Australia

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Australian Man Gets 9 Years for Killing Gay American in 1988

'I think our family’s got some peace and I would even say closure,' Scott Johnson's brother says

(Newser) - An Australian man who admitted killing a gay American by punching him off a cliff top in Sydney in 1988 was sentenced on Thursday to nine years in prison, ending the victim's family’s 35-year battle for justice. Scott Phillip White, 52, had pleaded guilty in the New South...

Judge Says Decorated Australian Veteran Committed War Crimes

Ben Roberts-Smith loses defamation case

(Newser) - Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated living veteran, has lost his defamation case against three newspapers that reported that he had committed war crimes in Afghanistan. After a year-long, high-profile trial, federal Justice Anthony Besanko determined that the newspapers have proven that the former Special Air Services had committed war...

War Hero or War Criminal? Big Australian Case Nears End
A War Hero's Potential Fall
Rivets Australia
the rundown
May 31, 2023 12:57 PM CDT

A War Hero's Potential Fall Rivets Australia

Decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith sued newspapers over claims he killed civilians, unarmed captives

(Newser) - Ben Roberts-Smith of Australia is his nation's most decorated living war veteran, notes the Guardian . But three Australian newspapers printed allegations the 44-year-old is also a war criminal who unlawfully killed six Afghans who were either unarmed prisoners or civilians. Now, after a dramatic and months-long trial that has...

Snorkeler Was 'Simply in Wrong Place, at Wrong Time'

Marcus McGowan managed to pry crocodile's jaws off his head in waters off north coast of Australia

(Newser) - A snorkeling adventure at a swanky Queensland resort led to a most terrifying crocodile encounter for one Australian man. The BBC and Guardian report that 51-year-old Marcus McGowan was in the water with his wife and friends on Saturday near the Sir Charles Hardy Islands, about 17 miles from the...

Her Mysterious Death Remains So After Coroner's Report

Inquest determines that Australia's Melissa Caddick is dead, but can't determine how

(Newser) - A coroner has put to rest one aspect of the perplexing case of an alleged fraudster named Melissa Caddick that has captivated people well beyond her homeland of Australia. "The conclusion I have reached is that Melissa Caddick is deceased," writes deputy New South Wales coroner Elizabeth Ryan,...

Woman, 95, Tasered by Cops Dies
Woman, 95,
Tasered by Cops Dies
May 24, 2023 11:40 AM CDT

Woman, 95, Tasered by Cops Dies

Clare Nowland had dementia, was wandering around her nursing home with steak knife

(Newser) - The 95-year-old woman with dementia who was tasered by police at an Australian nursing home has died "surrounded by family and loved ones," reports the BBC , and the officer who tasered her is now facing assault charges. Clare Nowland was walking with a walker on May 17 "...

Woman, 95, Tasered by Cops at Nursing Home

Police in Australia say Clare Nowland refused to drop steak knife

(Newser) - A 95-year-old Australian woman with dementia is in critical condition after being tasered by police officers who were called to her nursing home. Police say staff at the home in Cooma, south of Canberra, told them Clare Nowland had taken a steak knife from the kitchen, 9News reports. Police say...

Bounce House Business Owner Ran Arson Campaign on Rivals

Australian man sentenced to 11 years for hiring people to burn down his competitors

(Newser) - A bounce house business owner in Australia is going to be spending years in the big house over an arson campaign against his rivals. James Balcombe, 58, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of conspiracy to commit arson and was sentenced to 11 years in prison, 9News reports. The court was...

Cops: Mastermind of Jewel Heist Was the Store Owner

Australia's Michel Germani allegedly orchestrated January robbery for insurance money

(Newser) - The owner of Australian luxury jewelry company Germani Jewellery claims to have designed items for Saudi and British royalty, including Princess Diana. But his biggest claim came in January, when the 65-year-old reported suffering a $2.8 million armed heist at one of his Sydney stores. According to New South...

