Australia

Stories 901 - 920 | << Prev   Next >>

Madonna 3 Hours Late to Concert, Blames Audience

Hundreds of fans had already left

(Newser) - Madonna is performing in Australia for the first time in more than two decades this month, but apparently the occasion isn't major enough for her to bother being punctual. As the Guardian reports, the Material Girl arrived for her Wednesday night show in Brisbane at 11:22pm. It was...

'One of Nature's Greatest Mysteries' Appears in Australia

No one knows what's causing the so-called fairy circles

(Newser) - The fairy circles of Namibia—believed to be unique in the natural world—have long been "one of nature's greatest mysteries," according to a recently published study . Then they turned up thousands of miles away in Australia. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,"...

Mom Trapped in Fire Drops Baby, Toddler 2 Stories to Safety

All 3 survive

(Newser) - A mother trapped by a fire in her Sydney apartment safely dropped her 2-day-old baby and 2 year-old toddler from a second-floor window to rescuers, the AP reports. The children were uninjured by the fire and their 20-foot fall on Thursday night in suburban Lakemba, Police Senior Constable Jamie Wallace...

Dad Learns He's Autistic When Daughter Is Diagnosed

Chris Offer had been with his wife 7 years before diagnosis

(Newser) - In the early days of their relationship, Jessica Offer says she and her now husband Chris Offer would argue over his discomfort in looking people directly in the eye. Then there was the sensitivity to social overload. And after moving in together, the absurd neatness of their kitchen pantry. But...

Australia Finds 'Drowned Apostles'

Geologist on new limestone stacks: 'They shouldn't be there'

(Newser) - One of Australia's most beloved attractions is its 12 Apostles—ancient rock formations poking out of the waves off Victoria's coast. Scientists say they're in awe after discovering five "Drowned Apostles" in a linear formation hiding 160 feet underwater a few miles offshore. Melbourne University PhD...

Tattoo Artist Offers Free Tattoos to Cover Self-Harm Scars

Response is so overwhelming she has to limit number to 50

(Newser) - A 22-year-old Australian tattoo artist is making headlines after offering free tattoos to people with scars from self-harm, BuzzFeed reports. "I want you to be able to look down at the scars that bring you pain, embarrassment, shame, and be able to put those feelings behind you and instead...

Cardinal: Clerics Swam Naked With Boys

Pope Francis' adviser says Church 'made enormous mistakes'

(Newser) - One of Pope Francis' top advisers acknowledged Sunday that the Catholic Church "has made enormous mistakes" in allowing thousands of children to be raped and molested by priests over centuries, testifying at an extraordinary public hearing of Australia's Royal Commission via videolink from just a few blocks from...

Man Gets 8 Years for Shooting Corpse

'I shot him twice, mate'

(Newser) - An Australian man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of the attempted murder of someone who was already dead, Stuff.co.nz reports. In March 2014, Rocky Matskassy, 31, was shot as he and Daniel James Darrington, 39, struggled over a gun in a home...

Man Gets $180 Ticket, Spends 75x That Fighting It

Friends think he's crazy, but Mustafa Al Shakarji says it's about justice

(Newser) - When Mustafa Al Shakarji immigrated with his family to Australia from Iraq in 2002, he found a country far less rife with government and police corruption. So when he got a $180 (in US dollars) speeding ticket he felt was flat out wrong back in March 2012, he decided to...

Australia Legalizes Medical Marijuana

It's not clear when patients can pick it up

(Newser) - Medical marijuana is now legal in Australia. Parliament passed a measure Wednesday with amendments to the Narcotic Drugs Act that will allow marijuana to be grown for scientific and medical reasons, CNN reports. "This is an historic day for Australia and the many advocates who have fought long and...

Matchbox Twenty Singer: Sorry for Racist Joke, Australia

Rob Thomas insulted aboriginal population with drinking slur

(Newser) - Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas has apologized after making a joke that was widely taken to be racist during a solo concert in Australia, the AP reports. Thomas apologized on Facebook following the Saturday night show in Melbourne, where he made a joke about dealing with jet lag by drinking....

Aussie Town Battling Insane 'Hairy Panic' Tumbleweed

Wangaratta residents blame a negligent farmer

(Newser) - Roof-high swarms of tumbleweed are attacking a town in Australia and "it's not funny anymore," a resident tells the BBC . For some time, residents of Wangaratta in rural Victoria have been forced to spend hours a day digging out homes and cars buried beneath a fast-growing tumbleweed...

World's Nuclear Waste Could Find Home in Australian Outback

Storage in South Australia could bring in $183B

(Newser) - If the world is looking for another dumping ground for its nuclear waste, it may soon find a willing volunteer in South Australia. A report by the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission offered tentative findings that storing spent fuel rods—429,900 tons now being temporarily stored in areas around...

$900M in Meth Found in Bra Inserts

Australian police make huge bust

(Newser) - In one of the biggest drug busts in Australian history, law enforcement agencies discovered $1.26 billion Australian dollars ($900 million US) worth of methylamphetamine hidden in imported boxes of silicone bra inserts and art supplies, officials say. Four Hong Kong passport holders were arrested in Sydney last month over...

Backpackers Escape Horrific Kidnap-Assault on Remote Beach
 Backpackers 
 Escape Living 
 Nightmare on 
 Remote Beach 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Backpackers Escape Living Nightmare on Remote Beach

Naked woman running for help had 'blood all over'

(Newser) - Two female backpackers have escaped a living nightmare near Adelaide, Australia. Police say a German and Brazilian, both in their 20s, met a man in a rural area of South Australia who drove them to a remote beach campsite in Coorong National Park on Tuesday, per 7 News and the...

Man Vows to Keep Potato-Only Diet for a Year

Andrew Taylor says he's already lost 30 pounds in 2016

(Newser) - A little over 40 days into 2016, Andrew Taylor has lost more than 30 pounds eating as much as he likes. The catch: He's only eating potatoes. The Australian man—who weighed 333 pounds at the start of the year—says he decided to go on a spud diet...

Two Birds Might Be Purposely Starting Wildfires in Australia

Which opens the possibility that humans weren't the first to tame fire

(Newser) - Two species of birds might be deliberately starting wildfires in Australia, the Tech Times reports. This might seem outlandish, but cultural geographer Mark Bonta tells Newsweek it's "standard knowledge" among the aboriginal community and firefighters in northern Australia. According to the Washington Post , birds of prey are known...

WWII Sweethearts Share a Squeeze—70 Years Later

Norwood Thomas, Joyce Morris will spend two weeks together in Australia

(Newser) - It was the hug he'd been waiting 70 years for. World War II vet Norwood Thomas, 93, greeted his wartime sweetheart Joyce Morris, 88, in person on Wednesday for the first time since their brief love affair in London in 1944, per NBC News . "This is about the...

Woman Attends Own Funeral, Shocks Husband Who Ordered Her Murder

He's been sentenced to 9 years

(Newser) - Noela Rukundo had been with her husband, Balenga Kalala, for 11 years when, last year, she flew from their home in Melbourne, Australia, to her native Burundi for her stepmother's funeral. While there, Kalala ordered gang members to have her killed. They abducted her and told her what they...

Aussie Horror: Driver Mows Down 17 Kangaroos

Authorities say tire tracks show it was deliberate

(Newser) - A strip of Australian highway was left strewn with injured and dead kangaroos Monday morning, and animal welfare officials are trying to find out who they say ran them down intentionally, the Guardian reports. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals says a driver outside Brisbane purposely...

Stories 901 - 920 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser