#7 From Google
What is Vegemite?
Vegemite is considered as much a part of Australia's heritage as kangaroos and the Holden cars. It is actually an Australian obsession that has become a unique and loved symbol of the Australian nation.
A Vegemite sandwich to an Australian kid is the equivalent of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to an American kid - but the taste is QUITE different!
Vegemite is one of several yeast extract spreads sold in Australia. It is made from leftover brewers' yeast extract (a by-product of beer manufacture) and various vegetable and spice additives. It is very dark reddish-brown, almost black, in color, and one of the richest sources known of Vitamin B. It's thick like peanut butter, it's very salty, and it tastes like - well let's just say that it is an acquired taste!
Australian children are brought up on Vegemite from the time they're babies. It is said that Australians are known to travel all over the world with at least one small jar of Vegemite in their luggage, for fear that they will not be able to find it.
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The Afghan government announced yesterday that an advance guard of elite Australian troops has begun new operations against insurgents in Afghanistan ahead of elections. They will be joined soon by the rest of a 190-strong force of Special Air Services soldiers and commandos deployed to fight a resurgence in rebel attacks, Defense Minister Robert Hill told reporters in Canberra. Australia deployed some 1,000 troops in support of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, but they were withdrawn toward the end of 2002. The new troops are believed to be in provinces along the border with Pakistan but Hill would not say where. âWe have an area of operations that has been particularly troubling for a long time in terms of Taleban activity. That continues to be so,â he said.
