The origin of Pacific Islanders has been a mystery for years. Now archaeologists believe they have the answer.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has made a historic apology to the country's Aboriginal people for past mistreatment. Mr. Rudd said past policies of assimilation under which indigenous children were taken from their families were a 'stain on the nation's soul'. From Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory, Phil Mercer reports.

Australia is preparing to issue its first formal apology for past mistreatment of the country's Aboriginal people. The declaration by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will be the first act of the new government when the Australian parliament reopens in Canberra on February 13. It will acknowledge injustices suffered by Aborigines in the years after European colonization that began in the late 1700's. From Sydney, Phil Mercer reports.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre says the practice of wrongfully removing Aboriginal children from their families is still going on.

Scientists studying the origins of Australia's aboriginal population have found no genetic evidence of significant immigration from outside the continent for 45,000 years after humans first arrived. Their research suggests that Australian aborigines share the same common ancestor with all other human populations: so-called 'mitochondrial Eve', who is believed to have lived in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago.

Dr Deborah Lehmann, who leads infectious diseases research at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, said the findings show that infection is an increasing concern in affluent countries.