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In the past 24 hours Ukrainian forces have repelled more than 170 attacks in the five principal sectors of the front line, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on YouTube on Thursday night. Ukraine says the city has limited strategic value but wants to exhaust Russian forces. In nearby towns and villages, new trenches had been dug on the roadside 20-40 metres (65-130 feet) apart, a sign that Ukrainian forces were strengthening defensive positions. Russia says its "special military operation" aims to degrade the Ukrainian military and remove what it says is a threat to its own security. The Russian foreign ministry said Lavrov and Blinken spoke "on the move" for less than 10 minutes.

☆ Australia's foreign interference laws designed for China - former PM Turnbull
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CANBERRA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Exposing China's activities was the "key purpose" of Australia's foreign interference laws, but the scheme has failed to do this, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who introduced the laws, said on Tuesday. The Australian government was careful not to name China when introducing laws to prevent foreign interference in 2018, but the move nonetheless sparked tension with Australia's largest trading partner that later developed into a diplomatic freeze. Turnbull told a parliamentary committee the "key purpose" of a foreign interest register was to disclose the links the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department had formed in Australia. The committee is examining whether to adjust the foreign interference laws to improve their effectiveness. Australia's government plans to "out" foreign interference operations that are targeting politicians, academics and community leaders, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said earlier this month.

☆ Senior Australian official asks China to remove trade impediments
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Jan 20(Reuters) - Australia's Assistant Minister for Trade Tim Ayres called for the removal of China's "trade impediments" on Australian exports in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, his office said. China's Xinhua news agency earlier reported that Thursday's meeting between Australian and Chinese officials had agreed that trade ministers from the two nations will hold virtual discussions "in the near future." No date has been set for the video meeting between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and his Australian counterpart, Don Farrell, it said. "Assistant Minister Ayres raised the importance of cooperation to deliver the outcomes of the World Trade Organization 12th Ministerial Conference, and the removal of current trade impediments affecting Australian exports to China in both countries' interests," a spokeswoman for Ayres said in a statement. Canberra has two complaints at the World Trade Organisation against China's tariffs on Australian wine and barley, and is watching to see if Beijing lifts unofficial trade blockages on other Australian exports.

SYDNEY, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A venture headed by China's Tianqi Lithium (002466.SZ) made an A$136 million ($94.07 million) bid to buy Australian lithium developer Essential Metals (ESS.AX), in a big test of Australian regulators' appetite for Chinese-led foreign investment. Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia (TLEA), which is 51% owned by Shenzhen- and Hong Kong-listed Tianqi Lithium Corporation and 49% by Australian miner IGO Ltd (IGO.AX), set the bid at 50 Australian cents per share. The deal requires the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), with Treasurer Jim Chalmers having the ultimate say. Essential Metals' shares surged as much as 40% on Monday, trading as high as 48.50 Australian cents. It expects the Essential Metals deal to be completed by May 2023.

☆ Fiji's ruling party leads provisional count after national election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Kirsty Needham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The ruling Fiji First party led provisional national election results, boosted by a 31.42% vote for Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama, with half of polling stations counted in the Pacific island nation after Wednesday's vote. He is in a tight race against another former coup leader and one-time prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, whose People's Alliance Party has formed a coalition with Fiji's oldest political party, the National Federation Party. The provisional result showed Fiji First with 45.88% of votes at 7 a.m. Thursday, ahead of the People's Alliance Party with 32.66% of votes, while the National Federation Party had 9.29% of votes. On Thursday morning, Fiji's election commissioner, Mohammed Saneem, demonstrated to media a "double blind data entry" system being used to avoid errors in the final count. Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong told reporters Fiji's election appeared to have been conducted "peacefully and in an orderly manner".

☆ Australia's Wong to visit Pacific in bipartisan effort to boost ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The group comprises Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, senior government minister Pat Conroy, and their opposition counterparts, the politicians said in a joint statement on Sunday. Discussions would cover development objectives, the "existential threat" of climate change, and key regional security issues, the politicians said in their statement. The group, while in Vanuatu, would attend a ceremony for the handover of a new wharf and police boat "as part of Australia’s enduring cooperation on shared regional security interests". "I am pleased we are ... demonstrating Australia’s enduring commitment to strengthening our Pacific partnerships and addressing regional challenges,” Wong said. It is the first government-led bipartisan visit to Pacific island countries since 2019, they said.

☆ Russia and Iran exploring joint production of lethal drones, says US
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia and Iran are exploring the joint production of lethal drones, NBC News reported. Russia launched fresh attacks on Ukraine on Saturday using Iranian-made drones, per reports. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia launched new attacks on Ukraine on Saturday morning using Iranian-made drones. Russia attacks Ukraine with drones ReutersThe UK's ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, said on Friday that Iran had transferred hundreds of drones to Russia since August, per The Guardian. On Tuesday, an unnamed Western official said that Moscow appeared to be running out of Iranian-made drones, but ABC News reported that it anticipated a "resupply."

