Australia/Antarctica News

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia's journalists Thursday vowed to defy a ban on the screening of Australian movie "Balibo", saying the film depicting alleged war crimes by Indonesian forces in East Timor is educational. Full Story »

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia has banned an Australian-made film on the alleged murder of six Australia-based journalists by Indonesian troops during the 1975 invasion of East Timor, officials said Wednesday. Full Story »

SYDNEY - Australia's plans for an emissions trading system to combat global warming were scuttled Wednesday in Parliament, handing a defeat to a government that had hoped to set an example at international climate change talks next week. Full Story »

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - Strong westerly winds in the southern Pacific Ocean have driven scores of icebergs originally headed toward New Zealand to the east, away from the country, an oceanographer said Tuesday. Full Story »

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - As his wife floundered screaming for help in murky river water, a frantic New Zealand man was forced to abandon a bid to rescue his teenage son to save his partner from drowning, he said Monday. Full Story »

ADELAIDE, Australia - Two giant pandas from China were welcomed to Australia on Saturday with gifts of bamboo and a city party before settling into their new home, a 25-acre (10-hectare) natural enclosure at the Adelaide Zoo. Full Story »

DILI (AFP) - East Timor should form its anti-corruption commission soon to support the economy and maintain people's trust in the half-island nation, President Jose Ramos-Horta said Saturday. Full Story »

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - About 70 New Zealanders stood in silence in the Antarctic snow Saturday to remember 257 people who perished 30 years earlier when an airplane smashed into a nearby mountain in New Zealand's worst air disaster. Full Story »

ALICE SPRINGS, Australia - Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - A flatulent pig sparked a gas emergency in southern Australia when a farmer mistook its odours for a leaking pipe, according to officials. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Some 6,000 feral camels are running wild in a remote Australian outback community in search of water, smashing infrastructure and invading the airstrip, officials said on Wednesday. Full Story »

MELBOURNE, Australia - Formerly conjoined twin sisters Trishna and Krishna are enjoying a favorite DVD and trying new foods as they continue their recovery from marathon separation surgery, doctors said. Full Story »

CANBERRA, Australia - Australia's opposition leader Tuesday pledged his party's support for contentious legislation proposed by the government aimed at curbing the country's greenhouse gas emissions. Full Story »

BEIJING - China will send two giant pandas to an Australian zoo this Friday as part of a joint research program. Full Story »

MELBOURNE, Australia - A kangaroo startled by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, pinning the pet underwater and slashing the owner in the abdomen with its hind legs. The Australian, Chris Rickard, was in stable condition Monday after the attack, which ended when the 49-year-old elbowed the kangaroo in the throat. Full Story »

CANBERRA, Australia - A man who blames the Church of Scientology for his brother's suicide added his voice Monday to calls for an Australia Senate inquiry into the religion. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia moved to tighten security at its main immigration centre on Monday after a riot by 150 asylum-seekers, reportedly wielding pool cues, broomsticks and tree branches, left 37 wounded. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - More than 100, and possibly hundreds, of Antarctic icebergs are floating towards New Zealand in a rare event which has prompted a shipping warning, officials said on Monday. Full Story »