India and Australia have begun talks aimed at strengthening bilateral ties, including boosting nuclear cooperation. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is meeting with her Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh Wednesday in New Delhi, on the third day of her visit to India. The two leaders are set to launch negotiations on an agreement that will allow […]
Gillard Defends Passionate Parliamentary Speech on Sexism
Posted October 10th, 2012 at 6:50 am (UTC-5)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is defending a passionate speech before parliament in which she slammed an opposition leader for having what she said are sexist and misogynist views. Ms. Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister, on Tuesday unleashed a blistering, 15-minute attack on Tony Abbott, accusing him of having a “repulsive double standard” on […]
Report: Great Barrier Reef Has Lost Half its Coral in Three Decades
Posted October 2nd, 2012 at 3:55 am (UTC-5)
A new study has found that Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest living organism, has lost more than half its coral in the past three decades. Scientists from the Australian Institute of Marine Science say damage from cyclones and a population explosion of predatory “crown of thorns” starfish are mostly to blame for devastating […]
45 Rescued, 105 Missing After Asylum Boat Sinks Off Indonesia
Posted August 30th, 2012 at 6:35 am (UTC-5)
Rescuers working off the coast of Indonesia have pulled 45 people to safety after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank. Australia’s maritime safety agency says three of the survivors rescued Thursday have serious injuries, but are in stable condition. An Australian Navy patrol boat is working with several merchant vessels to search for 105 other […]
22 Rescued, 128 Missing After Asylum Boat Sinks Off Indonesia
Posted August 30th, 2012 at 4:50 am (UTC-5)
An Australian Navy patrol boat has rescued 16 people and a merchant vessel pulled six others to safety after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank in the waters off Indonesia. Rescuers are still looking for another 128 people who were on board the boat Wednesday when someone made a distress call to Australian authorities and […]
Six Rescued, 140 Missing After Asylum Boat Sinks Off Indonesia
Posted August 30th, 2012 at 1:55 am (UTC-5)
Rescuers have safely pulled six people from the waters off Indonesia, but are still searching for many more after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank. A merchant ship rescued the six survivors early Thursday, about 75 kilometers southwest of Java, after they had spent almost a day in the water. Indonesian ships, along with an […]
Australian High Court Upholds Plain Cigarette Packaging
Posted August 15th, 2012 at 2:25 am (UTC-5)
Australia’s highest court has ruled that new laws requiring cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging without company logos do not violate the country’s constitution. The court on Wednesday ruled against four tobacco companies that challenged the law, saying the measure violated their intellectual property rights. The companies include British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, […]
Australian High Court Upholds Plain Cigarette Packaging
Posted August 15th, 2012 at 1:40 am (UTC-5)
Australia’s highest court has ruled that new laws requiring cigarettes to be sold in plain packaging without company logos do not violate the country’s constitution. The court on Tuesday ruled against four tobacco companies that challenged the law, saying the measure violated their intellectual property rights. The companies include British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, […]
Australia Considers Plan to Deport Asylum Seekers
Posted August 13th, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC-5)
Australia is considering a plan to reopen detention centers in the Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea and Nauru, in order to deter asylum seekers from attempting a dangerous sea journey to reach the country. A panel of experts told lawmakers Monday that Australia should also increase its annual refugee quota to 20,000 to […]
North Korea: Don’t Call us ‘Naughty’
Posted August 8th, 2012 at 3:25 am (UTC-5)
North Korea’s state media are blasting an Australian newspaper that referred to the communist country as “Naughty Korea” and its neighbor to the south as “Nice Korea” in a tally of Olympic medals. The North Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday condemned the description by the mX newspaper as “sordid” and “foolish,” calling it a […]
