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New Zealand PM Ardern takes COVID-19 test after reporting sick
WELLINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken a COVID-19 test after picking up a “seasonal sniffle” from her three-year-old daughter, the government spokesman said on Tuesday. Ardern will step...
2nd August
Australia home prices keep rising even as Sydney locks down
Australian home prices motored ahead in July even as a coronavirus lockdown in Sydney curbed auctions, though stretched valuations could make affordability more of a drag in the longer term. Data from property consultant CoreLogic out on Monday showed national home prices climbed 1.6% in July from June, when they rose 1.9%. Prices were up...
New Zealand human rights commission launches inquiry into housing crisis
New Zealand’s Human Rights Commission on Monday launched an inquiry into the country’s housing crisis as cooling measures by the government this year have failed to ease a red-hot property market, leaving many people homeless. Property prices in New Zealand have soared by the most among OECD nations in the past 12 months, rising about...
Army patrols Sydney streets as Brisbane extends COVID-19 lockdown
Australian officials on Monday extended a snap three-day lockdown in the city of Brisbane and some neighbouring regions while hundreds of army personnel began patrolling Sydney to help enforce COVID-19 lockdown rules. Sydney, Australia’s largest city, is into its sixth week of a lockdown as it struggles with a spike in infections that added nearly...
Sky News Australia says suspended from YouTube for one week
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Sky News Australia said on Sunday it has been temporarily suspended by the video-sharing site YouTube following the platform’s review of content for compliance with its COVID-19 policies. “Sky News Australia acknowledges YouTube’s right to enforce its policies and looks forward to continuing to publish its popular news and analysis content to...
More countries hike climate pledges, piling pressure on major emitters
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations this week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major U.N. climate summit in November. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said that as of Saturday the United Nations had...
1st August
COVID-19: Markets shut Fiji from buying vaccines and ventilators – PRUN
Fiji was ready to purchase COVID-19 vaccines and ventilators but was shut out from the markets and unable to gain access to them, says Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Satyendra Prasad. He made the comment during a virtual briefing with UN resident coordinator Sanaka Samarasinha. However, Ambassador Prasad said eventually...
Australia’s east coast battles rising COVID-19 cases
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia’s east coast states of New South Wales and Queensland faced an escalating battle against the COVID-19 Delta variant on Sunday, with millions under strict lockdown and authorities urging more testing and vaccinations to rein in the outbreaks. Sydney and its surroundings, under a stay-at-home order for five weeks already, reported 239 new...
COVID-19 cases surge in Sydney as police cordon deters protest
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Sydney’s coronavirus cases continued to surge on Saturday as police cordoned off the city’s central district, preventing a planned anti-lockdown protest from taking place. There were 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in Sydney and vicinities that are under a weeks-long strict lockdown while battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta...
Vaccine Task Force: Critical to improve clarity and transparency on evolving vaccine market
The Task Force Committee on Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics for Developing Countries says it is critical to improve clarity and transparency around the evolving vaccine market, expected production volumes, delivery schedules, and pre-purchase options. The Task Force – established by the heads of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization and the...
Multilateral Task Force urges COVID vaccine manufacturers to scale up production
The Task Force on COVID-19 Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics for Developing Countries says the supply of CVID-19 doses to COVAX, and low and low-middle income countries are delayed or ‘too slow’. And the Task Force has urged vaccine manufacturers to redouble their efforts to scale up production of vaccines, specifically those countries. The Task Force...
COVID-19 cases surge in Sydney as police cordon deters protest
Sydney’s coronavirus cases continued to surge on Saturday as police cordoned off the city’s central district, preventing a planned anti-lockdown protest from taking place. There were 210 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 reported in Sydney and vicinities that are under a weeks-long strict lockdown while battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant. Saturday’s...
31st July
COVID-19: Fiji reports 1121 new cases and 6 deaths in two days
New positive COVID-19 infections on Viti Levu remain high with 1121 confirmed cases reported tonight for the 24-hour period that ended at 8am today. And six deaths have also been reported on July 29-30. In his COVID-19 update statement tonight, Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong said 241 cases were from the Western...
Samoa’s new leader confirms scrapping of China-funded port
The new prime minister of Samoa has confirmed she will cancel a China-backed port project, but hasn’t closed the door to China as she navigates a path for the Pacific nation against a backdrop of intensifying regional competition between Beijing and Washington. Fiame Naomi Mataafa indicated she would only approve investments that had clear benefits...
