Animal rights activists declared themselves human shields on Saturday and vowed to prevent authorities from killing kangaroos that have overrun a Canberra military base. Last week, the Australian government enraged animal lovers by approving the killing of about 400 kangaroos at risk of death from starvation.
No image available
/ 7 February 2008
BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, sweetened its takeover bid for rival Rio Tinto on Wednesday to ,4-billion, but its proposal was again rebuffed. Amid reports that Rio Tinto could become the centre of a bidding battle, the company’s management rejected the BHP offer as ”not being in the best interests of shareholders”.
No image available
/ 16 January 2008
The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd scored a victory on Wednesday in its high-seas campaign to obstruct a Japanese whale hunt in the Antarctic, forcing the fleet to a standstill while officials tried to unload two protesters who had boarded a harpoon vessel from their rubber boat.
No image available
/ 24 December 2007
China has sanctioned state-owned companies to examine three possible strategies to block BHP Billiton’s proposed takeover of mining giant Rio Tinto, a report said Monday. Strategies include forming a domestic consortium to bid for Rio Tinto, a joint bid by domestic and foreign firms, or purchasing Rio shares on the open market.
No image available
/ 21 December 2007
Japan’s whaling fleet in the Antarctic will avoid killing humpback whales for now, but will press on with plans to slay 1 000 other whales by early in the New Year, a government official said on Friday. Plans by Japan to include 50 endangered humpbacks in its annual hunt had sparked an outcry from activists.
No image available
/ 7 December 2007
A tropical cyclone bearing down on the South Pacific island nation of Fiji has intensified into a category-four storm, the second most powerful cyclone, with destructive winds up to 200km/h. Cyclone Daman is expected to hit the nation’s second largest island Vanua Levu early on Saturday, officials said, as people began moving to higher ground.
No image available
/ 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.
No image available
/ 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.
No image available
/ 3 November 2007
Empty shelves in Caracas. Food riots in West Bengal and Mexico. Warnings of hunger in Jamaica, Nepal, the Philippines and sub-Saharan Africa. Soaring prices for basic foods are beginning to lead to political instability, with governments being forced to step in to artificially control the cost of bread, maize, rice and dairy products.
Zimbabwe’s state media on Wednesday called on the government to sever ties with Australia, accusing Prime Minister John Howard’s government of seeking to topple veteran President Robert Mugabe. ”There is no need to continue keeping up appearances when diplomatic ties between the two countries have irrevocably broken down,” the state-run Herald said.
Police and health workers in Papua New Guinea launched an investigation on Tuesday into reports that people living with Aids in the rugged South Pacific nation were being buried alive by their relatives. Romanus Pakure, deputy director of the government’s National Aids Council, said the allegations were ”a wake-up call”.