Melbourne, July 31: Hard to believe, but true! Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is a descendant of an 18th-century street urchin accused of "highway robbery" when she was 11 years old.

Rudd’s ancestor, Mary Wade, also escaped a death sentence for stripping another girl of her clothes in an outdoor toilet.

After her transportation to Australia, Mary Wade became a well-known figure in this country.

Melbourne, July 30 : While binge drinking is normally associated with young revellers, a new Australian report has a different story to tell. According to GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Health Index, baby boomers are nudging the bottle harder than their kids.

The report has found almost 10 per cent of people aged 55 to 64 had 20 or more standard drinks in a week, compared to eight per cent of those aged 18 to 24.

But the survey found Australians were trying alcohol for the first time at a younger age.

The GSK survey questioned random samples of less than 100 people from each Australian state and territory.

Melbourne, July 30 : When it comes to driving, it looks like Australian men are not such great fans of women, for a new survey shows that most blokes don''t like being a passenger while their partner is driving, with most believing that females aren''t good drivers.

According to a survey of 3000 readers of motoring mag Australian Top Gear, only 15 per cent feel comfortable when their wives or girlfriends were driving.

Almost 50 percent said that they liked to point out serious flaws in their partners driving skills and many admitted they were embarrassed.

Melbourne, July 30 : If there is one dubious record that New South Wales would love to do without, it would be the label that it has Australia and the world’s laziest parliament.

According to news. com. au, the parliament in this Australian state sits less than parliaments’ in India and in some war-torn African countries.

NSW will sit for 48 days in 2008, while Piccoli claimed Victoria sat for 66 days a year, South Australia for 58, Western Australia 57, Tasmania 53 and Queensland 50.

The UK''s Parliament sits 146 days of the year, South Africa 104, Kenya 88, Canada 135, US Congress 150 and India 81.

Melbourne, July 29 : Most people like to remember every little detail about the day they got married, Andy and Ania Somora however, would rather forget theirs altogether what with spending their wedding night in jail after being tasered by the police.

The couple’s big day started out just fine in Lakeside, Michigan, US.

Midway through the reception at the Burnison Art Gallery, however, venue owner Judi Burnison called in the cops to tackle unruly guests, who had broken glasses and spilt drinks.

After arriving at the venue, Jeff Enders, police officer-in-charge, told the assembled guests to evacuate the premises – an announcement that didn’t go down well with many guests.

Melbourne, July 28 : Kids and adolescents in Australia are so scared of the outdoors that it has restricted them to hang out in shopping centres, play computer games or go to school, according to a new survey.

According to the study of Sydney kids, both primary school-aged boys and girls and adolescents have nowhere to play in a modern city.

The data from the New South Wales child watchdog, the Commission of Children and Young People, comes after the New South Wales (NSW) Government failed to act on a two-year-old inquiry that warned children were missing out on playtime.