Australia

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Australia Sentences US Woman Caught With Golden Gun

Officials say gold-plated weapon was in Liliana Goodson's hand luggage

(Newser) - An American woman caught with a gold-plated pistol in her luggage at Sydney Airport last year has been sentenced to a year for bringing the weapon into Australia illegally. The Guardian reports that 30-year-old Liliana Goodson, who had traveled to Australia to attend clown school, will spend four months of...

Australia's Biggest Cocaine Bust Was Very Easy

Boat breaks down with $500M worth of cocaine

(Newser) - Australian authorities scored the biggest cocaine bust in the nation's history over the weekend, seizing more than 2 tons of cocaine worth about $500 million, reports the BBC . The remarkable thing was how easy it was: Authorities say the smugglers' boat broke down off the coast of Queensland, per...

Aussie Driver's Surprise Passenger Slides Up Her Leg

'One of the more bizarre welfare checks you'll ever hear about'

(Newser) - Aussie police received a strange call over the weekend from motorists on the Monash Freeway outside Melbourne, detailing a barefoot woman trying to flag down other cars. When officers arrived, the woman's actions became clearer: She'd discovered a highly venomous creature in her car while driving, reports 9News...

Australia Passes Social Media Ban for Those Under 16

Ban for under-16s won't take effect for another 12 months

(Newser) - Australia has passed a social media ban for under-16s, but the country's teens and tweens don't need to worry about being kicked off the likes of TikTok and Facebook immediately. The law won't take effect for another year, and details like how platforms will enforce it have...

Australia's Social Media Ban a Step Closer to Becoming Law

Senate to take up debate after bill passes House 102-13

(Newser) - Australia's House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalize the world-first law. The major parties backed the bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram liable for...

Cop Convicted of Killing 95-Year-Old With Taser

Australia's Kristian White faces 25 years in prison on manslaughter charge

(Newser) - A police officer who used a Taser on a 95-year-old woman holding a steak knife at a care home has been convicted of manslaughter in Australia. Clare Nowland, who had dementia symptoms and used a walker, fell and cracked her skull before dying days later in May 2023. Kristian White,...

Meta, TikTok Weigh In on Australia's Ban on Social Media

Tech companies complain age verification methods have yet to be ironed out

(Newser) - Tech companies are urging Australia's government to delay its proposed social media ban for under-16s amid criticism that the bill is being rushed into law. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left government introduced the bill in parliament last week and aims to pass it by the end of the...

Rafter Slips on Rock, Ends Up in 'Worst of the Worst-Case Scenario'

Ultimately, man's leg had to be partially amputated

(Newser) - A man on a multi-day rafting trip in the Australian state of Tasmania took a wrong step and ended up in a nearly day-long nightmare scenario. The 69-year-old Lithuanian man was traversing the Franklin River in a remote southwest part of the state when, while scouting alongside the waterway Friday,...

Zoo Asks People to Capture Extremely Deadly Spider
Zoo Asks People to Capture
Extremely Deadly Spider
in case you missed it
Nov 23, 2024 3:30 PM CST

Zoo Asks People to Capture Extremely Deadly Spider

Sydney funnel-web antivenom program has been saving lives since 1981

(Newser) - The Sydney funnel-web spider is considered one of the world's deadliest spiders, with the most toxic venom of any of the dozens of funnel-web species in Australia. But instead of advising people to keep their distance, a zoo north of the city has asked the public to capture the...

Lost Emperor Penguin Learns Sand Is Not Snow
Lost Emperor Penguin
Taken Out to Sea, Released
UPDATED
Nov 22, 2024 1:00 AM CST

Lost Emperor Penguin Taken Out to Sea, Released

Male nicknamed Gus is first of his species to reach Australia, 2.2K miles from home

(Newser) - The first emperor penguin known to have swum all the way from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea Wednesday, the AP reports. A Parks and Wildlife Service boat took the penguin on a journey several hours from the most southerly city of Western Australia state before releasing him into...

