Sydney - Australian shares

Sydney - Liberal Party lawmakers arrived Tuesday at Canberra's Parliament House for a leadership ballot that pits struggling incumbent Brendan Nelson against his treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull.

Nelson, 51, declared the position vacant in the hope that in a new vote he could improve on the 45-42 winning margin he achieved nine months ago.

Nelson, a former general practitioner, is woefully behind Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the opinion polls. His party is further behind Rudd's Labor than it was when losing the general election in November under John Howard.

Sydney - An Australian kayaker gritted his teeth and snapped his own leg to avoid drowning when his upturned craft became lodged under a tree, news reports said Monday.

Sydney - Australia Liberals squared off for another bruising round of infighting Monday when Brendan Nelson shocked them by putting his leadership on the line.

Liberal lawmakers meet Tuesday and are expected to either vote Nelson back into office or endorse economics spokesman Malcolm Turnbull as the new party leader.

Nelson has been leader since John Howard's coalition fell in a Labor landslide in November and Kevin Rudd became prime minister.

Sydney - Australian shares tumbl

Manila - Australia announced Monday a 12-million-peso (255,863-US dollar) grant of humanitarian assistance to thousands of people affected by fighting between Muslim separatist rebels and the military in the southern Philippines.

Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said the fund would help address the needs of people "uprooted from their homes and separated from their means of livelihood" because of the ongoing conflict in the southern region of Mindanao.

"Assistance will include essential items like water and sanitation facilities, food and counseling services in evacuation centers," he said.