Australia

MELBOURNE, Australia—Australian police are examining why a lone assailant who stabbed six people to death in a busy and injured more than a dozen others targeted women while avoiding men, a police commissioner said on Monday. The killer’s father blamed his son’s frustration at not having a girlfriend. Police shot and killed the homeless assailant, […]

SYDNEY—A police officer and several bystanders are being hailed for running “towards danger” to confront the attacker who stabbed and killed six people at a suburban Sydney shopping center. The shopping mall, one of the country’s busiest and near the world-famous Bondi Beach, was a hub of activity on Saturday afternoon when 40-year-old Joel Cauchi […]

SYDNEY—Police identified Sunday the assailant who stabbed and killed six people at a busy Sydney shopping center before a police officer fatally shot him. New South Wales Police said that Joel Cauchi, 40, was responsible for the Saturday afternoon attack at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, in the city’s eastern suburbs and not […]

Police have confirmed that six people have died after a stabbing rampage at Sydney’s Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre—a major hub near the world-famous Bondi Beach. The sixth victim is reported to be the mother of an infant, who was also injured in the attack. New South Wales (NSW) Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the […]

MELBOURNE, Australia—Officials have confirmed the identities of an Australian bomber and the remains of two air crew members more than 80 years after they crashed in flames off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Beaufort bomber A9-186 was found in Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest’s ongoing search for his uncle Flying Officer David Forrest who […]

Japan could join the United States, the UK, and Australia in a deal aimed at countering China. Defense chiefs from the three countries said Monday that they are considering adding Japan to the AUKUS pact. The security deal aims to get Australia at least three nuclear-powered submarines to bolster its deterrence.  

An Australian amateur women’s soccer team with five transgender players stirred controversy and outrage among parents within the league after going undefeated in a women-only tournament and winning the $1,000 prize. The Flying Bats FC of Sydney dominated the four-week tournament, including one game where one of the transgender players, a biological male, scored six […]

LONDON—A British court ruled Tuesday that Julian Assange can’t immediately be extradited to the United States on espionage charges, giving the WikiLeaks founder a partial victory in his long legal battle over the site’s publication of classified American documents. Two High Court judges said they would grant Mr. Assange a new appeal unless U.S. authorities […]

MELBOURNE, Australia—A man fell to his death from a hot-air balloon Monday as it passed over suburban Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city. The hot-air balloon took off from Melbourne’s northern suburbs early in the morning and was in the air for about 30 minutes before the man fell from the basket. His body was found in […]

SYDNEY—As officials investigate what caused a “strong shake” before a sudden plunge on a plane traveling between Australia and New Zealand, a passenger on Tuesday described a wild ride, with people without seatbelts thrown from their seats and some crashing into the plane’s ceiling. At least 50 people were injured Monday by what LATAM Airlines […]

SYDNEY—At least 50 people were injured Monday by what officials described as a “strong movement” on a Chilean plane traveling from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand. LATAM Airlines said in a statement that there was “a technical event during the flight which caused a strong movement.” It did not elaborate on what happened. Passengers were […]

Meta will be cutting its Facebook News tab in April and will not renew commercial deals with traditional media outlets. The company wants to focus on products it believes people value most, after the number of people using Facebook News in Australia and the United States declined by 80 percent in a year. “We know […]

Australia sent warnings to China over policing Hawaii’s closest neighbor, while the country’s spy chief called out a former politician, saying he sold out the country to a foreign spy ring.  

MELBOURNE, Australia—A photographer told police he was punched in the face by Taylor Swift’s father on the Sydney waterfront on Tuesday, hours after the pop star’s Australian tour ended. Ben McDonald said he provided police with a statement alleging that Scott Swift assaulted him at the Neutral Bay Wharf, where the father and daughter had […]

HARARE, Zimbabwe—An Australian tourist reported missing late last week in Zimbabwe near Victoria Falls already had been missing for nearly a week before that, according to new information released Monday by national park officials. The 67-year-old tourist, whose name has not been released, was reported missing Friday in the area near the Zimbabwe Victoria Falls […]

SYDNEY—A taekwondo instructor was charged from his hospital bed Thursday with three counts of murder for the deaths of a 7-year-old student and the boy’s parents in Sydney. Lawyers for Kwang Kyung Yoo, 49, appeared on his behalf in the Parramatta Local Court hearing, but did not apply for Yoo to be released on bail […]

Australian citizen Yang Hengjun will not appeal a suspended death sentence handed down by Beijing, his family revealed, saying it would be “detrimental to his welfare.” His family believes the process could delay access to supervised medical care. Mr. Yang is an Australian citizen born in China. He was a pro-democracy blogger and spy novelist, […]