Aussie Senator Censured After Telling Charles, 'You Are Not My King'

Lidia Thorpe is censured in a 46-12 vote

(Newser) - Australian senators on Monday voted to censure an Indigenous colleague who yelled at King Charles III during a reception in Parliament House last month, the AP reports. The censure of independent Sen. Lidia Thorpe is a symbolic gesture that records her colleagues' disapproval of her conduct during the first visit...

Aged Destroyer Fought Enemy Alone, Then Flipped the Bird
WWII Destroyer Fought Enemy
Alone, Then Flipped the Bird
in case you missed it
Nov 16, 2024 12:00 PM CST

WWII Destroyer Fought Enemy Alone, Then Flipped the Bird

Wreck of USS Edsall, sunk by Japanese in 1942, discovered east of Christmas Island

(Newser) - The Japanese called the USS Edsall "the dancing mouse." Stumbling upon a Japanese naval force in the Indian Ocean three months after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, the aged and damaged destroyer loaded with 185 US Navy personnel and 31 US Army Air Force pilots fought alone...

He Stole His Wife's Passport, Then Stranded Her in Sudan

Australian man is first in Victoria state to be convicted for 'exit trafficking'

(Newser) - In September 2014, Australian Mohamed Ahmed Omer booked a one-month family vacation from Melbourne to Sudan with his wife and two young children—except once in Sudan, he took the kids, and his wife's various forms of identification, and fled back to Australia without her, essentially stranding her in...

Jamie Oliver Pulls Criticized Children's Book

Indigenous Australians accuse author of trivialization, stereotyping

(Newser) - A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticized for causing offense to Indigenous Australians. The Guardian reported Saturday that the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corp. blasted Billy and the Epic Escape, which was published earlier...

Disgusting' Answer Found in Beach Debris Mystery
'Disgusting' Answer Found
in Beach Debris Mystery
in case you missed it
Nov 10, 2024 7:15 AM CST

'Disgusting' Answer Found in Beach Debris Mystery

'Tar balls' that closed Sydney beaches are made up of same stuff as sewer 'fatbergs'

(Newser) - When thousands of objects believed to have been tar balls washed up on beaches in Sydney, Australia, last month, beaches were closed for days and authorities suspected there had been an oil spill. Scientists, however, tested the dark blobs and determined they weren't tar balls. "What we found...

After Election, a Spike in Emigration Queries

Inquiries on living abroad follow Trump's victory

(Newser) - As Donald Trump starts to make plans for his next Cabinet, some Americans are potentially making other plans, including getting out of Dodge. Reuters reports that searches on Google for "move to Canada" spiked 1,270% in the day after US polls closed on Tuesday. Similar searches for moving...

Australia's Ambassador to the US Deletes Anti-Trump Tweets

In 2020, former PM Kevin Rudd called Trump 'the most destructive president in history'

(Newser) - Australia's ambassador to the US quickly deleted tweets critical of Donald Trump when it became clear the Republican would be returning for a second term as president. In one of the posts, Kevin Rudd, who twice served as Australia's prime minister, called Trump "the. most destructive president...

For First Time, Australia Jails Someone Over Nazi Salute

Jacob Hersant is a self-described Nazi

(Newser) - A self-described Nazi became the first person in Australia to be sentenced to prison for performing an outlawed salute when he was ordered by a magistrate on Friday to spend one month behind bars, the AP reports. Jacob Hersant, 25, is also the first person in Victoria state to be...

Australia's Social Media Move Is for the 'Worried Sick' Parents

Proposed law meant to counter online harms includes no exemption for parental consent

(Newser) - Australia is proposing "world-leading" legislation to ban children under 16 from social media. "This one is for the mums and dads," who, "like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a Thursday press conference, referencing...

After Backlash, Aussie Breaker Retires

Rachael Gunn, aka Raygun, was ridiculed for her routine at the Summer Olympics in Paris

(Newser) - Three months after she stepped onto the world stage, Rachael Gunn is stepping off of it. The 37-year-old breaker known as B-Girl Raygun, who made a splash at the Summer Olympics in Paris with what the BBC calls a most "unorthodox" breaking routine , has announced she's retiring from...

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