Kevin Rudd

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Aussie Toll Hits 171; PM Cites 'Mass Murder'

Small town declared crime scene as devastation continues

(Newser) - The death toll from angry bushfires in Australia jumped to 171 today, reports Reuters, as the country's prime minister, fighting back tears, accused suspected arsonists of "mass murder." Up to 5,000 people have been left homeless; at one relief center, boards covered with Post-It notes beg for...

108 Dead in Aussie Fires
 108 Dead in Aussie Fires 

108 Dead in Aussie Fires

Blazes destroy entire towns, continue to burn

(Newser) - More than 100 people are confirmed dead in the wildfires that have savaged southeast Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Entire towns have been wiped out, leaving gutted buildings and scorched cars. "There might only be 15 or 20 houses left in Marysville," a resident said. "There's...

To Avoid Recession, Cheer Up: Aussie Pol

Finance minister pushes power of the positive

(Newser) - Australia's finance minister apparently didn't see what happened to Phil Gramm  last summer when he declared that the US economic slowdown was "mental" and called Americans a "nation of whiners."  The recession would disappear, said Ken Henry, if Australians would  just buck up, Australia’s News...

Aussie PM Gains Cachet From Thieving Ancestors

Preteen convict adorns Rudd's family tree

(Newser) - Australia’s history as a penal colony is no laughing matter, but some Aussies have come to appreciate, and even relish, their hardscrabble beginnings. Case in point: PM Kevin Rudd, whose family tree includes ancestors convicted of stealing sugar (in 1801) and underwear (in 1788). The release of some details...

Australia Spirits Away Torch Ahead of Relay

Protesters do their thing anyway

(Newser) - The Olympic torch arrived Down Under today, but was immediately whisked off to a secret location to avoid protesters, the AP reports. Tomorrow’s torch relay in Canberra will be open to the public—unlike those in Jakarta and New Delhi—but the route will be lined with yard-high fences...

WWII Ship Found After 66 Years
 WWII Ship Found After 66 Years 

WWII Ship Found After 66 Years

Legendary HMAS Sydney sank in battle with German raider

(Newser) - A legendary Australian war ship sunk in the Indian Ocean by a German raider during World War II has been found nearly intact after 66 years, the Australian PM confirmed today. The HMAS Sydney sank after a 30-minute battle with the Kormoran in Australia's greatest tragedy at sea. The wreckage...

Aussies Face Protests Over Kangaroo Cull

Pro-whaling Japan pounces on neighbor's seeming hypocrisy

(Newser) - Australia is planning to cull 400 kangaroos on a military base, and Japan—oft-criticized by Australia for its whaling practices—is jumping at the opportunity to hail its neighbor as hypocritical, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Not so, says Australia’s PM. The whaling issue is subject to "an...

Australian PM Pledges Support for East Timor

Rudd visits capital, president wounded in attacks by rebel soldiers

(Newser) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd jetted to East Timor today, vowing to stand by its neighbor after attacks Monday on its president and prime minister, Reuters reports. "It's by the ballot box, and not by the barrel of a gun, that the decisions for our countries will be made,...

Aussie PM Apologizes for Aborigine Child Abductions

Country watches and cheers as 'Sorry Day' apology to Aborigines is made

(Newser) - Australia's new prime minister made a formal apology to the Aborigines today for "stolen generations" of children the government had taken from their homes. Tens of thousands of Aboriginal children were placed in orphanages or foster homes in a century-long program of forced assimilation. Throngs watched on big screens...

Australia to Apologize to Aborigines for Stolen Kids

Children were abducted to 'assimilate' them

(Newser) - More than 100,000 Aborigine children were abducted from their parents and placed in  Australian orphanages and foster homes in a century-long campaign to assimilate them into European culture. Now new Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd will apologize for the abductions, carried out between 1869 and 1969, reports the Times...

