Latest Australian and International News

Aussie couch potatoes try for TV record
June 12, 2010 at 4:40 PM


FIVE Australians will attempt to break a Guinness World Record by watching television continuously for more than 86 hours during the 2010 World Cup.
 

Toddler dies after being hit by car
June 12, 2010 at 3:54 PM


A TODDLER who ran onto a road and was struck by a car has died, police say.
 

Defence jets join Abby's rescue party
June 12, 2010 at 3:16 PM


THE Australian Defence Force has deployed two aircraft to Cocos Island, in the Indian Ocean, to assist in the rescue of US sailor Abby Sunderland.
 

WA cabbie nears end of epic ride
June 12, 2010 at 3:05 PM


AFTER swimming with whale sharks and guiding a blind man though stunning Kimberley landscapes, cabbie Doug Slater is about to cross the finish line after driving nearly 14,000km to showcase Western Australia to the world.
 

'More sites on radar' for asylum seekers
June 12, 2010 at 2:45 PM


DEPUTY Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confirmed more mainland sites are actively being sought to cope with the continued surge in asylum seekers.
 

Miner 'preparing work at shelved project'
June 12, 2010 at 1:41 PM


XSTRATA has been accused of misleading Australians over the impact of the proposed super-profits tax after signing a contract for work on a project the company said had been shelved.
 

Oil cleanup workers stopped by gas leak
June 12, 2010 at 12:03 PM


ABOUT 800 Gulf oil response workers aboard 120 vessels have been recalled to shore after dozens aboard a supply boat were hospitalised from exposure to a natural gas leak, BP has said.
 

Girl dies as seven others flee house fire
June 12, 2010 at 10:32 AM


A TEENAGE girl has died in a house fire in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.
 

16 dead in flash flood at camp site
June 12, 2010 at 9:40 AM


AT least 16 people have been killed by floodwaters that rose at more than 2 metres an hour tore through a campground packed with holidaying families in Arkansas.
 

Wall St shrugs off poor retail data
June 12, 2010 at 9:17 AM


US stocks have clawed back from losses to close with modest gains as reports on consumers' outlook and retail spending sent mixed signals about the health of the economic recovery.
 

Wall St shrugs off poor retail data
June 12, 2010 at 9:17 AM


US stocks have clawed back from losses to close with modest gains as reports on consumers' outlook and retail spending sent mixed signals about the health of the economic recovery.
 

Gas leak on oil spill response vessel
June 12, 2010 at 9:10 AM


THREE dozen workers aboard a supply vessel in the Gulf of Mexico have been hospitalised following exposure to leaking toxic fumes at a natural gas platform, US officials said.
 

Teen girls charged over carjackings
June 12, 2010 at 9:04 AM


SIX teenage girls have been charged with carjacking three vehicles in different locations across Sydney's west.
 

Pope begs forgiveness from abuse victims
June 12, 2010 at 8:37 AM


SURROUNDED by 15,000 white-robed priests, Pope Benedict XVI has begged forgiveness from clerical abuse victims at a Mass in St Peter's Square and promised to "do everything possible" to protect the world's children.
 

BP bounces back after shares dive
June 12, 2010 at 7:30 AM


SHARES in BP have rallied after recent sharp losses, amid reports it plans to defer dividends as it battles the Gulf oil spill.
 

Gunmen kill 19 at Mexican rehab centre
June 12, 2010 at 4:05 AM


GROUP of more than 30 gunmen storm drug rehabilitation centre and open fire.
 

Six dead as floods wash away camp site
June 12, 2010 at 2:49 AM


FLASH floods wash away camp site in Arkansas, killing six people, with rescuers still battling to free those stranded.
 
 

War graves desecrated with swastikas
June 12, 2010 at 1:26 AM


FRENCH President condemns vandals who daubed Nazi graffiti on British war graves in northern France.
 

Aborigines to greet Japanese spacecraft
June 11, 2010 at 11:28 PM


ABORIGINES will be among the first to see a capsule released by a doomed Japanese space probe.
 

Unions 'won't strike during World Cup'
June 11, 2010 at 10:09 PM


HEADACHE over for South African Government as public workers agree to delay any possible action until after the final.
 

Russell Crowe says he's not dead
June 11, 2010 at 8:54 PM


RUSSELL Crowe denies reports that he plunged off a mountain while filming in Austria.
 

Obama attacked over 'big mistake'
June 11, 2010 at 8:48 PM


IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that US President Barack Obama has made a "big mistake" by pushing for UN sanctions, and "blocked the way" to friendly ties with the Iranian people.
 

Premier declares war on locusts
June 11, 2010 at 8:38 PM


THEY'RE pint-sized, broody gluttons capable of grounding planes and the Victorian premier wants them dead.
 

Soccer boss arrest for World Cup travel
June 11, 2010 at 8:21 PM


THE Rwandan Army has arrested the president of the national soccer federation for travelling to South Africa for the World Cup without prior permission.
 

Teen charged over vicious train assault
June 11, 2010 at 7:37 PM


A TEENAGER has been charged over an assault on a metropolitan Melbourne train last weekend that left a tourist with serious head injuries.
 

Australian woman freed from Yemen
June 11, 2010 at 7:34 PM


AN Australian woman detained in Yemen as part of an investigation into al-Qaida has been freed and is flying home with her two children.
 

Report finds bullying in fire brigades
June 11, 2010 at 6:51 PM


FIREFIGHTERS are being bullied and harassed, often by senior management, within the "boy's club'' ranks of the NSW Fire Brigades, a report has found.
 

Australia to pay for Abby's rescue
June 11, 2010 at 6:11 PM


AUSTRALIA will to pay for its part in the search and rescue of teenage solo sailor Abby Sunderland who encountered extremely rough weather in the Indian Ocean.
 

Mandela pulls out of World Cup opener
June 11, 2010 at 5:46 PM


SOUTH Africa's former president Nelson Mandela has pulled out of the opening ceremony of the World Cup, after his great-granddaughter was killed in a car accident involving a drunk driver today.
 
 

War vet indecently assaulted women
June 11, 2010 at 5:34 PM


A VIETNAM veteran who claimed he could read auras has admitted indecently assaulting three women.
 

BP considering dividend cut
June 11, 2010 at 5:23 PM


BP chief executive Tony Hayward said in an interview published today his firm was considering cutting its dividend amid growing US public anger at its handling of a devastating oil spill.
 

Share market up ahead of long weekend
June 11, 2010 at 5:07 PM


THE Australian share market closed firmly in the black as hedge funds covered short positions ahead of a long weekend for all Australian states except Western Australia.
 

US teen solo sailor 'safe'
June 11, 2010 at 4:37 PM


TEEN solo sailor Abby Sunderland has been located alive in the Indian Ocean, after fears were raised when she encountered extremely rough weather early today.
 

Woman jailed over daughter's sex acts
June 11, 2010 at 4:32 PM


A DRUG-ADDICTED woman who "permitted, encouraged and assisted'' her 13-year-old daughter to have sex with a truck driver will spend at least five and a half years in jail.
 

Dead humpback washes up on beach
June 11, 2010 at 4:13 PM


A DEAD humpback whale measuring nearly 9m has washed up on a public beach on New York's Long Island.