TOP STORIES

Burma's President Thein Sein greets US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her visit to Burma. [ABC]

US continues sanctions against Burma

Last Updated: Fri, 18 May 2012 06:30:00 +1000

The United States has maintained the majority of its sanctions against Burma for another year.

American Samoa's congressman is calling for a review of the status of the territory. [AFP: Torsten Blackwood]

Call for more autonomous American Samoa

Last Updated: Fri, 18 May 2012 06:45:00 +1000

The US Congressman representing American Samoa, Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin says it's time for the territory to look at options for becoming more autonomous.

Limbless swimmer Philippe Croizon has swum from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia. [ABC]

Frenchman swims from PNG to Indonesia

Last Updated: Fri, 18 May 2012 06:54:00 +1000

A Frenchman who lost his limbs in an electrical accident has braved strong winds and currents to swim from Papua New Guinea to Indonesia in the first stretch of a mission to swim between five continents.

Ratko Mladic is accused of orchestrating the killings of thousands of Bosnian Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica in 1995. [AFP: Toussaint Kluiters]

Mladic war crimes trial suspended

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 23:13:00 +1000

The war crimes trial of Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic has been suspended indefinitely because the prosecution failed to disclose thousands of important documents.

Chen Guangcheng with US embassy officials when he feld to the US embassy from house arrest. [ABC]

Activist Chen to get Chinese passport

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 22:59:00 +1000

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng says China has agreed to give him a passport within 15 days, allowing him to go to the United States.

Australia plans to withdraw the majority of Australian soldiers from Afghanistan by the end of 2013. [Department of Defence]

Afghan gunmen storm governor's office

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 23:31:00 +1000

Gunmen dressed in Afghan police uniforms and wearing suicide vests have stormed a government compound, killing seven people and wounding 12 others.

China and the Philippines have been locked in a territorial stand-off over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea for more than a month. [AFP]

US submarine may stoke China Sea tensions: activists

Last Updated: Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 +1000

Philippines defence officials say the arrival of a US submarine in Manila has nothing to do with an increasingly tense territorial dispute with China.

Doubts raised over Cambodian teen shooting

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 22:30:00 +1000

There are conflicting accounts of how a teenage girl was shot by Cambodian security forces as they stormed an area involved in a land dispute on Wednesday.

Malaysian police officers escort Singaporean Lim Hung Wang (2nd L), Malaysian Lee Boon Siah (2nd R) along with Mexican brothers (back row) Luis Alfonso Gonzalez Villarreal (L), Jose Regino Gonzalez Villarreal (C) and Simon Gonzalez Villarreal towards the court room in Kuala Lumpur. [AFP]

Mexican brothers face death sentence in Malaysia

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 20:22:00 +1000

Three Mexican brothers have been sentenced to death after being found guilty of drug trafficking in Malaysia.

Vanuatu's Prime Minister Sato Kilman addresses the 66th United Nations General Assembly. Australian Federal Police officers were expelled from Vanuatu after he claimed he was treated disrespectfully during a visit to Australia. [REUTERS]

Australia and Vanuatu trying to resolve diplomatic row

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:29:00 +1000

The Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Australia and Vanuatu are trying to resolve a dispute which saw 12 Australian Federal Police officers expelled from country.

The Australian ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty says a transfer of prisoner arrangement with Indonesia would take some time to negotiate.[ABC]

Indonesia prisoner transfer arrangement looking more likely

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 22:03:00 +1000

Australia's ambassador to Indonesia says it's important a prisoner transfer arrangement between the two nations is done correctly.

East Timor's president-elect Taur Matan Ruak. [Newsline]

East Timor ready for generational change: President-elect

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 08:43:00 +1000

East Timor's new president says the 10th anniversary of his country's independence from Indonesia is a time for generational change.

The Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand. Tourism operators say Australia's tax hike will affect businesses and jobs in both economies. [edwin.11: Flickr]

Tourism groups slam Australia's departure tax hike

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 20:53:00 +1000

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key will meet with his Australian counterpart Julia Gillard over the planned rise in Australia's departure tax.

