Australia

Caretaker Minister of Agriculture Lopao’o Natanielu Mua informed taro farmers that talks between Samoan and Australian officials have progressed considerably.

He reassured farmers that the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is in the final stages of reviewing and finalizing the export pathway for fresh taro with the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment.

"We are looking at December this year, when the exportation of our fresh taro to Australia will resume again," said Lopao’o according to a Savali newspaper report .

An outbreak in Sydney linked to the highly contagious Delta variant has grown to 128 cases.

Cases have also been recorded in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia.

Officials say it is a "critical time". Australia has kept case numbers low with border closures and lockdowns.

Reports say the emergency meeting considered measures such as mandatory vaccinations for care home workers and new quarantine rules.

This is the first time in months that cases have emerged in multiple parts of the country at the same time.

An expanded lockdown now covers 5m people in Greater Sydney, as well as the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong.

Cases of the highly infectious Delta variant now stand at 110.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Sunday that she expected that figure to rise.

"Given how contagious this strain of the virus is, we do anticipate that in the next few days, case numbers are likely to increase even beyond what we have seen today because we are seeing that people in isolation, unfortunately, would have already transmitted to all their house contacts," she said.

It comes after the government updated guidance last week to recommend only those aged over 60 get the shot, due to the risk of a rare blood-clotting syndrome.

Under-60s have been advised to get the alternative Pfizer shot, of which there are limited supplies.

Turning down any vaccine - and AstraZeneca is the world's most widely used one - may seem remarkable to other nations still battling rampant Covid.

The team will work with their Fijian counterparts from the Ministry of Health & Medical Services to bolster Fiji’s fight against COVID-19.

Australia and New Zealand deployed the highly trained joint multi-disciplinary team following a request from the Fijian Government.

The team’s priority over the next 28 days will be creating additional spaces to offer care to non-COVID patients and to strengthen infection control protocols.

The team are fully vaccinated and, following quarantine, will deploy to Suva to support the Fiji Ministry of Health.

Customers reported problems with banks including ANZ, Westpac, St George, ME bank, Macquarie Bank, Allianz, and the Commonwealth Bank.

Banking apps were likewise unavailable.

The airlines affected suffered short outages. American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines were among them.

The disruption began at about 14:10 Sydney time (05:10 GMT). Australia Post, the postal service, was hit too - as well as Virgin Australia, the country's second-biggest carrier.

NSW Health said the Bondi man, in his 60s, worked as a driver and that international flight crew had been among his passengers.

The man visited the Bondi Junction shopping centre in the city's east several times in recent days.

Visitors to Bondi Junction's Event Cinemas on Sunday, 13 June between 1.30pm and 4pm for a screening of Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard which started at 1.45pm were asked to contact NSW Health, self-isolate for 14 days, and get tested.

The man took a saliva test yesterday, which came back positive today.

There was a trial for interested players in Brisbane on Sunday and then a second one in Sydney at the Cambelltown Harlequins Club on Monday.

The two trials were made necessary because of the level of interest from players with Samoan heritage who are keen to represent the national side.

ABC Radio Australia reports the trials were supervised by coach Ramsey Tomokino, with his assistant and former Manusina international, Taala Cynthia Ta'ala-Timaloa.

The family will now be allowed to live together in Perth while they pursue legal action related to their immigration status.

Four-year-old Tharnicaa Murugappan was evacuated to a Perth hospital last week after contracting a blood infection.

Her medical condition reignited public concern for the family's welfare.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said the father, Nades, and eldest child, Kopika, 6, would be flown to Perth on Monday where they can join Tharnicaa and mother, Priya.

The family has been separated for more than a week.

The Fijian sides are set to feature in the inaugural PacificAus Oceania Sevens tournament later this month, to help boost team preparations ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in July.

Fijiana coach, Saiasi Fuli, said both squads have hit the ground running.

"So far so good. It's very windy and cold here in the Sunshine Coast, but we're okay with the last three days," he said.