POLITICS & POLICY

Diplomatic row between Indonesia and Australia following the spying scandal took a turn for the worst, after an Australian flag was burnt in the city of Yogyakarta and hardline “Red and White Brigade” organised a protest outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta. In a related incident Anonymous Indonesia and hacker group in the country, claimed credit for attacks that briefly shutting down the Australian Federal Police site and affected the Australian Reserve Bank.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Fed minutes indicate a likely tapering in coming months.

There's news of reportedly "malevolent" shysters who are damaging the country in more ways than one and blaming Australia's Tony Abbott for it.

Member-nations of the G20 may be saying goodbye to hopes of ever having a strong and effective action plan against climate change when Australia takes over the leadership in December. International observers find no evidence that the country is taking the global issue of climate change seriously.

Australia and U.S. enters an agreement for U.S. Marines to train in Australia’s top-end

Senator Mike Duffy and Nigel Wright are accused of bribery and fraud by the RCMP.

The diplomatic relations between Australia and Indonesia further worsened on Thursday as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced the suspension of cooperation on people smuggling and military cooperation over the spying row.

Bad luck continues to hound the infamous Ford brothers in Toronto as they lost a TV show just one day after the programme's debut. Sun News Network cancelled Ford Nation, which was hosted by Mayor Rob Ford and his brother Councillor Doug Ford.

As the diplomatic war of words between Indonesia and Australia surges, NewsCorp Australia reveals how Mr Howard reacted to revelations made by the Indonesian spymaster General Abdullah Mahmud Hendropriyono.

Australia's reputation as a valuable force in developing an international climate policy has been trashed largely due to its poor ranking in the recent climate change performance index and its inability to send a representative for the United Nations' climate change talks in Warsaw, Poland. Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to support the green climate fund supported by the United Nations.

It seems Canadian PM Stephen Harper may be forced to reconsider his word on maintaining the number of the country's military ranks.

Former NSW Premier Nathan Rees tangled in sex-for-benefit scandal with a constituent

Riding a bike used to be a great way for exercise and it's still is but the formerly fun activity is now a looming hazard in Australia's streets.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian dollar benefits from comments that China may expand the daily CNY trading band (currently +/- 1%) and establish a managed float.

To protect her from future rampages of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, the brothers of Councillor Pam McConneell are planning to provide her more protection such as a helmet. The added measure is in response to their elderly and diminutive politician sister suffering a fat lip on Monday after the mayor hit her while trying to protect his brother engaged in verbal tussle with the council audience.

Due to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's continued refusal to apologise for the phone tapping on several Indonesian officials, Jakarta is downgrading its relationship with Canberra, Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Tuesday night.

Taxis play a major part in the urban landscape and nearly impossible to picture a city without them. Cabbies of Adelaide have something to be fearful about. There has been an increase in nighttime beatings that have taken place in recent months. Many drivers have avoided driving at night to escape the wave of violent assaults.

Indonesia on Tuesday stepped up diplomatic pressure on Australia after allegations surfaced that Australian spies had tapped the phone calls of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. First Lady Kristiani Herawati and another eight government ministers and officials. Mr Yudhoyono said the action was deplorable and will lead to a review of all bilateral cooperation agreements.

Attempting to douse Indonesia’s anger at the phone tapping scandal that threatens to mar relations between the two countries, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Tuesday said her government took "exceedingly seriously" Indonesia’s concerns about allegations that Australia tapped the phone of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other senior figures in the country.

Australian Greenpeace Activist Colin Russell, arrested along with 29 other people by Russian authorities after their protest against a Russian Arctic oil rig, has been sent to jail for another 3 months. A court in St. Petersburg ruled that Russell must stay in prison until Feb. 24, 2014.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to apologize for spying on Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his family. He has also asked to keep 'cool heads' to get over the present diplomatic situation

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott gets $12,000 monthly from taxpayers for the maintenance of a luxurious house in Canberra. Mr. Abbott does not live in the house.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key signed on Tuesday five deals with Thai companies as part of his 2-day business visit to the Southeast Asian nation. He led a delegation made up of 22 Kiwi companies.

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi is questioning why a one-year lease for a Canberra house with a rental of $3,000 a week was signed before the September election which saw Tony Abbott became prime minister.

Iran on Monday unveiled a new aircraft which it claimed is the biggest drone capable of staying afloat for up to 30 hours. Iran’s Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan said the reconnaissance and combat drone named Fotros has a range of 1,250 miles (2,000km) and could cover much of the Middle East including Israel. Iran said the Fotros is the biggest missile-equipped drone to be developed in the Islamic republic.

A newspaper for migrants in New Zealand encouraged Filipinos to donate to a fund for victims of super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines. However, Filipino Migrant News made a list of preferred agencies that excluded government institutions.

Chaos marked the Monday meeting of the Toronto city council as the Ford brothers engaged the crowd in a shouting match. The verbal battle was preceded by the filming of the public gallery which those present objected to.

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and the country’s Defence Minister Senator David Johnston will be travelling to the United States to attend the 2013 Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) to be held in Washington on Nov 20. The ministerial consultation will be hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel. Through the discussions, both sides are seeking to bring about renewed focus on their shared strategic concerns in the...

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is trading back below USD0.9400 this morning after a fairly subdued session overnight.