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THE live export market suffers another blow, with a Queensland mission to Indonesia being told pre-slaughter cattle stunning won't be allowed. The trade mission, led by Agriculture Minister John McVeigh, was told there had been a marked shift against stunning by Indonesians, the Courier Mail reports. Stun guns - commonly used in Australian abattoirs - are the main hope of exporters wanting Indonesian abattoirs to overcome cruel slaughter conditions. The northern live cattle market is on its knees due to a decision taken by Indonesia in 2009 to wind back exports to start its own beef industry. Graziers - some...

An Australian radio station fired a popular long-time host after he questioned Prime Minister Julia Gillard on air Thursday about her partner's sexuality. Howard Sattler repeatedly quizzed Gillard on Perth radio station 6PR whether her partner, Tim Mathieson, a hairdresser, is gay, and if their relationship was romantic or platonic. In a statement read on air late Friday, the station apologized "unreservedly" for Sattler's line of questioning. "That was disrespectful to the office and the person of the prime minister and was entirely inappropriate," the statement read. During the interview, Gillard defended her relationship. "Right, well, let me just bring...

A man who whipped a Muslim convert as a religious punishment for drinking alcohol was sentenced Friday to at least 16 months in jail. Wasim Fayad, 45, was convicted earlier this year of the 2011 attack on Christian Martinez. Sydney Central Local Court Magistrate Brian Maloney sentenced Fayad, who had been Martinez’s spiritual mentor, to a maximum of two years in jail for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. …

A Tel Aviv-based civil rights group warned Australian supporters Thursday of a proposed boycott against Israel that their activities were racist and in violation of Australian federal anti-discrimination laws. Recently faculty and students at Sydney University called for the severing of links with Israeli institutions. In letters sent to Associate Professor Jake Lynch, Professor Stuart Rees and others, Shurat HaDin – the Israel Law Center – threatened to take legal action if they did not immediately discontinue their boycott campaign.

THE first posthumous gallantry medal of the Afghanistan war has been awarded to SAS Sergeant Blaine Diddams who was killed in action in July last year. The popular and highly decorated 40-year-old soldier and 17-year SAS veteran was on his seventh tour of the war-torn country when an insurgent bullet took his life in the Chora Valley on July 2 not far from the main Australian base at Tarin Kowt. In today's Queen's Birthday Honours list Sergeant Diddams has been awarded the nation's third highest gallantry medal, the Medal for Gallantry (MG). The citation says that on 2 July 2012,...

New Zealand Herald can't be posted to FR, but I think a link might be OK: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10889158

Beachgoers in New Zealand got a grim look at a toothy, emaciated carcass that washed ashore recently, prompting speculation that the rotting remains belonged to some sort of mysterious sea monster or pre-historic creature. Beachgoers in New Zealand got a grim look at a toothy, emaciated carcass that washed ashore recently, prompting speculation that the rotting remains belonged to some sort of mysterious sea monster or pre-historic creature. The creature was found by a group driving along the beach in four-wheeled vehicles along the Bay of Plenty near Pukehina, about 250 km (155 miles) southeast of the capital Auckland, Discovery...

NEW DELHI: India and Australia will implement a slew of "defence cooperation initiatives" to further strengthen the bilateral "strategic partnership", which range from stepped up military exchanges and regular defence dialogues to maritime security and a joint naval combat exercise in 2015. This was decided in the extensive talks between defence minister A K Antony with his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith in Perth and Canberra on June 4 and 5. "The two ministers acknowledged the deepening bilateral strategic and defence cooperation. They agreed to continue to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and to promote...

VICTORIA's top firearms owners have collected an average arsenal of 80 weapons each, which has raised concerns among advocates of gun control. They want restrictions on the number of weapons one person can own. The 20 biggest gun owners in the state are sitting on 1625 firearms, according to Victoria Police figures. One owner has been legally approved to hold 131 weapons, including scores of semi-automatic rifles and shotguns.

Environment: Carbon dioxide concentrations in our atmosphere recently hit the 400 parts-per-million mark. So is all that CO2 scorching the planet? No. But it does seem to be making our deserts greener. The reality, according to Australian research, is that in this era of higher carbon concentrations, plant life in dry regions has grown lush. The greening of the deserts is due to the "fertilization effect" — the impact carbon dioxide has on plant life. In summarizing the report, the American Geophysical Union said researchers focused on "the southwestern corner of North America, Australia's outback, the Middle East, and some...

