Australia broke global human rights rules by denying a group of refugees from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Kuwait a chance to challenge their detention, imposed on security grounds, a U.N. watchdog said Thursday.

The criticism from the U.N. Human Rights Committee comes as campaigning for Australia's September 7 elections puts the long-running issue of boat-people in center stage.

Embattled Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd warned Thursday he was nowhere near being "dead and buried" after a debate in which election rival Tony Abbott asked: "Does this guy ever shut up?"

Labor's Rudd and his conservative opponent went head-to-head in an often fiery televised confrontation on Wednesday evening with Sky News, which hosted the forum, saying Abbott won with 37 audience members voting for him compared to 35 for the prime minister.

Some 106 people were plucked to safety from a sinking asylum-seeker boat off Australia Tuesday as rescuers averted disaster just weeks from an election in which boatpeople are a key issue.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) earlier reported a vessel with about 105 people on board was in trouble 120 nautical miles north of the Australian territory of Christmas Island.

An Australian woman has lived to tell the tale after being brought back to life from being clinically dead for 42 minutes, doctors said on Monday.

Mother-of-two Vanessa Tanasio, 41, was rushed to Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne last week after a major heart attack, with one of her main arteries fully blocked.

Young Australians have a reputation for being fit and enjoying a sporty, outdoorsy lifestyle, but research released Monday found they are stacking on more weight than any other age group.

The alarming findings of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study have raised concerns that by putting on so much weight in their 20s and 30s, Australians are at more risk of developing diabetes in middle age.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was forced onto the defensive on the key election issue of asylum-seekers Saturday, three weeks ahead of national polls, with cracks appearing in his hardline refugee policy.

Rudd's so-called Papua New Guinea Solution allows people smuggled by boat to be sent to the impoverished Pacific nation even if found to be genuine refugees.

The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Egypt at 2130 GMT on Thursday, following a request from France, Britain and Australia, diplomats said.

The meeting comes a day after a crackdown by Egyptian security forces on protesters backing the deposed Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, which left more than 500 people dead.

Australia's carbon pollution would increase by at least nine percent by 2020 under the policies of the conservative opposition, breaching global commitments, new pre-election modelling showed Thursday.

The modelling, published by Australia's independent Climate Institute thinktank, showed that "under all (opposition) coalition scenarios Australia's emissions continue to increase to 2020 and beyond".

The U.S. distributor of acclaimed Australian film "The Sapphires" has reportedly apologized for the DVD cover which prompted outrage by placing the female Aboriginal stars of the movie in the background.

The DVD on sale in Australia shows the women clearly, but in the U.S. version they are "blue washed" and placed in the background while Irish actor Chris O'Dowd -- who plays their manager in the film -- is front and center in full color.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Monday launched the first day of Australia's election campaign with a raft of funding pledges, as a poll showed support slumping while the Murdoch press urged voters to "kick this mob out."

Rudd on Sunday named September 7 as the day Australians will go to the polls, hoping to complete a stunning political comeback with victory for his Labor Party three years after it ousted him.