Australia

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Hiker Safe After 12 Days Lost in Aussie Hills

(Newser) - A British teenager is recovering in the hospital after an afternoon trip that turned into a 12-day ordeal in the Australian wilderness, the BBC reports. Jamie Neale, 19, got lost in the Blue Mountains and survived by eating seeds and grass, and sheltering under logs amid freezing temperatures. His son...

Aussie Town Bans Bottled Water

(Newser) - A small New South Wales village has become the first community in the world to ban the sale of bottled water, the BBC reports. Bundanoon officials, who say bottled water wastes huge amounts of resources in packaging and transportation, were moved to act when they realized a bottled water company...

Katie Crew Forced to Sign Scientology Censor Pact

(Newser) - Holy scientology, Batman! The film crew on Katie Holmes' newest movie are being forced to sign pacts agreeing not to ask the scientology convert about her religion, reports the Australian Herald Sun. The Batman Begins actress, hubby Tom Cruise and daughter Suri are in Melbourne taking in the sights and...

Aussies May Charge $20 Per Pack of Ciggies

(Newser) - Australians may be coughing up $20 for a pack of cigarettes if officials approve a new anti-smoking plan, the Age reports. The proposal, designed to cut Aussie smoking by a third, would ban all tobacco sponsorship and online sales, devote 95% of cigarette packaging to graphic health warnings, and tax...

Drowning in Alcohol, Aborigines Split Over Booze Ban

Some see restrictions as infringement on hard-won rights

(Newser) - As the Australian government cracks down on alcohol in Aboriginal areas, some communities are taking matters into their own hands, instituting local restrictions on booze, the New York Times reports. Some indigenous leaders see alcohol as a blight on their communities, fueling child abuse and domestic violence. But others see...

Aussie Seamen Probed in Sex Betting Ring

(Newser) - Australia is looking into allegations that a group of sailors ran a sex betting ring on the high seas, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Female members of the HMAS Success crew told officials that a group of sailors kept a betting book—known as "The Ledger"—to see...

How Other Countries Party on Their July 4

(Newser) - Americans chow down on hot dogs and embrace their inner pyromaniac on July 4—but what about everyone else? William Sertl of Gourmet looks at national days from around the globe...and the eats that accompany them.
  • Australia Day (Jan. 26) Beer, grilled fish, shucked oysters, and chipotle pork cheeseburgers
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Aussies Dig Up 3 New Dinosaurs

Dinos from Down Under evolved separately from cousins elsewhere

(Newser) - The skeletons of three previously unknown species of dinosaur have been found in the Australian Outback, reports ABC News of Australia. The dinosaurs—two big herbivores and a fearsome carnivore—roamed about 100 million years ago. One of the herbivores is similar to a hippo and the other to a...

More Sex Makes Stronger Sperm, Cuts Infertility

Men's sperm quality improves with daily ejaculation, study finds

(Newser) - Having sex every day improves sperm quality and can improve a couple's chances of conception, an Australian fertility specialist finds. Eight in 10 men with fertility problems showed less damaged DNA and more mobility in their sperm after 7 days, the BBC reports. The study recommended men "keep the...

'High as a Kite' Wallabies Draw Circles in Poppy Fields

It raises concerns about crop safety in Tasmania

(Newser) - Crop circles popping up in Australia aren’t the work of extraterrestrial visitors, but of stoned wallabies, Livenews reports. Marsupials have been breaking into poppy fields—which supply 50% of the world’s opium to pharmaceuticals—and munching on the crops. Then, “high as a kite,” they spin...

Aussie PM Refuses to Quit in Car Dealer Scandal

(Newser) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is refusing to resign in the first major crisis of his 19 months in office, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Dubbed "Utegate"—after a popular SUV—the scandal centers on whether Rudd gave special treatment to a friend's car dealership. Critics say Rudd...

New Kids Scrap Aussie Tour, Blaming Recession

(Newser) - The New Kids on the Block have canceled a planned tour of Australia because of weak ticket sales amid the recession, Reuters reports. “We are, in fact, in the middle of a worldwide recession and we just cannot make it work,” said Donnie Wahlberg. He said the group...

Men Hot for Average Women: Study

Sorry, hotties: scientists find males prefer typical to supermodel

(Newser) - Women need not be supermodels or Playboy bunnies to attract men’s attention. In fact, guys tend to find so-called average women the most attractive, scientists tell the Telegraph. They polled 100 male students on line drawings of women’s torsos with varying measurements, and found that the men preferred...

Airbus 330 Makes Emergency Landing in Guam

Cockpit fire forces move; plane same type as in Air France crash

(Newser) - An Airbus 330 carrying 203 people has made an emergency landing in Guam after an electrical problem sparked a small fire in the cockpit, airline officials said. There were no injuries. Though it's the same type of plane as the Air France flight that crashed last week in the Atlantic,...

Hermes Breeds Crocs to Skin for Handbags

(Newser) - Fashion mainstay Hermes is now maintaining its own crocodile farms in Australia to provide skins for its handbags, Reuters reports. “The world is not full of crocodiles, except the stock exchange!” the French company’s CEO joked, feebly. Hermes’ leather-accessory line, which accounts for 40% of company business,...

Hubby to Serve Year in Newlywed Wife's Dive Death

Alabama man admits letting his bride sink to her death off the Great Barrier Reef

(Newser) - An Alabama man will serve 12 months in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of his wife off Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Guardian reports. Gabe Watson, an experienced diver trained in rescue procedures, made no attempt to save his wife, a novice diver, as she sank...

Tumor-Stricken Tasmanian Devils Now 'Endangered'

Australia ups protections for devastated, iconic species

(Newser) - The Tasmanian devil, the iconic inhabitant of the island off Australia and the world’s largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, is now officially endangered, reports the BBC. Under attack by a virulent disease characterized by facial tumors, the devil population may be as low as 20,000, down 70% since the...

Aussie Surfer Saves Skippy the 'Roo From Jaws

Aussie man bounds into action after swimming kangaroo gets in trouble

(Newser) - An Aussie surfer saved a kangaroo from near-certain death in shark-infested waters, reports the Times of London reports. John McCallum watched dumbfounded from the beach as the 'roo hopped straight into the ocean and was pulled 200 yards offshore by a dangerous rip. He then jumped on his board and...

Flu Spreads, Kills US Man
 Flu Spreads, Kills US Man 
May 10, 2009 7:30 AM CDT

Flu Spreads, Kills US Man

Australia, Japan see cases

(Newser) - Health officials have confimed that a 30-year-old Washington state man died last week of the H1N1 flu strain, raising its US death toll to  three, Reuters reports. He had suffered from heart problems. The disease has now been found in some 2,200 Americans and has spread to Japan and...

Australia to Kill 6K Kangaroos
 Australia to Kill 6K Kangaroos 
May 8, 2009 9:08 AM CDT

Australia to Kill 6K Kangaroos

Burgeoning population is harming rare plants; protests planned

(Newser) - Australia's army has started shooting 6,000 kangaroos to thin the animal population on an army training ground near the capital, an official said today, outraging conservationists who have vowed to protest. The killings are intended to protect endangered plants and insects that share the grassy habitat with the kangaroos....

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