Australia

Football Australia said on Wednesday their Under-20 side had been reinstated into the qualifying competition for next year's U20 Asian Cup after their group games were moved out of the Iraqi city of Basra. Australia withdrew from the qualifiers on safety grounds last month after their group was assigned Basra as their hub. The AFC announced later that the qualifying games of Group H will be held at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait from Oct. 14-18. Australia, Iraq, Kuwait and India are in Group H. The U20 Asian Cup is scheduled to be held from March 1-18 in Uzbekistan next year. Teams who finish on top of their groups are assured of a place in tournament alongside the five best runners-up in the qualifiers. … [Read more...] about Australia back in U20 Asian Cup qualifiers after games moved from Iraq’s Basra

Statistics compiled by the International Trade Center (ITC) indicated that Australia’s import value of wooden furniture in June reached $138.64 million, marking a rise of 9.7% compared to June of last year. During the opening half of the year, Australia’s import value of wooden furniture enjoyed an annual surge of 47.7% to US$871.54 million. The import proportion from the Vietnamese market accounted for 11.8% of Australia’s total import value of wooden furniture throughout the reviewed period, climbing by 1.7 percentage points compared to the same period from last year. This figure shows that there is plenty of room for the export of the product in the near future. Australia also increased its import of wooden furniture during the six-month period, with wood-framed chairs taking the lead with turnover of US$358.14 million, an increase of 66.3% against the same period last year. Furthermore, the import revenue of living room and dining room furniture soared by 46.5% on-year … [Read more...] about Vietnam becomes second largest wooden furniture supplier to Australia

Australian wildlife investigators were on Wednesday trying to piece together why more than a dozen young male sperm whales died in a mass stranding on a remote beach in the state of Tasmania. The 14 whales were discovered beached on King Island earlier this week, off Tasmania's north coast. Biologists and a veterinarian from the state's conservation agency have travelled to the small island to investigate, with an aerial survey finding no other stranded whales. The young whales' deaths may be a case of "misadventure", wildlife biologist Kris Carlyon from the state government conservation agency told the local Mercury newspaper. "The most common reason for stranding events is misadventure, they might have been foraging close to shore, there might have been food and possibly they were caught on a low tide," Carlyon said. "That's the theory at the moment." He said the whales likely beached themselves on Sunday, before being found dead on Monday. Mass strandings of whales … [Read more...] about Mass stranding kills 14 whales in Australia

The University of Economics HCM City in collaboration with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission on September 24 launched “Shine with Australia Month”, slated to take place from October 9 to 30. — Photo courtesy of the UEH The University of Economics HCM City (UEH) in collaboration with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) on September 24 launched “Shine with Australia Month”, taking place from October 9 to 30. The campaign attracts 30 top-notch education institutions, both universities and schools from eight Australian states and territories, said Assoc. Prof. Tran Ha Minh Quan, executive dean of UEH’s International School of Business. It aims to teach the Vietnamese public about the uniqueness of diverse Study Australia destinations, institutions and to meet with representatives of eight Australian states and territories, government agencies, alumni and institutions, he said. The virtual fair will feature public talk shows by representatives … [Read more...] about Shine with Australia Month gathers top-notch education institutions

Australia's government said on Tuesday it will introduce legislation to create a National Anti-Corruption Commission, after years of debate over the need for an independent watchdog for politicians. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement the move would "restore trust and integrity in politics", and funding of A$262 million ($169.8 million) over four years will be provided. A bill is expected to be introduced to parliament on Wednesday. The commission will investigate serious or systemic corruption by federal government ministers, parliamentarians, political staff and employees of, or contractors to, government entities. It will have retrospective powers, and be able to make findings of corruption, or refer criminal matters to federal police or public prosecutors, the statement said. A New South Wales state corruption watchdog has conducted a slew of investigations into politicians and political donations in Australia's biggest … [Read more...] about Australia to create national anti-corruption watchdog

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh (second, L) and his spouse takes a photo with representatives from the parliament of Tasmania (Photo: VNA) The visit was made at the invitation of Premier Jeremy Rockliff. During his reception for the Vietnamese diplomat, Rockliff expressed his delight at outstanding achievements in the Australia-Vietnam strategic partnership, and hoped that the two countries will further tighten this relationship. He said the Tasmania authority is promoting cooperation with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam. The premier revealed that he will lead a delegation, including representatives from some universities and businesses of the state, to pay an official visit to Vietnam in mid-October to promote trade, investment, education and tourism cooperation with Vietnam. He stressed that the Tasmanian Trade Strategy 2019-2025 will soon be adjusted in the direction of prioritising cooperation with a number of … [Read more...] about Australian state prioritises coopetation with Vietnam’s localities