Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned anti-Indigenous rights protesters who disrupted two Anzac Day dawn services as hundreds of thousands gathered across the nation to commemorate their war dead.

Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered across Australia and New Zealand for dawn services and street marches to commemorate their war dead on Anzac Day.

Australia has rejected a coal mining application based on environmental law for the first time.

MELBOURNE – Overseas travelers should be quarantined in hotels guarded by police, an inquiry into an Australian city’s bungled quarantine program reported on Friday. Victoria Health Minister Jenny Mikakos and senior public servant Chris Eccles both resigned after the inquiry heard evidence of their involvement in the program. Also Friday, Australia’s highest court upheld a state’s border closure and dismissed billionaire businessman Clive Palmer’s argument that the pandemic measure was unconstitutional. The seven High Court judges ruled that Western Australia’s state border closure to non-essential travel applied during “a hazard in the nature of a plague or epidemic” complied with the constitution. All Australian states and territories have used border restrictions to curb infections and a court ruling against Western Australia could have impacted their pandemic responses.

Australias highest court has upheld a states border closure and dismissed a case arguing the pandemic measure was unconstitutional. The High Court judges ruled that Western Australias border closure to non-essential travel applied during a hazard in the nature of a plague or epidemic complied with the constitution. The seven High Court judges ruled that Western Australia’s state border closure to non-essential travel applied during “a hazard in the nature of a plague or epidemic” complied with the constitution. All Australian states and territories have used border restrictions to curb infections and a court ruling against Western Australia could have impacted their pandemic responses. The General Assembly voted 150-0 on a resolution authorizing the meeting, though the United States, Israel and Armenia abstained.

Larry Hogan warned of a major surge in coronavirus cases and urged residents Thursday to wear masks to prevent the virus’s spread. State Health Officer and Department of Health Services Interim Division of Public Health Administrator Stephanie Smiley is the second state health officer to resign in the last six months. Lujan Grisham says people can’t get numb to the troubling data or the threat of the state’s health care system being overwhelmed. State health officials added 45 more coronavirus-related deaths Thursday, raising the overall toll to 4,511 including confirmed and presumed infections. Spain has a 14-day average of 527 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, one of the highest in Europe.

Almost exactly 110 years since the RMS Titanic sank, the Titanic II will set sail on its maiden voyage. The Titanic II project was first announced in 2012 and came to life thanks to Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, who founded the Blue Star Line Company, under which Titanic II will operate. Just like the original, Titanic II will separate sections of the boat by class. Designers of Titanic II have said it wont be an identical replica, despite an abundance of similarities. Others say it's a nice tribute to the memories of those who died when the RMS Titanic sunk in 1912.