Australia
Novak Djokovic Returns to the Australian Open, No Longer a Villain
MELBOURNE, Australia — It was the day before the Australian Open, and the Park Hotel in Melbourne’s Carlton neighborhood was closed with only the occasional pedestrian passing in front of the dusty, deserted entrance on a sedate Sunday. Quite a different scene than last year, when Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 tennis player, was […]
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A Large Object Landed on His Sheep Farm. It Came From Space.
Mick Miners was herding sheep on a four-wheeler last week when he stumbled upon a pointy black object that looked more than nine feet tall. It reminded him of either a burned tree or a piece of farm machinery. “Pretty frightening, actually,” Mr. Miners, 48, said by phone on Thursday from his roughly 5,000-acre property […]
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After 37 Years, the Sunny World of ‘Neighbours’ Comes to an End
It was during a childhood bout of the chickenpox that Jon Dew happened to tune into the first episode of “Neighbours,” a soap opera following the lives of a group of families living in a fictional cul-de-sac in Melbourne, Australia. The sun was shining. The drama, served with a dash of cheeriness, was compelling. A […]
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Flood, Evacuate, Rinse, Repeat: A Relentless Pattern Batters Australia
WINDSOR, Australia — Emma Winley pointed to the markings on the outside of her house, recording the levels of the three floods that have hit in the past 16 months. In March of last year, the water came up to her knees. In March of this year, it nearly reached her shoulders. Still rebuilding after […]
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12 Members of a Religious Group Charged in Death of 8-Year-Old
MELBOURNE, Australia — The police have charged 12 members of a religious group with murder in connection with the death of Elizabeth Struhs, 8, of Queensland state several months ago. The police say she was denied care over a period of days for an underlying medical condition. After Elizabeth’s death in January, her parents, Jason […]
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Nick Kyrgios, a Dream and a Nightmare for Wimbledon, Is Winning
WIMBLEDON, England — All white is the dress code at Wimbledon, the oldest and most traditional of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. So when Nick Kyrgios wears a black hat for his on-court interview, he is sending a message. And that’s what he did Saturday night on the No. 1 Court, after his emotional, […]
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After Years of Acrimony, China and Australia Cautiously Reach Out
SYDNEY, Australia — Four years after Australia’s ties with China entered a downward spiral, with Australia emerging as an energetic counterweight to Beijing’s growing might, the two countries have begun to explore whether they can patch things up. Since Australia’s new, center-left government came to power last month, leaders in both countries have signaled that […]
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The ‘Hard Yakka’ of Defining Australian English’s Many Quirks
CANBERRA, Australia — Amanda Laugesen scrolled through the spreadsheet of 7,000 words and idioms being considered for the next edition of the Australian National Dictionary, but no matter how hard she looked, she just couldn’t find the phrase. “Few bricks short of a pallet” was there. So was “face like a bucket of smashed crabs.” […]
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What It Took for a Country With a Strong Gun Culture to Give Them Up
Within hours of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last month, as President Biden flew home from a trip to Asia, he found himself wondering why liberal democracies like Australia, Canada and Britain can get gun violence under control, while America has tried for decades without success. “They have mental health problems. They have domestic […]
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