WELLINGTON—Seven tourists including four Australians were hospitalized in a suspected case of alcohol poisoning at a resort in Fiji, the Australian and Fijian governments said on Monday. The tourists became ill after drinking a cocktail at the Warwick Fiji resort on the south coast of Viti Levu island, Fiji’s government said in a statement. “This […]
Australian police seized the country’s largest haul of cocaine aboard a fishing boat that had broken down near the coast of Queensland, arresting 13 people alleged to be part of a drug-smuggling syndicate. Authorities tracked a recreational fishing boat as it traveled out to sea where it allegedly met a mothership in international waters to […]
Late into the night on Nov. 28, the Australian Senate passed a “world first” law that bans under 16 year old children from accessing social media. The new law, once in affect, means young Australians will be barred from accessing platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, and X—age verification technology will be implemented by […]
MELBOURNE, Australia—The only emperor penguin known to have swum from Antarctica to Australia was released at sea 20 days after he waddled ashore on a popular tourist beach, officials said Friday. The adult male was found on Nov. 1 on Ocean Beach sand dunes in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia—about 2,200 miles […]
BANGKOK—Two Australian teenagers and a British woman died from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos. An American man and two Danes also died, though their exact causes of death have not been released. A New Zealander also has been sickened. The U.S. State Department issued a warning to travelers to be “alert […]
VIENTIANE, Laos—An Australian teenager has died after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos in what Australia’s prime minister on Thursday called every parent’s nightmare. An American and two Danish tourists also died, officials said after reports that multiple people had been sickened in town popular with backpackers. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told Parliament that 19-year-old […]
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin III met with his Australian and Japanese counterparts in Darwin, Australia, on Nov. 17 for the 14th trilateral meeting between the countries, highlighting concerns about the Chinese communist regime’s “destabilizing actions” in its neighboring waters and announcing new joint military exercises. “Today, more than ever, we’re taking concrete actions […]
SYDNEY—England cricketing great Ian Botham was saved by his former Ashes rival Merv Hughes after a fall into crocodile-infested waters while on a fishing trip in northern Australia. Botham, along with Hughes and a group of friends, was on a boat when the accident happened, resulting in some heavy bruising to his torso but no […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand—An engine failure on a passenger plane taking off from Sydney, Australia on Friday prompted the aircraft to circle before a safe emergency landing, the airline Qantas said. At the same time, a grass fire broke out along one side of a runway, Sydney Airport said in a statement. It was not known […]
SYDNEY—The Australian government will legislate for a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what it calls a world-leading package of measures that could become law late next year. Australia is trialing an age-verification system to assist in blocking children from accessing social media platforms, as […]
MELBOURNE—Breaker Rachael “Raygun” Gunn’s signature kangaroo bounce will not be seen on a competitive stage again after the Australian declared she could not bring herself to battle following the backlash over her Paris Olympic performance. University lecturer Gunn became an overnight sensation after losing all three of her round robin battles by a combined score […]
An emperor penguin surprised locals when it appeared on a beach in Australia after making an epic journey of thousands of miles from its home in Antarctica. The penguin arrived on Ocean Beach in Denmark, Western Australia, on Friday, according to a statement from Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), sent to CNN […]
Coldplay front man Chris Martin took a dramatic tumble during a show in Australia before emerging apparently unhurt from a hole in the stage. Video of the incident posted to social media showed Martin addressing the crowd at the Marvel Stadium in Melbourne on Sunday as he walked around during a break between songs, before […]
SYDNEY—An 18-foot Australian crocodile that held the world record as the largest crocodile in captivity has died, a wildlife sanctuary said on Saturday. He was thought to be more than 110 years old. Cassius, weighing in at more than one ton, had been in declining health since Oct. 15, Marineland Melanesia Crocodile Habitat said on […]
SYDNEY—Australian police said on Wednesday they had recovered more than 40,000 stolen limited-edition coins based on the hit children’s animated series “Bluey.” The Bluey coins, with a face value of one Australian dollar (65 U.S. cents) each, were found on Tuesday afternoon in a self-storage business in the Sydney suburb of Wentworthville, a police statement […]
A woman hiking in Australia’s Hunter Valley found herself trapped upside down for seven hours when she attempted to reach for her phone, which had slipped between boulders. She was eventually rescued. New South Wales (NSW) Ambulance service released photos of the rescue operation on Monday, showing the frightening predicament the woman found herself in. […]
Adventurer and crystal enthusiast Patrick Gundersen made a stunning discovery in the Australian outback, unearthing a spectacular quartz crystal hidden in a pile of dirt. Gundersen, who shares his finds on his Instagram @crystals_of_australia, posted a video showing the gem. “It weighs around 2kg and could easily be worth several thousand dollars due to the […]
CANBERRA, Australia—A pilot killed when a helicopter crashed on the roof of an Australian hotel two months ago was affected by alcohol and was not qualified to fly at night, an investigation concluded. Two hotel guests were briefly hospitalized for smoke inhalation and 400 people had to evacuated from the hotel following the crash in […]
SYDNEY—An Australian court upheld an order on Friday for Elon Musk’s X to pay a fine of A$610,500 ($418,000) for failing to cooperate with a regulator’s request for information about anti-child-abuse practices. X had challenged the fine but the Federal Court of Australia ruled it was obliged to respond to a notice from the eSafety […]
SYDNEY—Pesto the huge king penguin chick has drawn hundreds of visitors to an Australian aquarium, and now the bird can count Katy Perry as one of his biggest fans. The U.S. pop star, in Melbourne to perform at the Australian Football League Grand Final on Saturday, told Channel Seven she wanted to “kiss Pesto” during […]
