Tag: Australia

‘Act of Intimidation’: Australian PM Condemns China After Warship Fires Laser at Military Plane

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has criticised Beijing for “an act of intimidation” after a Chinese warship fired a laser at a Royal Australian military aircraft.

The attack took place on Feb. 17 as an Australian P-8A Poseidon aircraft was monitoring a Chinese Navy vessel sailing through the Arafura Sea—in international waters but inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

The Chinese warship reportedly fired a military-grade laser at the Australian aircraft, an action that the Australian defence department said could have put the lives of ADF personnel in danger.

The incident comes following a week of domestic political dispute about national security as Beijing escalates its plans to become the dominant force in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Qld reports six virus deaths, 3750 cases

The state has recorded another six virus deaths, with half in aged care, and 3750 new cases in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Monday.

The outbreak peaked almost three weeks ago, with 514 patients in hospital and another 41 people in intensive care, including 20 on ventilators on Monday.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath says with numbers of new cases, hospitalisations and deaths falling, the Queensland Disaster Management Committee is planning to scrap the daily COVID-19 media briefings.

She says the daily virus figures will instead be posted online at a set time, which is already the practice in other states.

“Well, I smile because we had that conversation this morning, you know, I think we are getting closer to be able to simply put the numbers up and report them at a consistent time every day, unless there is something out of the ordinary, or particularly important that we believe needs to be reported at press conferences,” Ms D’Ath told reporters on Monday.

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