Across Asia: Australia

Farmers rally

Angry farmers wearing broad-brimmed hats and cracking kangaroo-hide whips rallied outside Parliament yesterday as one of their colleagues continued a hunger strike to demand compensation for the Australian climate change policy.

The protest by 250 farmers and their supporters drew public attention to the plight of sheep farmer Peter Spencer, who they say is on the 43rd day of his hunger strike to protest that he is not allowed to clear vegetation from his 8,000 hectare farm.