Rocket fired at Israel

JERUSALEM: Militants in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip fired a rocket into Israel early on on Thursday, with the projectile landing inside the Jewish state without causing casualties or damage, the army said. "A rocket fired from Gaza fell this morning in Israel without causing injuries," a spokeswoman said. Israel launched a deadly offensive into Gaza in late December in response to rocket fire from the Palestinian enclave ruled by the Islamist Hamas movement.

The 22-day war ended with mutual ceasefires by Israel and Hamas on January 18 and since then the border between the territory and Israel has remained largely quiet.— AFP

Aboriginal reserve

KABULWARNAMYO: Australia on Thursday said it has created a massive nature reserve in the country's far north that will be managed by Aborigines. The so-called Indigenous Protected Areas in the Northern Territory contain rock art sites that are 50,000 years old and wilderness areas rivalling the nearby World Heritage-listed Kakadu National Park. The new reserve covers almost 20,500 sq km near the city of Darwin — an area more than twice the size of America's Yellowstone National Park. Aborigines will also hunt wild animals such as buffalo and help preserve rare native plants. The programme will benefit the local environment and provide jobs in remote communities. — AP