UN says Australia has duty to take care of asylum seekers in PNG

The UN human rights office called on Australia Friday to restore food, water and health services to some 600 interned refugees and asylum seekers in Papua New Guinea, Reuters reports.

Aussie airport workers to face stricter security tests

Workers at Australia's airports, including baggage handlers, aircraft engineers and caterers, will face tougher security screenings before commencing their work, in a crackdown the government said will better protect airports from 21st-century security threats.

UN Grills Australia Over Refugees, Indigenous People

The United Nations Human Rights Committee for a second day in Geneva grilled a delegation from Australia over the country’s human rights record, slamming the government’s policies toward refugees and its indigenous population.

Police disrupt plot in Australia to 'bring down plane'

Police disrupted a "terrorist plot" to bring down a plane and arrested four men on Saturday in raids on homes in several Sydney suburbs, the prime minister said on Sunday.

Aussie terror warning to remain at "probable" in wake of Manchester terror attack: PM

Australia's terror threat level will remain at "probable," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Wednesday, despite Britain raising its threat level from "severe" to "critical" following the terrorist bombing which occurred in Manchester on Monday evening.

Facebook told it must remove hate speech postings by Austrian court

A court in Austria has ruled that Facebook must remove postings deemed as hate speech.

"Anzac Day", le jour du souvenir en Australie et en Nouvelle-Zélande

Des milliers d'Australiens et de Néo-Zélandais ont assisté mardi aux cérémonies du souvenir de la bataille de Gallipoli à l'occasion de l'"Anzac Day" et rendu hommage aux soldats engagés en Irak et en Afghanistan.

US will honor refugee deal with Australia

The vice president of the United States said in Sydney Saturday that his country will honor a refugee deal with Australia, which the US president has described as "dumb".

Australia toughens up citizenship test

Australia has unveiled plans to put "Australian values" at the heart of tougher requirements to gain citizenship, including competent English, belief in gender equality and a four-year qualification period.

Anzac Day: Australia warns of possible Gallipoli terror attack

Australia said it had received information that terrorists may be planning to attack a World War I commemoration service at Gallipoli in Turkey later in the month.

Hundreds in Sydney protest visit by Israel's Netanyahu

Several hundred pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated in Sydney on Thursday against the first visit to Australia by an Israeli prime minister, branding Benjamin Netanyahu a "war criminal" and brandishing a banner depicting him as Adolf Hitler.

Australia nominates 6,000-year-old fish trap

Australian indigenous leaders are hopeful that a system of ancient eel traps dating back 6,000 years will be listed as a world heritage.

Australia's controversial plan for "lifetime ban" on illegal asylum seekers may fail

The Australian government's controversial plan to hand down lifetime bans to all illegal asylum seekers seems set to fail, after crossbench Senators on Tuesday reaffirmed they would not support the bill in its current form.

Some Refugees Held in Australian Island Camps to Be Resettled in US

The United States has agreed to resettle an unspecified number of refugees languishing in Pacific island camps in a deal that is expected to inspire more asylum seekers to attempt to reach Australia by boat, officials said on Sunday.

German Interior Ministry Accused of Treating Refugees Like 'Contagious Disease'

The German Ministry of the Interior is planning to send migrants rescued in the Mediterranean Sea back to Africa. The officials believe that the measure will have "an effect of deterrence" as refugees will understand that the European coast cannot be reached, German newspaper Die Welt reported.

Australia plans lifetime ban for illegal asylum seekers

Asylum seekers who use people smugglers to illegally come to Australia by boat will be given a lifetime ban from entering the country, under a government plan set to be put to Parliament next week.

DNA Study Finds Aboriginal Australians are Oldest Civilization in the World

Australia has one of the longest histories of continuous human occupation outside Africa. But who exactly were the first people to settle there? Such a question has obvious political implications and has been hotly debated for decades.

Almost Half of Australians Support Ban on Muslim Immigration to Country

Twenty eight percent of respondents said that they would "strongly support" the ban, while 21 percent would "support" it, the survey by Essential Poll revealed.

Children as young as 14 to be charged as adults under new Australian counter-terror laws

Children as young as 14 years of age will be charged as adults, while convicted terrorists who serve out their sentences in prison could be kept in preventative detention, under new counter-terror laws introduced into Australian Parliament on Thursday.

Residency visas for parents of migrants to cost Australia 2.4 bn USD annually: report

Permanent visas given to parents of migrants to Australia will cost the taxpayer more than 2.4 billion US dollars annually, a report from an independent policy advisory board has found.