Australia

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A Presumed Murder in Tiny Town Still Perplexes Cops

Writer Mitch Moxley explores the question: What in the world happened to Paddy Moriarty?

(Newser) - It has the ring of an Agatha Christie tale—a man goes missing and is presumed murdered in a remote town with only a dozen or so residents, most of whom are in their 70s. But as Mitch Moxley writes for Truly*Adventurous , the case of Paddy Moriarty is indeed real....

Sheep Farmer Couldn't Attend Aunt's Funeral, Did This Instead

Australia's Ben Jackson pays tribute to late aunt in viral video

(Newser) - In lockdown in Guyra, New South Wales, Australian sheep farmer Ben Jackson couldn't travel the 250 miles to Brisbane to attend the funeral of his aunt, who died recently following a two-year battle with cancer. "I felt hopeless, helpless—I didn't really know what to do,"...

Rescue Dogs Shot Dead Due to COVID Restrictions

Animal welfare group says it had a safety plan ready and was planning to take the animals

(Newser) - Volunteers were ready to pick up some dogs that had been impounded in New South Wales, Australia. Instead, the dogs were shot dead. A reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald learned from a local government watchdog group that an animal shelter in the middle of the state—the same state...

Sea Snake Attacks Are Just Failed Attempts at Romance

Snakes aren't the only animals that 'court inappropriate objects'

(Newser) - Love is blind. That’s the best explanation researchers have for why sea snakes occasionally attack divers. Sometimes a fishing net will trap a venomous sea snake and the snake will try to bite its way out. But why would a snake, venomous or not, approach and tangle with someone...

New Zealand Outbreak Spreads to the Capital

Nationwide lockdown will now last until at least Tuesday

(Newser) - New Zealand’s first virus outbreak in six months has spread from the largest city of Auckland to the capital, Wellington, the AP reports. Health authorities said Friday that three people in Wellington who recently visited Auckland had tested positive. They said the outbreak had grown to 31 cases. The...

Python Spotted by a Completely Appropriate Grocery Shopper

Helaina Alati, who encountered the 10-foot-long diamond python, is a snake catcher

(Newser) - Helaina Alati was browsing the spice aisle of an Australian supermarket when she came face-to-face with a huge snake. The head of the 10-foot-long non-venomous diamond python emerged through a space in a shelf in the Woolworths in the suburb of Glenorie on Sydney’s northwest outskirts. "I was...

City Locked Down After Single COVID Case Detected

Snap lockdown declared in Australia's capital region Thursday

(Newser) - Australia’s capital will go into lockdown for a week from Thursday after a single case of COVID-19 was detected and the virus was found in wastewater. Canberra joins Sydney, Melbourne, and several cities in New South Wales state that are locked down due to the delta variant. Canberra residents...

Woman Allegedly Failed Exam, Faked Being a Doctor

27-year-old was 'immediately' relieved of her duties at Sydney hospital on Monday

(Newser) - It's not quite as extreme as this man who famously faked being a doctor (among other things), but it's close. An Australian woman is accused of working at Sydney's Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital as a junior doctor for 7 months—though she reportedly was no doctor. 7 News reports...

A Bird Swoops and a Baby Dies
A Bird Swoops
and a Baby Dies
Aug 10, 2021 10:20 AM CDT

A Bird Swoops and a Baby Dies

Magpie removed from Brisbane park after causing 5-month-old's fatal fall

(Newser) - The lord mayor of Brisbane, Australia, says the city has been "shocked to its absolute core" by the death of a 5-month-old girl, triggered by a bird attack. The mother was cradling the infant in her arms at a park on Sunday when a magpie—a protected bird known...

Australian Football, Rugby Olympians Partied Too Hard

Australia Olympic Committee fielding complaints about rowdy flight, damaged rooms

(Newser) - Imagine the party that would ensue if the Australian Olympic soccer and rugby teams spent 10 hours locked in a room together. Now imagine that room is actually an airplane from Tokyo to Sydney and you’re just trying to get some sleep. Australian Olympians were already in hot water...

