Chinese police officers and equipment will soon be sent to Solomon Islands to help defuse months of civil unrest, a move that is already causing anxiety for Australian officials. On Thursday Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s besieged government announced it would accept Beijing’s offer of assistance to strengthen its anti-riot policing capabilities. In a statement the government said it was “mindful of …

New South Wales and Victoria will ease their international arrival rules next week, removing the 72-hour isolation requirement for fully vaccinated travellers. From Tuesday, December 21, overseas arrivals to Melbourne and Sydney will be required to get a COVID-19 PCR test within 24 hours of landing, and isolate at home until they return a negative result. Rules for unvaccinated travellers remain the same, with …

At least 12 people have died in the strongest typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, the disaster agency said on Friday, after the storm swept across the archipelago uprooting trees, toppling power poles and flooding villages. More than 300,000 people fled their homes and beachfront resorts as Typhoon Rai pummelled the southern and central regions of the country, knocking …

One child injured during Thursday’s deadly jumping castle tragedy in north-west Tasmania has been discharged from hospital, while another three remain in a critical condition, police say. Five children aged between 11 to 12 lost their lives after a jumping castle became airborne at the end-of-school event at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport. Tasmania Police have released the names of …

Former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has declined the Prime Minister’s offer to run in next year’s federal election, announcing instead a transition to the private sector. Prime Minister Scott Morrison had made repeated public bids to parachute Ms Berejiklian into the northern Sydney seat of Warringah. Ms Berejiklian announced her decision to quit politics in October after it was revealed she …

Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised to the public after a photo surfaced of her in a nightclub after her foreign minister tested positive for COVID-19. “I did wrong. I should have considered the situation more carefully,” Marin said in a television interview by public broadcaster Yle on Wednesday night (Thursday AEDT). “I should have used better judgment on …

Australians will be able to choose between two types of coronavirus boosters, after the medical regulator gave provisional approval to the Moderna vaccine to be used as a top-up dose. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has given the green light for people 18 and over to get a Moderna booster shot, six months after their second vaccine dose. The administration said …

China has responded to Australia’s decision for government officials to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics, with an incendiary blast for the US’s “no.1 lackey”. China’s state-affiliated media organisation reacted quickly to Australia’s announcement on Wednesday morning, publishing a reply to an Australian media article about the snub. “#Comment: No. 1 US lackey”, the official Global Times account said, accompanied by an illustration …

The United States led the global race to develop a viable vaccine against COVID-19. But a year after the first shots received emergency approval from federal regulators, new variants of the virus are changing the game. Omicron, the wildcard variant already detected in multiple US states and more than 30 countries, including Australia, is the latest to emerge. With its dastardly combination of …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken fired a warning shot at China, saying any move to invade Taiwan would bring “terrible consequences.” Blinken spoke at the Reuters Next conference Friday when he shared his thoughts on China and the possible threat to Taiwan as tensions have continued to ramp up over the past few months. He reiterated the U.S. commitment to defend Taiwan’s right to self-govern, …