New Zealand, Australia PMs meet to celebrate close ties

New Zealand Leaders' Meeting and the celebration of several anniversaries.

The meeting took place as both countries celebrate the 40th anniversary of Closer Economic Relations (CER), the 50th anniversary of the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement, and the 80th anniversary of diplomatic representation, said a New Zealand government statement.

Ministers met in seven months. The Australia-New Zealand Leaders' Meeting is their annual opportunity to "assess and set priorities for the relationship for the following year", Hipkins said.

Man shot dead in ‘targeted’ attack in Sydney

Wellington, July 26 (IANS) New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese met here on Wednesday for their first annual Australia-

"It was great to meet again with Prime Minister Albanese to celebrate our closest international relationship, mark this special year of anniversaries and work towards an even better future," Xinhua news agency quoted Hipkins as saying.

It was the fifth time the two Prime

Wednesday saw an agreement to put together a joint AustraliaNew Zealand expert group, with a clear deadline of 12 months, to "scope initiatives to move closer towards seamless travel across the Tasman", the statement said. Measures would be adopted to help trans-Tasman businesses and tourism with a simplified border, without compromising security, it said, adding the expert group will report back by the end of June 2024.

The two sides also discussed issues of economic cooperation, trade, and climate change, among others.

Portable air purifiers could protect millions of Australians during bushfires

provides protection against smoke pollution indoors are air purifiers fitted with HEPA filters," Amanda Wheeler, lead author of the study from the CSIRO, said in a media release.

Sydney, July 27 (IANS) A man was shot dead in Sydney's southwest on Thursday, which is believed by the local police to be a targeted incident.

New South Wales (NSW) Police Force said in a statement that emergency services were called to Broughton Street, Canterbury, at about 2:00 a.m. local time, after receiving reports of shots fired,

Xinhua news agency reported. A man, sustaining gunshot wounds, was treated by paramedics but died at the scene. The identity of the victim who was thought to be in his 20s has yet to be officially confirmed.

This is the second targeted shooting reported by NSW police within two days. Both incidents occurred in the southwest of Sydney.

On Wednesday, a 31-year-old man was shot outside a home on Narelle Crescent, Greenacre, by an unknown person. He was later sent to the hospital and in stable condition.

Indian national dies after being hit by bus

for him,” Rubal Singh, a relative of the deceased, told SBS Punjabi. Rubal Singh said that the Major Crash Unit was investigating the circumstances leading to his death.

Canberra, July 31 (IANS) Portable air purifiers could protect millions of Australians from smoke inhalation during major bushfire events, according to a new study published on Monday.

In the stud, a team from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) found that purifiers fitted with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters can improve indoor air quality by up to 74 per cent during bushfire events, reports Xinhua news agency.

Much of Australia was blanketed by smoke during the devastating 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires, causing a 44 per cent increase in the number of people reporting asthma symptoms and presenting to emergency departments. A landmark inquiry into the fires later heard evidence that the smoke was linked to an estimated 445 deaths.

The new study estimates that its findings could protect 2.7 million Australians with asthma and an additional 7 million at elevated risk of health problems during extreme smoke events.

"Staying inside and closing windows and doors during extreme smoke events is important, but ultimately what

"Using more than one, if possible, inside houses is likely to lead to improved health outcomes. To draw their findings, researchers monitored indoor and outdoor concentrations of PM2.5, high levels of which can cause significant health levels when breathed in. They found that nine homes operating a HEPA filter during prescribed burning periods had PM2.5 levels at least 30 per cent lower, with construction code compliance also a significant factor.

Wheeler said it was critical to find ways to protect the population from the serious health impacts of bushfires as climate change continues to extend the length of the threat season, potentially prolonging smoke exposure and associated adverse health effects.

Melbourne, July 24 (IANS) A 28-year-old Indian national from Ludhiana, who had been working as a driver for the past six months in South Australia, died after being hit by a bus.

Gagandeep Singh from Ludhiana had parked his bus on Conroy Street and had exited when the bus rolled forward and pinned him against a gate this month, Australian broadcaster SBS Punjabi reported. While Gagandeep received immediate medical response from paramedics at the scene, he died after being transported to a nearby hospital, police said.

“I talked to him (the) day before the incident. Excitedly sharing his plans for the future, he mentioned that it would be his final shift as a bus driver in Port Augusta. He had been eagerly looking forward to relocating to Melbourne later this month. Little did he know that fate had other plans in store

“We believe somehow the handbrake wasn’t applied to the bus that he parked at the yard. After exiting the bus, he realised that it was still moving. He tried to stop it by shutting down the roller gate but was tragically crushed between the bus and the gate,” he added.

A fundraiser has been set up by the community to take Gagandeep's body back to India and support the family that lost their only son and working member.

“Tragedy has struck the family as we mourn the sudden and untimely loss of our beloved, Gagandeep Singh,” GoFundMe organiser Sunny Singh wrote. “Together, we want to honour Gagandeep’s memory and send him back to his parents in India so they can say their final goodbyes following all the last rituals and traditions.”

The campaign has so far raised A$59,000.

Meta firms fined $14mn by Australia for misleading consumers

back in December 2020.

The federal court has ordered the two subsidiaries of Meta, Facebook Israel and Onavo Inc, to each pay AUS$10 million for engaging in conduct liable to mislead in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.

keep users' data protected and safe, for example with language such as 'Use a free, fast and secure VPN to protect personal information' and 'Helps Keep You and Your Data Safe'," the commission said.

app over 270,000 times.

Facebook discontinued the service in May 2019.

listings conveyed that the Onavo Protect VPN would only use users' data.

Sydney, July 26 (IANS) An Australian court on Wednesday ordered Meta (formerly Facebook) platforms to pay fines of nearly $14 million (AUS$20 million) for misleading consumers about the use of their data.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sued Meta over its use of Onavo

The subsidiaries, which were the Onavo Protect VPN app's developers and suppliers, were found to be responsible for misleading app descriptions displayed in Google and Apple App Store listings.

"In Google and Apple App Store listings, Onavo Protect was promoted as a product that would

"In fact, Onavo and Facebook Israel shared the personal activity data from users collected by the app in anonymised and aggregated form with parent company Meta (then known as Facebook Inc) for commercial benefit," it added.

The watchdog also discovered that between February 2016 and October 2017, Australian users installed the "Onavo Protect" VPN

"We took this case knowing that many consumers are concerned about how their data is captured, stored and used by digital platforms. We believe Australian consumers should be able to make an informed choice about what happens to their data based on clear information that is not misleading," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said in a statement.

As stated in joint submissions to the Court, Onavo and Facebook Israel agreed that the App Store

In the listings, Onavo Protect did not mention that it collected data about its Australian users' online activities for other purposes, including as a 'business intelligence tool'.

"In the case of the Onavo Protect app, we were concerned that consumers seeking to protect their privacy through a virtual private network were not clearly told that in downloading and using this app they were actually facilitating the use of their data for Meta's commercial benefit," Cass-Gottlieb said.