By Phil Mercer Sydney 07 April 2008 Australia's spy agency has been brought in to help combat a rise in the number of so-called laser attacks on aircraft landing at the country's busiest airport in Sydney. Pilots say they are being hit with laser lig...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 15 February 2008 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says rogue elements will not be allowed to derail democracy in East Timor. Mr. Rudd is visiting the country following this week's assassination attempts on the country's pres...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 12 February 2008 Australia is preparing to issue its first formal apology for past mistreatment of the country's Aboriginal people. The declaration by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will be the first act of the new government when th...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 21 January 2008 Australia's wool industry faces a chronic lack of sheep shearers. They are being lured to better paid jobs in the booming mining sector, just as demand from China, which buys about 60 percent of Australian wool,...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 14 November 2007 Both major parties in Australia's federal election officially launched their campaigns this week. The government of conservative Prime Minister John Howard is promising voters massive tax cuts if it wins the Nov...
By Phil Mercer 07 November 2007 Researchers have uncovered a language used by migrating whales off the Australian coast. Thousands of hours of humpback whale sounds recorded off Queensland have revealed a vast repertoire of social sounds. From Sydney...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 18 October 2007 Australians will go to the polls on November 24. The country's conservative Prime Minister John Howard is campaigning for re-election on the back of a strong economy and a promise of a decisive hand on matters of...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 20 August 2007 A fashion parade to promote understanding of Islamic dress for women has opened in Australia's biggest city, Sydney. Its aim is to challenge the hostile and ill-informed views many non-Muslims have about Islam. Fr...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 26 July 2007 Australia's Muslims want to move away from the practice of importing imams. Most senior clerics here were born in the Middle East - some do not speak English and are seen as out of touch with modern Australia. Many...
By Phil Mercer Sydney 03 July 2007 Queensland Premier Peter Beatty speaks at a press conference in Brisbane, 03 July 2007 Australian police are interviewing two men in connection with a plot to detonate car bombs in Britain and have detained one of t...