, even as daily infections eased slightly. Australia is dealing with its worst COVID-19 outbreak, fuelled by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus that has put more people in hospitals […]
Australia COVID numbers hit a peak as Omicron outbreak strains domestic politics
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia recorded another record surge in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday as an outbreak of the highly infectious Omicron variant disrupted reopening of the economy, while state leaders argued over domestic border controls. The country reported 10,269 new cases of the coronavirus in the previous day, according to a Reuters calculation of state figures, […]
In Australia, religious bodies send open letter to Victorian Government on “gross overreach” equal opportunity legislation
Sydney, Australia Some of Australia’s most senior religious leaders have appealed to the government of the Australian state of Victoria to hit the pause button on proposed laws that will affect who they can employ. Meanwhile, Christian school leaders in Tasmania are lobbying the Federal Government to protect religious freedoms as it prepares to introduce […]
In Australian state of Victoria, Christian schools to meet with government on proposed LGBTIQ+ protection legislation
Updated: 6pm (AEDT)Sydney, Australia Christian schools will meet with Victorian Government representatives in two weeks to state their case on proposed legislation to protect LGBTIQ+ people from discrimination in employment. The State Government says its planned reforms will “strike a balance” between freedom of religion and equality for the LGBTIQ+ community, to prevent schools from […]
Police arrest hundreds of protesters as Australia reports record COVID-19 cases
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australian police arrested hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne and Sydney on Saturday and seven officers were hospitalised as a result of clashes, as the country saw its highest ever single-day rise in COVID-19 cases. Mounted police used pepper spray in Melbourne to break up crowds of more than 4,000 surging toward police […]