Australia

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Men At Work Stole Down Under Riff

Band faces hefty payments for borrowing kid song

(Newser) - The Australian rock band Men at Work is facing major royalty penalties now that a court has ruled they stole "substantial parts" of popular kids' song Kookaburra in their '80s hit Down Under. Music publishing company Larrikan, which owns the rights to the song, could now collect damages from...

Man Catches Fire After Tasering
 Man Catches Fire After Tasering 
Feb 1, 2010 11:26 AM CST

Man Catches Fire After Tasering

(Newser) - A man who was threatening to burn down a house suffered burns to his arms and upper body when police shot him with a taser. Police in the Western Australian capital of Perth resorted to the taser in an effort to arrest the 44-year-old after he had spread fuel throughout...

Aussies Bicker Over How to Murder Toads

State would prefer folks bludgeon, not suffocate invasive species

(Newser) - Residents of Western Australia, Oz’s largest state, are incensed by a government mandate that might seem odd to those in, say, Kansas: When engaged in the mass killing of cane toads, use the cricket bat instead of the bag of carbon dioxide. Aussies have long made a sport of...

Killer Spiders Invade Sydney
 Killer Spiders Invade Sydney 
Jan 21, 2010 1:44 AM CST

Killer Spiders Invade Sydney

Warm weather blamed for influx of funnel-webs

(Newser) - A heavy infestation of funnel-web spiders is giving Sydney residents the jitters. Experts say the spider—one of the deadliest and most aggressive in existence—is arriving in unusually large numbers because of warm and wet weather. The spider's bite can be fatal within two hours, although no Australians have...

Surf Rage Roils Aussie Waters
 Surf Rage Roils Aussie Waters 
Jan 15, 2010 4:13 AM CST

Surf Rage Roils Aussie Waters

Surf etiquette signs posted to defuse conflicts

(Newser) - Sydney is taking steps to defuse the growing number of "surf rage" incidents at beaches shared by beginners and life-long surfers. Signs are going up at popular beaches warning newbies to follow surf etiquette by not "dropping in"—catching a wave claimed by somebody else—or "...

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

 France No. 1 
 in Quality of Life 

US IS No. 7
Jan 7, 2010 2:00 PM CST

France No. 1 in Quality of Life

It's No. 1 on list, with the US at No. 7

(Newser) - International Living crunches the numbers on everything from cost of living to health care to climate to find the nations with the best quality of life. France tops the list, with the US at No. 7. A sampling:
  • France (No. 1): "Tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes" can't trump
...

Horny Lesbian Koalas Upstage Andy Roddick
 Horny Lesbian Koalas 
 Upstage Andy Roddick 
wild kingdom
Jan 7, 2010 11:24 AM CST

Horny Lesbian Koalas Upstage Andy Roddick

Marsupial web sensations sneak into tennis star's TV appearance

(Newser) - The week's hot viral video is an interview with tennis star Andy Roddick in which the background activity becomes so compelling that it quickly turns into a video of the tennis star's left shoulder. Yes, those are koalas, getting busy in a tree. The video was a sensation—Roddick, not...

US Viewers Slam 'Racist' Aussie KFC Ad

Yanks are misinterpreting ad, says KFC

(Newser) - An Australian Kentucky Fried Chicken ad featuring a white cricket fan befriending a black crowd with a bucket of fried chicken has been blasted as racist in the US. The Australian fan in the ad asks "Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" while surrounded by...

Cancer Clue May Save Tasmanian Devils

Scientists find the origins of fast-spreading disease

(Newser) - Hope for Tasmanian devils: Scientists think they've found the origin of a contagious cancer threatening to wipe them out. An international research team picked apart the cancer's genes and discovered that it apparently first arose in cells that protect the animals' nerves. The surprise finding, reported in today's edition of...

Sydney Starts Off 2010 With a Bang

Australian city gets drop on New Zealand with early display

(Newser) - Sydney welcomed 2010 a little early this year, with a 9pm fireworks display over the harbor for the family crowd. That hour in Australia happens to fall at midnight in Auckland, New Zealand, which usually lays claim to the first big celebration of the New Year, but appears to have...

