Australian soldiers are ashamed of their low-risk missions in Iraq and Afghanistan and are scorned by troops of other nations, two officers charged in comments published on Tuesday. ”The restrictions and policies enforced on infantrymen in Iraq have resulted in the widespread perception that our army is plagued by institutional cowardice,” Major Jim Hammett said.
The Australian government signalled on Friday that it is likely to call on the country’s world champion cricketers to cancel a planned tour of Zimbabwe this year. Prime Minister John Howard, a strong critic of the regime of President Robert Mugabe, said the government would pay fines of up to ,6-million, which could be imposed by the International Cricket Council.
An Australian schoolgirl, a Chinese adulterer and several South Korean celebrities have one thing in common: all have been victims of cyberbullying, a modern version of mob cruelty. The case of the girl was particularly horrific and led an Australian state to ban the popular internet film-sharing website <i>YouTube<i> from school computers.
A hugely destructive cyclone described as a ”perfect” storm bore down on Monday on the isolated northern Australian city of Darwin, devastated by a killer cyclone in 1974. Packing winds of up to 350kph, Tropical Cyclone Monica was moving relentlessly towards Darwin as it turned towards the coast from the Arafura Sea, the government’s weather bureau said.
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/ 26 September 2005
Millions of exotic animals — from camels and cane toads to horses and foxes — face extermination in Australia under recommendations by a parliamentary committee. A population explosion of species introduced to this isolated continent since European settlement began more than 200 years ago is a growing threat to agriculture and native wildlife, the committee of inquiry has found.
From bananas to wind farms, alcohol and the sun, the search for alternative energy sources has taken on a new urgency as oil prices hit record levels. Ideas once seen as the preserve of fringe environmental groups are getting more attention, but flicking most switches in cars, homes or industries in Asia still means tapping into fossil fuels.
A bizarre tale of a bewitched palace, sexual jealousy and the murder of a beautiful royal bride is holding Malaysians spellbound as it unfolds in a sombre courtroom.