Australia

World News

Driver Rams Crowd At A Melbourne Mall, Killing At Least 4 People

10:25am January 20, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

At least 20 people were injured in the incident, which Australian police said is not terrorism-related. Officers had been pursuing the driver in connection with a stabbing earlier in the day.

The Gingerbread Demolition lets people destroy gingerbread houses for charity.

Run, Run, Fast As You Can! We're Smashing Your House, Gingerbread Man

2:03pm December 29, 2016

by Tove K. Danovich

They've been run over with cars, exploded by fireworks, bombarded by cannons and squished under children's snow boots. But in Australia, these baked buildings are demolished for charity — and fun.

A Queensland police officer holds a baby koala that was picked up after a woman was arrested during a traffic stop in Wishart, Queensland, Australia.

World News

PHOTOS: Australian Police Find Baby Koala In A Backpack

2:54pm November 07, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Police found this bundle of joy in Queensland during a traffic stop. Australian authorities say the little guy is in good health and that they're calling him Alfred.

World News

Amusement Park Accident In Australia Kills 4

9:34am October 25, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

Four adults died on a water ride at Dreamworld amusement park in Queensland state. The attraction — "Thunder River Rapids" — was reportedly a fairly mild ride.

The newly discovered dinosaur species Savannasaurus elliottorum was about half the length of a basketball court and lived some 95 million years ago.

Science

Dinosaurs Down Under May Help Explain Prehistoric Migrations

4:42pm October 20, 2016

by Geoff Brumfiel

The remains of two titanosaur species discovered in Australia provide clues about how ancient plant-eaters proliferated.

The Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia, in August 2009. Scientists say they have discovered a second, enormous reef in the deeper water behind the Great Barrier Reef.

Massive 'Doughnut' Reef Discovered Behind Australia's Great Barrier Reef

2:10pm September 02, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

The reef structure covers more than 2,000 square miles north of the Great Barrier Reef. What might live there and even what it looks like up close, is still largely a mystery.

Australian protesters demonstrate in Melbourne on Feb. 4 after the Australian High Court upheld a challenge to the government's right to hold asylum seekers at detention camps in Papua New Guinea and Nauru.

World News

What Happens When An Aid Group Sees Abuse, But Is Sworn To Secrecy?

8:16pm August 25, 2016

Save the Children had to sign confidentiality agreements to work at a migrant detention camp run by Australia in Nauru. The group's Mat Tinkler discusses what they did and didn't say about abuses.

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A closeup satellite image of the Australian-run detention camp on the Pacific Island nation of Nauru taken in July 2013.

World News

Ex-Aid Worker: Abuse Of Refugee Children On Nauru Was Mostly Ignored

2:39pm August 24, 2016

Viktoria Vibhakar, formerly of Save the Children Australia, says little was done to protect refugee children who alleged abuse on the island nation of Nauru, where Australia has kept refugees.

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Paleoartist Peter Schouten's reconstruction of Microleo attenboroughi prowling along the branches of rain forest trees in search of prey.

Extinct 'Micro Lion' Is Named For Sir David Attenborough

2:54pm August 23, 2016

by Rebecca Hersher

Microleo attenboroughi was a tiny, marsupial lion that lived some 18 million years ago. Paleontologists in Australia said they named it after the famed naturalist "for his dedication and enthusiasm."

A view of facilities at the Manus Island Regional Processing Facility in Papua New Guinea in 2012. For years, the facility has been used to indefinitely detain asylum-seekers; Australia and Papua New Guinea have now agreed to close it.

World News

Australia, Papua New Guinea Agree To Close Refugee Detention Camp

9:11am August 17, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

The camp on Manus Island has been criticized by human rights advocates, and was declared unconstitutional by Papua New Guinea's Supreme Court.