Greece will hold fresh elections on June 17. [Reuters]

Greeks withdraw money amid euro exit fears

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 21:03:00 +1000

Many Greeks are withdrawing their savings from the country's banks amid fears that Greece could withdraw from the eurozone.

Chinese boats seized by North Koreans: reports

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:23:00 +1000

North Korean officials have reportedly demanded payment for the release of 29 Chinese fishermen kidnapped in waters between China and North Korea.

Prison release for three people smugglers, possibly minors

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 18:53:00 +1000

The Australian Government says three Indonesian nationals convicted of people smuggling, who claim they were minors at the time they were caught, will be released from prison.

Police cancel gay pride march in Fiji

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 19:27:00 +1000

Gay rights activists in Suva are angry at Fijian police for cancelling a pride march.

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr says the Cocos Islands are a potential strategic asset. [AAP: Alan Porritt]

Cocos Island defence facilities proposal would involve consultations

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 17:33:00 +1000

Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr says any prospect of developing defence facilities on the Cocos Island is long-term and would involve consultation with Australia's regional allies.

North Korea launched a rocket on April 13 which disintegrated minutes after blast-off. [ABC]

Envoys to discuss failed North Korea rocket launch

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 17:00:00 +1000

South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold high-level talks in Seoul next week about the failed long-range rocket launch by the North in April.

Threats to Australian embassy in Pakistan: police

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 06:34:00 +1000

Pakistani officials say several Western embassies, including Australia's in Islamabad, have received letters containing suspicious powder and threats to poison NATO soldiers in Afghanistan.

Three of The Wiggles' founding members to retire

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 20:06:00 +1000

Internationally renowned Australian children entertainers The Wiggles has announced three of its founding members are hanging up their skivvies.

A tuberculosis patient in Port Moresby General Hospital. [AFP]

Floating ambulance to help PNG fight TB

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 16:35:00 +1000

Australia has helped Papua New Guinea take a major step towards tackling drug-resistant tuberculosis in the country's remote west.

Francois Hollande is France's first Socialist president in 17 years. [AFP: Fred Dufour]

Hollande unveils new French Government

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 08:58:00 +1000

French president Francois Hollande has unveiled a government made up mainly of moderate Socialists and long-time allies.

Greens Leader Christine Milne says Australia needs a national anti-corruption body. [ABC]

Australian Greens call for anti-corruption body

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 12:21:00 +1000

The Greens say public confidence in Australia's Parliament is so low it will move to set up a national anti-corruption organisation.

New Zealand's Tomasi Cama is chased by England's James Rodwell during their final match at the IRB Glasgow Sevens rugby tournament. The IRB was pleased with support for Rugby Sevens matches in China. [ABC]

Rugby board signs key China deal

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 14:21:00 +1000

Rugby Union is the latest sport looking to expand into China.

Australia Defence Force personnel in Solomon Islands. [Australian Defence Force]

RAMSI can be a model for the world, says Marles

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 09:04:00 +1000

Australia's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign and Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles, says the RAMSI mission in Solomon Islands can be used as a global model for foreign interventions.

Syria's President, Bashar al Assad, has claimed vindication for his government's reform policies.

Polls vindicate my reforms: Assad

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 08:39:00 +1000

Syria's President, Bashar al Assad, says the recent parliamentary elections have vindicated his government's reform policies.

The Western Australian Government is reviewing the future of Broome prison.

Australian state considers 'Indonesian-only' prison

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 00:13:00 +1000

The government in Western Australia is considering converting a prison in the state's Kimberley region into a facility that would only accommodate Indonesian offenders.

A US Apache helicopter accidently dropped an inactive missile over Texas. [AFP]

US army helicopter accidentally drops missile over Texas

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 11:29:00 +1000

A US Army Apache helicopter has accidentally dropped an inactive missile over the US state of Texas, forcing dozens of homes to be evacuated.

Manny Pacquiao has been criticised for comments he is alleged to have made about gay marriage. [ABC]

Filipino boxing star denies homophobia accusation

Last Updated: Thu, 17 May 2012 10:42:00 +1000

Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has denied being homophobic, after he was banned from a Los Angeles shopping complex for comments about gay marriage.