University student in acid, hammer attack in Australia

SYDNEY (AFP) - A Chinese university student was in critical condition in an Australian hospital on Friday after a fellow Phd student, also a Chinese national, allegedly threw acid in his face and then hit him over the head with a hammer.

Police said a 26-year-old man had been charged with attacking a 25-year-old fellow student at a chemistry research laboratory at the University of New South Wales in Sydney on Thursday.

"It's alleged one student threw a chemical, believed to be sulphuric acid, in another student's face before hitting him on the head with a hammer during an altercation," police said in a statement.

Both men are Chinese nationals studying for their PhDs, the university said.