The University of Wollongong has reached a breakthrough with its research on lithium-ion batteries which could make electric vehicles (EVs) more viable in the near future. The university’s Institute for Superconducting & Electronic Materials (ISEM) has used a new Germanium-based material, capable of storing five times more energy than a ‘conventional’ lithium-ion battery. Researchers at the university believe this new technology to EVs could at the very least double the distance that the car can travel on a single charge. And the benefits don’t end there, with the new batteries bringing a significant reduction in charging times, and a relatively...

Scientists in Australia are closer to harvesting hydrogen from two of the most abundant and naturally occurring resources in our environment – seawater and sunlight.Water oxidation, the first part of the water splitting reaction that can produce hydrogen, is difficult as it is so kinetically unfavourable. Using photocatalysts to overcome this energy barrier is appealing as sunlight can supply the required energy rather than needing electrical or thermal energy.Unlike some photocatalytic water oxidation methods that use catalysts mounted on a semiconductor to form an electrode, a team, led by Jun Chen and Gerhard Swiegers, from the University of Wollongong, Australia,...

Signalling the formation of a new strategic axis in the Indo-Pacific region, Defence Minister A K Antony will travel to Australia on Monday to forge new military ties between the two nations, both of which are seen by the US as linchpins to its “Asia Pivot” strategy. Canberra has accorded special status to Antony since he is India’s first defence minister to visit Australia. The defence minister will arrive in Perth where he would be received by his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith. Antony will lay a wreath at the State War Memorial and proceed to Canberra along with Smith in...

A simpler and faster way of producing designer bacteria used in biotechnology processes has been developed by University of Adelaide researchers. The researchers have developed a new one-step bacterial genetic engineering process called 'clonetegration', published in the journal ACS Synthetic Biology. Led by Dr Keith Shearwin, in the University's School of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, the research facilitates faster development of designer bacteria used in therapeutic drug development, such as insulin, and other biotechnology products. Designer bacteria are produced by integrating extra pieces of genetic material into the DNA of bacteria, in this case E. coli, so that the bacteria...

The Tasmanian Supreme Court heard that the father had set up a camera to capture ghosts he believed were haunting his house. One day he forgot to turn it off and when he later reviewed the footage, he saw his son and the 28-year-old Tasmanian woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - kissing and cuddling. His girlfriend of 11 years initially denied any relationship, but his son confessed that they had sex on multiple occasions. The woman later pleaded guilty to sex with the minor and today was sentenced to at least six months in jail. The...

<p>AUSTRALIA'S closest neighbour Papua New Guinea has moved tonight to introduce the death penalty - and suffocation is one of the approved execution methods.</p> <p>The nation's parliament has passed amendments to its criminal code that will allow death sentences for rape, murder and robbery.</p>

ON Tuesday, Kevin Rudd declared himself in support of same-sex marriage. He told us that, after deep reflection, he found he was able to reconcile his religious faith with his secular ethical principles. His last line of argument was that: "30 years of research has seen the Australian Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association acknowledge that same-sex families do not compromise children's development". But Rudd hasn't kept up to date with recent research and his claim is misleading. Last July, in the journal Social Science Research, Mark Regnerus published a large-scale study comparing children...

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The 25,000 people at the soccer stadium and the millions more watching at home waited 90 minutes before the Australian evangelical preacher got to the message he had come to Communist-ruled Vietnam to deliver. “Do you know why I love God?” Nick Vujicic asked a young girl on stage who, like him, was born without arms and legs. “Because heaven is real. And one day when we get to heaven, we are going to have arms and legs. And we are going to run, and we are going play, and we are going to race.” The...

Ford Australia says it will close its Australian manufacturing plants in October 2016, with the loss of hundreds of jobs. Ford president Bob Graziano said approximately 1,200 workers would lose their jobs when the Broadmeadows and Geelong plants were shut down. He made the announcement in Melbourne this morning after announcing that the company had lost $141 million over the last financial year - taking losses over the past five years to more than $600 million. Key points Ford to close plants in 2016 More than 1,000 jobs to go, more at risk Government promises support for sacked staff "Our...

MEN with strong upper body strength are more likely to vote conservatively while physically weaker males have a greater tendency towards left-leaning views. And stronger men are more likely to protect their resources while weaker males favour more socialist views such as wealth distribution, researchers claim. Psychological scientists Michael Bang Petersen of Denmark’s Aarhus University, and Daniel Sznycer of the University of California, say political motivations may have evolutionary links to physical strength. The scientists say men's upper body strength predicts and influences their political opinions and this link reflects psychological traits that evolved in response to our early ancestral...

