Australia

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It's Lights Out for Earth Hour
 It's Lights Out for Earth Hour 
Mar 28, 2009 10:44 AM CDT

It's Lights Out for Earth Hour

(Newser) - Earth Hour is under way. The annual event in which cities around the world dim their lights for an hour at 8:30pm local time kicked off in Sydney, Australia, the Age reports. China's Bird's Nest stadium, London's Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, the Vatican, and the Empire State Building...

Aussies Can't Save 87 Stranded Whales

But rescuers are ultimately able to save only four

(Newser) - Rescue crews saved four long-finned pilot whales after a mass stranding in Western Australia’s Hamelin Bay, but scores of others died, the West Australian reports. Eighty-seven whales and dolphins beached Monday, prompting more than 250 volunteers and 100 conservation workers to spend a near-freezing night on the beach nursing...

Sydney Airport Defends Security After Gang Killing

Police say security did all they could

(Newser) - Officials are defending security systems after a gang of bikers fatally beat a man inside Sydney Airport—then fled in taxis, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. "The police can't be everywhere and this could have happened anywhere," said the federal police commissioner. Horrified passengers watched as the...

Female Finches 'Pick' Sex of Chicks

(Newser) - The female Gouldian finch can control the sex of her egg to produce the strongest possible offspring, the BBC reports. The species comes in two head colors, red and black, and same-color mates are more compatible. If a female finds herself with a different color mate, her offspring will be...

Aussie Critics Rip Micky D's McMath Tutoring

Program is sneaky marketing push, charge educators

(Newser) - Nutritionists and educators are having trouble swallowing McDonald's sponsorship of an online math program, the Guardian reports. The tutoring program, available free to schools and students across Australia, features the golden arches logo on its front page. Australia's government commended McDonald's for providing the resource, but critics see it as...

Aussie Oil Spill 10 Times Worse Than Thought

Government blamed for slow response to disaster

(Newser) - The oil spill that’s polluting beaches along the northeast coast of Australia is 10 times worse than originally thought, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Officials now say that about 253 tons of oil leaked from a Hong Kong ship on Wednesday, damaging dozens of beaches that span 37 miles...

Aussie Dad Wrestles 'Roo Invader

Creature burst in to bedroom before underwear-clad man got it out

(Newser) - Waking up can be a bear, but for one Aussie family it was an 88-pound kangaroo crashing through their bedroom window and hopping around on a bloody rampage until the skivvies-clad dad wrestled it out of the house, the Canberra Times reports. “My initial thought when I was half...

Aussies Herd Beached Whales Back to Sea

194 animals beached; dozens returned to water

(Newser) - Rescuers using boats, stretchers, and a jet ski hauled dozens of whales and dolphins back to sea after 200 were beached on an Australian island, the Daily Telegraph reports. Some 59 animals were saved, ABC notes, as rescuers dug trenches and draped cloths over the whales to keep them cool...

Aussies Mourn Fire Victims
 Aussies Mourn Fire Victims 
Feb 22, 2009 7:45 AM CST

Aussies Mourn Fire Victims

Fires bared worst of nature, best of humanity, says prime minister

(Newser) - As bells tolled, mourners throughout Australia prayed at services today for the 209 people killed in wildfires and those still missing, CNN reports. “House is gone, friends are gone. This is total destruction,” said one resident. Rescue teams continue to search through the devastation as firefighters still battled...

Aussie Boy's Body Found in Croc
Aussie Boy's Body
Found in Croc
Feb 18, 2009 3:40 AM CST

Aussie Boy's Body Found in Croc

Boy vanished while playing with dog and brother in mangrove swamp

(Newser) - The remains of a 5-year-old boy who vanished while playing near a flooded Australian river have been found inside a crocodile, reports AP. The stomach contents of a 14-foot croc captured in the Daintree River confirmed the giant reptile consumed the boy, who disappeared while playing with his dog and...

Aussie Arson Suspect Was Volunteer Firefighter

He's accused of lighting a fire that killed 21 people

(Newser) - The first suspect to be charged in one of the Australian blazes that killed as many as 300 people has been identified as a 39-year-old volunteer firefighter, reports the Times of London. He's accused of igniting a fire that killed 21 people 100 miles east of Melbourne. The suspect's identity...

Aussie Arson Suspect Charged
 Aussie Arson Suspect Charged 
Feb 13, 2009 3:12 AM CST

Aussie Arson Suspect Charged

Suspect is being held in secret location for his protection

(Newser) - An Australian man has been charged with setting one of the hundreds of deadly brushfires that swept across the state of Victoria, killing up to 300 people and destroying entire towns. He was charged with lethal arson linked to 10 of the deaths, and with possessing child pornography, reports the...

Aussie Police Question 2 Men About Wildfires

(Newser) - Police in Australia said they have questioned two people in connection to the raging wildfires that have killed more than 180 people in the state of Victoria. Police declined to say whether the two had been arrested or even detained, and released a statement that described them as "assisting...

Healing Koalas Steal Hearts
 Healing Koalas Steal Hearts 
Feb 11, 2009 5:25 PM CST

Healing Koalas Steal Hearts

She holds hands with her rescuer in moving video

(Newser) - The survival of two burned koalas is giving Aussies a lift amid the catastrophic wildfires that have killed 180 people and possibly millions of animals, MSNBC reports. The more famous of the two is Sam, who became a YouTube sensation when she took water and offered a singed paw to...

Koala Rescued After Aussie Wildfire

(Newser) - When firefighter David Tree noticed the koala, it was moving gingerly over the blackened landscape, its scorched paws clearly causing pain. "I could see she had sore feet and was in trouble, so I pulled over the fire truck," Tree told the Herald Sun. “It was amazing,...

300 Feared Dead in Australia Fires

Task Force begins investigation

(Newser) - More than 300 people may have died in the devastating bushfires that have torched 850 square miles of southeast Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. While the official death toll stands at 173, an official warned that number would rise “steeply” as rescuers discover more bodies. Several people are...

Aussie Toll Hits 171; PM Cites 'Mass Murder'

Small town declared crime scene as devastation continues

(Newser) - The death toll from angry bushfires in Australia jumped to 171 today, reports Reuters, as the country's prime minister, fighting back tears, accused suspected arsonists of "mass murder." Up to 5,000 people have been left homeless; at one relief center, boards covered with Post-It notes beg for...

108 Dead in Aussie Fires
 108 Dead in Aussie Fires 
Feb 8, 2009 7:50 PM CST

108 Dead in Aussie Fires

Blazes destroy entire towns, continue to burn

(Newser) - More than 100 people are confirmed dead in the wildfires that have savaged southeast Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Entire towns have been wiped out, leaving gutted buildings and scorched cars. "There might only be 15 or 20 houses left in Marysville," a resident said. "There's...

US Doc Faces Charges in 13 Aussie Deaths

Manslaughter hearings set against former surgery boss

(Newser) - An American doctor faces charges of negligence and manslaughter in 13 patient deaths in an Australian hospital, AP reports. Dr. Jayant Patel, former head of surgery in a state-run Queensland hospital, failed to disclose disciplinary measures taken against him by medical boards in both New York and Oregon. Patel faces...

Wildfires Kill 14 in Southeast Australia

Melbourne sees hottest day on record

(Newser) - Australian wildfires have killed 14 people in the southeast, and police fear dozens more could be dead, the Age reports. Some 100 homes have been destroyed in dozens of fires, the worst in the history of the state of Victoria. Police suspect arson is behind some of the fires, which...

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