Australia Brings in Military to Enforce Sydney Lockdown

PM unveils 4-step plan to reopen country

(Newser) - In Australia's biggest city, the fight against a COVID outbreak that spread from an unmasked airport limo driver is not going well. The five-week Sydney lockdown was recently extended for another month and with case numbers remaining stubbornly high, the military is being called in to enforce restrictions, CNN...

Australia's Biggest City Will Be Locked Down for Another Month

South Korea, Thailand report record numbers of new COVID cases

(Newser) - Australia’s largest city, Sydney, will remain in lockdown for another month. The New South Wales state government announced that the lockdown of the city of 5 million would last at least until Aug. 28, after reporting on Wednesday 177 new infections in the latest 24-hour period, the AP reports....

For This Former Olympian, It's a Trip to Prison

Australia's Nathan Baggaley sentenced to 25 years for 2018 cocaine-smuggling plot

(Newser) - A two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time world kayaking champion has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in a failed $150 million cocaine-smuggling plot. Australia's Nathan Baggaley, 45, and his brother Dru, 39, were convicted in April of attempting to smuggle 650 kilograms of cocaine...

'Predatory' Firm Fined for Making False Claims About Anti-COVID Clothes

As cases rose in Australia, Lorna Jane started advertising 'anti-virus activewear'

(Newser) - An Australian clothing company accused of exploiting public fears about COVID-19 by making false claims about its activewear has agreed to pay a $3.7 million fine. As a second wave of infections hit Australia last summer, Lorna Jane started selling what it called "anti-virus activewear," the Washington ...

Cockatoos Hold Classes In Stealing From Trash Cans

Researchers in Australia observed birds giving lessons in dumpster diving

(Newser) - A few years ago, a Sydney scientist noticed a sulfur-crested cockatoo opening his trash bin. Not every resident would be thrilled, but ornithologist Richard Major was impressed by the ingenuity. It’s quite a feat for a bird to grasp a bin lid with its beak, pry it open, then...

Biden Has Job Lined Up for Caroline Kennedy

Former envoy to Japan picked for Australia post, according to CNN

(Newser) - President Biden plans to nominate Caroline Kennedy—a friend, donor, and experienced envoy—as US ambassador to Australia, reports CNN . The daughter of President John F. Kennedy, she served as ambassador to Japan during President Obama's administration. White House officials have not officially confirmed Kennedy's selection, saying that...

Australia's Olympic Chief Slammed for 'Mansplaining'

He ordered Queensland premier to attend opening ceremony in Tokyo

(Newser) - As leader of an Australian state, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has much greater responsibilities than John Coates, the country's Olympics chief—but he didn't appear to think so during a press conference in Tokyo after Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Games . Coates was accused of patronizing Palaszczuk after...

New Zealand Suspends Travel Bubble With Australia

Quarantine-free travel zone on hold for at least 8 weeks as cases rise in Australia

(Newser) - New Zealand on Friday suspended its quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia for at least eight weeks due to a growing COVID-19 cluster in Sydney. New Zealand had already imposed quarantine restrictions on travelers from New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia states, where lockdowns have been introduced to contain delta...

Man Escapes Hotel Quarantine—for 8 Hours

A bed-sheet rope got him out

(Newser) - An Australian man ordered to spend the night in a quarantine hotel made a temporary escape early Tuesday down a rope made from bed sheets, which he dangled from his fourth-floor window, police said. The 39-year-old had arrived in Perth, Western Australia, from the Queensland capital of Brisbane on a...

Aussie Couple Kept a Slave for 8 Years

Indian woman toiled for up to 23 hours a day, was punished with boiling water

(Newser) - An Australian couple who kept a slave for eight years will soon know what it's like to be held against their will. Kumuthini Kannan, 53, was ordered to serve at least four years of an eight-year sentence, while her husband, Kandasamy Kannan, 57, was ordered to serve at least...

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