Jan 5 - By Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press Writer
Energy giant PetroChina Co. Ltd. has pulled out of a $40 billion deal to buy natural gas from a project off Australia, leaving Woodside Petroleum Ltd. looking for new customers.
Jan 4 - By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press Writer
Angry farmers wearing broad-brimmed hats and cracking kangaroo-hide whips rallied outside Parliament Monday as one of their colleagues continued a hunger strike to demand compensation for Australian climate change policy.
Jan 3 - By Associated Press
Authorities declared two flooded farming regions in southwestern Australia natural disaster zones Monday as residents in one town nervously watched a river peak without breaking its levees.

Dec 29 - By Associated Press
Residents returned Thursday to nearly 40 homes razed in Australia's most destructive wildfires in almost year, which left four people injured.

Dec 29 - By Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Writer
Trouble struck paradise this week when a British man who has the "Best Job in the World" as the caretaker of a tropical Australian island was stung by a potentially lethal jellyfish.
Dec 22 - By Associated Press
Little more than three months after gaining her citizenship, Russian-born speed skater Tatiana Borodulina was among the first two athletes selected for Australia's team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Dec 20 - By Associated Press
Formerly conjoined twin sisters Trishna and Krishna were discharged from an Australian hospital Monday, five weeks after their separation surgery and just in time to celebrate their third birthday.
Dec 15 - By Associated Press
Australia's economy, insulated from the worst of the global downturn by lavish government spending, slowed in the third quarter as the boost from the first phase of the stimulus faded.

Dec 15 - By Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press Writer
Australia plans to introduce an Internet filtering system to block obscene and crime-linked Web sites despite concerns it will curtail freedoms and won't completely work.

Dec 14 - By Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Writer
Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal.

Dec 14 - By Associated Press
Three-time Olympic swimming champion Libby Trickett is retiring from top competition at the age of 24.

Dec 12 - By Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Writer
Australian and Chinese officials urged two bamboo-munching giant pandas on Sunday to consider reproducing during their 10-year residency Down Under.

Dec 10 - By Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Writer
A massive iceberg edging slowly toward Australia's southwestern coast is breaking up into hundreds of smaller icebergs as it drifts into warmer waters, creating potentially hazardous conditions for ships trying to navigate the region, a scientist said Tuesday.

Dec 10 - By Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Writer
Australia's prime minister threatened legal action against Japan on Friday if it does not stop its research whaling program that kills up to 1,000 whales a year.

Dec 7 - By Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press Writer
Australia was accused of censorship Tuesday for denying visas to North Korean artists whose works are on display in a regional exhibition, but the government says the art comes from Pyongyang's propaganda machine and its creators are not welcome.
Dec 6 - By Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Writer
Australians thought they were prepared for wildfires. Until Black Saturday.
Dec 6 - By Associated Press
Two stars of the reality TV show "I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here" have been charged with animal cruelty after allegedly killing and cooking a rat to eat during filming.

Dec 3 - By Kristen Gelineau, Associated Press Writer
A man dove face-first into an extremely venomous, peanut-sized jellyfish in waters off northeast Australia and medics flew him to a hospital intensive care unit to treat the potentially fatal sting, officials said Friday.
Dec 2 - By Graham Dunbar, AP Sports Writer
Nicole Kidman is using her star power to help Australia's bid to host the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.

Dec 1 - By Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press Writer
Australia's Senate on Wednesday defeated the government's plan to implement a carbon pollution trading system to fight global warming, dashing hopes of setting an example for other nations at U.N. climate change talks next week.

Nov 27 - By Tanalee Smith, Associated Press Writer
Two giant pandas from China were welcomed to Australia on Saturday with gifts of bamboo and a city party before settling into their new home, a 25-acre (10-hectare) natural enclosure at the Adelaide Zoo.
Nov 27 - By Associated Press
President Barack Obama will meet with the Australian prime minister at the White House on Monday.

Nov 25 - By Associated Press
Australian authorities plan to corral about 6,000 wild camels with helicopters and gun them down after they overran a small Outback town in search of water, trampling fences, smashing tanks and contaminating supplies.

Nov 24 - By Associated Press
Formerly conjoined twin sisters Trishna and Krishna are enjoying a favorite DVD and trying new foods as they continue their recovery from marathon separation surgery, doctors said.

Nov 23 - By Rod McGuirk, Associated Press Writer
Australia's opposition leader Tuesday pledged his party's support for contentious legislation proposed by the government aimed at curbing the country's greenhouse gas emissions.