New Delhi, Nov. 13: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said in Melbourne that international students and travellers from India would soon be allowed to enter the country. “We’re looking forward to Indian students coming back to Australia…not too long now. We've recognised Indian-manufactured vaccines that will be facilitating the return of Indian students and Indian travellers to Australia,” said Morrison while speaking at the unveiling of a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Melbourne's Rowville suburb on Friday. Canberra has already approved Covaxin and Covishield for travellers entering Australia. Morrison also pointed out that the government had expanded the definition of immediate family, which would benefit those who’ve been separated from their parents for some period of time. Education is a major foreign exchange earner for Australia and it is estimated that out of the over six lakh foreign students enrolled in universities there, one-fifth or well over one lakh students are from India. Besides, about four lakh tourists from India visit Australia every year. Morrison also praised the Indian diaspora for its commitment towards family and expressed admiration for PM Narendra Modi. “We first (PM Modi and Morrison) met here in Melbourne many years ago at the MCG when he came to Australia and I was fortunate enough. I was the Minister for Immigration at the time and I was seated next to him,” he recalled. “I wasn’t expecting because, you know, he's a rock star, but thankful to security that night, he and I had quite a nice and friendly chat. We’ve remained friends ever since,” he added.-Agencies

Glasgow, Nov. 8: India on Sunday told the UN climate summit here that its solar energy capacity stands at about 45 gigawatts after it increased 17 times in the last seven years, asserting that although the country represents 17 per cent of the global population, its historical cumulative emissions are…

Kabul, Nov. 8: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations children’s agency kicked off a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan on Monday, the first nationwide campaign to fight the disease in three years. Naikwali Shah Momim, the National Emergency Operations Coordinator for the polio programme at Afghanistan’s health…

Berlin, Nov. 9: Germany's coronavirus infection rate climbed to its highest recorded level yet on Monday as what officials have called a “pandemic of the unvaccinated” gathers pace. The national disease control centre, the Robert Koch Institute, said the country has seen 201.1 new cases per 1,00,000 residents over the…

Tokyo, Nov.10: Fumio Kishida was re-elected as Japan's PM on Wednesday after his governing party scored a major victory in key parliamentary elections. Elected just over a month ago by parliament, Kishida called a quick election in which his Liberal Democratic Party secured 261 seats in the 465-member lower house,…

New Zealand, Nov. 11: A tiny gatecrasher twice grabbed centre stage from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as she updated the nation on curbs being enforced to combat Covid-19. "You're meant to be in bed, darling ... Pop back to bed, I'll come and see you in a second,"…

Wellington, Nov. 12: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that people have a duty to get vaccinated against the coronavirus to protect others. She spoke as Germany grapples with a new surge of infections, which reached a record daily high of 50,000 on Thursday. Merkel talked for 30 minutes with…