POLITICS & POLICY

Leaked document reveal that the National Security Agency of the U.S. has been in the continuous process of monitoring porn habits of the Muslim radicals.

The United States has not recognised China's newly declared territory over disputed islands situated in the East China Sea. This is apparently true after two US bombers flew through China's air zone on Tuesday as part of their training mission across the Pacific.

Angry and disappointed - these were the two keywords that came out in media reports of what Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono felt when he received and read the letter from Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrision has dismissed findings by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) which reported that Australia's treatment of asylum-seekers fails to meet international standards.

The New Zealand High Court has denied the bid of a man from Kiribati to be recognised as a climate change refugee. Kiribatian man Ioane Teitiota said the rising sea levels in the Pacific island nation, has prompted him to remain in New Zealand even though his work visa had expired. He said there was no land in which he and his family can live on safely if they are forced to go back.

About 800 employees working for Sears Canada's repair services and head office posts stand to lose their jobs in the next six months, as part of the company's reorganisation and restructuring.

Asylum seekers are now free to pass through Indonesian waters to Australia

Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has arrived in Australia. This is her maiden visit to the country. During her visit which will conclude on Dec 2, she will push to encourage global interest in furthering the democratic reform process currently underway in Myanmar. Ms Suu Kyi is scheduled to attend a host of public events in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, and also hold meetings with the Burmese community in Australia.

As 2015 approaches marking the expiry of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Australia is working with the international community to develop the next set of goals for global development. Setting out the country's priorities for future challenges in global development Senator Brett Mason, Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, met with the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning Ms Amina Mohammed.

As Fiji enters its six-month cyclone season from November to April, the Australian Government-funded Fiji Community Development Program has organized a three-day workshop, in Suva, in mid-November to develop a framework for collaboration and capacity building among civil society organizations in the country for disaster risk management.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, with its two reports released Thursday, has exposed Australia's inhumane treatment of asylum-seekers on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea.

Poverty incidence among Canadian seniors and the elderly has been found rising based on a comprehensive study on global pensions of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The current 23 million Australian population will soar to more than 46 million by 2075, according to recent projections released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

After keeping mum on the contents of the letter that Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot sent to Jakarta, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono broke his silence on Tuesday and publicly disclosed what Mr Abbott wrote.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's satisfaction rating has declined in the recent Newspoll survey with personal support falling from 46 per cent to 44 per cent. In contrast, Australia Labour Party and Opposition leader Bill Shorten rose to 33 per cent. According to survey, Labour's primary vote has also increased from 32 to 35 per cent while support for the Coalition dropped to 43 per cent from 45 per cent. The Coalition leads Labour 52 per cent to 48 per cent as the preferred party.

If New Zealand has the notorious group Roast Busters, their counterpart in Australia is the Knights of the Jedi Council, made up of 17 soldiers who allegedly spread through the Internet images of unsuspecting naked women and then challenge members of the council to have sex with these females.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has held up well overnight despite some USD strength.

The already high-tech Australian passport - which features facial recognition technology since 2005 - would be brought to another higher level in the future with the inclusion of voice recognition and eye scanning technologies.

An Indonesian international law expert warned on Monday that if the letter of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott would not satisfy Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the next step in the worsening diplomatic crisis between the two nations could be Jakarta expelling Aussie diplomats.

New Zealanders launched a protest against the deep-sea oil drilling of Anadarko Petroleum off the North Island's west coast. Protest boats closed in on the Anadarko's drilling vessel, the Noble Bob Douglas. Over 3,000 New Zealanders went to the beaches from Muriwai to Wanganui to protest deep-sea oil drilling in the nation's waters.

Majority of Australians want the carbon tax repealed but don't want Prime Minister Tony Abbott's direct action plan as an alternative policy. In a new poll, 57 per cent of Australians rejects Labour's carbon tax law and only 12 per cent believes in Mr Abbott's policy.

Groups with different ideological beliefs saw a blessing in disguise amidst the AU-Indo feud

Climate change negotiators representing 195 countries have reached an agreement to some provisions on the climate pact to fight global warming.

Mark Textor, the political adviser of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who has worsened the already bad ties between Australia and Indonesia due to his tweets, had quit Twitter.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has bowed down to pressure and admitted on Saturday to have written a letter to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in a bid to settle the diplomatic row between the two countries.

Australia is beginning to feel the wrath of Indonesia, following the diplomatic fallout due to leaks provided by National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden that Canberra wiretapped the phone of Indonesia President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The Labour party has accused the New Zealand government of deliberately withholding information about the risks of deep-sea oil drilling off the Kaikoura coast. According to Labour leader David Cunliffe, documents have surfaced indicating Environment Minister Amy Adams had secretly kept the risks from going public to protect Anadarko's proposed oil-drilling site.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison may land in some legal trouble with his aggressive policy to stop asylum-seeking-people through boats. The Australian Medical Association (AMA) of the Northern Territory (NT) says Mr Morrison is guilty of child abuse and is proposing to report him to the Department of Child Protection.

Indonesians expressed their outrage over claims that Australia had been spying on the Indonesian government. Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to apologise to Indonesia in the heat of the spying scandal. The Twitter hashtag #GanyangAustralia became the Indonesians’ online crusade against Australia. The hashtag, when translated, means “Crush Australia.”