POLITICS & POLICY

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.

Super typhoon Haiyan has effectively roused to action not only the Filipinos, but the rest of the world as well. Since the monster typhoon wrecked the central region of the Philippines on Friday, many citizens have been asking why the government isn’t doing more. As it turned out, there are politicians who have been doing a lot more to help, such as branding donations with their names.

If talks of Iran’s, nuclear programme fail, fears are that it could lead to a global nuclear confrontation involving the U.S., Russia and China. With the plausible use of nuclear arsenals, it could lead to an imminent doomsday catastrophe.

A week after super typhoon Haiyan, locally known as Yolanda, made landfall in the Philippines, masses of residents from affected areas are now getting out of ground zero.

Philippines was not only devastated by super typhoon Haiyan, but also with international criticism and scrutiny from its very own people

Google India's efforts to publicise the power of its search functionality has stuck an emotional chord among Indian and Pakistani YouTube viewers. The advertisement that narrates the story of two old friends separated in 1947 coming together, thanks for the powerful search and social connect options that Google provides, was first posted on Nov 13. The advertisement has since gone viral and grossed 986,248 views on last count, along with innumerable Facebook posts and tweets.

New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser is attempting to downplay the issues plaguing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks after WikiLeaks revealed a controversial chapter and an obstacle to get a U.S. deal passed by Congress without problems. The TPP leak highlighted the gulf growing between the U.S. and New Zealand including 11 other nations. Copyright, medicines and parallel importing were among the hotly debated issues.

The Philippine Government led by Benigno Aquino III is now on defensive after CNN News Reporter Anderson Cooper reportedly said, "There's no leader, there is no government, there is no civil defense in the Philippines." However, Cooper, in his follow up reports, clarified he said there was no organized efforts, but he didn't say there was no leadership or government presence.