Australia

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End of Tale for Baby Whale
 End of Tale for Baby Whale
Aug 22, 2008 5:55 AM CDT

End of Tale for Baby Whale

Stranded humpback calf put down after nuzzling Sidney ships

(Newser) - A lost baby humpback whale who broke the world's heart when it nuzzled ships near Sydney was put down today with an overdose of anesthetic, reports the Australian. Experts say the calf, dubbed Colin, had no chance of surviving. The whale had been attacked by sharks and needed several months...

Baby Whale to Be Euthanized
 Baby Whale to Be Euthanized
Aug 21, 2008 11:49 AM CDT

Baby Whale to Be Euthanized

Shark-inflicted injuries take toll on humpback deteriorating after separation from mother

(Newser) - Australia’s wildlife service plans to kill the baby whale that mistook a yacht for its mother in a bay north of Sydney, the Morning Herald reports. Veterinarians say the whale, plagued by shark-inflicted injuries and breathing difficulties, doesn’t have long to live anyway. A team will administer a...

Must Globetrotting Aussies Be Grounded?
 Must Globetrotting
 Aussies Be Grounded?
OPINION
Aug 20, 2008 2:54 PM CDT

Must Globetrotting Aussies Be Grounded?

Wired blogger responds to Oz travel-bashing

(Newser) - It's even harder being green if you're Australian, since it takes a long-haul flight to get practically anywhere, Adele Horin observes in the Sydney Morning Herald. Aussies consider globetrotting to be part of their birthright, but Horin thinks it's time her country-mates recognize airplanes for what they are: "toxic...

Baby Whale's Fate Appears Grim

Calf needs milk fast, and won't get it from yacht it thinks is its mother

(Newser) - The humpback whale calf who mistook a yacht for its mother in the waters off Sydney is unlikely to survive the week, reports the Australian. "It has to get humpback whale milk and there is no way that that can be provided in captivity" said a government environmental official....

Children Can Count Without Numbers
Children Can Count Without Numbers
Aug 19, 2008 8:30 AM CDT

Children Can Count Without Numbers

Study suggests that kids have innate math abilities

(Newser) - A study sure to fan a fiery disagreement among developmental psychologists has found that children can count objects even if their language lacks words for the numbers involved. Researchers found that Australian Aboriginal children, who know words for only a few small numbers, did just as well as English-speaking children...

Baby Whale to Yacht: Are You My Mother?

Lost humpback calf nuzzles boat, must be lured out to sea

(Newser) - A disoriented baby humpback whale in the waters off New South Wales, Australia, apparently decided a yacht was its mother, the Daily Telegraph reports. Government naturalists lured the calf, which was nuzzling the boat and trying to nurse, out to sea by towing the yacht. "It's a very sad...

Aussie Mayor Begs Ugly Girls to Move to Town

Male-dominated outpost needs women with, uh, a pulse

(Newser) - An Australian mayor thinks he has a solution for the crisis facing his town: More ugly girls. Men outnumber women 5-to-1 in Mount Isa, so John Molony is begging women, particularly desperate ones, to migrate there. “Often those who are beauty-disadvantaged are uphappy with their lot,” he said....

Save Planet, Eat 'Roo Burgers, Scientist Urges

Belching sheep and cattle account for 11% of Aussie emissions

(Newser) - Can kangaroo burgers save the world? One Australian scientist thinks so. Farming kangaroos to replace conventional livestock could reduce greenhouse gas emissions, he says. Cattle and sheep expel methane gas—more harmful than carbon dioxide—through belching and flatulence, but 'roos don't, thanks to unique microorganisms in their digestive tracts,...

Aussie PM Gains Cachet From Thieving Ancestors

Preteen convict adorns Rudd's family tree

(Newser) - Australia’s history as a penal colony is no laughing matter, but some Aussies have come to appreciate, and even relish, their hardscrabble beginnings. Case in point: PM Kevin Rudd, whose family tree includes ancestors convicted of stealing sugar (in 1801) and underwear (in 1788). The release of some details...

