Australia/Antarctica News

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand teenager faced legal action after he stole his own injured puppy from a clinic to save it from euthanasia when the family couldn't afford expensive surgery after it was hit by a car. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Thousands of Australians will let their tastebuds do the talking when they sit down later this month for "Vindaloo Against Violence", a mass dining event to protest attacks against Indians. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia has sent Britain a petition calling for posthumous pardons for two soldiers court-martialled and executed more than 100 years ago in South Africa, a government spokesman said Wednesday. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - The world's biggest miner BHP Billiton fired a warning over the economic recovery on Wednesday despite smashing forecasts with half-year profits of 6.14 billion US dollars. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Anti-whaling activists said Tuesday they had exchanged water cannon fire with Japanese fishermen after ambushing them in Antarctic waters. Full Story »

ADELAIDE, Australia - A British broadcaster has been convicted of animal cruelty after two reality show contestants skinned, cooked and ate a rat during filming in Australia. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian mining company Tuesday admitted giving the wrong name for a Chinese firm involved in a 60-billion-US-dollar coal deal, but insisted the agreement was genuine. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's foreign minister Tuesday told parliament some of the recent violence against Indian students had clearly been racially motivated and had "considerably damaged" the nation's reputation. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his Chinese son-in-law has worried him with stories about racism, but he believes Australia is a tolerant country despite recent violence against Asians. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian twins Angela and Maryanne Vourlis learned their teenage brother had died in a car crash from reading Facebook, after a police delay in informing the family, a newspaper reported Monday. Full Story »

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia tightened its migration rules Monday in favor of English speakers and professionals, saying the country has been attracting too many hairdressers and cooks and too few doctors and engineers. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia on Monday axed 20,000 migrant applications in a major overhaul aimed at clamping down on foreign students gaining permanent residency through courses such as hairdressing and cookery. Full Story »

MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australians marked the first anniversary of devastating wildfires that killed 173 people, grieving for those who lost their lives and praying for the survivors in a national day of mourning Sunday. Full Story »

KINGSLAKE, Australia - Releasing butterflies to honor the dead, Australians marked the one-year anniversary of the country's worst-ever wildfires Sunday in big-city cathedrals and small towns still bearing burn scars. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian miner Resourcehouse said Saturday it had signed a 60-billion-US-dollar coal deal with energy-hungry China, calling it the country's "biggest-ever export contract." Full Story »

CANBERRA, Australia - A spate of violent attacks on Indians in Australia is straining bilateral relations and costing Australian universities lucrative foreign student revenue. There is sharp debate, however, about whether racism is at the root of the problem. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian nun has taken to Twitter on behalf of saint-in-waiting Mary MacKillop, bringing the late sister's messages of hope and forgiveness to a new audience a century after she died. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to India are set to climb as the South Asian nation's economy undergoes rapid growth, Australia's central bank said Friday. Full Story »