Australia

Residents from a village in Phichit province near Phitsanulok do not want an Australian company to mine gold and silver because of the health and environmental damage mining is causing to the villagers and the water supply.

It’s that time of the year when no-talent writers of all stripes pull out the insidiously mundane columns about “what’s under the Christmas Tree” left by Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Santa or just plain old St. Nick. If it’s not that then “The stocking were hung by the chimney with care.” If those two approaches failed then it would be the phony New Year’s resolutions always the bastion of the non-creative mind. Not here mate. All Thai’s received an early holiday gift when Tiger Woods proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he qualifies as your typical Thai male.

The first elephant born in Australia has been drawing huge crowds. Taronga Zoo’s visitors’ numbers have surged to 12,000 a day, up from the usual 4,500 as people flock to see the baby male elephant born in the beginning of July to its Thai mother.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — Rough seas whipped by strong winds Tuesday prevented the rescue of the sole surviving pilot whale among dozens of whales and dolphins stranded on a beach in southern Australia, an official said.