Australia
From Iran to DR Congo, our Observers share reactions to Obama’s win
As soon as Barack Obama’s re-election was announced, Internet users from around the world went online to react to the news. Our Observers sent us some of the most interesting comments they spotted, giving us an idea of how Obama’s win is viewed outside of the United States. Some are enthusiastic, others blasé, and yet others downright funny. Read more…
“We don’t want your radioactive pollution!” Malaysians tell Australians
Thousands of green-clad protesters took to the streets in the eastern Malaysian city of Kuantan on Tuesday to protest against the construction of an Australian rare earth minerals treatment plant, whose activities they worry will severely pollute their region. Read more...
Besieged by Brisbane floods: "We're all helping each other out"
Our Observer lives in Brisbane, the latest city to have been hit by massive floods that have left large chunks of the north-eastern state of Queensland under water. She tells us she is afraid of the rising water levels but reassured by the solidarity shown by Brisbane residents. Read her account…
Queensland floods: "Our car was one metre deep in water"
Video: unarmed Aborigine stunned 13 times by police
Graphic security camera footage of Australian police repeatedly stunning an unarmed man with a Taser gun has rekindled a debate in Australia about whether security forces are making excessive use of stun guns. Watch the video...
Is there an ethical way to turn crocodiles into handbags?
The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has released footage of reptiles being skinned alive in Indonesia in a bid to discredit the luxury leather industry. One of our Observers, who works at a crocodile farm in Australia, tells us what the industry standards ought to be. Read more...
Where 1,400 people are outnumbered by 40 million crabs
It takes the land-crabs of Christmas Island almost two months to make their way from the forest to the sea and back again. But that doesn't stop the island's human inhabitants needing to get from A to B. The result? The world's most careful drivers. Read more and see the photos...
UK to follow Australian apology for ‘Lost Innocents’?
It was an emotional day for Australia on Monday when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd publicly apologised to the estimated 500,000 children who were abused in government institutions between the 1930s and 1970s - what he called "The absolute tragedy of childhoods lost". Read more...