2007: Asia's Banner Year
2007: Asia's Banner Year
OPINION

2007: Asia's Banner Year

Bloomberg praises those who fuel the region's return to economic power

(Newser) - Asia's economies are soaring so mightily that Bloomberg columnist William Pesek is passing out awards for Asia's big players in 2007. They range from a “Money Talks” prize, for Arab and Asian leaders who bailed out Wall Street banks, to the “Howard's End” trophy, for Australian PM Kevin...

Japan Backs Down on Whaling
Japan Backs Down on Whaling

Japan Backs Down on Whaling

Australian pressure leads Tokyo to call off humpback hunt

(Newser) - In its first-ever turnaround on whaling, the Japanese government has dropped its plans to hunt humpbacks. The about-face is a victory for Kevin Rudd, the new Australian prime minister, who had objected strenuously and ordered a patrol of the humpback hunt. Tokyo said, however, that the fleet currently en route...

Australia PM 'Disgusted' by Rape Case

Nine males who had sex with 10-year-old girl escape jail

(Newser) - Nine men and teens in Australia who raped a 10-year-old girl from a remote Aboriginal community have gone free, a verdict that has caused an uproar in the nation. Six of those who pleaded guilty were under 17 and got probation; the others got suspended sentences. New PM Kevin Rudd...

New Aussie PM Urges US to Back Kyoto

Washington now alone among developed nations on emissions

(Newser) - Two days after ratifying the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse-gas emissions, Australian PM Kevin Rudd says the US should, too. Like the US, Australia had previously refused to join the agreement, which sets binding limits on emissions. But Rudd says he wants Washington on board, as “all developed and developing...

Australia To Pull Troops From Iraq
Australia
To Pull Troops From Iraq

Australia To Pull Troops From Iraq

New leader says combat forces will be home by mid-2008

(Newser) - Australia’s new leader says the nation's combat troops will be out of Iraq by mid-2008, the Guardian reports. Kevin Rudd will make good on a campaign promise to pull out troops, a move that marks a sharp shift from the polices of his predecessor, John Howard, a key Bush...

Rudd Inherits Red-Hot Economy
Rudd Inherits Red-Hot Economy

Rudd Inherits Red-Hot Economy

New Aussie PM faces inflationary risks in boom times

(Newser) - New Aussie PM Kevin Rudd inherits a booming economy, but that doesn't mean it's going to be an easy ride for his center-left government, the Wall Street Journal warns. Demand for Australia's natural resources is feverish and inflation is already uncomfortably high. Rudd has vowed to pump about $48 billion...

New Aussie PM Vows to Go Green, Mum on Iraq

(Newser) - New Australian PM Kevin Rudd, who won in a landslide over conservative John Howard yesterday, spoke with President Bush by phone but remained mum on his immediate plans for 500 Aussie combat troops in Iraq, reports Reuters. Rudd, a cerebral, Chinese-speaking ex-diplomat, said he’d travel to next month’s...

Labor Takes Australian Elections
Labor Takes Australian Elections

Labor Takes Australian Elections

11-year PM John Howard concedes to former diplomat

(Newser) - Former Diplomat Kevin Rudd is poised to become Australia's new prime minister after his Labor Party claimed victory in yesterday's elections. Labor expects to take at least 83 of the 150 seats in Parliament, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, current PM John Howard faces the possibility of losing his own seat in...

Polls Predict Rout for Australian PM

Likely winner of Saturday's election will take troops from Iraq

(Newser) - Australians elect a new government this Saturday, and polls foresee the fall of John Howard, the once-invincible prime minister who has served for 11 years. Kevin Rudd, the Labor Party leader 20 years Howard's junior, has promised to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq and to "shift up a gear"...

Aussie Chief Calls New Elections
Aussie Chief Calls New Elections

Aussie Chief Calls New Elections

(Newser) - Prime Minister John Howard, trailing in national polls after 11 years in office, set national elections today for Nov. 24. Howard will run on the nation’s current economic boom, Reuters reports. His opponent, Labor leader Kevin Rudd, says he'll pull Australian troops out of Iraq, though domestic issues are...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser