Australia

Stories 1601 - 1620 | << Prev   Next >>

US Clergy Tell Aussie Critic to Go Home

Bishop vows to keep slamming Vatican for sex abuse, celibacy

(Newser) - On orders from the Vatican, a dozen top US bishops have asked their Australian colleague to cancel his American book tour, the Los Angeles Times reports. But Geoffrey Robinson, former auxiliary bishop of Sydney, vows to keep on promoting Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church, which blames clergy...

Tasmania Moving Its Devils
 Tasmania Moving Its Devils 
May 28, 2008 1:22 PM CDT

Tasmania Moving Its Devils

As cancer decimates critters, Aussies quarantine them on old prison peninsula

(Newser) - The Australian government is stepping in to prevent the Tasmanian Devil from extinction, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the ill-tempered beasties have been dying off thanks to the world’s first contagious cancer, which they transfer by biting each other in the face. So zoologists are now working to...

Aussie Pardoned 86 Years After Execution

New tests reveal evidence flaw that went undetected in 1921

(Newser) - An Australian man hanged for raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl has been pardoned 86 years after his execution, Reuters reports. Hairs found in his bed that were said to belong to the victim weren’t hers, recent tests showed. The attorney general said the case was a warning against...

Aussie Anglican Won't Make Nice for Papal Visit

Cleric has no beef with controversial government funding

(Newser) - An influential Anglican cleric won’t be welcoming Pope Benedict to Australia with open arms. But the outspoken dean of Sydney, whose brother is the city's archbishop, says he has no trouble with the public funding that's going toward the pontiff's July visit. Phillip Jensen says he won’t be...

Beer Gets Seatbelt, Kid Doesn't
Beer Gets Seatbelt,
Kid Doesn't
May 13, 2008 5:28 PM CDT

Beer Gets Seatbelt, Kid Doesn't

Australian driver in hot water for protecting brew, not 5-year-old

(Newser) - An Australian man has been fined after buckling up his beer but letting a 5-year-old child ride sitting on the floor of his car. "The concern is about people's priorities," a police spokesperson told the Brisbane Times, adding, "It is very unusual to see someone go to...

Climate Change Imperils Koalas
 Climate Change Imperils Koalas 
May 7, 2008 12:36 PM CDT

Climate Change Imperils Koalas

Hotter weather makes eucalyptus less delicious

(Newser) - Koalas' fussy eating habits put them at special risk from global warming, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Hotter weather makes eucalyptus leaves—the animals' only food source—lower in nutrients and higher in toxic chemicals than they once were. The change could force koalas out of areas of their already...

Need Cash? Got a Kidney?
Need Cash?
Got a Kidney?
May 5, 2008 6:17 PM CDT

Need Cash? Got a Kidney?

Personal kidney sales ($50K a pop) would speed up system, Aussie doc says

(Newser) - An Australian doctor says the young and healthy should be allowed to sell a kidney for $50,000 Australian (about $47,000 US). Otherwise, patients either languish for years without a needed transplant or travel to third-world countries where they can buy organs on the black market, the Sydney Morning ...

Weak Dollar Not Slowing US Vacations

About 25 million expected to travel abroad this summer

(Newser) - The dollar may be weak, but Americans’ desire to travel overseas this summer is strong, the Los Angeles Times reports. While domestic travel has appeared to hit the skids, more than 25 million Americans will grab their passports and take off for adventures abroad—up 2.6% from last year,...

Aussies Ditch Dueling Law
 Aussies Ditch Dueling Law 
May 3, 2008 12:56 PM CDT

Aussies Ditch Dueling Law

Laws on duels, piracy walk the plank as criminal code is updated

(Newser) - There's no longer a law against challenging somebody to a duel in Queensland, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. As part of an effort to get old laws off the books, the Australian state is also scrapping laws against piracy on the high seas, and mayors will no longer have to...

World, Don't Fret Over Aussie Kangaroo Cull
World, Don't Fret Over
Aussie Kangaroo Cull
OPINION
May 2, 2008 7:37 PM CDT

World, Don't Fret Over Aussie Kangaroo Cull

Measure trims massive population—plus they taste good

(Newser) - Worldwide outrage over a plan to cull 400 kangaroos in Australia doesn't surprise native Robert Skeffington, he writes in the Wall Street Journal. But he argues that outsiders are missing key facts: The ubiquitous 'roo would overwhelm Aussies if not for such measures, and the hoppers happen to taste good,...