Resurrection may no longer be the stuff of myth Doctors at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne have a knack for resurrection. Thanks to a combination of two resuscitation techniques, the Australian team has successfully revived three patients who were officially dead for between 40 and 60 minutes. One of those patients was 39-year-old Colin Fielder, who suffered a heart attack last year. While being whisked away in the ambulance, he was asked which of the two nearby hospitals he preferred. "For some reason, I said The Alfred, which is pretty lucky because they are the only one that has it,"...

Backing for 'evolved Collins' by:Brendan Nicholson TAKING the best elements from the Collins-class submarines to design and build a new hi-tech class in Australia is a spectacular opportunity, says the engineer in charge of their maintenance. Mark Stephens, the general manager in charge of Collins-class submarine maintenance with ASC in Adelaide, served for 10 years in the navy in surface warships, then worked his way through university to become an engineer. He has worked on the Collins in various capacities since 1998. Mr Stephens welcomed the government's decision to speed up the selection of a design for the promised 12...

The perfect symbol of our capital city – a bloated, gaseous, multi-breasted monster feeding those who dwell in its poisonous shadow while leeching off the rest of us: Good Lord. The ghastly beast takes flight next week: Skywhale, a 23m-high, 34m-wide hot air balloon resembling a whale-like creature, will be unveiled in Canberra tomorrow as the headline commission for the Centenary of Canberra celebrations. The balloon will be tethered to the National Gallery of Australia to coincide with a sculpture symposium before making its first flight over the capital on Monday …The work, a “relative bargain for public art” at...

With Dubai emerging as a major stopover point for long haul journeys, five hundred flights a month will deliver over one million of us to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the next year. Dubai is being promoted as a luxury high-class paradise in the desert, but the reality is brutally different, as Australian Alicia Gali discovered. Gali took a job in the UAE with one of the world’s biggest hotel chains, Starwood. What happened next makes this story a must-watch for every Australian planning on travelling through the region. Gali was using her laptop in the hotel’s staff bar...

ON the bridge wing of the navy's newest and biggest ever warship, HMAS Canberra, the vast scale of the amphibious assault ship is dramatic and stark. With Melbourne city silhouetted across a shimmering Port Phillip Bay, the ship's expansive 32-metre wide flight deck stretches for 203 metres as pleasure yachts bob at their moorings more than 30 metres below. Such is the sheer size of HMAS Canberra that the antennae on top of the ship's stern mast will touch the deck of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. This Canberra is known as a Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) and she dwarfs anything...

"It was tense, hot and arduous ... it was kill or be killed." For sniper team leader Sergeant Garry Robinson - a veteran on his third deployment to Afghanistan - it was the most intense fighting he had experienced. The commandos were surrounded by more than 100 Taliban fighters and were pinned down by withering rocket propelled grenade and machinegun fire at one of the enemy's most secure fortresses in southern Afghanistan, the village of Chenartu in Shah Wali Kot. The rate of fire raking the dangerously exposed Diggers shocked even the most hardened soldiers in their ranks. ..... The...

Family First New Zealand has received notification that government's Charities Commission intends to deregister the charity. Why? Family First has a traditional view of marriage being one man and one woman. The commission's investigation began just after NZ’s gay marriage debate started last year. The decision means that the organisation will no longer be exempt from income tax and, more importantly for a non-profit, donations to it will no longer be tax-deductible. “This is a highly politicised decision which is grim evidence that groups that think differently to the prevailing politically correct view will be targeted in an attempt to...

THE country's top lawmaker has been forced into an embarrassing apology after his refusal to abide by aviation rules and turn off his mobile phone during a flight resulted in police being called to meet him when the plane touched down. Qantas staff felt obliged to contact Australian Federal Police after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus - who was determined to check his emails - refused to turn off his smart phone during take-off on a Sydney to Brisbane flight last week. After he ignored pre-recorded warnings about turning off all electrical equipment, a fellow passenger complained to Mr Dreyfus. His failure...

This security camera footage captures a truly terrifying robbery in progress. When a masked and armed would-be robber stormed into a McDonald's in Melbourne, Australia, he quickly made the customers move to the floor and began emptying the cash registers. However when he put his gun down to stuff his bag with money he ended up getting overpowered by two brave customers who saw their opportunity to prevent the crime and took swift action.

