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In a close vote the New South Wales (NSW) Legislative Assembly has supported a bill that would allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The conscience vote that gained bipartisan support from the major parties, resulted in 46 Members of Parliament (MP) voting for it and 44 voting against it. Having been rejected previously for amendments that would allow church-based adoption agencies to refuse applications from same-sex couples, the introduction of the bill finally gained approval from the Premier Kristina Keneally of the Australian Labor Pa

A school in Melbourne, Australia has experienced a backlash from the public for changing the last line of Marion Sinclair's iconic Australian folk song Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree from "Laugh, kookaburra, laugh, kookaburra, gay your life must be" to "fun your life must be". Gary Martin, principal of Le Page Primary School in Melbourne, claims that he changed the lyrics as he thought that "the kids will roll around the floor in fits of laughter" upon hearing the original lyrics. Martin wanted to reduce classroom disruption by omitting

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced that the next version of Windows Mobile OS series, Windows Phone 7, had been released to manufacturing after more than 6 months of its development. The announcement outlined some of the changes in this version, and was generally positive about the milestone. The term "release to manufacturing", also known as "going gold", is a term used to indicate that the software has reached a point that it is ready to be provided to the customer. After the event, Windows Phone 7 code has been locked down. The work in prog

No oil is reported leaking from the Woodward's Oil fuel tanker The Nanny aground in the Northwest Passage off the coast of Nunavut. The 110 metre (360 ft) tanker was carrying 9 million liters (2.4 million gallons) of diesel fuel to remote settlements in Canada's Arctic regions when it grounded on a sandbar. Last week the cruise ship Clipper Adventurer struck an uncharted rock in the same region, trapping 110 tourists and crew aboard for the two days it took the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker to reach the ship. On August 27th another Woodward's

A 70-year-old American scientist has been released from FBI custody following the evacuation of Miami International Airport because of a bomb scare. The airport was evacuated, a government official said, after airport security officials noticed, at around 9:00pm local time on Thursday, that his bag contained a metal canister that looked like a pipe bomb. The scientist was released on Friday afternoon, and no charges were brought against him. Further, he was permitted to continue his trip, and the FBI said he was "very cooperative" while he was

The USGS says an earthquake of magnitude 7.0 occurred in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island at Saturday 04:35:44 AM local time (Friday 16:35:44 UTC). Officials in New Zealand say the magnitude was 7.1. The earthquake occurred at a depth of 10.0 kilometers (6.21 miles). The epicenter was located 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Christchurch; 190 kilometers (115 miles) south-southeast of Westport; 295 kilometers (185 miles) southwest of Wellington; and 320 kilometers (200 miles) north-northeast of Dunedin. New Zealand's Civil Def

It has emerged that the 33 Chilean miners trapped underground after the mine they were working in collapsed could be brought to the surface in a shorter time than was initially feared. While officials publicly announced that the men would not be brought to the surface until Christmas, sources inside technical meetings have revealed that they could in fact be on the surface by early November. The news comes as families were allowed to speak by radio-telephone to their trapped loved ones on Sunday. Over the weekend, video images filmed by the min

Owen Edwards, the former director of BBC Wales and the first chief executive of Welsh language television station S4C, died on Monday at the age of 76. Edwards had suffered from Parkinson's Disease for over twenty years. Edwards started his career with the BBC in 1950 as a broadcaster. He worked on regional news programmes and reported on such events as the Aberfan disaster. In 1961 he began presenting Heddiw (‘Today’), the BBC's Welsh early evening news programme. He took a role behind the camera in 1966. In 1974, Edwards was made director

Three Australian citizens and a New Zealander died when the chartered light aircraft in which they were travelling crashed on Misima Island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The plane, a Cessna Citation with five people on board, is said by locals to have overshot the runway in poor weather, before crashing into trees and bursting into flames. The fifth person, a New Zealander believed to be one of the pilots, is undergoing treatment for heavy bruising. The crash was confirmed by the Australian Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, who said that

In a music-themed media event yesterday, Apple Inc. unveiled three new iPod portable music players, as well as an upgraded Apple TV system. Apple also announced updates for its iTunes software and iOS mobile operating system. The annual event started at 10 a.m. PDT (1700 UTC) in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, California. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, who led yesterday's keynote speech at the event, was dressed in his typical black long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes. He began by discussing new international Apple St

An oil platform owned by Mariner Energy has exploded in the Gulf of Mexico throwing thirteen people into the water, reports indicate. All thirteen men who fell into the water have been accounted for, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. No injuries were reported. Smoke was billowing from the oil rig named Vermilion 380, which is reported to still be on fire. The blast occurred at around 9:19 a.m., approximately 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay off the coast of Louisiana. The Coast Guard confirms the platform was producing oil and gas at the time

Hurricane Earl, a large tropical cyclone in the Atlantic ocean, is currently on course to strike parts of the eastern United States, including the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The storm began near the Cape Verde islands off the coast of Africa, and moved steadily to the west. It then neared the Caribbean, and caused damage in Puerto Rico and the Anguilla before taking a more northwards track. As of now, Earl continues on a northward track, but is expected to turn to the east. As hurricanes generally are difficult