'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms
 'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms 
May 2, 2008 8:33 AM CDT

'Big Dry' Killing Aussie Farms

Wheat exports critically low as farmers flee parched land

(Newser) - The worst drought in a century has forced a tenth of Australian farmers off the land, reports the BBC. The "Big Dry" has led to parched farmland across the nation over the last seven years, accelerating the exodus from rural areas. The number of farming families in Australia has...

Pro-China Wave Dominates Aussie Relay

Protesters allege Beijing hand in feel-good atmosphere

(Newser) - The Chinese flag flew high at the Australian leg of the Olympic torch relay today, with pro-China partisans outnumbering pro-Tibet protesters four to one—and relative calm compared to the intensity of the relay to date. Human rights protesters alleged that Beijing, apparently embarrassed by the tone of earlier protests,...

Australia Spirits Away Torch Ahead of Relay

Protesters do their thing anyway

(Newser) - The Olympic torch arrived Down Under today, but was immediately whisked off to a secret location to avoid protesters, the AP reports. Tomorrow’s torch relay in Canberra will be open to the public—unlike those in Jakarta and New Delhi—but the route will be lined with yard-high fences...

Croc Hunter's Dad Quits Zoo For $1M

Steve Irwin's dad will leave zoo he founded for $1M

(Newser) - Bob Irwin will retire from the Australian Zoo made famous by his 'Crocodile Hunter' son Steve, taking with him a retirement package worth just shy of $1 million amid rumors of a feud with his son's widow. Irwin will also collect a $93,000 yearly pension from the zoo he...

Father, Daughter Have Love Child
Father, Daughter Have Love Child
Apr 9, 2008 7:44 PM CDT

Father, Daughter Have Love Child

Australian couple tell interviewer they 'knew it was illegal, but you know, so what?'

(Newser) - An Australian father and daughter, reunited after 30 years, have had a daughter together, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. "I knew it was illegal, of course I knew it was illegal, but you know, so what," said the baby daddy/granddaddy. He called the sexual relationship "absolutely fantastic....

Cancer Can Be Contagious
 Cancer Can
 Be Contagious 
Apr 6, 2008 8:31 PM CDT

Cancer Can Be Contagious

Tasmanian Devils transmit it by biting, dogs with sex

(Newser) - Contrary to long-held opinion, cancer can be contagious—and Darwin is to blame, a science reporter told NPR. It turns out cancer cells evolve as species do, and in some rare cases—a cancer affecting Tasmanian devils, two others in dogs and hamsters—the cancers have evolved to allow direct...

Greenhouse Gases Destroying Koalas' Food

Extinction threat as eucalyptus becomes inedible

(Newser) - The koala and its marsupial cousins are in serious danger of extinction because greenhouse gases are rendering the eucalyptus leaves they rely on nutritionally worthless, reports the Australian. "What we're seeing is that the staple diet of these animals is being turned to leather," a professor said. "...

Aussie Pokes Croc's Eyes, Rescues Wife

Heroic hubby jumped on 8-foot beast's back and poked it in the eyes

(Newser) - When an 8-foot-long croc grabbed his wife and pulled her into the water, an Australian man says he did what anyone would—jump on the beast's back and poke it in the eyes until it let go. The pair made it to shore safely, reports the AP, although the woman...

Kangaroo Cull Canceled
 Kangaroo Cull Canceled 
Apr 2, 2008 2:40 AM CDT

Kangaroo Cull Canceled

Hopping mad protesters win reprieve for Canberra 'roos

(Newser) - Hundreds of kangaroos living on a former Australian naval base have won a stay of execution, the Independent reports. Plans to cull the animals met with a public outcry, and protesters vowed to form a human shield to protect the 'roos. The animals have been grazing heavily on grassland at...

World Will Dim Lights Tomorrow for Earth Hour

Cities will power off to call attention to global warming

(Newser) - Cities across the world will dim their lights  tomorrow night—temporarily darkening major landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Sydney’s Opera House and Chicago's Wrigley Field—in an effort to raise awareness about energy conservation and climate change. Phoenix, Atlanta, and a dozen other US cities will join...

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