Stranded for 5 Days, She Survived on Bottle of Wine, Lollipops

Teetotaler had to drink the bottle meant for mom to survive

(Newser) - "The only liquid Lillian, who doesn't drink, had with her was a bottle of wine she had bought as a gift for her mother, so that got her through," says Australia's Wodonga Police Station Sgt. Martin Torpey. As the BBC reports, so describes the tale of...

They Killed the Crocodile, Found Body Parts Inside

Kevin Darmody vanished while fishing on Saturday

(Newser) - A man fishing with Kevin Darmody in northern Queensland, Australia, on Saturday didn't see what happened to his friend, but he heard a yell. "I raced down… but there was no sign of him, just his [flip-flops] on the bank," John Peiti said of the 65-year-old. Police...

He Rose From Drug Addiction to Top of the Cooking World

Scottish chef Jock Zonfrillo dies at 46 on eve of season premiere of 'MasterChef Australia'

(Newser) - The 15th season of MasterChef Australia was set to premiere Monday, but that airing of the cooking competition program has since been postponed after its host died over the weekend. Per a statement from Network 10, Jock Zonfrillo died suddenly on Sunday in Melbourne at age 46, reports CNN . Zonfrillo'...

American With Golden Gun Arrested in Sydney Airport

Australian officials say gold-plated weapon was in the woman's luggage

(Newser) - A 28-year-old American woman visiting Australia from Los Angeles was arrested in the Sydney Airport after a gun was found in her luggage, reports CBS News . But not just any gun—a 24-carat-gold-plated one, for reasons that are not specified. In a release , the Australian Border Force said the "...

Sydney Is No Longer Australia's Biggest City

Melbourne overtakes it for first time in a century

(Newser) - Anyone alive today may have absorbed this factoid in school: Australia's most populous city is Sydney. However, for the first time in more than a century, that answer has now changed—Melbourne has claimed the No. 1 spot in the eyes of the government, reports the BBC . For the...

Cleo Smith's Abductor Wanted Girl to 'Dress Up'

Terence Kelly is now paying for living out a fantasy: authorities

(Newser) - The man who kidnapped a 4-year-old girl from a campsite in Australia and held her captive for nearly three weeks was sentenced Wednesday. Terence Kelly received 13 years and six months in prison for the October 2021 abduction of Cleo Smith and won't be eligible for parole for 11...

'AK-47' That Prompted Panic Was Something Very Different

Police in New South Wales, Australia, say 'weapon' they found in car was actually just a bong

(Newser) - There was a bit of panic in Australia this week, after Sydney locals reported the sighting of a man carrying a frightening-looking assault rifle—but all was not what it seemed. The BBC reports that 911 calls started pouring in late Wednesday afternoon from the northwest side of the city,...

He Went in With Metal Detector, Came Out With $160K in Gold

'I haven't seen a specimen in this amount of gold in my 43 years of prospecting'

(Newser) - A man exploring with a metal detector hit the jackpot, uncovering what a veteran gold prospector calls a "once-in-a-lifetime find." The amateur gold digger, who is remaining anonymous, was searching the goldfields of Australia's Victoria state, site of an 1850s gold rush, when he stumbled upon a...

Wife Found Guilty of Murdering Husband via Poisoned Cookies

Australian woman convicted of 2020 murder

(Newser) - An Australian woman was convicted this month of fatally poisoning her husband in 2020 by lacing his lemon cookies with sleeping pills. Rebecca Payne lived with her husband Noel in the state of Victoria, and the now-43-year-old told authorities he was abusive toward her. In an episode of A Current ...

Woman Finds Deadly 6-Foot Snake in Bed

'This is what nightmares are made of'

(Newser) - The owner of a reptile relocation service in Australia posted a pair of photos on Facebook this week that people with a fear of snakes should probably avoid looking at if they ever want to sleep again. Zachery’s Snake and Reptile Relocation shared photos of a six-foot Eastern Brown...

Australia Struggles With Massive Fish Die-Off

Contractors have been hired to remove millions of dead fish from New South Wales river

(Newser) - Contractors are being hired to remove millions of rotting fish from a river in the Australian Outback after an unprecedented die-off following floods and hot weather, police said on Monday. The fish started dying in the Darling River near the New South Wales town of Menindee on Friday. Officials say...

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