New Zealand introduces bill to outlaw LGBT conversion therapy
New Zealand introduced on Friday legislation that proposes up to five years in prison for practices intended to change a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, known as LGBT conversion therapy. The proposed measures were aimed at ending such practices, which do not work, are widely discredited, and cause harm, Justice Minister Kris...
COVID-19: Mix and match and doses
People who have received AstraZeneca as their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, can take either Moderna or Pfizer as their second jab, says World Health Organisation director for immunization Kate O’Brien. “We do know that for the two, what are called mRNA vaccines – the Moderna vaccine and the Pfizer vaccine – that you...
O’Brien: No pregnancy risk in vaccines; expectant moms should get vaccinated
Pregnant women should get vaccinated because the bigger their bellies, the more their lung capacity is reduced, says World Health Organization immunisation director Kate O’Brien. Speaking during an online WHO question and answer session on COVID-19 vaccines, she said vaccines did not pose any increased risk during pregnancy. “Over the course of the pandemic we’ve...
WHO not endorsing boosters
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is not recommending boosters at this point because of lack of evidence, says WHO immunization director Kate O’Brien. “There’s a lot of research going on, to be able to provide an evidence-based recommendation so we are not recommending boosters at this point because there isn’t enough information to provide an...
Sydney readies for the army as lockdown fails to squash Delta outbreak
Sydney’s poorest neighbourhoods on Friday braced for military enforcement of the city’s toughest and longest lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic as the infection numbers held persistently high five weeks since restrictions began. With the city of 5 million people ordered to stay home amid an outbreak of the highly transmissable Delta variant, authorities outlined even...
Samoa’s new leader confirms scrapping of China-funded port
The new prime minister of Samoa has confirmed she will cancel a China-backed port project, but hasn’t closed the door to China as she navigates a path for the Pacific nation against a backdrop of intensifying regional competition between Beijing and Washington. Fiame Naomi Mataafa indicated she would only approve investments that had clear benefits...
30th July
RBF grants conditional approval to Kina Securities for Westpac Fiji acquisition
Fiji’s central bank has granted conditional approval on Kina Securities Limited’s (KSL) application to buy Westpac Fiji. The Board of the Reserve Bank of Fiji reached this resolution after its deliberations yesterday on the comprehensive assessment conducted on KSL’s application. The Westpac Group had announced its intention to sell its Westpac Pacific Business – Westpac...
COVID-19: Fiji’s seven-day average of new cases recorded at 877 cases a day
Fiji’s Ministry of Health says the country’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases is 877 cases a day. Ministry permanent secretary Dr James Fong noted this in his COVID-19 update statement last night as he provided the outlook of the epidemic, saying the daily number of cases remain high. He said the daily test positivity...
29th July
COVID-19: Fiji reports 1301 new cases overnight; 9 deaths in two days
Fiji reported 1301 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24-hour period that ended at 8am today and 9 deaths recorded in two days. Ministry of Health permanent secretary Dr James Fong said 293 cases were from the Western Division and 1008 cases from the Central Division. Dr Fong said the deaths were reported on July...
COVID-19: Fiji’s Health Ministry in talks to secure vaccine for children
The Health Ministry is in talks to secure vaccination for Fijians between the ages of 12 and 18. Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete made the comment during the debate on the 2021-2022 Appropriation Bill in Parliament on Tuesday. “To date, we have confirmed enough vaccines for all age-eligible individuals and continue to dialogue for securing...
28th July
Sydney adds four weeks to lockdown as Australia COVID-19 cases spike
SYDNEY (Reuters) -The Australian city of Sydney extended a lockdown by four weeks on Wednesday after an already protracted stay-at-home order failed to douse a COVID-19 outbreak, with the authorities warning of tougher policing to stamp out non-compliance. Far from a planned exit from lockdown in three days, the city of 5 million people and...
27th July
Australia’s Victoria to ease COVID-19 lockdown restrictions
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Victoria state will begin easing its COVID-19 lockdown restrictions as planned from Tuesday night, Premier Daniel Andrews said, after the state reported fewer new cases. People can leave their homes for any reason but several restrictions would remain, including a ban on guests in homes and masks mandatory both indoors and...
