151 people who came into contact with the victim are under observation to prevent the spread of the deadly virus
world12 hours ago
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday replaced the government ministers responsible for immigration and national security, overhauling the scandal-plagued portfolios.
Australia's Department of Home Affairs has been under pressure since it was forced to release more than 100 immigration detainees — many convicted of assault, kidnapping and murder — in the wake of a landmark court ruling.
Albanese has sought to draw a line under the politically damaging saga, dumping Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and moving them into new portfolios.
Both roles were taken over by veteran government problem solver Tony Burke.
Some of the detainees were charged with further crimes after they were released, stoking a barrage of bad publicity for the centre-left Labour government.
Officials scrambled to fit the cohort with ankle monitoring bracelets while imposing other strict conditions such as curfews.
Under the old policy, migrants could be detained indefinitely if Australia refused them a visa but could not legally deport them elsewhere — for example, if they faced the death penalty in their home country.
With nowhere to go and no hope of release, many languished inside spartan Australian detention centres for years.
But a High Court ruling in November found this was "unlawful", overturning a 20-year-old bipartisan policy and forcing the release of almost 150 people.
Of those freed, more than 70 had been refused visas after racking up convictions for assault and other violent crimes, while seven had been convicted of murder or attempted murder.
Australia began the mandatory detention of people without visas in 1992.
The average immigration detainee in Australia is held for 708 days, according to figures from Human Rights Watch, and more than 120 people have been in detention for over five years.
Australia's hardline border policy was originally framed as a reaction to significant numbers of people arriving by boat from Vietnam, Cambodia and China.
But it was pilloried by refugee advocates, with the United Nations' refugee agency describing the policy as "arbitrary" and "punitive".
151 people who came into contact with the victim are under observation to prevent the spread of the deadly virus
world12 hours ago
Her cheeky expressions and playful frolicking racked up millions of views and have lured thousands of visitors wanting to witness her antics
world1 day ago
China issues red alert, warns of gales and heavy rain
world1 day ago
Celebrity endorsements rarely carry enormous weight, but the hugely popular Swift is seen as being in a class of her own
world1 day ago
Brazil has been parched by a historic drought that experts link to climate change and which has sparked what authorities have called a 'fire pandemic'
world1 day ago
Generative artificial intelligence uses 30 times more energy than a traditional search engine
world1 day ago
SalamAir flight from Bangladesh's Chittagong was diverted to Nagpur Airport following a medical emergency
world1 day ago
The Dragon spacecraft landed in the ocean at 3.37am, a webcast of the splashdown showed, with a recovery team deploying in the pre-dawn darkness to retrieve the capsule and crew
world1 day ago