THE design for a key that allowed a convicted killer to escape from a Territory prison was printed on the cover of a booklet given to all inmates, it has been revealed. A former prison officer said the design of the master key - which could open every lock in Berrimah jail in Darwin - was printed on the front of the prisoners' information handbook. He said a copy of the book was given to all inmates on arrival at the prison. Daniel Heiss escaped from Berrimah jail in 1995, sparking a 12-day manhunt around Darwin. ..... "The prisoners' information...

ONE of the world's most powerful military commanders has ranked Australian special forces soldiers as among the best he has seen and wants them to play an increasing role in global security. Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces Europe, US Admiral James Stavridis, said Australia was now in the top tier of alliance partners and its niche military capabilities served as a model for future operations. But in a frank assessment of how the world would handle new and emerging threats, he said security in the 21st century could not be delivered simply "down the barrel of a gun". ........

THE guided-missile frigate HMAS Sydney is about to join the US Seventh Fleet in Japan at a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the South China Sea. The warship will be "embedded" with a US aircraft carrier strike group operating out of Yokosuka. The deployment comes as the Gillard government is working to manage Australia's relationships with China and the US after the Prime Minister sealed a "strategic relationship" with Beijing during her recent visit, and with the new defence white paper due out in June. Analysts say it is significant that the frigate will operate...

JOHN Monash is arguably one of the greatest Australians. On Anzac Day as we commemorate the sacrifice of so many, we should pause to remember one man whose feats in war and peace helped make Australia the country it is today. It would be timely, too, to follow up former deputy prime minister and Vietnam veteran Tim Fischer's suggestion that Monash be posthumously promoted to field marshal. Such a historic move coinciding with the centenary of Anzac would not only elevate Monash to Australia's military pantheon but appropriately recognise his pivotal role in the Allied victory during World War I....

'Rock singer Chrissy Amphlett, who fronted the Australian group the Divinyls best known for the worldwide hit "I Touch Myself", has died in New York at the age of 53 after battling breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Her husband and former Divinyls drummer Charley Drayton said Amphlett died in her sleep, surrounded by close friends and family. "Chrissy's light burns so very brightly," Drayton said in a statement posted on the Australian Recording Industry Association's (ARIA) website. "Hers was a life of passion and creativity; she always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength...

Feiz Mohammad, the radical preacher cited by dead Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev, is a former boxer who blames women for being raped and called for a prominent Dutch politician to be beheaded. Widely known as ‘Sheikh Feiz’, the preacher was born in Australia circa 1970-1 but fled to Lebanon, the homeland of his parents, eight years ago after becoming one of the world’s most controversial Islamic lecturers. He has been investigated by Australian police for inciting violence and terrorism, and was even captured on a British TV documentary encouraging children to become martyrs for Islam six years ago. Feiz...

Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah Australia. http://www.aswj.com.au/ Long history of instigating violent Islamic violence in Australia. They appeared to have influenced the older brother substantially in the last year. http://qsproduction.wordpress.com/ http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/muslim-discussion-on-violent-protests-called-off-20120919-265rk.html http://www.youtube.com/user/QuranandSunnahYT?feature=watch

A 76-year-old Australian man was trapped under his car for four days before help arrived. Throughout the ordeal, his loyal dog Boydy never left his side.

New Zealand's parliament has legalised same-sex marriage, the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to do so. Lawmakers approved the bill on Wednesday, amending the country's 1955 marriage act. The bill was passed with a wide majority, with 77 votes in favour and 44 against.

Australia’s announcement that it is abandoning the U.S. dollar for trade with China is the latest broadside in the global currency war. Starting April 10, Australia and China will no longer use the U.S. dollar for trade between the two nations. For the first time, Australian businesses will be able to conduct trade in Chinese yuan. No more need for U.S. dollar intermediation. This is a significant announcement and key development for China as it continues its campaign to internationalize the yuan and chip away at the dollar’s role as the world’s reserve currency. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard made...

MEN have long wondered what exactly it is that women want. Some pore over men’s magazines, with their promises of “washboard abs”, for guidance. The more scientifically minded look for experimental data. The latest evidence comes from a group of researchers led by Brian Mautz, then of Australian National University. They gathered 105 heterosexual Australian women and showed them a series of digitally generated pictures of men in which three bodily characteristics were varied—height, shoulder-to-waist ratio and flaccid penis size. The women were asked to rate the men as sexual partners.In an article just published in the Proceedings of the...

