Australia

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Aussie Cadets: We Were Forced to Rape Each Other

Public inquiry underway to hear of alleged abuse

(Newser) - Former recruits have emerged with disturbing allegations against Australia's military, claiming that as part of their "initiation," they were raped by staff and also made to rape each other—with some saying they were as young as 15, CNN reports. At a public inquiry that started Tuesday,...

Athletes Are Already Getting Robbed in Rio

Australian Paralympian robbed at gunpoint on Sunday

(Newser) - The Olympics are still six weeks away, yet several athletes have already become victims of crime in Rio. Australian Paralympic sailor Liesl Tesch, 47, says a man with a gun demanded money, then pushed her off her bicycle as she rode in a park on Sunday. A second man stole...

This Might Be the World's Oldest Beer

Researchers say they made it from 220-year-old yeast

(Newser) - One sip of Preservation Ale and you'll be transported to a time long past—kind of. Researchers at an Australian museum have brewed what might be the "world's oldest beer," using yeast salvaged from a bottle that spent nearly two centuries on the seafloor, they say...

This Is Likely the First Mammal Lost to Climate Change

Mosaic-tailed rat has vanished from Bramble Cay off Australia

(Newser) - Way to go, humanity. For the first time in history, human-induced climate change has been found "solely or primarily" responsible for the extinction of a mammal species, according to a new study . The Bramble Cay melomys , or mosaic-tailed rat, was found by Europeans on a tiny coral cay off...

Flying Fox Invasion Drives Town Batty

'The smell is so bad ... we can actually taste it'

(Newser) - Batemans Bay, Australia, is a picturesque coastal town that always leaves the welcome mat out for tourists. But tens of thousands of visitors of another kind have more than outstayed their welcome—large bats. Residents feel trapped in their guano-coated houses, and those who venture outside soon feel a disgusting...

How the World's 'Ugliest Color' Is Being Used to Save Lives

'Opaque couché' was found to remind people of death

(Newser) - In 2012, a marketing research company determined Pantone 448 C (aka "opaque couché") was the world's ugliest color —and it's been used to try to save lives ever since. Per the Guardian , GfK surveyed 1,000 smokers back then to find out which hue...

After Baby Stops Breathing, 'Hey Siri' Comes to Rescue

Aussie mom used voice-activated feature to call ambulance as she performed CPR

(Newser) - An Aussie mom recently penned a heartfelt thank-you note to Apple, and her story of how the company's "Hey Siri" feature helped save her 1-year-old daughter is now making the rounds. Per 9to5mac.com , Stacey Gleeson noticed her daughter, Giana, wasn't breathing back in March, and as...

2nd Aussie in a Week Killed By Shark

60-year-old woman killed while diving as her companion escapes

(Newser) - A diver was killed by a large shark off the west Australian coast on Sunday in the country's second fatal attack in less than a week, reports the AP . The 60-year-old woman was diving with a man at a popular dive spot in the northern Perth suburb of Mindarie...

Vegan Climber Whose Wife Died on Everest: It's My Fault

Robert Gropel says he didn't realize how sick she was

(Newser) - The husband of a woman who died climbing Mount Everest earlier this month says he blames himself for her death, the Guardian reports. In an interview with Network Seven in Australia, Robert Gropel says wife Maria Strydom seemed exhausted from climbing when they were just 15 minutes from the peak....

Cyclist: Kangaroo Ruptured My Breast Implants

Sharon Heinrich, 45, says she and pal were both hurt

(Newser) - A woman says she and a friend were injured when they were jumped by a kangaroo while cycling in an Australian wine region, the AP reports. Sharon Heinrich, 45, said Monday that she and her friend Helen Salter, 47, were cycling side by side along a tourist route in the...

'Human Stupidity' Blamed After Crocodile Gets Woman

Cindy Waldron, 46, was swimming in waist-deep water late Sunday

(Newser) - "If you go in swimming at 10 o'clock at night, you're going to get consumed." Such was the assessment of an Australian lawmaker when commenting on a woman who is believed to have been consumed by a crocodile Sunday night in far North Queensland. Warren Entsch,...

Depp: Australia's Deputy PM Looks 'Inbred With a Tomato'

The dogfight isn't over

(Newser) - Australia's deputy prime minister says he's gotten into Johnny Depp's head like fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter after the Hollywood actor quipped that the ruddy-faced lawmaker appeared to be "inbred with a tomato." The exchange spanning half the globe is the latest in a war...

Everest Victim Wanted to Prove 'Vegans Can Do Anything'

Maria Strydom succumbed to altitude sickness near the summit

(Newser) - A fourth person has died on Mount Everest, and further details about the deaths are slowly emerging. Subhash Paul of India was being assisted overnight Sunday by Sherpa guides during a descent when he died of altitude sickness, the AP reports. Dutch climber Eric Arnold passed away Friday of the...

On Peninsula, Tasmanian Devils Make Last Stand

Australia guarding last wild population from contagious cancer that's decimating their ranks

(Newser) - Drive over one narrow isthmus in Tasmania, and then another, and you'll reach Tasman Peninsula, the last place on Earth where wild Tasmanian devils live apart from a contagious cancer that threatens the marsupials' existence. Conservationists are doing everything they can to keep it that way. Devil-proof barriers, flashing...

Couple Who Lost 3 Kids in Plane Crash Welcome an 'Amazing Gift'

A new daughter brings 'light to our darkness'

(Newser) - An Australian couple who described living "in a hell beyond hell" after their three children were killed in a 2014 plane crash welcomed an "amazing gift" this week: a brand-new daughter, the Guardian reports. When Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was brought down by an anti-aircraft missile over the...

Archaeologists Find World&#39;s Oldest Axe
 Archaeologists 
 Find World's 
 Oldest Ax 
NEW STUDY
May 11, 2016 6:48 AM CDT

Archaeologists Find World's Oldest Ax

Only Japan comes close to harboring axes as old as fragment found in Australia

(Newser) - Archaeologists in Australia have found a fragment of an ax far older than any other ever found, evidence that the continent's first Aboriginal people were considerably more sophisticated with toolmaking than they've been given credit for. "We are rewriting history here," Sydney University archaeologist Peter Hiscock...

Johnny Depp Pokes Fun at His Dog Apology

Even Tim Burton jumped into the joke

(Newser) - Actor Johnny Depp has mocked his video apology over the international dog-smuggling scandal that ensued after he and his wife illegally brought their Yorkshire terriers into Australia, the AP reports. Depp and his wife, actor Amber Heard, avoided jail time in the so-called "war on terrier" incident with their...

Lawmaker Sets River on Fire, Blames Fracking

Jeremy Buckingham makes his case in Australia

(Newser) - Could fracking be behind methane gas that's bubbling up in an Australian river? A lawmaker there gave his answer by going out on a boat and setting fire to the water, ABC News Australia reports. "Unbelievable!" says Jeremy Buckingham in a video (WARNING: LANGUAGE) as flames leap...

Croc Drags Aussie Camper From Tent

Expert says teen's tent was too close to water

(Newser) - A family fishing and camping trip in Australia's Northern Territory turned terrifying Monday when a crocodile snuck up out of a creek about 50 feet from their campsite and dragged a 19-year-old from his tent, the Guardian reports. The croc yanked the teen out by his right foot at...

Animal Planet Crew Saves Near-Death Castaway

Australian was stranded on remote island without water

(Newser) - The crew of Animal Planet show River Monsters was searching for a "giant grouper" fish on a remote island in Australia last November. Instead, they found a castaway of sorts. "We saw this blue and white plastic cooler box sitting on some rocks, which we thought was a...

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