Australia & Pacific
Queen and Prince Philip were 'victims' of Australian assassination attempt
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were the victims of an alleged assassination attempt on an official tour of Australia almost 40 years ago, it has emerged.
Australia Says No on Detainees, and Britain Is Reluctant
SYDNEY, Australia — Australia said Friday that it would not agree to American requests to accept more detainees from the prison at Guantánamo Bay, and Britain signaled reluctance to take in significant numbers of former inmates, underscoring the d...
Pope to apologise for sex scandal
Pope Benedict XVI has begun a nine-day visit to Australia, where he is due to apologise for decades of sexual abuse of children by priests.
Australian Combat Troops End Iraq Deployment
Australian combat troops have begun leaving Iraq. Their departure fulfills an election promise by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who pledged to pull his country's out of Iraq by the middle of 2008. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.
5 killed, 9 hurt in Sydney boat collision
SYDNEY, Australia - A fishing trawler collided with an overloaded cabin cruiser that was on a night-time joyride in Sydney's famous harbor Thursday, killing five young people and injuring nine, authorities said.
Chinese 'torch attendants' could be arrested in Australia
Chinese paramilitary officers will be arrested if they "laid a hand" on anybody during the Canberra leg of the Olympic torch relay, organisers say. The officers' only responsibility will be to re-light the torch if it is extinguished at any stage ...
Lolita love affair scandalises Italy
A 34-year-old Italian man who had sex with a 13-year-old girl has had his sentence cut by a two-thirds because a court decided there was "real love" between the pair. Antonio de Pascale, a butcher from Vicenza, admitted that he had a four-month lo...
Japan begins hunt for 1,000 whales
![The decision to hunt humpback whales is expected to draw criticism from Australia [EPA]](http://www.global-report.com/vikijournal/images/en/23261_t.jpg)
A Japanese whaling fleet has begun a five-month expedition that environmentalists say will hunt humpback whales for the first time in decades. The Nisshin Maru, an 8,000-tonne ship, left Shimonoseki port for the Antarctic about 12pm local time on ...