Doctors Fume Over Website Selling Fake Sick Notes

Australian physicians want it shut down

(Newser) - In an Internet version of a classic schoolboy trick, a website is peddling fake doctors' notes to Australians looking to get some paid time off, reports news.com.au. The $40 certificates have infuriated the medical community, which wants the police to step in. Two backpackers reportedly set up the...

America Tops Wish List for Foreign Tourists

Falling dollar helps US edge Australia as most likely destination

(Newser) - The plummeting dollar has tourists punching their tickets for the US, according to Lonely Planet’s latest rankings. America came out ahead in voting for the country travelers were most likely to visit next, Reuters reports, knocking Australia—tops since 2004—from its perch.

Hole in Qantas Jet Forces Emergency Landing

Gap ripped in fuselage after mystery bang

(Newser) - A Qantas flight en route to Australia from London made an emergency landing in Manila today after a mysterious bang punched a 9-foot-wide hole in the fuselage and sent the Boeing 747-400 plunging thousands of feet. There were no injuries but some of the 350 passengers and crew vomited, AP...

Pope Apologizes for 'Evil' Clergy Sex Abuse

Pontiff tells Australia child abusers have damaged the church

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI used unusually strong language today in condemning the sexual abuse of children by Australia's Catholic clergy, reports the AP. The pontiff said the clergy's "grave betrayal of trust" had damaged the Catholic church. "I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering the victims have...

Mickey Mouse Hat Doesn't Get Pope's Blessing

Youth Day gift from Disney fans can't lure Benedict into photo op

(Newser) - Photographers, children and Disney executives were sorely disappointed this morning when Pope Benedict refused to don a black Mickey Mouse hat, complete with ears, in place of his usual white skullcap. A group from Orange County, Calif., presented Benedict with the getup during World Youth Day festivities in Australia, Reuters...

Aussies May Have Slipped Pope a Cat

Vatican denies presence of papal loaner for company

(Newser) - There’s a new papal mystery swirling around the Outback—is Pope Benedict hanging out with a borrowed kitten? Organizers of the Catholic youth festival say they gave Benedict a gray loaner named Bella to keep the cat-loving pontiff company during his Australian sojurn. But when pressed, a Vatican spokesman...

Aussie Court Strikes Down Law Banning Pope Protests

Law against 'annoying' Catholics attending papal events ruled unconstitutional

(Newser) - An Australian court has struck down a law aimed at curbing protests during Pope Benedict XVI's visit Down Under, reports Reuters. The law, ruled unconstitutional, had banned protesters from "annoying" those attending papal events. People handing out condoms or wearing anti-Pope t-shirts faced possible $5,000 fines.

Devils Breed Earlier to Stave Off Cancer

Attempt to outlast disease could be evolutionary

(Newser) - Tasmanian devils are reproducing at a younger age to offset a contagious cancer epidemic, the Daily Telegraph reports. The ill-tempered marsupials, suffering from tumors that cut their lifespan in half, are now breeding at age 1 instead of 2 or 3. "We could be seeing evolution occurring before our...

'Go Green,' Pope Urges Youth
 'Go Green,' Pope Urges Youth 
Jul 14, 2008 4:35 AM CDT

'Go Green,' Pope Urges Youth

Pontiff pleads for the earth as he kicks off visit to Australia

(Newser) - The Pope yesterday called on the world—particularly young people—to combat global warming with "a style of life that eases problems caused to the environment," reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Pope Benedict issued his plea just minutes before touching down in Australia for an official visit. The...

Pope Vows Abuse Apology in Australia

He vows to help sex abuse victims, who say cover-ups continue

(Newser) - Traveling to Sydney today, Pope Benedict promised to apologize for a sexual abuse scandal that has rocked Australia's Catholic Church, Reuters reports. He also vowed to ensure it never recurs, and to help Australian victims heal—but one victims' group still accuses the Church of covering up abuse by priests...

In Aussie Outback, It's All in 'Skin' Name

Secondary tag tells others where you fit in a complicated kinship system

(Newser) - When she moved to the central Australian outback, Penny Bergen was ready for a drastically different life, but she didn’t know it would take a new name to stake her place in a tiny Aboriginal community. Reporting for Radio Free Netherlands, the journalist writes about her experience getting a...

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