Hindus have asked Australia to create a “bill of rights” as a high-priority.

Acclaimed Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Australia was one of the few Western countries that did not have a charter of rights.

Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, says that although Australia does have a National Action Plan for Human Rights, but according to a report of Australia Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a statutory organization that reports to the federal Parliament, this “plan however does not adequately identify positive, forward-looking measures to address the human rights issues…”

Sydney - Five Australians recently returned from either North America or Mexico and who developed flu-like symptoms are being tested for swine flu, authorities said Monday. New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant said the symptoms in the three adults and two children were mild.

"There have been some tests performed, but no cases meet the probable case definition, and there have been no confirmed cases," she said.

Sydney  - Shares in Lion Nathan Ltd leapt 40 per cent Monday after Australia's second-largest brewer agreed to a 6.5-billion-Australian-dollar (4.6-billion-US-dollar) takeover offer from Japanese beer maker Kirin Holdings Co Ltd.

Lion Nathan's board has agreed to sell Kirin the 54 per cent of shares it doesn't already own in the brewer that counts the beer brands Tooheys, James Boag, James Squire, Heineken, Hahn and XXXX in its stable.

The deal needs the approval of the Foreign Investment Review Board and non-Kirin shareholders.

Sydney  - We already know that smoking in pregnancy results in babies that are around 250 grams lighter than those born to mothers who did not smoke.

And we also know from the statistics that infants in homes where there are smokers are up to four times more likely to succumb to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) - more commonly called cot death.

Researchers in Australia believe they can explain how exposure to tobacco smoke impacts on the brains of babies.

Sydney  - Two Australians recently returned from a trip to Mexico are in a Queensland hospital with symptoms similar to the deadly swine flu, officials said Monday.

"We do have two cases overnight of people checking into hospital whose symptoms are being tested," Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told reporters in Brisbane. "Clearly, this is a very serious disease, and we are taking it very seriously."

In Sydney, two people checked into hospital to have flu-like symptoms checked after returning from Mexico.

Melbourne, Apr 26 : A Queensland state school spent 1200 dollars teaching its teachers how to laugh.

While other schools are following suit and have paid for laughter `consultants', eighty-two staff members from Maleny State High School took part in a two-hour "laughter therapy" session last Monday.

Opposition education spokesman Bruce Flegg has on April 24 accused the State Government of wasting "scarce" funds and teachers' time.