Indonesia said on Monday that Australia would be excluded from a list of 45 countries to be offered visa-free travel amid heightened tensions between the countries over the imminent execution of two convicted Australian drug traffickers. Tourism Minister Arif Yahya told reporters the government would next month start waiving visas for citizens of several Asian and European countries and then ...

Australia detailed on Monday how it will ban dumping of all dredge soil in the Great Barrier Reef as it looks to step up protection of the world’s largest reef and avoid having it listed by UNESCO as “in danger”. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee is due to decide in June whether to put the reef on its “in danger” list ...

Incompetent, an international embarrassment and a fool: these are just a selection of the words chosen by western Sydney voters to describe how they feel about Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Focus groups conducted exclusively for Fairfax Media last week reveal the depth of dissatisfaction with Mr Abbott among a key bloc of NSW voters just a fortnight before they go ...

An Australian man has reportedly been arrested in Lebanon over suspected terror links. The Lebanese born man arrived in the country a month ago and was arrested on Sunday night by military intelligence in an apartment in the town of Dahr al-Ain, Lebanon’s Daily Star newspaper reported. A security source told the newspaper the man was from Tripoli, a hotbed ...

In a battle of the co-hosts of the 2015 Cricket World Cup — and also, along with India, the two most impressive teams thus far — New Zealand defeated Australia by one wicket before more than 40,000 fans in Auckland, New Zealand on Friday night. The match featured some incredible bowling, the cricket equivalent of baseball pitching. To wit: Out of a ...

Two men armed with guns held up a 7-Eleven store on Stacey Street, Bankstown, about 1:30am. “Early investigations suggest two men, one armed with a shotgun, the other with a pistol, entered the store wearing hoodies and dark clothing,” a NSW Police statement said. One of the men shot at the front counter as the pair walked into the shop, ...

Joanna Heath and Adam Rollason Tony Abbott took to the stage at the National Press Club on Monday to effectively plead the case for him to remain as Prime Minister, as the Coalition reels after the weekend’s shock election result in Queensland. Here’s how the event unfolded. 1.34pm: Meanwhile, Phillip Coorey, who’s at the NPC, notes that Nationals Leader Warren Truss is also ...

Education minister and Leader of the House Christopher Pyne has been unable to confirm Prime Minister Tony Abbott has the numbers to retain the Liberal leadership if the party goes to a ballot on Tuesday. Mr Pyne appeared on TODAY this morning to address reports of a possible leadership spill following Mr Abbott’s plunging popularity in the polls but only ...

by: Natalie O’Brien A video produced by the controversial Islamic group Hitzb ut-Tahrir after a public rally in Sydney last year following Israel’s bombing of the Gaza strip, has been condemned as promoting hate speech and inciting hatred against Jews. The video, which has been posted on YouTube, features the head of the organisation Ismail Al Wahwah saying “where Jews thrive ...

By: Vic Alhadeff IMAGINE if a religious leader stood on the streets of Sydney and openly called for the murder of people of another faith. It happened recently, and barely a word of condemnation was heard. Yet such was the unrestrained venom and hatred that spewed from the speaker it is not ­beyond the realms of possibility it has inspired ...