Articles written by Rod Mcguirk
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 31
Australian police accuse lunch host of murdering 3 guests with poisonous mushrooms
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged with murdering three guests with poisonous mushrooms and attempting to murder a fourth who was left fighting for life, police said on T...
Solomon Islands violence recedes but not underlying tension
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Violence receded Friday in the capital of the Solomon Islands, but the government showed no signs of addressing the underlying grievances that sparked two days of riots, including concerns about the country's increasing l...
Australian mourns beloved aunt with heart-shaped love ewes
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian farmer couldn't go to his aunt's funeral because of pandemic restrictions so he paid his respects with a novel alternative: dozens of sheep arranged in the shape of a love heart. Drone-shot video of p...
Woman comes face-to-face with snake in Australia supermarket
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Helaina Alati was browsing the spice aisle of an Australian supermarket when she came face-to-face with a huge snake. The head of the 3-meter-long (10-foot-long) non-venomous diamond python emerged through a space in a shel...
Meat producer ransomware attack disrupts global production
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A ransomware attack on the world's largest meat processing company is disrupting production around the world just weeks after a similar incident shut down a U.S. oil pipeline. JBS SA of Brazil notified the U.S. of a r...
Plague of ravenous, destructive mice tormenting Australians
BOGAN GATE, Australia (AP) — At night, the floors of sheds vanish beneath carpets of scampering mice. Ceilings come alive with the sounds of scratching. One family blamed mice chewing electrical wires for their house burning down. Vast tracts of land...
Sydney man finds snake in lettuce bought at supermarket
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Alex White thought he was watching a huge worm writhing in plastic-wrapped lettuce he'd just brought home from a Sydney supermarket — until a snake tongue flicked. "I kind of completely freaked out when I saw this lit...
Fake US leg band gets pigeon a reprieve in Australia
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A pigeon that Australia declared a biosecurity risk has received a reprieve after a U.S. bird organization declared its identifying leg band was fake. The band suggested the bird found in a Melbourne backyard on Dec. 26 w...
Fishermen rescue naked fugitive from Australian tree
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Two fishermen have rescued a naked fugitive who they found sitting on a tree branch in Australian crocodile habitat. Cam Faust said Wednesday he and fellow recreational fisher Kev Joiner heard Luke Voskresensky, 40, yell f...
Great Barrier Reef enters crucial period in coral bleaching
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Great Barrier Reef is facing a critical period of heat stress over the coming weeks following the most widespread coral bleaching the natural wonder has ever endured, scientists said Friday. David Wachenfeld, chief s...
Australia firefighters save world's only rare dinosaur trees
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Specialist firefighters have saved the world's last remaining wild stand of a prehistoric tree from wildfires that razed forests west of Sydney, officials said Thursday. Firefighters winched from helicopters to reach the c...
Global climate protests start in Australia before UN summit
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Thousands of protesters gathered Friday at rallies around Australia as a day of worldwide demonstrations calling for action to guard against climate change began ahead a U.N. summit in New York. Some of the first rallies i...
Australian court upholds Cardinal Pell child sex convictions
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An Australian court by a 2-1 majority ruling Wednesday upheld convictions against Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic to be found guilty of children sex abuse. The Victoria state Court of Appeal rejected Cardina...
Australian farmer says human orthopedic plate found in croc
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian crocodile farmer who found an orthopedic plate inside a croc's stomach said Thursday that he had been told the surgical device was from a person's body and had been contacted by relatives of missing people a...
Australian cardinal sentenced to prison for child sex abuse
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The most senior Catholic to be convicted of child sex abuse was sentenced in an Australian court on Wednesday to 6 years in prison for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne cathedral more than 20 years ago. Victoria state...
Australian Cardinal Pell faces abuse sentencing hearing
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The most senior Catholic cleric ever convicted of child sex abuse could face his first night in custody after a sentencing hearing Wednesday that will decide his punishment for molesting two choirboys in a Melbourne c...
Australia confirms dual citizen has been detained in China
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government said on Thursday a Chinese-Australian writer had been detained in China in what a friend suspects is part of a backlash against Canada's arrest of a top Chinese telecommunications executive. N...
Spy chief wanted ban on China telecoms from Australian 5G
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's critical infrastructure including electricity grids, water supplies and hospitals could not have been adequately safeguarded if Chinese-owned telecommunications giants Huawei and ZTE Corp. were allowed to h...
And baby makes three: Prince Harry and Meghan's child on way
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — They both wanted children. They knew it was time. Meghan had ended her acting career and moved to Britain to be a full-time royal. Prince Harry had stepped down from the military and wanted to settle down. Their marriage w...
Australian archbishop convicted of child sex abuse cover-up
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian archbishop on Tuesday became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the world convicted of covering up child sex abuse in a test case that holds to account church hierarchy that kept silent in the face of a...
Family of 7 dead with gunshot wounds in rural Australia
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A family of seven including four children was found dead with gunshot wounds Friday at a rural property in southwest Australia in what could be the country's worst mass shooting in 22 years, police and news media said. T...
Australian cardinal back in court on sexual abuse charges
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Vatican official to be charged in the Catholic Church sex abuse crisis, arrived Wednesday for an appearance in a Melbourne court where he will eventually stand trial on s...
Australia probes sale of secret papers in filing cabinets
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government on Wednesday launched an urgent investigation into the loss of thousands of classified documents that were sold with two second-hand filing cabinets. The cabinets were sold by a Canberra f...
Cyberbullying blamed for Australian child model's suicide
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A 14-year-old girl who was the angelic face of an iconic Australian bushmen's hat brand was remembered by hundreds of mourners Friday after her suicide focused attention on the dangers of cyberbullying. The memorial s...
Australian prime minister rushes gay marriage into law
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's prime minister rushed gay marriage into law on Friday by gaining a final signature on a bill hours after it was overwhelming endorsed by Parliament and as the nation started planning weddings that can take p...