Australian Change of heart: Abbott government agrees to accept 12,000 Syrian refugees
Australia will permanently resettle 12,000 refugees from Syria, and begin air strikes on Islamic State targets within the week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced. Speaking a short time after Coalition MPs met in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss the government’s policy, Mr Abbott described the commitment to take in 12,000 refugees as one of […]
Unsheared sheep found wandering in Australia was so wooly he nearly died — ended up having 93 pounds of wool sheared
It was the most massively overgrown sheep anybody had ever seen—and the biggest challenge of Ian Elkins’ career. When animal authorities in Canberra found and rescued the wandering sheep, they called for help and the four-time Australian Shearing Championship winner answered, the Guardian reports. Elkins says he sheared a record 93 pounds of wool from […]
Australia wants to join India, US and Japan in joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, widening participation in multilateral drills as China’s influence in the region grows
Australia wants to join India, the United States and Japan in joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean, widening participation in multilateral drills as China’s influence in the region grows. Australian Defense Minister Kevin Andrews said expanding the exercises to include more countries would help avoid military mistakes in a region where China and India […]
Australia, Victoria to ban protesters from harassing women at abortion clinics
Protesters will be banned from harassing women on the steps of Victorian abortion clinics before the end of the year. The Victorian government has agreed to a deal with Sex party MP Fiona Patten to put protest exclusion zones outside fertility clinics. Patten’s original private member’s bill called for 150-metre exclusion zones and hefty penalties […]
Woman Divorced For Being Adulterous Can Not Claim Maintenance From Ex-Husband In India
A court in southern India recently ruled that a woman divorced for being adulterous could not claim maintenance from her ex-husband. The ruling by Justice S Nagamuthu of the Madras high court may be legally sound, but the language of the judgement is worrying women’s activists, writes Geeta Pandey in Delhi. Justice Nagamuthu’s ruling that […]
Study of 79 countries: Religiosity linked to anti-gay attitudes — but effect smallest among Buddhists
Research published in the Journal of Homosexuality has investigated how a person’s and a country’s religious orientation can influence their view of homosexuality, and can affect one’s level of homonegativity — which can be defined as “an aversion to homosexuality as a social practice or way of life.” The necessity for research stems from data […]
Australian Government to ban un-vaccinated preschoolers from childcare, kindergarten
Victorian pre-schoolers will be banned from attending child care or kindergarten unless they are vaccinated, under new ‘no jab, no play’ laws to be introduced by the State Government. The new laws will be introduced within weeks and will come into effect on January 1. “Vaccinations save lives,” Health Minister Jill Hennessy said. “We are […]
300 People In New Zealand Protest Against Joining Trans-Pacific Partnership
About 300 people descended on Parliament this afternoon to protest against New Zealand joining the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP is a set of trade and investment negotiations among 12 Asia-Pacific countries to cut tariffs and improve access to markets. It has caused major controversy, with supporters arguing it would offer huge economic benefits, […]
New Zealand man hired as an unpaid intern by the UN in Geneva has been forced to live in a tent
A 22-year-old New Zealand man hired as an unpaid intern by the United Nations in Geneva has been forced to live in a tent because he cannot afford the high cost of accommodation in the Swiss city. David Hyde has been sleeping on a patch of ground overlooking Lake Geneva not far from the the […]
Approval for world’s biggest coalmine overturned by Australian federal court
The federal court has overturned the Abbott government’s approval of Australia’s largest proposed coal project, Adani’s Carmichael mine in north Queensland. The court has ruled the environment minister, Greg Hunt, ignored his own department’s advice about the mine’s impact on two vulnerable species, the yakka skink and the ornamental snake. The decision leaves Adani, which […]
