Australia/Antarctica News

SYDNEY, Australia - An injured and abandoned baby humpback whale was euthanized by wildlife officials Friday after veterinarians determined it was too weak to survive on its own.

SYDNEY, Australia - An 86-year-old man accused of killing a Jewish teenager in Hungary during World War II can be extradited to Hungary to face charges, an Australian judge found Wednesday.

PERTH, Australia (AFP) - An 86-year-old alleged war criminal accused of murdering a young Jewish man in World War II lost a court battle Wednesday against extradition from Australia to Hungary.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - An alleged World War Two war criminal living in Australia was eligible for extradition to Hungary to face justice, an Australian court ruled on Wednesday.

LONDON (AFP) - Australian Aboriginal children can count even without having words for numbers, according to a study by British and Australian experts released Tuesday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Fears were growing Tuesday for the survival chances of a lost baby humpback whale who tried to suckle from an Australian yacht in the belief it was its mother.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia's Origin Energy on Tuesday formally urged shareholders to reject a 13.8-billion-dollar (12-billion-US) hostile takeover bid by Britain's BG Group.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Small Pacific nations and East Timor are jostling for inclusion in an Australian plan to ship in seasonal workers from overseas, but Aborigines said on Tuesday that local indigenous people should get preference.

SYDNEY (AFP) - The world's biggest mining company BHP Billiton Ltd. posted a record 15.39-billion-US-dollar annual net profit Monday and said it expected Asian demand to remain strong despite a global slowdown.

SYDNEY, Australia - An engine access panel fell off a Qantas Airways jumbo jet en route to Singapore from Melbourne, Australia, on Friday, the latest in a string of incidents for the airline.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's prime minister tried in vain to help resuscitate her climbing guide and friend after he suffered an apparent heart attack while on a trip in a remote alpine valley, authorities said Friday.

SYDNEY, Australia - Australian police say they have arrested a Catholic priest and charged him with 30 counts of sexual assault related to abuse allegations dating back three decades.

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian woman has taken revenge on her cheating husband by auctioning his mistress's "huge" panties and his "size small" condom packet on eBay.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A Qantas Airways flight landed safely Wednesday night after a problem with one of its engines on a flight from Australia to New Zealand, the company said, the latest in a series of mechanical incidents for the airline.

SINGAPORE (AFP) - Australia will support a civilian atomic energy deal between India and the United States at a meeting of key nuclear supplier states, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said here Tuesday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - The chance discovery of the remains of a prehistoric giant kangaroo has cast doubts on the long-held view that climate change drove it and other mega-fauna to extinction, a new study reveals.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A New Zealand bakery was ordered to pay more than 11,000 New Zealand dollars ($7,700) for selling a pie with a dangerous filling — metal slivers.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - About 20 Catholic pilgrims who attended World Day Youth services in Australia with Pope Benedict XVI last month have claimed asylum, with more applications expected, refugee advocates said on Tuesday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - About 20 pilgrims who came to Australia for the recent visit of Pope Benedict XVI are seeking asylum in the country, a refugee support group said Tuesday.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Australia will ask Indonesia's president for clemency for three Australian citizens on death row once all legal processes have been exhausted, but not for the three Bali bombers, Australia's Foreign Minister said on Monday.

JAKARTA (AFP) - Canberra will seek clemency for three Australian drug smugglers on death row in Indonesia once all legal processes have been finished, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said here Monday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian soldiers have captured a key Taliban commander in southern Afghanistan, the military said Sunday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Thousands of people rallied in southern Australia Sunday to protest the dwindling water levels in one of the country's greatest rivers, claiming the loss was causing an environmental disaster.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Sunday he would use upcoming talks in Indonesia to raise the issue of clemency for three Australian drug traffickers held there on death row.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Customs and police said Friday they had seized 4.4 tonnes of ecstasy tablets worth nearly 400 million dollars, describing it as the biggest haul of the illicit drug anywhere in the world.

TOKYO - An American nuclear-powered submarine leaked radiation for more than two years, releasing the bulk of the material in its home port of Guam and at Pearl Harbor, Japanese and U.S. officials said Thursday.

DILI (Reuters) - The United Nations urged on Thursday East Timor not to let those responsible for bloodshed surrounding Dili's 1999 independence vote from Indonesia off the hook, pledging to provide support to prosecute perpetrators.

TOKYO (Reuters) - A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine which has steadily been leaking a small amount of radiation for over two years stopped at three Japanese ports, as well as Guam and Pearl Harbor, the United States and Japan said on Thursday.

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian police are reviewing 7,000 cases solved through the use of DNA evidence after a mistake was discovered in one murder case, a senior officer said Thursday.