US MARINES will conduct private exercises by themselves on Australian soil for the first time under a military build-up revealed just hours after President Barack Obama landed for a whirlwind Australian visit. The historic move increases America’s involvement in the booming Asia-Pacific region as a counter to the rise of […]
Australia’s Senate has approved a controversial law on pollution, after years of bitter political wrangling. The Clean Energy Act will force the country’s 500 worst-polluting companies to pay a tax on their carbon emissions from 1 July next year. The Senate vote is a victory for Prime Minister Julia Gillard, […]
Australia has reported a weaker-than-expected trade surplus for September as exports fell due to slowing demand. Shipments fell 3% from the previous month, while imports were down by 1%, resulting in a trade balance of 2.5bn Australia dollars ($2.6bn; £1.8bn). The data comes amid concerns that a slowdown in the […]
FOREIGN students caught skipping class or flunking courses are being deported in record numbers, courtesy of a federal government crackdown on student visas. The Immigration Department has already cancelled 15,066 foreign student visas in the past year, a 37 per cent spike from the previous year, The Daily Telegraph reported. About 3624 […]
JULIA Gillard will today appeal for support from Commonwealth nations to heap pressure on Europe to tackle its debt crisis as she seeks to build a consensus for global financial change ahead of next week’s Group of 20 meeting in Cannes. The Prime Minister will use this week’s Commonwealth Heads […]
Australia’s trade surplus surged in August as exports of coal and other minerals increased despite concerns of a global slowdown. Shipments from Australia grew 8% from the previous month, while imports rose 3%, the statistical bureau said. That resulted in a trade surplus of 3.1bn Australian dollars ($2.9bn; £1.9bn), the second-largest […]
Volcanic rock rafts could have played a key role in the origins of life on Earth, a team of scientists suggests. Researchers say the buoyant rock pumice has the right properties to have provided the conditions for early life to emerge more than 3.5bn years ago. Pumice “rafts” are found […]
Australia’s economy bounced back in the last quarter as it looked to recover from earlier floods and cyclones. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 1.2% in the three months to the end of June from the previous quarter, the statistical bureau said. That compares with a contraction of 0.9% in the […]
IT just keeps getting worse for Julia Gillard. The latest Newspoll published in The Australian today shows the prime minister’s support has plunged to record lows while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott outstrips her as preferred prime minister. To add to Ms Gillard’s woes, the man she deposed as leader, Kevin […]
Source: AAAS When Martin Brasier discovered what looked like fossil cells in between the cemented sand grains of an ancient beach in Western Australia, he knew he had his work cut out for him. One of the biggest challenges for geologists is deciding when a fossil is really a fossil, […]
ABC Radio Australia Indonesian clerics ‘interfere’ with legal process, say rights group …………… An Indonesian court has jailed a minority sect member for six months for defending himself and others from a lynch mob that killed three of his friends earlier this year……………… The sentence was the same or stiffer […]
Agricultural pesticides are causing significant damage to the Great Barrier Reef, according to a new Australian government report on water quality at the site. The report says some farmers must be more careful with their chemicals. It found that nearly one-quarter of horticulture producers and 12% of pastoral farmers were […]
Dr Ghassan Khatib, the Special Envoy of the Palestinian Authority President, last week addressed the Capital Jewish Forum in the Victorian Parliament House. (J-Wire, Jewish online news from Australia and New Zealand) Dr Khatib spoke on ‘Statehood: Palestine and Israel’ and was introduced by Mr Izzat Abdulhadi, Palestinian Authority Head […]
Rfi. France. Police in the Australian state of New South Wales have been given the power to demand the removal of burqas and face covering in order to identify a suspected criminal. The move was approved on Monday, following a recent case of a Muslim woman who was acquitted after […]
Australia’s consumer prices rose more than forecast in the second quarter as high cost of food and fuel put pressure on inflation. Prices rose by 3.6% in the three months to the end of June from the same period last year, latest data showed. Food prices have been rising due […]
At the German-Dutch Wind Tunnels in the Netherlands, an entry into this year’s World Solar Challenge is being put to its final tests – and the results are both visible and audible. The bi-annual contest is a grueling race straight across Australia, covering more than 3,000km between Darwin and Adelaide. […]
Shell has unveiled plans to build the world’s first floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platform. The 600,000-tonne behemoth – the world’s biggest “ship” – will be sited off the coast of Australia. But how will it work? Deep beneath the world’s oceans are huge reservoirs of natural gas. Some are […]
Police in Australia’s New South Wales state have been given more powers to remove burkas and other face coverings to identify crime suspects. Anyone who refuses to show their face could now be jailed for up to a year or face a heavy fine. The move follows the recent case of […]
SOCIAL sciences league tables released by QS World University Rankings show a creditable performance by Australian institutions. Only two made the top 10 in any of the six subject areas — the University of Melbourne, ranked nine in law, and the Australian National University, ranked 10 in politics and international studies […]
MORE aftershocks are expected after Victoria’s south was rocked by two earthquakes, including a magnitude 4.4 tremor felt in Melbourne, more than 100km from its epicentre. The shallow magnitude 4.4 earthquake, which hit at 11.32am (AEST), was felt in Melbourne’s CBD and the city’s southeastern suburbs. A second, smaller quake […]