Australia is joining international efforts to prepare for a changing climate ahead of the UN climate change conference in Glasgow later this year, but critics are still demanding it makes new commitments to reduce emissions. Australia has joined Canada and the EU in signing up to an international call for climate adaptation and resilience. It was originally put forward by …

The nation’s medical regulator the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in Australia. The decision paves the way for the rollout, scheduled to start in late February, despite global supply issues faced by vaccination producers. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said these problems were already having an impact on Australian supply, though the program was still on …

The bodies of a woman and three children have been found following a house fire in Glen Waverley, in Melbourne’s south-east. Firefighters were called to Tulloch Grove about 1:40am on Sunday after receiving multiple calls about smoke coming from a two-storey townhouse. Crews found the garage on the ground level well alight and the home filled with smoke. “Sadly, a …

In a provocative move certain to infuriate China, US secretary of State Mike Pompeo is lifting restrictions on contacts between US officials and their Taiwanese counterparts. The move comes in the dying days of the Trump administration and will confront incoming President Joe Biden with further complications in his stated intention to re-establish harmonious relations Beijing after the frictions and …

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh have been vaccinated against the coronavirus as UK hospitalisations reached a record high and infections passed three million. Doctors have warned that pressure on the health system could get worse in coming weeks amid criticism that the current lockdown measures are not strict enough. As the nation’s horror death toll passed 80,000, medics warned …

US President-elect Joe Biden and President Donald Trump will campaign next week in Georgia, holding duelling events on the eve of runoff elections that will determine who controls the US Senate and the fate of Mr Biden’s legislative agenda. The visits come as Mr Trump escalates his fight with fellow Republican leaders in the state for not supporting his bid …

For most of us, the end of 2020 can’t come soon enough. We still want to see it out with a bang, but like everything else this year, celebrations are going to look a whole lot different. Plan a party with friends and family (but remember: check the COVID-19 number restrictions – and avoid a cheeky midnight pash with strangers!). …

The UK has become the first country to authorise the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for public use, with roll-out to start in the first week of 2021. This vaccine is the second to be authorised in the UK — following the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The British Government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, enough to vaccinate 50 million people. Other countries will be watching …

President Donald Trump’s campaign says it will again ask the US Supreme Court to overturn results from the November 3 election, its latest long-shot effort to subvert the electoral process. In a statement issued by the campaign on Sunday, Mr Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the campaign had filed a petition asking the court to reverse three rulings by a …

The final report from the inquiry into Victoria’s botched hotel quarantine program has been unable to determine who commissioned the use of private security and has slammed the Andrews Government for failing to do “proper analysis” of the plan. The COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry report, which was tabled to Parliament on Monday, found Victoria’s second wave was triggered by transmission of the …