She has been Britain's greatest prime minister since Winston Churchill. As leader of the Conservative Party in Britain she has been the most successful of all in the past 100 years. It should be remembered that Churchill led a coalition national government during World War II. The real measure of Margaret Thatcher's greatness was that she brought about profound change domestically and internationally. The British economy was in a downward spiral when she won office in May 1979; Britons were working a three-day week; uncollected garbage piled up in the streets of London; the all-powerful trade unions effectively ran the...

Submitted by Simon Black of Sovereign Man blog,Though Australia’s national balance sheet is comparatively quite strong, the government has been running at a net deficit for years... and they’re under intense pressure to balance the budget.The good news is that Australia now has a goodly number of investor-friendly immigration programs designed to bring productive foreigners into the country, similar to the trend we’re seeing across Europe.On the flip side, though, the Australian government has just announced new rules which penalize citizens who have responsibly set aside savings for their own retirement.Any income over A$100,000 drawn from a superannuation fund...

EDMONTON — Alberta mom Allyson McConnell will be deported back to her native Australia on Monday despite pending appeals by Alberta Justice for her to face murder charges in the 2010 drowning deaths of her two young boys. The 34-year-old Millet mom is being returned home after completing a 10-month sentence at the Alberta Hospital Thursday for the manslaughter of her 10-month-old son Jayden and two-year-old son Connor. ...During the hearing, defence lawyer Peter Royal didn’t argue the custody ruling as McConnell is mere days away from leaving Canada. “She’s been fully co-operative and compliant throughout and that remains the...

Earlier this month, British newspapers reported the story of Paul Marshallsea, a Welshman who, while on a two-month Australian holiday with his wife, wrestled a six-foot shark to prevent it from attacking children in the water. Marshallsea happened to be filmed while doing so, and the pictures went around the world. He was proclaimed a hero. Unfortunately for him, the pictures also reached Wales. He and his wife were supposed to be on sick leave at the time with “work-related stress,” and his heroics didn’t impress his employers: they sacked him, on the not-unreasonable grounds that if he could travel...

According to the Communist Party USA, “the struggle for immigrant rights is a key component of the struggle for working class unity in our country today”. The Communists believe that the months ahead provide a great opportunity to extract big immigration changes from the Party’s “friend” Barack Obama. The coming months are crucial. This is a call for all progressive forces to become fully engaged at every level…The overwhelming Latino vote for President Obama has pushed the need for legislation forward, but there is a hard fight still ahead. As Congress begins to draft legislation, immigrant rights groups and the...

ustralia is seeking to bypass trading in U.S. dollars with China in an effort to avoid the commercial uncertainties that come with the recent fluctuations in the greenback. For example, just a half a year ago, the dollar traded at about $1.20 to the euro; by February, it had weakened to $1.34 per euro and now it is going for $1.27. Eliminating the dollar in trade will be the focus of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s trip to Beijing next week. Trade with China, Australia’s primary trading partner, totaled $120 billion in the last fiscal year. China buys nearly one-third...

It’s official! Queen Elizabeth is keeping her promise to make Prince William the next King now that his wife Kate is pregnant – with twins. Only the new GLOBE reveals when the Queen will make the blockbuster announcement public and how the decision has devastated evil Camilla, who has plotted to get her husband, Prince Charles, the Throne.

Queen Elizabeth is dying and the Duchess of Cornwall has an 'evil plot' to seize the throne. Globe magazine alleges that the 86-year-old monarch is 'sick and fading fast.' The Duchess of Cornwall is frequently the target of negative coverage by the magazine. The publication claims she is trying to sabotage Prince William and Kate Middleton from stepping up to the throne.

<p>Israel has revealed very little about the man known as Prisoner X, an Australian-Israeli who was jailed here in 2010 after apparently getting caught in a web of espionage and intrigue, other than how he died: alone, by asphyxiation, after hanging himself in the shower of his cell.</p>

JULIA Gillard says her position as Labor leader has been emphatically confirmed after Kevin Rudd failed to nominate against her in a leadership spill. The Prime Minister stared down the prospect of a challenge by Mr Rudd, which failed to eventuate when it became clear he did not have the numbers. Ms Gillard said she was grateful to her colleagues for their continuing support of her as Labor leader, and accepted it with humility and resolve. “Today the leadership of our political party, the Labor Party, has been settled and settled in the most conclusive fashion possible. “This whole business...