Sydney - The world's first climate change refugees will be relocated from their Pacific island home on the Solomon Islands to neighbouring Papua New Guinea next year, news reports said Wednesday.

Sydney  - Australian banks Tuesday pulled the rug from under debt-laden local leveraged buy-out specialist Allco Finance Group.

Receivers were appointed for Allco and its shares placed in a trading halt after talks with the 12 banks failed to reach agreement on a repayment schedule for debts of 667 million Australian dollars (446 million US dollars).

The share price had tumbled from an all-time high of 13 Australian dollars in February 2007 to just 14 Australian cents.

Allco, one of the highest profile local victims of the credit crunch, two years ago was the leader of a failed leverage buy-out of national carrier Qantas Airways.

Sydney - Australia's richest horserace once again held disappointment for the European contingent when locally trained Viewed won the Melbourne Cup on Tuesday in front of 130,000 spectators.

The 5-year-old was just a lip ahead of English horse Bauer in the tightest-ever finish in the 148-year history of what Australians call "the race that stops the nation."

It's estimated that 12 million of the 21 million Australians watch the 3 minutes it takes for some of the world's best horses to gallop round the 3.2-kilometre track.

"It's nice to win a race like this - a race that everyone in Australia likes to win, particularly my owners," veteran trainer Bart Cummings said.

Sydney - Australian stocks register

Sydney - Australians were Monday savouring the conviction of former judge Marcus Einfeld on charges of making a false statement and acting to pervert the course of justice.

Einfeld, who 10 years ago was proclaimed a National Living Treasure for his devotion to justice, faces jail for lying to a magistrate in order to get out of paying a 77-Australian-dollar (50-US-dollar) speeding fine.

The millionaire former Human Rights and Equal Opportunity commissioner falsely claimed that a female friend, who proved to be dead at that time, was driving his car when it was snapped by a police speed camera.