☆ Australia imposes sanctions on Iran, Russia over human rights violations
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File PhotoSYDNEY, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Australia's foreign minister on Saturday said the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it said were "egregious" human rights violations. Seven Russians involved in what the foreign minister said was the attempted assassination of former opposition leader Alexei Navalny would also have human rights sanctions imposed on them, she said. In addition to human rights sanctions, Wong said Australia was placing further targeted financial sanctions on three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying drones to Russia for use against Ukraine. "The supply of drones to Russia is evidence of the role Iran plays in destabilising global security. Australia's previous Liberal-National coalition government first imposed Magnitsky-style sanctions - measures that impose financial penalties and travel bans against individuals - in March against 14 Russian individuals.

☆ China still hasn't officially addressed the anti zero-COVID protests that have swept the country
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mass protests kicked off in China over its strict COVID-19 policy after 10 people died in a fire. But there has been a heavy police presence, which meant some protests did not go ahead on Monday. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. China has cracked down on the protests, with a strong police presence and arrests taking place. A heavy police presence on Monday evening meant that planned protests did not take place in some locations, like Beijing, the BBC and Bloomberg reported.

☆ Australia's Albanese talks briefly with China's Li, prompting talk of summit -media
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke briefly with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at a regional summit in Cambodia, Australian media said on Sunday, sparking some expectations of a formal summit with President Xi Jinping. Albanese and Li spoke on arrival at a gala on the sidelines of the summit in Phnom Penh of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The discussion raised the prospect of a potential Albanese-Xi meeting at the summit of the Group of 20 big economies in Indonesia on Monday. The last bilateral summit was in 2019 when Albanese's predecessor, Scott Morrison, met Xi at a G20 meeting, according to Australia's foreign ministry. Albanese's office said last week he will attend that meeting and a subsequent summit in Bangkok of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group.

☆ Australia's Albanese says it would be positive if meeting arranged with China's Xi
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Alasdair Pal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping it would be a positive development after years of strained relations between the two countries. Albanese is set to attend the G20 summit in Bali, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok and the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, his office said on Wednesday. "I've made it very clear that dialogue is a good thing, and if a meeting is arranged with Xi, then that would be a positive thing," Albanese told a news conference in Canberra. read moreThe leaders of the two countries last met when Albanese's predecessor Scott Morrison met Xi at the G20 in 2019, according to Australia's foreign ministry. read moreBoth countries should work to rebuild trust and put their relationship back on the right track, a statement from China's foreign ministry quoted Wang as saying.

☆ Australia's ELMO Software agrees near-$A500m takeover offer from U.S. firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Scott Murdoch | Thomson Reuters | Scott Murdoch Has Been A Journalist For More Than Two Decades Working For Thomson Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australia's ELMO Software (ELO.AX) said on Wednesday it has agreed to a near-A$500 million ($319 million) takeover bid from Los Angeles-based K1 Investment Management. The offer is a 100.4% premium to the closing share price on Oct. 12, the day before ELMO announced it had received approaches expressing interest in a takeover. ELMO's shares on Wednesday shot 41% higher, erasing a 27% loss incurred so far in 2022 ahead of the takeover. Two of ELMO's biggest investors, JLAB Investments and the Garber Family Trust, have also backed the bid, ELMO's statement on Wednesday said. Since K1 is an overseas firm the takeover will require approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

☆ Australia seeks stable ties with 'great power' China, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/SYDNEY, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Australia is aiming for a stable relationship with China despite differences in particular on trade, Australia's foreign minister said, as she called on China to use its influence as a great power to help end the war in Ukraine. "China is a great power ... We encourage China as a P5 member with a special responsibility to uphold the U.N. charter to use its influence to end the war," she said. Wong said in her talks with Wang Yi she had raised the issue of Australian journalist Cheng Lei and blogger Yang Hengjun, who have been detained in China and face espionage charges. Thursday's meeting with Wang Yi, the second in three months, comes as the recently elected Labor government looks to rebuild ties after a sharp deterioration during the term of the previous conservative government.

☆ Australia, New Zealand condemn Putin threats as "unthinkable"
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong speaks during a news conference on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidSYDNEY/WELLINGTON Sept 22 (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's escalation of the war in Ukraine, saying his threats to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia were "unthinkable" and exposed his justification for the war as untrue. No sham referendum will make them true," Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said in New York, where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly. "This highlights the falsehood around this war," she told media in New York, where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney and Lucy Craymer in Wellington.

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