Australia considers a ban on climbing Uluru _ or Ayers Rock _ or safety and cultural reasons

August 28th, 2009 Australia mulls changes after 2 Afghan police shotCANBERRA, Australia — The Defense Department will consider changing check point procedures in Afghanistan after Australian soldiers shot two Afghan police officers, one fatally, an army general said Friday. An internal inquiry into the shootings on Aug.

August 18th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australia's relationship with India "goes beyond the oft-cited notion of cricket, curry and Commonwealth", a parliamentarian said Tuesday. West Australian MP Melissa Parke said Australia and India had strong links that were both substantial and symbolic and growing, Daily Telegraph reported.

August 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Australian has assured External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna during his recent visit to that country of taking a number of measures to ensure the safety of Indian students studying there.

July 13th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - An Australian delegation Monday assured the Punjab government that Indian students, the majority of whom are from Punjab, are completely safe in the country despite the recent spate of racist attacks against them. The delegation, headed by Colin Walters of the department of education employment and workplace relations and officials from the department of public safety, met Punjab's Chief Secretary Subodh C.

July 13th, 2009 7 Wonders of Nature effort narrowing to 28 choicesZURICH — The list of finalists for the new 7 Wonders of Nature campaign will be narrowed to 28 on July 21 in Zurich, where the effort is based. Once the final 28 are announced, the public will be able to vote via the Web, text message or phone on the final seven.

June 29th, 2009 Woodstock anniversary exhibit at rock museumNEW YORK — Peace and love will last a lot longer than three days at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which is celebrating Woodstock's 40th anniversary with a new exhibit. From July 3 to Nov.

June 26th, 2009 Roche discontinues sales of acne drug AccutaneNEW YORK — Roche said Friday it will stop selling the acne drug Accutane as sales of the treatment continue falling amid competition from less expensive generic versions. Generic versions of the acne treatment have been on the market since 2002 and Roche's branded product's market share has since slipped to less than 5 percent.

June 7th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Nek Chand Saini, who created the artistic marvel of Rock Garden in Chandigarh with bits of broken ceramic, glass pieces, old tyres and other rubbish, is worried that a proposed multi-level park adjoining the garden will spoil the aesthetic ambience of the major tourist attraction. "As per the plan for the multi-level parking, the entrance gate of the third phase of the Rock Garden and a portion of the wall would be demolished.

June 6th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian parliamentarians decision to meet the ailing Dalai Lama next month in Dharamsala is surely going to increase tensions between China and Australia. It will be the first such visit by a delegation of Australian MPs, and is expected to prompt protests by a Chinese Government already annoyed that Australia is considering a request by the US to resettle a group of Chinese Muslim Uygurs being held at Guantanamo Bay.

June 1st, 2009 SYDNEY - Indian students in Australia should have their own ombudsman to whom they can go in times of trouble and the universities that admit them should arrange their accommodation for the first six months, says a committee formed after a spate of attacks on Indian students here and in Melbourne. Asserting that "Australia is not a racist country", committee coordinator Yadu Singh held: "Most of the attacks are what we call `opportunistic attacks' and due to the impression of the criminal elements about our students being the easy target for various reasons".

May 30th, 2009 Australia considers resettling Gitmo detaineesCANBERRA, Australia — Australia is considering a third request from the United States to resettle Chinese Muslim detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, the country's foreign minister said Sunday. Australia twice rejected such appeals last year from former President George W.

May 28th, 2009 SYDNEY - In a new study, researchers have found ancient rock art depicting the extinct marsupial lion found in the Kimberly region of Western Australia, which hints at what the extinct beasts may have looked like, and suggests that they co-exited with early Australians. The Marsupial Lion is an extinct species of a carnivorous marsupial mammal that lived in Australia from the early to the late Pleistocene (1,600,000-46,000 years ago).

May 9th, 2009 NY man, 61, dies climbing Alaska's Mount McKinleyANCHORAGE, Alaska — The National Park Service says a 61-year old climber from upstate New York has died while climbing Mount McKinley in Alaska. The park service says William Hearne of Fairport, N.Y., died Thursday while ascending the West Buttress route of the 20,320-foot mountain.

May 1st, 2009 SYDNEY - Female circumcision is called female genital mutilation (FGM) in Australia and it's a crime. Those performing it face a possible seven-year prison term and those who don't report it risk a stiff fine.

April 22nd, 2009 Review: 'The Soloist' hits notes that clangLOS ANGELES — Inspiring, relevant and real, the story of Nathaniel Ayers — a schizophrenic but wildly talented Juilliard-trained cellist living on the streets of downtown L.A. — captivated Los Angeles Times readers in 2005.