POLITICS & POLICY

The long-awaited day has finally come for same-sex couples in Australia to marry legally. Over a dozen couples went down in history, as the first gay marriage ceremonies were held in the capital city of Canberra on Dec. 7.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper left for South Africa to attend the funeral of Nelson Mandela. He will be joined by more than 60 other national leaders from all over the world.

Over 100 protesters threw stones at the Australian embassy in Dili as they assembled outside the complex to express outrage over reports that Australian spies had bugged the East Timorese cabinet office in capital Dili in 2004 during negotiations on an oil and gas revenue-sharing deal between the two countries.

Maj Gen Milner may have known Afghanistan as a country more than any other soldier from the coalition army

Nelson Mandela wasn’t just a South African president; he was also the personified symbol of racial equality and hope all over the world. And with the passing of this great man, Australian leaders have offered their message of mourning.

Seeking nullification of its 2006 treaty with Australia dividing undersea oil and gas reserves, East Timor has approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, Netherlands where proceedings began Thursday, to set up the procedural guidelines for the dispute arbitration, which experts believe could last almost a year.

Nelson Mandela took up the mantle from where Gandhi left it.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela was confirmed dead on Thursday evening at the age of 95. While the whole world mourns for the loss of a great leader, there are several netizens who still fire brow-raising comments on Twitter, condoning Mandela's act as a 'terrorist leader.'

The Australian Electoral Commission releases a report on the missing 1370 WA senate votes

Australia had its share of ending apartheid in South Africa.

Labor on Thursday, charged the government on failing to uphold its promise to bring "discipline and focus" in the targeted military operation for managing the refugee issue, after reports emerged that around 28 Rohingya asylum seekers spent three days at Christmas Island beach unnoticed.

Australia and South Korea has entered into a free trade agreement on Thursday. The deal most advances the plight of meat exporters and agricultural producers.

Canada continued to decelerate in the Forbes' magazine's eighth annual 'Best Countries for Business' ranking, all in just a span of two years. From top five in 2012, Canada has been ranked as only the eighth most favored country for business. In 2011, Canada was number one.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Tonight's US non-farm payrolls report will be scrutinised by financial markets for its implications for the US Federal Reserve's asset purchasing program.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop promised on Thursday to Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa that Canberra would no longer spy again on Indonesian officials in the future.

After a battle to a vicious lung infection, anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela died at the age of 95.

Authorities in Mexico, on Wednesday, recovered the truck which was carrying dangerous radioactive isotopes and was reported stolen near Mexico City. The radioactive material laden truck was found after two days of search.

Bound to cause further headache to the Tony Abbott government, already reeling under allegation of spying on Indonesia, latest reports noted U.S. Whistleblower and Former National Security Agency Contractor Edward Snowden may have accessed and leaked between 15,000 and 20,000 files containing Australian intelligence reports.

Timor Leste’s Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao called upon his Australian counterpart, Tony Abbott, Wednesday, to explain the allegation of spying in which it is reported that Australian Security Intelligence Service (ASIS) bugged the Timorese cabinet office in 2004, during sensitive negotiations for the Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMAT) treaty between the two countries.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has recruited a retired brigadier to oversee his government's crackdown on criminal bikie gangs in the state. Media reports say that the retired brigadier Bill Mellor, a former infantry platoon commander and army helicopter pilot, who is known for taking on violent warlords in Somalia in the 1990s, will now head the Queensland government crack team against the notrious bikie gangs.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Yesterday in Australia, GDP grew by only 0.6% q/q in Q3, weaker than market expectations seeing the Aussie Dollar weaker.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott may not have to use his threat to not allow MPs to have a Christmas break for failure to pass his party's legislative agenda. Reports said that the Liberals and the Greens have agreed to remove the federal limit on borrowing and to fund everyday services through the issue of more commonwealth bonds.

Although the furor over the spying row between Australia and Indonesia has been reduced, the diplomatic impasse is far from resolved as Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa insisted on an explanation for Canberra's wiretapping on the mobile phones of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and several other officials.

The United States military has halted cargo movement through Pakistan after large scale protests in the country against U.S. drone strikes. The route, from Torkham Gate at the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to the Pakistani port city of Karachi, is the key route for ground transport of military cargo. Although there are other routes, reports say, they are significantly more expensive.

Australian authorities are investigating whether a Chinese postdoctoral student who recently worked at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organisation laboratory in Melbourne actually accessed unauthorized sensitive data at the Organisation's nanotechnology laboratory. The laboratory works closely with Australia's Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

Secret service agents from the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) raided the homes of a lawyer and a former spy of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) in Canberra after it was revealed that they intended to approach an international court in The Hague, backing East Timor’s case that Australia had bugged the East Timorese Cabinet ahead of the sensitive oil and gas revenue-sharing negotiations between both countries.

MP Craig Thomson used the alias Jeff Thomson to order escort services using Health Services Union funds

New Zealand has once again been named the least corrupt nation in 2013, tied with Denmark for the top spot.

Tough measures adopted by Australia may have helped the country slash the number of asylum-seekers landing on its shores; however, reports from Sri Lanka indicate that its measures have not succeeded in discouraging people from attempting to make the dangerous journey by boat.