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/ 28 December 2007
Police said on Friday they were waiting to question a man who had to be rescued by firefighters after he got stuck in the chimney of an Australian outback pub. Officers believe the man — too late to be making a Christmas delivery — may have been an incompetent burglar who got wedged into the tight spot as he tried to break into the premises.
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/ 27 December 2007
Australia took a firm grip on the first Test after Stuart Clark and Brett Lee produced a sustained period of hostile and controlled pace bowling to bowl India out for 196 late on the second day on Thursday. Clark, who finished with an outstanding 4-28 off 15 overs, captured the valuable wickets of Sachin Tendulkar (62) and Rahul Dravid (four).
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/ 26 December 2007
Stuart Clark struck a body blow for Australia with two wickets, including the crucial wicket of Sachin Tendulkar, just before tea to leave India struggling at 122 for five on the second day of the first Test on Thursday. Tendulkar, who with Saurav Ganguly had been rebuilding India’s innings from 55 for three, chopped a delivery from Clark onto his stumps to be dismissed for 62.
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/ 25 December 2007
India are considering playing two spinners to capitalise on their batting depth to pressure Australia in Wednesday’s opening match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, skipper Anil Kumble said onTuesday. Kumble said the team would be playing to their strengths and are contemplating using both spinners.
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/ 23 December 2007
Fans at Australia’s first Test against India could be banned from the Melbourne Cricket Ground for life if they are found to be involved in racial taunting of players and other fans, Cricket Australia said on Sunday. Anyone caught doing so by undercover surveillance officers would be ejected from the ground and face further action.
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/ 21 December 2007
A Super 14 expansion side of Australians, Argentinians and Pacific Islanders playing out of Melbourne could be key to getting the Pumas into the southern hemisphere’s elite competitions, the Australian Rugby Union deputy chief executive Matt Carroll said on Friday.
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/ 19 December 2007
Australia’s bowlers backed up captain Ricky Ponting’s second successive one-day international century to lead their side to a 114-run win and series victory against New Zealand in Hobart on Thursday. Ponting, who made 107 not out in Australia’s seven-wicket victory in the first game in Adelaide, struck an unbeaten 134.
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/ 18 December 2007
Australia will send a fisheries patrol ship to shadow Japan’s whaling fleet near Antarctica and gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt the yearly slaughter. The icebreaker Oceanic Viking would leave for the Southern Ocean in days to follow the Japanese fleet.
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/ 18 December 2007
Wallaby fullback Chris Latham will move to English Premiership side Worcester later this year after rejecting an offer to remain in Australia, the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) said Tuesday. The ARU said it was disappointed at Latham’s decision to head to Europe on a three-year deal after the 2008 Tri-Nations series but respected it.
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/ 17 December 2007
Animal activists and pet shop owners on Monday called for a ban on a tiny fish tank designed to be hooked up to a music player such as an iPod and used as a speaker. The iPond, reportedly sold in some Australia pet stores complete with a Siamese fighting fish, is a miniature fish tank which holds about 650ml of water.
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/ 16 December 2007
Australian Craig Parry won his first Australian Open title at the age of 41 holding off a pack of challengers in steady rain at the Australian course in Sydney on Sunday. Parry called on all his experience in the miserable conditions to reel off a closing round of three-under par 69 to finish the tournament on 11-under 277.
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/ 15 December 2007
New Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says he arrives in the job with no ”historical baggage” to revive Australian rugby’s declining fortunes. The 48-year-old New Zealander, appointed on Friday for four years, is the first foreigner to coach the Wallabies, in a decision which has received almost universal acceptance within Australian rugby.
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/ 14 December 2007
Ricky Ponting scored his 24th one-day 100 and Adam Gilchrist clubbed a ferocious half-century to steer Australia to a convincing seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the opening Chappell Hadlee Trophy series game in Adelaide on Friday. Skipper Ponting cruised to an unbeaten 107 off 108 balls with 13 boundaries to glide Australia home to victory.
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/ 13 December 2007
Cricket Australia (CA) says the sport could attract a four-fold increase in television ratings by introducing day-night Test matches within the next decade. CA chief executive James Sutherland confirmed on Thursday reports that his organisation was preparing to defy 130 years of tradition by trialling day-night Tests.
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/ 10 December 2007
When Jhiymy Mhiyles arrived in Sydney homeless and broke during the 2000 Olympic Games, he decided he liked Bondi beach so much that he set up camp on the cliffs overlooking the famous stretch of sand. He’s stayed there ever since, enjoying million-dollar views from a surfside squat made of tarpaulins and rope.
