By , MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian officials announced a raft of plans on Wednesday to speed up the resumption of public life to boost the ailing economy amid a diplomatic spat with major trading partner China.The government is also talking with Australian universities about allowing the return of some international students, a sector that contributes more than A$30 billion ($19.6 billion) to domestic coffers.New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, will allow people to resume recreational travel from next month, effectively reopening tourist regions on its southern...…By , MELBOURNE/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian officials announced a raft of plans on Wednesday to speed up the resumption of public life to boost the ailing economy amid a diplomatic spat with major trading partner China.The government is also talking with Australian universities about allowing the return of some international students, a sector that contributes more than A$30 billion ($19.6 billion) to domestic coffers.New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, will allow people to resume recreational travel from next month, effectively reopening tourist regions on its southern...WW…

and Australian officials are frustrated that their push for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus is being undermined by the White House, which has sought to link the outbreak to a Chinese lab, government, diplomatic and intelligence sources said.Washington’s attack on China has given Beijing room to argue that Australia’s request for an independent inquiry is part of a U.S.-led agenda to blame it for the coronavirus outbreak, the sources said.Canberra has been caught in a diplomatic squeeze between Washington, its main security ally, and already strained relations with Beijing, it...…and Australian officials are frustrated that their push for an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus is being undermined by the White House, which has sought to link the outbreak to a Chinese lab, government, diplomatic and intelligence sources said.Washington’s attack on China has given Beijing room to argue that Australia’s request for an independent inquiry is part of a U.S.-led agenda to blame it for the coronavirus outbreak, the sources said.Canberra has been caught in a diplomatic squeeze between Washington, its main security ally, and already strained relations with Beijing, it...WW…

By SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian journalist who has been detained for nearly six months in China where she worked for a state-television channel has been formally arrested on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas, the two countries said on Monday.The announcement came as the family of Cheng Lei, 49, pleaded with authorities to grant the former high-profile news anchor access to her two school-age children.“We are absolutely convinced of her innocence,” a family representative said in an emailed statement to Reuters. “We respect China’s judicial process and urge the...…By SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian journalist who has been detained for nearly six months in China where she worked for a state-television channel has been formally arrested on suspicion of illegally supplying state secrets overseas, the two countries said on Monday.The announcement came as the family of Cheng Lei, 49, pleaded with authorities to grant the former high-profile news anchor access to her two school-age children.“We are absolutely convinced of her innocence,” a family representative said in an emailed statement to Reuters. “We respect China’s judicial process and urge the...WW…

By SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Chinese official’s tweet of an image of an Australian soldier that sparked a furious reaction from Canberra was amplified across social media by unusual accounts, of which half were likely fake, an Israeli cybersecurity firm and Australian experts said.The digitally altered image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child was tweeted by China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday.Twitter declined Australia’s request to remove the tweet.The Chinese embassy in Canberra told ABC television on Friday that Prime...…By SYDNEY (Reuters) - A Chinese official’s tweet of an image of an Australian soldier that sparked a furious reaction from Canberra was amplified across social media by unusual accounts, of which half were likely fake, an Israeli cybersecurity firm and Australian experts said.The digitally altered image of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child was tweeted by China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Monday.Twitter declined Australia’s request to remove the tweet.The Chinese embassy in Canberra told ABC television on Friday that Prime...WW…

By SYDNEY (Reuters) - China’s WeChat social media platform blocked a message by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison amid a dispute between Canberra and Beijing over the doctored tweeted image of an Australian soldier.China rebuffed Morrison’s calls for an apology after its foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted the picture of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child on Monday.The United States called China’s use of the digitally manipulated image a “new low” in disinformation.Morrison took to WeChat on Tuesday to criticise the “false image”,...…By SYDNEY (Reuters) - China’s WeChat social media platform blocked a message by Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison amid a dispute between Canberra and Beijing over the doctored tweeted image of an Australian soldier.China rebuffed Morrison’s calls for an apology after its foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian posted the picture of an Australian soldier holding a bloodied knife to the throat of an Afghan child on Monday.The United States called China’s use of the digitally manipulated image a “new low” in disinformation.Morrison took to WeChat on Tuesday to criticise the “false image”,...WW…

