Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

Uproar After NC State Agent 'Fixes' Girl's Lunch Preschooler has to eat chicken nuggets instead of mom's meal »

Aussies Ditch Dueling Law

Laws on duels, piracy walk the plank as criminal code is updated

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted May 3, 2008 12:56 PM CDT

(Newser) – There's no longer a law against challenging somebody to a duel in Queensland, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. As part of an effort to get old laws off the books, the Australian state is also scrapping laws against piracy on the high seas, and mayors will no longer have to read the Riot Act to mobs of angry townspeople before rioters can be charged.

The state says it is trying to get rid of obsolete laws, some of them centuries old. It believes that other laws in place—such as the one against murder—will prevent duels from making a comeback. "That's not a green light for any aspiring pirates," the state's attorney general warned after chopping the part of the code dealing with ocean outlaws.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Rioters are seen in the 1974 comedy "Young Frankenstein." (YouTube)

An old-fashioned pistol is seen in this undated file photo. ((c) Zaqarbal)

A duelling pistol is seen in the Deutsches Museum in Munich in this undated photo. ((c) adobemac)

An old-fashioned gun in seen in this undated file photo. ((c) Kevin Hutchinson)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Michael Cera in a "Drunk History" of the Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr duel. (WeSupportLive)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Australia Man Greets Queen by Mooning Her

...and there was a flag involved

(NEWSER) - Queen Elizabeth saw more of Australia than she bargained for during her visit to Brisbane today. A construction worker gave the queen and her husband a long look at his rear end—which held an Australian flag between the cheeks—as he reportedly ran beside her motorcade for about 150 feet, the Telegraph reports. “I mooned the queen,” 22-year-old Liam Warriner told a local newspaper. He was charged with willful exposure and being a public nuisance. More»

Croc Grabs Aussie Angler

Queensland man survives creek attack

(NEWSER) - An Australian man fishing in a Queensland creek must have looked a lot like bait to a 13-foot saltwater crocodile. The croc launched out of the water as the 28-year-old mine worker was casting a lure and snapped at his hand, ripping off a finger. The croc then grabbed his legs and tried to pull him into the creek as he clung to a tree. A customer in a nearby pub heard his cries and came to the rescue, the BBC reports. More»

Australian Floods Reach Catastrophic Levels

Brisbane river breaks its banks

(USER SUBMITTED) - The floods that have ravaged huge areas of the Australian state of Queensland show no signs of abating, with the state capital Brisbane now under serious threat. ABC Australia reports that the town of Toowoomba, 70 miles west of the capital, was inundated with rain Monday, with the deluge so fierce that houses in the nearby Lockyer Valley were washed away. At least ten people were killed and 78 are still unaccounted for, AP reports. More»

Epic Floods Close Australia's Coal Mines

Waters causing 'catastrophic damage' to transportation system

(NEWSER) - The nearly biblical flood that’s washed over Queensland, Australia, is causing massive damage—including the closure of 75% of its coal mines, which supply most of Asia’s steel mills. “That’s a massive impact on the international markets,” observed Premier Anna Bligh in a TV interview. She said the waters were also causing “catastrophic damage” to the transportation system in the state. “Without doubt, this disaster is without precedent in its size and scale here,” she said. More»

Australian City Cut Off by Flood

'No airport, rail, or road' amid downpour

(NEWSER) - Floods have overwhelmed an Australian city, cutting off all access to it. “Rockhampton is now completely stranded—a town of 75,000 people—no airport, rail, or road,” said an official. And the still-swelling Fitzroy River that submerged Rockhampton's main highway to the state capital of Brisbane is set to keep rising late into tomorrow, and possibly into Wednesday morning. Those who have fled Rockhampton may have to wait two weeks or more before going home, and floodwaters may take a month to completely dry up, the AP reports. Click for more on the flood . More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Aussies Ditch Dueling Law