Australia

After 18 months of some of the world's strictest coronavirus border policies that banned citizens from coming back into the country, and leaving it, unless granted an exemption, some 14 million Australians in Victoria, New South Wales and Canberra are now free to travel.

More than 80 percent of people 16 and older in those two states and the capital territory are fully vaccinated - a condition for the resumption of international travel.

If the man – known as AZC20 in court documents – is ultimately transferred to Nauru he would be the first person sent offshore by Australia in more than seven years.

AZC20, an engineer who fled Iran seeking protection in Australia, has been shunted between detention centres.

Australian Health Minister, Greg Hunt on Thursday rejected reports CSL would stop producing the vaccine in Melbourne this year, as coronavirus cases reached a new national daily record.

“CSL and AstraZeneca are on track to complete the full 50 million-dose production run in Australia and the 3.8 million supply from overseas,” he told reporters.

“Our expectation and our plan is that that program will be completed in full. All of those extra doses are being supplied to the region.”

The 2022 schedule was announced on Tuesday with the series to kick off with a pair of men’s and women’s rounds in Dubai starting in November.

But while Hong Kong returns as a stop, Sydney and Hamilton (New Zealand) have missed out because of its stringent pandemic protocols.

Instead, Spain will play host for the first time with men’s and women’s events scheduled in Malaga and Seville from January 21-23 and January 28-30.

Toulouse in France will also welcome teams in May next year.

Australia announced last week that by the end of this year it will end its offshore detention arrangement with PNG.

The scheme was declared illegal by the PNG courts five years ago but 124 people, most of whom have been judged to be refugees, remain there.

The Coalition's Ian Rintoul said PNG has no capacity, or desire, to look after these people, or search for third countries to take them off their hands.

Signed 6 October by Australian Chief Plant Protection Officer, Gabrielle Vivian-Smith and DT Global Asia Pacific Managing Director, Frank Maiolo the MoU will strengthen the partnership between the department and DT Global through the Pacific Horticultural and Agricultural Market Access Program (PHAMA Plus) program.

The PHAMA Plus program is funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the New Zealand Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade.

PNG is one of two Pacific countries paid by Canberra to detain asylum seekers and refugees who attempt to reach Australia by boat.

Australia said its arrangement with PNG would conclude by the end of the year.

But it will continue its divisive "offshore processing" policy on the remote island nation of Nauru.

"Australia's strong border protection policies… have not changed," Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on Wednesday.

She told BBC Radio 2's Zoe Ball she "couldn't believe" the public reaction to the news.

But Minogue said she will "always" want to regularly visit the UK after she moves back to the country of her birth.

She said: "I've had friends call me, my friend at my local restaurant was like: 'Kylie, what do you mean? You can't go'."

"I said: 'I'm not really going. I've lived here for 30 years, I'm always going to be back."'

The 53-year-old said she does not think "too much will change" after her move as she will come back often.

The federal government is ending offshore processing in Papua New Guinea for asylum seekers detained after trying to reach Australia by boat.

The arrangement was set up in 2013 under the then-Labor government and authorised regional processing in PNG.

Under a timeline announced on Wednesday, processing in PNG will permanently end on 31 December.

As of July this year, there were 124 asylum seekers in PNG, of whom 88 have been found to be refugees.

Dozens of bone fragments were uncovered by a dry lake in 2016 by researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide.

A new study says the skeletal remains were of the Archaehierax sylvestris, or ancient hawk of the forest.

Scientists believe the ancient raptor species survived by swooping on prey, including birds, possums and koalas.

They say the eagle had adapted to hunting and flying within forests, with short robust wings, long legs and a wide foot-span.