By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia demanded an apology after a senior Chinese official posted a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a knife with blood on it to the throat of an Afghan child, calling it “truly repugnant” and demanding it be taken down.Prime Minister Scott Morrison called a media briefing to condemn the posting of the image, marking another downturn in deteriorating relations between the two countries.The Australian government has asked Twitter to remove the image, posted on Monday by China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on his official Twitter account,...…By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia demanded an apology after a senior Chinese official posted a fake image of an Australian soldier holding a knife with blood on it to the throat of an Afghan child, calling it “truly repugnant” and demanding it be taken down.Prime Minister Scott Morrison called a media briefing to condemn the posting of the image, marking another downturn in deteriorating relations between the two countries.The Australian government has asked Twitter to remove the image, posted on Monday by China’s foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on his official Twitter account,...WW…

By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia would welcome President-elect Joe Biden restoring the United States to the Paris climate accord, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, speaking as he faced renewed pressure himself to boost efforts to cut Australia’s carbon emissions.“We would be welcoming the United States back into the Paris Agreement, somewhere we’ve always been,” Morrison told reporters, saying a U.S. return to other global organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO) would also be welcome.The United States formally withdrew from the Paris climate agreement last week,...…By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia would welcome President-elect Joe Biden restoring the United States to the Paris climate accord, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Monday, speaking as he faced renewed pressure himself to boost efforts to cut Australia’s carbon emissions.“We would be welcoming the United States back into the Paris Agreement, somewhere we’ve always been,” Morrison told reporters, saying a U.S. return to other global organisations like the World Health Organization (WHO) would also be welcome.The United States formally withdrew from the Paris climate agreement last week,...WW…

By , SYDNEY/DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar expressed regret on Wednesday over the treatment of the female travellers after Australia said women on 10 flights underwent invasive physical searches following the discovery of an abandoned baby at the country’s international airport.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaking about the issue for the first time, told reporters in Canberra that “Australia’s strong objections and views” about the incident involving Australian travellers on October 2 were widely shared, without elaborating.Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin...…By , SYDNEY/DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar expressed regret on Wednesday over the treatment of the female travellers after Australia said women on 10 flights underwent invasive physical searches following the discovery of an abandoned baby at the country’s international airport.Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, speaking about the issue for the first time, told reporters in Canberra that “Australia’s strong objections and views” about the incident involving Australian travellers on October 2 were widely shared, without elaborating.Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin...WW…

By , NEW DELHI/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will join three-way naval exercises involving the United States, Japan and India, the countries announced on Monday, in a move that could raise concerns in China, which has criticised similar joint drills as destabilising.India, which holds the annual drills called Malabar with the U.S. and Japanese navies each year, agreed to invite Australia for next month’s exercise in the Bay of Bengal, it said, in a sign of cooperation between the “Quad” countries.“As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and...…By , NEW DELHI/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia will join three-way naval exercises involving the United States, Japan and India, the countries announced on Monday, in a move that could raise concerns in China, which has criticised similar joint drills as destabilising.India, which holds the annual drills called Malabar with the U.S. and Japanese navies each year, agreed to invite Australia for next month’s exercise in the Bay of Bengal, it said, in a sign of cooperation between the “Quad” countries.“As India seeks to increase cooperation with other countries in the maritime security domain and...WW…

By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun will face trial in Beijing on an espionage charge with a judge expected to be appointed in the next fortnight, friends said on Saturday.The 55-year-old blogger was detained by Chinese authorities in January 2019 at Guangzhou Airport after arriving from New York. He has been held in a Beijing detention facility with no access to his family, while his wife remains in China.His Beijing lawyers were notified on Wednesday that Yang’s case has been transferred to the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court, a friend told Reuters.A...…By SYDNEY (Reuters) - Detained Australian writer Yang Hengjun will face trial in Beijing on an espionage charge with a judge expected to be appointed in the next fortnight, friends said on Saturday.The 55-year-old blogger was detained by Chinese authorities in January 2019 at Guangzhou Airport after arriving from New York. He has been held in a Beijing detention facility with no access to his family, while his wife remains in China.His Beijing lawyers were notified on Wednesday that Yang’s case has been transferred to the Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court, a friend told Reuters.A...WW…