Australia has been hit by its biggest earthquake in 15 years, seismologists said Saturday, rattling a remote part of the desert with local Aboriginals reporting strong shaking but no major damage.

The 6.1-magnitude earthquake had its epicenter near Ernabella, in the middle of Australia, at a shallow depth of three kilometers (1.8 miles), Geoscience Australia said.

A senior U.S. official has warned North Korea's upcoming rocket launch would be aimed south for the first time and impact in an area "roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines".

Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, delivered the message in person to Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr, the Sydney Morning Herald reported Saturday.

Australia's central bank on Thursday signed a currency swap deal with its Chinese counterpart, allowing for up to Aus$30 billion (US$31.2 billion) to be exchanged between the two institutions.

The purpose of the deal, another example of the growing internationalization of China's currency, is to support trade and investment between the two countries, the Reserve Bank of Australia said.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to run for a seat in the Australian Senate in elections due late next year despite being under virtual house arrest in England and facing criminal charges in Sweden, the group said Saturday.

The 40-year-old Australian citizen is fighting extradition to Sweden, where he's wanted over sex crime allegations. Assange has taken his legal battle all the way to Britain's Supreme Court, which is expected to rule on his case imminently.

Australian floods have inundated close to 2,000 homes in New South Wales, an official said Saturday, as the surging waters appeared to claim the life of a man in the state's north.

Eastern Australia has been hit by heavy downpours in recent days, causing swollen river systems to pour through towns and villages in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, damaging crops, roads and bridges.

A rich Australian state's plan to pay up to Aus$2,000 (US$2,106) to Aboriginal people whose wages were kept from them for decades has been criticized as a "cruel and heartless offer".

Western Australia, a vast and resource-rich state riding a lucrative mining boom, has announced the payments for the "stolen wages" of Aboriginal people born before 1958 whose wages were controlled by the state government.

More than 8,000 people fled their homes in Australia's flood-hit southeast Tuesday amid fears that a levee holding back the swollen Murrumbidgee River would fail.

Floods have hit three eastern states this week, sweeping two men to their deaths after they attempted to cross waterways in cars while inundating hundreds of homes and causing millions of dollars in damage.

Thousands of Australians were Saturday ordered to evacuate their homes in Sydney's northwest and elsewhere in New South Wales state as heavy rainfall flooded rivers and waterways.

State Emergency Service Commissioner Murray Kear said that 3,500 people were subject to evacuation orders as 75 percent of the state was affected by flooding.

Australian scientists mapping the Great Barrier Reef will broadcast their findings in partnership with Google, modeled on its "Street View" to spotlight the impact of climate change.

The University of Queensland's Seaview Survey, funded by global insurance giant Catlin, will use custom-designed cameras and diving robots to plumb never-before-seen depths of the reef off Australia's northeast coast.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Friday named former state premier Bob Carr as foreign minister as she asserted her authority following a leadership challenge.

Carr, the ex-leader of New South Wales, will become the nation's top diplomat after Kevin Rudd suddenly resigned last week in order to take on Gillard and Senator Mark Arbib quit in the wake of Labor Party infighting.