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/ 9 December 2007
Unsuccessful All Blacks coaching candidate Robbie Deans has been granted a late interview for the vacant Wallabies job, the Australian Rugby Union said on Sunday. Deans, who missed out on the All Blacks position when the New Zealand Rugby Union decided to reappoint incumbent Graham Henry on Friday, had now asked to be considered for the Australian job.
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/ 8 December 2007
Australian coach John Dyson says he needs to sit down with the West Indian players and quickly discover why they are underachieving in world cricket, reports said on Saturday. The former Test opening batsman coach leaves Sydney for the Caribbean on Monday to take up his appointment as the new West Indies coach.
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/ 7 December 2007
China’s largest steel company BaoSteel called on Friday on the Australian government to intervene to prevent BHP Billiton from taking over rival miner Rio Tinto. Rio Tinto has rejected an unsolicited three-for-one scrip offer from the world’s biggest miner, saying it significantly undervalues its assets.
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/ 6 December 2007
Dutchman Pim Verbeek was unveiled on Thursday as the new coach of Australia, tasked with guiding them to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Verbeek and Frenchman Phillippe Troussier had been the front-runners for the job since another Dutchman, Dick Advocaat, reneged on his contract three weeks ago.
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/ 5 December 2007
A Santa in an Australian department store said on Wednesday he has been sacked for saying ”ho ho ho” and singing Christmas songs to children. Employment company Westaff had earlier asked its Santas to say ”ha ha ha” because the word ”ho”, which is American slang for whore, could offend women.
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/ 4 December 2007
Next year’s Super 14 competition will trial several law changes designed to make the game faster and more exciting to watch. The decision to introduce the Experimental Law Variations was taken at a South African, New Zealand and Australian Rugby Unions meeting in Sydney on Tuesday.
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/ 3 December 2007
Thieves who stole 16 metric tonnes of ham and bacon from a warehouse in Australia left behind a message taunting the business just weeks before the holiday season. ”Thanks … Merry Christmas,” the crooks daubed on a wall of the Zammit Ham and Bacon Curers warehouse in suburban Sydney as they made off with their haul.
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/ 3 December 2007
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Monday he had ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in his first official act after being sworn in as leader. ”Today I have signed the instrument of ratification of the Kyoto Protocol,” Rudd said in a statement.
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/ 29 November 2007
The 1 000th whale shark, a rare and threatened species, has been discovered by researchers using a global programme in which eco-tourists and scientists identify new sharks and lodge photographs on an online library. ”It’s a major milestone, for science and for conservation,” said Ecocean project leader Brad Norman in Australia.
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/ 29 November 2007
Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd unveiled his Cabinet on Thursday, prioritising education, industrial relations and the environment in a break with conservative predecessor John Howard’s legacy. Calling it "a team with fresh ideas", Rudd included four women and a former rock star in the Cabinet.
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/ 28 November 2007
Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd arrived in the nation’s capital on Wednesday to choose his new Cabinet, aides said, as outgoing John Howard and his vanquished team cleared out their desks. Rudd (50) stormed to power in a landslide election victory on Saturday that wiped out Howard’s conservative government after almost 12 years in office.
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/ 28 November 2007
Resources giant BHP Billiton said on Wednesday it still hoped rival Rio Tinto would warm to its uninvited takeover bid, despite opposition from customers who fear it will lead to a stranglehold on prices. BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers said that its executives had been arguing the "irresistible logic" of the tie-up with customers and investors around the world for two weeks.
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/ 25 November 2007
Incoming Labour prime minister Kevin Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat, has pledged closer Australian ties with overseas allies and unity at home after ending 11 years of conservative rule under John Howard. Rudd (50) has promised to pull Australian troops out of Iraq and sign the Kyoto Protocol.
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/ 25 November 2007
A veteran drummer kicked out of a well-known Australian rock band for allegedly playing "like a chimpanzee on speed" is suing his former bandmates for unfair dismissal, local media reported on Thursday. David Twohill (51) was dropped from Mental as Anything after 27 years.
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/ 24 November 2007
Australia’s Labour party claimed victory in national elections on Saturday, signalling an end to 11 years of conservative government led by Prime Minister John Howard. "On the numbers we are seeing tonight, Labour is going to form a government," Labour’s deputy leader, Julia Gillard, told Australian television.
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/ 24 November 2007
Australian Prime Minister John Howard cast his ballot in national elections on Saturday, hoping voters would reject a younger opposition leader offering generational change and return him for a fifth straight term. ”I hope we will win. I believe we will win. It is in the hands of my fellow Australians,” Howard told reporters.
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/ 20 November 2007
Australia beat Sri Lanka by 96 runs on Tuesday to win the second Test at Bellerive Ova and complete a 2-0 series sweep. The Australians wrapped up victory in the third over after lunch on the fifth and final day when Sri Lanka were dismissed for 410 despite a defiant 192 from Kumar Sangakkara.