Rudd, Obama unlikely to ever become best of friends, says Oz envoy

October 3rd, 2009 SYDNEY - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was Saturday accused of kowtowing to China over his decision not to meet the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan leader visits Australia in December. Rudd braved Beijing's displeasure and met the Dalai Lama in 2007 when he was leader of the opposition Labour Party but has kept him at bay since taking office after the November 2007 election.

September 25th, 2009 PITTSBURGH - Starting his day early, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from three countries on the margins of the G20 Summit here Friday. His first meeting was with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 7.30 a.m.

September 23rd, 2009 NEW YORK - Former US President Bill Clinton has described Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as one of the world's smartest leaders. Clinton, who was introducing Rudd as a panellist, along with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, in the opening session of the four-day climate change conference to discuss key global issues, said: "In my opinion, he is one of the most well-informed, well-read, intelligent leaders in the world today." According to The Times,he also praised Rudd for his government's recognition of the need to take urgent action on climate change and for its advocacy of the Group of 20 major economies as a preferred vehicle than the smaller G-8 to deal with issues such as the global financial crisis and climate change.

September 20th, 2009 MELBOURNE - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has defrended his expletive-laden tirade at Labour's factional bosses including three women MPs as robust conversation. Rudd said he made no apology for the content of his conversation or the robust nature in which he expressed his views to ALP factional leaders.

September 17th, 2009 CANBERRA - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned Indian students living in Australia not to take the law into their own hands. The local Indian community has been told to take "some form of retaliation" following the assault of four men outside a bar in Melbourne on the weekend, reports The Age.

August 7th, 2009 Chaku Cairns (Australia): Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Friday assured, the visiting Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna that all steps would be taken to ensure the safety and security of Indian students in his country.

July 31st, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Friday said he once worked as a cleaner at a sawmill, "cleaning the loos". Rudd spoke to Fairfax Radio about his worst job experience, in support of Employment Participation Minister Mark Arbib's call on generation Y not to be too fussy about their first jobs.

July 31st, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd once cleaned bathrooms at a sawmill, and has described it as one of his worst job experiences. He revealed this while supporting Employment Participation Minister Mark Arbib's call on generation Y not to be too fussy about their first jobs, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

July 15th, 2009 CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has blamed an agreement reached by former premier John Howard and the Chinese government for limiting his government's access to Rio Tinto's detained GM, Stern Hu. "I note the consular agreement, which we inherited from the previous Australian government, limits the demands we can make on the Chinese authorities for consular access.

July 8th, 2009 PUTRAJAYA - Despite a series of racially motivated attacks on Indian students in the country, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has assured foreigners that his country is a safe place to study. Referring to the recent attacks or "curry bashings", he said, "In every city in the world, unfortunately, there are going to be acts of violence from time to time." The Star Online quoted him, as claiming that he was not playing down the issue, and "one act of violence is one too many; one death is one too many," and added that his government welcomed foreign students and took their security "very seriously".

July 8th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd should not be pressuring Pope Benedict XVI to make Australian nun Mary MacKillop a saint, a prominent Jesuit priest said Wednesday. Frank Brennan joined other leading Catholics in criticising Rudd for arranging a meeting Wednesday with the pope at which Rudd said he would encourage the pontiff to have MacKillop canonised.

July 3rd, 2009 DARWIN - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has admitted that the country hasn't got enough statistical information about what's happening in its indigenous communities. Following the release of the Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage report yesterday, Rudd said governments still need a clear indication of what's happening.

June 10th, 2009 CANBERRA - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has described his country as one of the safest places for students and warned that vigilante action in response to attacks against foreign students, will not be tolerated. "It's unacceptable for anyone to commit an act of violence against any student of any ethnicity anywhere in Australia," Rudd told Fairfax Radio.

June 1st, 2009 CANBERRA - An Australian senator-Barnaby Joyce - has described Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as a "psycho chook" with peculiar habits, while another senator-Mark Arbib - admits Rudd is no Mother Teresa. Some 18 months after the 2007 election, voters have a clearer picture of the man they chose over long-term PM John Howard.

April 8th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has reportedly been called a nerd by some Australians for saying that if he was eligible for a stimulus package hand-out, he'd blow it on books and music. Appearing on Nova radio in Sydney today, Rudd said taxpayers earning less than 100,000 dollars will receive a one-off bonus of up to 900 dollars, as part of the federal government's 42 billion dollar stimulus package.