SYDNEY -- After dropping interest rates down to historic low levels during the pandemic, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has lifted interest rates by 0.25 to 0.35 percent, the first rise since 2010, in an effort to calm growing inflation.

RBA Governor Philip Lowe said that it was now "the right time" to withdraw accommodative monetary support designed to help the Australian economy through the pandemic. (Australia-Interest Rate)

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SEOUL -- South Korea's headline inflation hit the highest in 13 and a half years last month due to soaring energy price, statistical office data showed Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI) stood at 106.85 in April, up 4.8 percent from the same month last year, according to Statistics Korea.

It marked the fastest increase since October 2008, hovering above 4 percent for the second straight month. (South Korea-CPI)

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WELLINGTON -- New Zealand has recorded 9,109 new community cases of COVID-19, the Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.

Among the new community infections, 2,678 were reported in the largest city Auckland, said the ministry.

In addition, 128 new cases of COVID-19 were detected at the New Zealand border. (New Zealand-COVID-19)

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CANBERRA -- A spike in postal votes could delay results from Australia's general election, the electoral commission has warned.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Tuesday revealed it has already received 1.54 million applications for postal votes with 18 days until polling day, up from 1.5 million total in the 2019 campaign. (Australia-Election-Spike) Enditem

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