Sunny Peter

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

Early news reports across the world, after Typhoon Haiyan 'Yolanda' struck the Philippines; put the estimated death toll at 10,000 with over 660,000 displaced. Considering the devastation caused by the typhoon, the figure seemed plausible. Now, it turns out that the actually death toll is far less, still bad enough and the official, who released the wild estimate of death toll has been sacked.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously approved the extension of the African Union (AU) deployment of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) until Oct. 31, 2014. The UNSC has requested the AU expand AMISOM's force strength from 17,731 to a maximum of 22,126 uniformed personnel.

An Egyptian court ruling Tuesday, announcing the country's 3-month-old state of emergency, two days earlier than scheduled, has fuelled worries of renewed protests by supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

A Francis Bacon painting of his friend and fellow artist Lucian Freud became the most expensive artwork ever sold at an auction.

Even as China works its way up as a market oriented economy, a widely held belief is that China’s judicial system is failing in its role as an independent and impartial arbitrator of the rule of law. With the judiciary playing an increasingly important role in driving a market economy, it is now being widely accepted in China that the judicial reforms; aimed at creating a fair, efficient and predictable dispute settlement and criminal justice system are a must.

In a major policy shift influenced by the ongoing nuclear talks with Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu forced Housing Minister Uri Ariel to scrap plans for a "record" 20,000 Jewish settlement homes in the West Bank.

About two decades ago, the residents of Homs, a city in Western Syria could not imagine burying their dead in the al-Kateeb cemetery. A few remaining places in the cemetery grounds were reserved then for the region’s most prominent personalities. They were the lucky ones who had the rare honour of sharing the burial ground with companions of the Prophet Mohammed, laid to rest there centuries earlier. But the rare honour of burial at the most revered Muslim cemetery in the city was acceded to 12...

At least for those following the American-style of putting month before date, 11/12/13 was a day of hope and wishes. As messages wishing "Happy 11/12/13!" popped up across the social media Tuesday, with people calling on each other to make a wish at 14:15 (and 16 seconds) to make it more precise.

As aid workers laboured round-the-clock to get food, clean water, shelter and basic medicines to the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, the United Nations (UN) Tuesday made a worldwide appeal for nearly $301 million funding to provide humanitarian assistance for the Philippines. The flash appeal for financial aid was launched by UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos after surveying the damage caused over the weekend by Typhoon Haiyan as it ripped thought nine regions in south-east Asia.

The 30 Greenpeace activists arrested by Russian authorities over a protest against its Arctic oil drilling were shifted from the northern city of Murmansk to pre-trial detention centers in St. Petersburg Monday.

Even as talks in Geneva failed to arrive at an agreement on restraining Iran's nuclear program, the country has signed a joint statement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreeing to strengthen cooperation and dialogue to ensure the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program.

Even in times of economic well-being, nearly 600,000 or 17.3 per cent of Australia’s children continue to live in poverty, says a updated report released by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). As the new session of Parliament opens on Tuesday, the UNICEF and child rights activists called on the government to accord top priority to tacking the issue of child poverty.

Even as several other rebel groups declared their opposition to the Geneva talks on Syria, the main Western-backed Syrian National Coalition declared their conditional decision to participate in the international discussions on finding a way to end the two-and-half-year-old civil war.

Facing a major cash crunch, the United Nations agency working among Palestinian refugees has warned that its operation could come to a standstill. Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi, chief of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, has appeals to both traditional and new donors to step up support to help the agency sustain its operations.

A German court has ruled that tantric massage delivers sexual pleasure and should be subjected to the same tax levy as brothels and swinger clubs. A court in the southwestern German city of Stuttgart on Thursday rejected the studio owner’s argument that although Tantric massages involved the genital area, its aim was to provide holistic well-being and self-awareness.

South Korea on Monday rejected North Korea's claim that it had arrested a South Korean citizen on spying charges and demanded that Pyongyang reveal the arrested man's identity. North Korea had on Thursday said that it has arrested a South Korean spy for using "dishonest elements" for a mission seeking to destabilize the country's social system. Media reports had said that the arrested man was a missionary.