The World Briefly

December 23, 2022

Too Little, Too Late

Australia

Vandals destroyed 30,000-year-old rock art at a sacred cave in South Australia (SA), prompting condemnations from locals and scholars, as well as criticism against the state government’s lack of protection of the site, the Guardian reported. Authorities said unknown individuals entered the Koonalda Cave and scrawled...

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The World Briefly

December 05, 2022

The Long Road

Australia

Australian prosecutors dropped a rape charge against a former parliamentary staff member in a case that has roiled the country for months, as well as prompted scrutiny over Australia’s government and criminal justice system, the New York Times reported. The case centers on accusations that former...

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The World Briefly

December 01, 2022

L’état, C’est Moi

Australia

Australian lawmakers passed a motion this week to censure former Prime Minister Scott Morrison for appointing himself to five ministerial roles without the knowledge of other ministers, the Independent reported Wednesday. The move marks the first time Australia’s parliament has censured a former prime minister. The center-left...

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The World Briefly

November 11, 2022

Playing for the Competition

Australia

Australia is investigating whether China has tried to recruit former defense force personnel to provide military training, amid concerns that Beijing has been similarly approaching veterans including military pilots from other Western nations, Voice of America reported. Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government will conduct...

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The World Briefly

October 25, 2022

Locked Out

Australia

The United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) suspended its tour of Australian prisons this week, citing a lack of cooperation from officials and a lack of access to some detention facilities, CNN reported Monday. SPT representatives arrived in Australia on Oct. 16 for...

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The World Briefly

October 19, 2022

The Do-Over

Australia

Australia is reversing its decision to recognize West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, going back on a policy implemented by the previous administration of former conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the Hill reported Tuesday. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced Monday that the government has “reaffirmed Australia’s...

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The World Briefly

September 08, 2022

Help For The Vulnerable

Australia

Queensland is planning to decriminalize public intoxication, the last Australian state to do so in an effort to tackle discrimination against the Indigenous community and other minorities, a move service providers say is “long overdue,” the Guardian reported. During a recent parliamentary inquiry, human rights groups...

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The World Briefly

August 19, 2022

First in the Nation

Australia

The Australian state of Victoria passed a landmark bill to create the country’s first Indigenous treaty authority that would oversee treaty negotiations, as well as resolve disputes between traditional owner groups and the state government, the Guardian reported. The new First Nations treaty authority will act...

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The World Briefly

August 17, 2022

Jack of All Trades

Australia

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to five ministries while serving as the country’s chief, revelations that have sparked outrage in Australia and calls for legal inquiries over the former leader’s conduct, the Guardian reported Tuesday. Current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his predecessor...

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The World Briefly

August 11, 2022

All Hands On Deck

Australia

Australia’s national carrier is asking its CEOs and other company leaders to help handle passengers' baggage in an effort to alleviate the pain from a severe labor shortage caused by the pandemic that has afflicted airlines worldwide and led to travel chaos around the globe,...

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The World Briefly

August 05, 2022

The Colors of Hope

Australia

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef showed the highest coral cover in 36 years, according to a new report that suggested there is hope for the recovery of the fragile UNESCO World Heritage site, CBS News reported. The Australian Institute of Marine Sciences (AIMS) released a report Thursday...

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The World Briefly

July 20, 2022

The State of Decline

Australia

Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent in the past two centuries and continues to have one of the highest rates of species decline among developed countries, the latest State of the Environment report found. That’s because the country’s unique wildlife has faced...

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The World Briefly

June 30, 2022

No Buzzing Around

Australia

An Australian state imposed a “bee lockdown” this week after detecting a deadly parasite in the country that could decimate bee populations, as well as threaten the honey and food production industries, the BBC reported Wednesday. Last week, authorities in New South Wales (NSW) discovered the...

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The World Briefly

June 24, 2022

The Violence of Symbols

Australia

The state of Victoria passed a bill this week to ban the display of swastikas, the first Australian state to do so amid an increase in cases of violent nationalist and racist extremism, CBS News reported. Under the new legislation, anyone who intentionally shows the symbol...

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The World Briefly

May 23, 2022

Game Over

Australia

The opposition Labor Party won Australia’s federal election over the weekend, ending nine years of conservative rule by the Liberal-National coalition of outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Nikkei Asia reported. Preliminary results showed that Labor secured 72 seats in the lower house of parliament, while the...

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Need to Know

May 20, 2022

The New Guard

Australia

Australia is experiencing its most raucous federal elections in years as outsiders seemed poised to disrupt the placid pace of leaders in Canberra after polls close on May 21. Voters in North Sydney, a wealthy, multicultural district of the continent-country’s largest city, usually cast ballots for...

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The World Briefly

May 09, 2022

Oops

Australia

Facebook intentionally took down a number of Australian government pages last year in an attempt to influence the passage of a law that would make tech giants pay to host news articles,  the Wall Street Journal reported. In February 2021, the social media giant blocked access...

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The World Briefly

March 28, 2022

Hedging Bets

AustraliaChinaSolomon Islands

The Solomon Islands is planning to expand its security partnership with China, amid reports of a potential agreement between the two countries that has raised concerns in neighboring Australia and the United States, CNN reported. The Pacific nation said over the weekend that it was working...

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The World Briefly

March 17, 2022

Forget The Children

Australia

An Australian court overturned a landmark ruling this week that would have ordered the country’s environment minister to consider the impact climate change might have on children when approving energy projects, Al Jazeera reported. The groundbreaking case began in 2020 when a group of secondary school...

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The World Briefly

March 16, 2022

Following Up

AustraliaNetherlandsRussia

Australia and the Netherlands initiated new legal proceedings against Russia for its alleged role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, a case that comes amid the ongoing conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, NPR reported. The two countries filed a complaint...

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