'Best Job' Winner Stung by Lethal Jellyfish

Southall survives worst day of dream work

(Newser) - Contest winner Ben Southall is recovering after his final week in "the world's best job" nearly became his last week alive. The 34-year-old Englishman, who beat thousands of other applicants to land a 6-month $150,000 job as caretaker of a Great Barrier Reef island, was stung by a...

Developing Countries Boycott Climate Talks
 Developing Countries 
 Boycott Climate Talks 

COPENHAGEN SUMMIT
Dec 14, 2009 9:23 AM CST

Developing Countries Boycott Climate Talks

Refuse to participate unless rich countries cut more

(Newser) - A group of 125 developing countries, including China and India, boycotted the climate change talks in Copenhagen today, accusing developed countries of trying to ditch the Kyoto protocol, and the penalties it imposes on them if they don't meet emissions limits. The Africa-led move created chaos at the talks, which...

Australia Warns Ships About Iceberg

Industry told to watch out for 54-square-mile mass

(Newser) - Australian authorities today warned ships to watch out for the 54-square-mile iceberg that’s slowly approaching the continent’s southwest coast. The once-in-a-century iceberg broke off the coast of Antarctica roughly a decade ago and has been creeping toward the land down under ever since. It's still about 1,000...

I'm a Celeb Contestants Charged in Rat-Eating


 I'm a Celeb 
 Contestants 
 Charged in 
 Rat-Eating 
I'm a rat, get me out of here!
Dec 6, 2009 9:05 AM CST

I'm a Celeb Contestants Charged in Rat-Eating

Animal-rights activists not amused by stunt

(Newser) - Turns out that killing and eating a rat on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here was a bad idea on many levels—including the animal cruelty charges that two contestants are now facing. Series winner and chef Gino D'Acampo and actor Stuart Manning are facing charges in Australia...

7-Foot NBA Star Names Shrimp Species

The retired Luc Longley pays $2,900 on eBay

(Newser) - The newest shrimp species in the world is Lebbeus clarehanna, courtesy of a man who knows nothing about being small—retired NBA star Luc Longley. The 7-foot Australian bought the rights to name the newly discovered species on eBay for $2,900 and named it after his daughter Clare Hanna,...

Aussies Will Kill 6K Thirsty Camels Besieging Town

Officials to shoot 6K thirsty, marauding camels

(Newser) - A town in the Australian outback is “under siege by 6,000 marauding, wild camels,” says a local official: Record-breaking drought drove the thirsty creatures to trample fences, smash water tanks, and terrorize locals, the AP reports. To stop the rampage, the government plans next week to herd...

Lovers Make Time in Sydney Clock Tower

Witnesses agog at towering hijinks

(Newser) - Naked lovers didn't miss a beat having midday sex in full view atop a prominent Sydney clock tower. Now Australian newspapers are pleading with the dynamic duo to reveal their identities. Crowds gathered to watch and snap photos when the lovers got down to business last week. "So many...

Aussie Scientologists Accused of Torture

Oz senator alleges violence, embezzlement, forced abortions

(Newser) - Scientology's status as a church masks a "criminal organization" guilty of torture, forced imprisonment, coerced abortion, embezzlement and blackmail, charges an Australian senator, whose accusations have triggered concerns by the Aussie prime minister. Nick Xenophon, who yesterday showed the Australian parliament and police letters from ex-Scientologists detailing abuse and...

Aussies 'Sorry' for Abused Children

Children forced to migrate to Australia neglected, beaten

(Newser) - The Australian government has apologized—again—this time for abusing thousands of children forced to migrate to the nation. Some 500,000 "forgotten Australians" were abused or neglected in orphanages and children's work homes from 1930 to 1970. "We are sorry," Australian Prime Minister Devin Rudd told...

Tiger Wins Masters Down Under

Pulls out win in first trip to Australia in 11 years

(Newser) - Tiger Woods has won the Australian Masters for his seventh victory of the year, closing with a 4-under 68 for a victory that drew record crowds at Kingston Heath. In his first trip Down Under in 11 years, Woods put on quite a show for his $3 million appearance fee.

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