Australia’s governing Labor party agreed Monday to propose legislation that would enable the government to go ahead with a planned refugee swap with Malaysia. The legislation, approved in a closed meeting of the party’s legislators, would amend the nation’s immigration law in response to a High Court ruling last month that found the scheme illegal. […]
Gillard Wins Support for New Immigration Bill
Posted September 12th, 2011 at 12:05 am (UTC-5)
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Police Drop Criminal Probe Against Australian Lawmaker
Posted September 8th, 2011 at 2:00 am (UTC-5)
Australian police have ended ended their investigation of a lawmaker in Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s Labor Party that could have erased her one-seat majority in parliament. Craig Thomson was accused of using a credit card issued by the Health Services Union to pay for prostitutes while he was union’s national secretary, before he entered parliament […]
Hostage Drama Ends in Sydney Legal Building
Posted September 6th, 2011 at 7:50 am (UTC-5)
A hostage standoff has ended without injury at a legal office in Sydney, Australia, with police raiding the building to arrest a man holding his daughter hostage while claiming to possess a bomb. The man entered the building complex earlier Tuesday with the girl and told a court clerk to call the state attorney general’s […]
Hostage Drama Unfolds at Sydney Legal Building
Posted September 6th, 2011 at 12:10 am (UTC-5)
Police in Sydney, Australia, say they are engaged in a standoff with a man who walked into legal offices with his daughter and claimed to be carrying a bomb. A court clerk says the man came into the building complex, which also houses courtrooms, with a young girl. The clerk says the man demanded that […]
EC Chief Predicts Continued Economic Growth for Europe
Posted September 5th, 2011 at 4:45 am (UTC-5)
The European Union’s top executive says he is confident that Europe will not slip back into a second recession. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso offered the assurance Monday in Canberra after holding talks with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. He said the common European currency remains strong and the region’s leaders are facing their […]
Shark Kills Surfer in Australia
Posted September 4th, 2011 at 3:25 pm (UTC-5)
A young surfer in Australia died Sunday after a shark attack at a popular surfing spot. Police say the man, in his early 20’s, was bodyboarding with a group of friends off a crowded beach near Bunker Bay in Western Australia when the shark attacked. The victim died at the scene, and his friends pulled […]
Australia: Offshore Immigration Plans to be Halted
Posted September 4th, 2011 at 10:05 am (UTC-5)
Australia’s immigration chief says a Supreme Court ruling last month barring a refugee swap with Malaysia likely will force the government to suspend plans for processing asylum seekers in several other countries. Immigration Minister Chris Bowen spoke Sunday in Sydney. He said Solicitor-General Stephen Gageler reviewed the August 3 high court decision against the so-called […]
Australian PM Not Considering Stepping Down
Posted September 2nd, 2011 at 12:05 am (UTC-5)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she is not stepping down and will not reshuffle her cabinet, despite media reports that some in her government are questioning her future. Ms. Gillard told Australian radio on Friday that she is “not going anywhere,” saying she is the best person to lead the nation. Her comments came […]
Body of Legendary Australian Outlaw Positively Identified
Posted September 1st, 2011 at 4:40 am (UTC-5)
Australian scientists have identified the headless remains of the notorious 19th century criminal Ned Kelly, putting to rest a 130-year-old mystery surrounding his whereabouts. Analysts at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine used a DNA sample from one of Kelly’s descendants to identify his remains from among dozens of skeletons buried in a mass grave. […]
Gillard: Refugee Ruling May Bar Other Offshore Detention Plans
Posted September 1st, 2011 at 3:15 am (UTC-5)
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard says a high court decision blocking a refugee swap with Malaysia has re-written Australian law and raised doubts about the nation’s right to transfer asylum seekers to any other country. Ms. Gillard said Thursday that includes places where Australian asylum-seekers have been detained in the past, namely Manus Island in […]
