Australia News Headlines

LONDON (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher can be a winner with Mercedes this season but ideally he would be alongside double world champion Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday. The 43-year-old seven-times world champion is starting the third season of his comeback still chasing …

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Michael Schumacher can be awinner with Mercedes this season but ideally he would bealongside double world champion Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull,Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Thursday. The 43-year-old seven-times world champion is starting thethird season of his comeback still chasing …

Anti-whaling campaigners Sea Shepherd attacked a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean by firing paint bombs at it and trying to jam its propeller with ropes, Japan's whaling body said Thursday.

India's cricket greats have begun talking about a topic that was considered unthinkable a year ago -- Sachin Tendulkar's retirement from the sport.

Asian shares were mixed Thursday as concerns about Greece's debt crisis returned to worry investors but domestic factors also came into play.

Australian researchers Thursday revealed they had filmed a pod of extremely rare Shepherd's beaked whales for the first time ever.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday called a ballot on the leadership of the ruling Labor party, bringing to a head an increasingly bitter and ugly row with her predecessor Kevin Rudd.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Finding Nemo is about to get a lot easier with the launch of a scientific survey that will allow anyone with access to the internet to take a virtual tour of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The survey, which will use a variety of high-tech underwater cameras, will carry out one of the most intensive …

Reinsurance giant Swiss Re shrugged off natural disasters to report net profits of $2.6 billion for 2011 on Thursday, up sharply from the $863 million recorded the previous year and higher than analysts had expected.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has dared her political rival, former foreign minister Kevin Rudd, to challenge her in a leadership vote next week, hoping to end infighting that threatens to sink the minority government and its reform agenda. Gillard called on Thursday for the vote to be held …

Talk about being on a fast track.In just eight months Victoria cyclist Gillian Carleton has gone from being a road racer with no track experience to joining Edmonton’s Tara Whitten and Burnaby’s Jasmin Glaesser on a Canadian team pursuit squad that rode into 2012 Olympic medal contention with a silver at a World Cup on …

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The yen edged up versus the dollar on Thursday but still hovered close to a 7-month low, with the dollar supported by demand from Japanese importers. The greenback took a breather from its recent rally against the Japanese currency, having climbed 5.4 percent from lows hit in early February. The dollar …

(Reuters) - Australian captain Michael Clarke has said he was partly responsible for the sacking of former skipper Ricky Ponting from the one-day squad. Clarke wrote about how difficult the decision had been in a newspaper column on Thursday, while adding that the 37-year-old Ponting remained a "huge part of our test team." …

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African diversified miner Exxaro on Thursday reported a 40 percent rise in full-year profit, boosted by strong demand and higher prices for the majority of its commodities and despite negative currency effects. Exxaro, South Africa's second-largest coal producer and a major supplier to power …

Australian publishing giant Fairfax, the major rival in the country to Rupert Murdoch's News Limited, reported a 44 percent plunge in first-half profit Thursday due to flagging print advertising revenue.

REGINA - The Lingerie Football League is coming to Regina.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday called a ballot on the leadership of the ruling Labor party, bringing to a head an increasingly bitter and ugly row with predecessor Kevin Rudd.

Indonesian forces backed by water cannons and armoured vehicles were locked in a tense stand-off outside a prison on Bali island Thursday after rioting inmates took control for a second night.

A Yukon musher wants the three northern territories to enact tough laws around the care of sled dogs.

CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister Julia Gillard put her job on the line Thursday, announcing a leadership ballot in hopes of quashing a comeback by the premier she ousted in a Labor Party coup. But Kevin Rudd's supporters said that even if Gillard survives Monday's vote, the turmoil surrounding her unpopular government …

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States said on Wednesday it was still considering whether to support Japan's bid to join talks on a trans-Pacific regional free trade agreement, three months after Tokyo announced interest in the negotiations. "Both governments agreed to continue the consultative process, with additional …

Budget airline Virgin Australia said Thursday it more than doubled its first-half net profits as it picked up business from rival Qantas which grounded its entire fleet for two days in October.

Indonesian forces backed by water cannons and armoured vehicles were locked in a tense stand-off outside a prison on Bali island Thursday after rioting inmates took control for a second night.

(updates) Feb 22 (Reuters) - Results from the first round of the WGC-AccentureMatch Play Championship at Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana,Arizona on Wednesday (U.S. unless stated) Results: Bobby Jones bracket Peter Hanson (Sweden) beat Jason Dufner 2&1 Brandt Snedeker beat Retief Goosen (South Africa) 21st …

Indonesian authorities on Thursday began evacuating foreigners and women from a jail on the resort island of Bali after rioting inmates retook control triggering a tense stand-off.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Thursday called a ballot on the leadership of the ruling Labor party, bringing to a head an ugly row with predecessor Kevin Rudd.

East Timor's President Jose Ramos-Horta said Wednesday that many Timorese will waste their vote in a presidential election next month if they back one of the explosion of small parties in contention.

CANBERRA, Australia - Prime Minister Julia Gillard is announcing that her party will vote next week on its leadership.