Australia’s government says it will not wait for a bitter dispute that has grounded the country’s Qantas Airways to resolve itself. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said Saturday she has asked for the country’s industrial regulator to intervene and end a series of ongoing strikes. She said she made to move because the escalating dispute […]
Airline Dispute Grounds Australia’s Qantas, Government Intervenes
Qantas Grounds All Flights
Australia’s Qantas Airways grounded all its aircraft Saturday because of a labor dispute. The airline, which has been hit by a series of strikes, said Saturday that all employees involved in the action would be locked out beginning Monday evening. The unions involved in the strikes represent pilots, licensed engineers, baggage and ground workers, and […]
Queen Elizabeth Returns to Britain From Australia Visit
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh have left Australia to return to Britain. The queen ended her tour of Australia Saturday at a barbecue in the western city of Perth. Authorities say tens of thousands of people lined the banks of the Swan River to catch a glimpse of the royal couple. The […]
Commonwealth Leaders Begin Crucial Summit
Leaders of dozens of nations once linked to the former British empire have gathered in Australia to discuss such issues as human rights and succession to the British throne. A traditional cleansing ritual by a local Aboriginal tribe greeted the leaders as they arrived for Friday’s opening ceremony of the 54-nation Commonwealth Heads of Government […]
Queen Elizabeth Praises Australia’s Flood Victims
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth praised Brisbane residents for their courage Monday during a visit to the Australian city that was hit by devastating floods in January. The queen and her husband, Prince Philip, took a yacht cruise along the Brisbane River with Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh, who pointed out areas that were submerged during the […]
Australia Hunts Killer Shark
Australian authorities on Sunday continued hunting for a killer shark that mauled to death an American recreational diver off Australia’s southwest coast a day earlier. Two friends of 32-year-old George Wainwright, from Texas, said he was savaged by a three-meter-long great white shark during a solo dive just off Perth’s Rottnest Island. They said they […]
Australia Hunts Killer Shark
Shark hunters set hooks off Australia’s southwest coast Sunday, hoping to catch a great white shark that killed an American recreational diver. Thirty-two-year-old George Wainwright, from Texas, was savaged by a meter-long shark during a dive Saturday off Perth’s Rottnest Island. Fisheries officials immediately issued a kill order for the shark and ordered all beaches […]
Shark Kills American Diver Off Australia
A great white shark killed an American diver off Western Australia Saturday. Police say the man was underwater off Rottnest Island, a popular tourist spot about 20 kilometers from the Western Australia state capital of Perth, when his body surfaced with obvious fatal injuries. The man was not identified. Sharks are common in the waters […]
Japanese Team Wins Australian Solar Car Marathon
A Japanese team was first across the finish line Thursday to win a four-day race for solar-powered cars across the Australian outback. Teams from 20 countries took part in the 3,000-kilometer annual race, driving cars with no power source except for the sun. Driver Kouhhei Sagawa from the winning Tokai University team said the result […]
US Contemplates Bigger Military Presence in Northern Australia
Australia says it is in talks with the United States aimed at increasing the U.S. military presence in the north of the country. Defense Minister Stephen Smith said in a radio interview Thursday there are no plans for a permanent U.S. base on Australia’s north coast, which faces Indonesia. But he said the countries are […]