Australians protest planned shark culling

SYDNEY -- Thousands of people rallied across Australia Saturday against a controversial shark culling policy designed to prevent attacks, saying killing the marine animals was the not the answer.

The controversial policy to catch and kill sharks off popular west coast beaches was given the green light last month after six fatal attacks in the past two years.

It is aimed at reducing the risks to water users and allows baited drum lines with hooks designed to capture large sharks to be set one kilometer offshore at busy Western Australian beaches for a trial period until April 30.

Any shark longer than three meters (10 feet) snagged by the lines and deemed to be a threat -- including great white, bull and tiger sharks -- will be destroyed, with the first casualty reported last week.

The move has angered conservationists and rallies were held at sites around the country, including at least 2,000 people at Manly Beach in Sydney and 6,000 expected at Cottesloe Beach in Perth.

Opponents claim the trial flies in the face of international obligations to protect the great white shark.

Anthony Joyce, who was attacked by a shark off a Sydney beach last October, once shared the Western Australian government's views on culling the animals, but after doing extensive research he now disagrees.

"The amount of sharks they are going to kill is going to make no difference in the scheme of things," he told reporters at Manly.

After speaking with shark experts and marine biologists, he now believes greater government support for marine biology programs and shark education in schools is the way to go.

Another protestor in Manly, Katherine Cook, said she was outraged at the shark killings.

"I'm really angry and incensed that we can't co-exist with anything," she said.

"We are going into their (sharks) environment. Why can't we co-exist?"

At Cottesloe, a female activist chained herself to a fisheries boat to prevent it leaving to set and monitor baited hooks off the coast, the ABC reported.

While sharks are common in Australian waters, deadly attacks are rare, with only one of the average 15 incidents a year typically proving fatal.

But experts say attacks are increasing in line with population growth and the popularity of water sports.

source: interaksyon.com

Miley Cyrus: Australian Guys Are 'Way Hotter' Than Americans

For the fans who coveted her fianc´ Liam Hemsworth in The Hunger Games – and envied her when the couple announced their engagement last month – Miley Cyrus may be stating the obvious.

"[Australians are] way hotter. There's no competition," she told PEOPLE at Wednesday night's Australians in Film awards, where Hemsworth received the Australians in Film Breakthrough Award. Added Cyrus, 19, who grew up in Nashville, "I think there's a masculinity about [Australian guys] that is probably like growing up in the South, like what I did. They are a little bit more respectful, I suppose."



But he's more than a pretty face (and a hunky bod).

"My dad [singer Billy Ray Cyrus] has always been a really hard worker, so I like it when men work hard," she said. "I think it's important and I always work really hard, so it's good to have someone who is as passionate about what they do, and wants to be great at what they do."

And Cyrus wasn't the only one gushing. As he accepted his award, Hemsworth, 22, paid homage to the beginning of his career – when he met his soon-to-be wife auditioning for The Last Song in 2009.

"I was fortunate enough to get called back in and read with my now fiancée, and we read together and fell in love, and got married," he told the audience, before correcting himself. "Well, not married yet."

"We will be," Cyrus yelled from her seat.

Added Hemsworth, "We will be."

source: people.com