South Australia beckons Indian investors

The South Australia province invited Indian investors to tap the huge potential of the largely unexplored mining sector along with education and renewable energy segments.

“We are going very strongly in the mining area to diversify the economy. There are vast mining areas which are very underexplored,” South Australia premier Mike Rann said.

“India is our big trading partner. Not only in buying our minerals, we would like to have Indian…

Rs.5 crore damages for Australian challenged

New Delhi : India Tourism Development Corp Ltd. (ITDC) moved the Delhi High Court against its order granting nearly Rs.5 crore damages to an Australian woman who was paralysed after slipping in a swimming pool in the company’s hotel here 33 years ago.

A division bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen issued notice to Australian Susan Leigh Beer seeking her response by Sep 28.

Susan was 18 years old when she…

Woman’s remains found in house eight years after her death

SYDNEY : The skeletal remains of an elderly Australian woman were found in her Sydney house, where she lay dead for eight years, before a worried relative sought police help to find the lady. Police said the woman was dead for up to eight years but the neighbours and relatives had been oblivious of the fact. In fact, neighbours assumed the house was long deserted. No one bothered to call the police, not…

Two held in Mysore for raping Australian tourist

Mysore: Two young men were arrested Monday for allegedly raping an Australian tourist last week in a lodge at Channapatna, about 84 km from here, a police officer said.

“We have taken the accused Chandra Vishwash (25) and Shunkul Gowda (22) into custody for investigation under sections 376 and 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly raping Mercy Luz, 26, an Australian woman, who came to India early…

Hotel to apologise over turban eviction

BRISBANE: A BRISBANE hotel that evicted a patron for wearing a turban is now attempting to locate him to apologise. Spirit Hotels, which is a Coles subsidiary, has confirmed, one of its staff members at the Royal English Hotel at Nundah asked a man to remove his turban under their no headwear policy. After the Sikh man refused, he was evicted. A spokesman for Spirit Hotels said the decision to ask him…

Oz to counter India, China in Indian Ocean

Australia stepped up efforts to counter naval supremacy of India and China in the Indian Ocean as the strategic region gains importance as a seaway for oil shipped from the Middle East to Asia. Australian defence minister Stephen Smith announced that Canberra will undertake a Force Posture Review to assess whether Australian Defence Force (ADF) is correctly geographically positioned to meet Australia’s modern and future strategic and security challenges. Australia is…

Australian to lead thalidomide suit

An Australian woman born without arms and legs will lead a mass lawsuit against the German and British firms behind thalidomide, a sedative responsible for birth defects, leading law firm Slater and Gordon said. Lynette Rowe, who was cared for around the clock by her parents since her birth in 1962, is to head a class action against German chemical firm, Grunenthal, makers of thalidomide, and British-based distributor, Distillers. The suit,…

Confusion about Australian PM was mistake

Dharamsala: The Dalai Lama mistakenly referred to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard as “him” and corrected himself after an aide pointed out the mistake, his office said.

The Dalai Lama’s faux pas came during his visit to Parliament House in Canberra, according to the official website of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

Quoting a news…

Australia’s bookshops to close down in five years?

Sydney: Online shopping will lead to closure of most bookshops in Australia in the next five years, according to the federal business minister.

Federal Small Business Minister Nick Sherry, speaking on the benefits of online shopping, said: “In five years, other than a few specialist booksellers in capital cities, we will not see a bookstore, they will cease to exist.”

Scott Ryan, opposition parliamentary secretary for small business, said the comment…

Australian website doesn’t show Kashmir, Arunachal as part of India

Sydney : An Australian government website has wrongly portrayed the map of India – omitting the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh – leading to the “strong displeasure” of the migrant Indian community.

The wrong map was put out on the website of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in its country profiles section.

The Council of Indian Australians Inc (CIA), the body representing the Indian-Australian community in…