POLITICS & POLICY

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.

Social Media sites in Indonesia reek with anti-Australian comments as a result of Australia spying activities on Indonesian President Yudhoyono’s

National Security Administration whistle blower Edward Snowden claimed that Australia's intelligence agency had tried to spy for 15 days in August 2009 on the personal phone calls of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Australia and Sri Lanka agreed to expand cooperation between their naval forces in an effort to crack down on the people smuggling trade. A deal to this effect was reached after talks between Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse when they met on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo.

Eco-activists has proven here is nothing like a common cause to unite people in making their governments to stand up and take pride.

In one of the largest global investigation of its kind, 65 Australian nationals among 339 other suspects have been arrested worldwide by law enforcement agencies as they cracked down on an international child exploitation Web site operating from Canada. The three-year long investigation saved 6 Australian children among 386 others worldwide from exploitation.

Australia appeared sympathetic towards Sri Lanka, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott praising the Sri Lankan government’s effort to bring about reconciliation after the country’s three decade-long civil war against separatist Tamils. The Australian prime minister was speaking as he handed over the chairmanship of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to Sri Lanka.

Despite the rain, tens of thousands of Australians attended climate change rallies across the country to urge Prime Minister Tony Abbott to retain the carbon tax. The Australian Labour Party and Greens politicians, together with environmental groups and volunteer firefighters took turns to criticise the Coalition government at the Climate Action Day, one of the largest rallies in support of climate change action.

An Australian man was shot dead on Sunday, by suspected robbers, some of them in police uniform, in the upmarket Runda estate of Nairobi, Kenya. The man identified as Patrick John Richer, 39, was the creative director of an international advertising agency and had been working in Africa for about a decade. He along with his Kenyan wife, Lesili Richer had moved into the house only two months back.

ABC’s Four Corner Programs revealed people smugglers are selling travel documents to asylum seekers

Global news organisation, Bloomberg, suspended a journalist, Michael Forsthye allegedly for having leaked a controversial investigative story about connections between Chinese billionaires and powerful government officials, after it was known that he leaked the news story to other outlets. Bloomberg editors were attempting to kill the story, written after a year-long investigation following fears that it would put the company's profitable monitor business at risk of being kicked out, by Chine...

Thousands of protesters from more than 130 communities all around Canada staged rallies to protest Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline project.

Leaked Snowden documents reveal that Australia had been spying on Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's

The death toll from the Category 5 super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) has breached the 2,500 maximum head count estimated by Philippine President Benigno Aquino. As of 6am local time on Monday, Philippine authorities said the official number of the dead has been counted at 3,976 people.

Despite the official death count released by the Philippines' National Disaster and Relief Coordinating Council, local reporters in Samar, Leyte have allegedly caught government officials deliberately hiding the real number of deaths caused by Typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda.

A Filipino journalist criticises Philippine President Aquino on his administration's relief response to typhoon Haiyan victims in an article in The Daily Tribune.

The son of deposed Philippine dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr, upon arriving in Tacloban, Philippines, said Haiyan (Yolanda) survivors "have nothing".

An aid worker in the Philippines claims that Philippine Officials are distributing relief goods based on voting patterns after Haiyan (Yolanda) hit two provinces in the Southeast Asian nation.

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) caused major damage in Eastern Samar, Philippines according to reports. Relief worker, Primo Morillo, who is currently in the area said that the residents are doing their best to cope but that supplies in the islands are running out.

The Philippine government has launched on Sunday a Web site which contains the details of the international aid the country has been receiving for the victims and survivors of super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

Kris Aquino, the loquacious sister of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, has lamented the slow delivery of relief goods to victims of super typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

James Bond is known for being calm and liking his Martini "shaken not stirred" but while the coolest spy in the history of espionage movies is British, some British spies are not as lucky as James Bond.

Australia’s Treasurer Joe Hockey on Thursday warned of 'massive cuts' if Labor continues to blocks debt increase in the Senate. The present Aus$ 300 billion ceiling will be breached on Dec 12 and the Coalition minister warns a US-style shutdown is a distinct possibility if the opposition Labor does not agree to lift the nation’s debt ceiling to Aus$ 500 billon.

CNN Reporter Anderson Cooper from Tacloban, Philippines took to Twitter Friday when he saw the "extraordinary" strength shown by Filipinos on the ground even after the Haiyan relief was delayed for six days.