Daily News Channel
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called for calm Wednesday, assuring the Indian community that his country was still one of the safest study destinations in the world despite a series of attacks on Indian students in Sydney and Melbourne.
A deal between mining giant Rio Tinto and Chinalco, a state-owned Chinese aluminum company, was called off after it became a hot-button issue in Australian politics. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto announced it has signed a non-binding agreement with BHP Billiton for iron ore production in Western Australia.
Australia will boost its troop commitment in Afghanistan by 450 soldiers to help in the international fight against a resurgent Taliban, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Wednesday.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday he believed world leaders would "rise to the challenge" at this week’s G-20 summit by agreeing firm measures to set about tackling the global financial crisis. Brown, who hosts Thursday’s meeting in London, has spent the past few weeks courting a succession of world leaders in a bid to persuade them to sign up to a package of proposals he has described as a “global new deal,” including tighter financial regulations and further government stimulus measures. But other leaders have distanced themselves from Brown’s agenda, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel apparently speaking for other European leaders when she expressed skepticism this weekend about the wisdom of pouring further public money into economies already in recession
Church bells rang throughout Australia on Sunday in remembrance of the victims of last month’s devastating fires that killed 209 people. In a nationally televised memorial, a somber Prime Minister Kevin Rudd praised the resilience of Australians and offered a message of hope. “As a people, we weep for the lost,” he said.