Asian markets weighed by US fiscal cliff

ASIAN markets fell in New Year's Eve-shortened trade as hopes that US lawmakers will reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff faded just a day before a deadline. However on Monday there was some bright news out of China, where a survey by HSBC showed...

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Over it - banish the term fiscal cliff

SPOILER alert: This story contains words and phrases that some people want to ban from the English language. 'Spoiler alert' is among them. So are 'kick the can down the road,' 'trending' and 'bucket list'. A dirty dozen have landed on the 38th...

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Sydney's firework go off with a roar

Sydney's lord mayor says the city is spending $6.6 million on its New Year's Eve event. Source: AAP SYDNEY'S skyline has exploded in gold, pink, green and blue as part of the traditional New Year's Eve family-oriented curtain raiser. The...

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Syrian troops hit Homs, kill 23 children

SYRIAN regime forces have pressed a fierce offensive in Homs after overrunning a key neighbourhood of the central city, according to a watchdog, which also listed 23 children killed in violence across the country. The latest bloodletting on Sunday...

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East Timor hailed a UN success

TROOPS sent by Australia and New Zealand have all gone home and only a handful of United Nations police will be left when the UN flag comes down in East Timor's capital of Dili after six years. "As of Monday, the liquidation team will be there....

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Paper to publish comic book on Mohammed

A FRENCH weekly known for publishing cartoons of Prophet Mohammed to the ire of conservative Muslims says it plans to release a comic book biography of Islam's founder that will be researched and educational. Satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo...

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Madonna builds ten schools in Malawi

Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity has announced. Source: AAP FORMER Material Girl Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity announced. Two years after abandoning a $US15...

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Second man charged for Christmas murder

A second man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane. Source: AAP A SECOND man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane. Police said a 31-year-old man from Kippa...

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Man drowns at NSW Central Coast beach

A MAN has drowned at a beach on the NSW Central Coast after getting caught in a rip. Police say the 27-year-old man was one of six people swimming at Budgewoi beach when four members of the group got into trouble because of strong currents at...

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Madonna builds ten schools in Malawi

Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity has announced. Source: AAP FORMER Material Girl Madonna has built 10 primary schools in Malawi during 2012, her charity announced. Two years after abandoning a $US15...

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Second man charged for Christmas murder

A second man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane. Source: AAP A SECOND man has been charged following the Christmas Day murder of a man north of Brisbane. Police said a 31-year-old man from Kippa...

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Man drowns at NSW Central Coast beach

A MAN has drowned at a beach on the NSW Central Coast after getting caught in a rip. Police say the 27-year-old man was one of six people swimming at Budgewoi beach when four members of the group got into trouble because of strong currents at...

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Japan whaling fleet leaves for Antarctica

Japan's whaling fleet has left port for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt. Source: AAP JAPANESE whaling vessels have left port bound for the Southern Ocean on their annual hunt of the marine mammals, a media report and Greenpeace say....

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Apple must pay on copyright: Chinese court

A Chinese court has ordered Apple to pay 1.03 million yuan ($A159,740) to eight Chinese writers. Source: AAP A CHINESE court has ordered Apple Inc to pay 1.03 million yuan ($A159,740) to eight Chinese writers and two companies who say unlicensed...

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US teachers bear arms to protect students

US teachers are flocking to gun training as states consider allowing educators to carry weapons. Source: AAP SEVERAL US states are considering allowing school teachers to carry weapons and educators, determined not to allow a repeat of the...

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Asian shares rise amid US fiscal concerns

ASIAN shares have risen, with Tokyo scaling a 21-month high thanks to a weaker yen, but pessimism lingers over the prospects of a US "fiscal cliff" deal by the year-end deadline. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index on Thursday climbed 0.91 per...

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4 Afghan police killed with 'insider' help

FOUR Afghan policemen have been killed and two wounded in an insurgent attack assisted by an insider loyal to the Taliban, officials say. Attackers stormed the police post at Tarin Kowt, a remote district in the southern province of Oruzgan,...

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UN peace envoy urges real change in Syria

Envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is seeking help from Russia to get the warring parties to negotiate. Source: AAP INTERNATIONAL envoy Lakhdar Brahimi has called for "real change" in war-torn Syria including a transitional government with full...

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Russian ban on US adoption nears approval

RUSSIA'S upper house of parliament is set to vote on a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, the final legislative hurdle requiring clearance before the controversial law is sent to President Vladimir Putin for signing. The highly...

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Girls taken in 'domestic incident': Police

POLICE do not hold concerns for the safety of two young girls who were feared to have been abducted from Alexandra Hills this afternoon. A police spokeswoman said it is now being treated as a domestic incident and it's believed the girls were taken...

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Egypt's Morsi signs new charter into law

EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi has signed into law a new constitution voted in despite weeks of opposition protests, but he was left facing an economic crisis and international disquiet over his rule. The Islamist-dominated senate convened on...

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Russian ban on US adoption nears approval

RUSSIA'S upper house of parliament is set to vote on a bill barring Americans from adopting Russian children, the final legislative hurdle requiring clearance before the controversial law is sent to President Vladimir Putin for signing. The highly...

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Girls taken in 'domestic incident': Police

POLICE do not hold concerns for the safety of two young girls who were feared to have been abducted from Alexandra Hills this afternoon. A police spokeswoman said it is now being treated as a domestic incident and it's believed the girls were taken...

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Egypt's Morsi signs new charter into law

EGYPTIAN President Mohamed Morsi has signed into law a new constitution voted in despite weeks of opposition protests, but he was left facing an economic crisis and international disquiet over his rule. The Islamist-dominated senate convened on...

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Weak yen gives Tokyo a Christmas boost

TOKYO stocks have closed 1.41 per cent higher as a weak yen helped boost the market which surged last week following a return to power for the country's conservatives. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 140.06 points to 10,080.12, while the...

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Taxi driver dies in Victoria crash

The national holiday road toll has risen to eight, after a man died from a collision in Victoria. Source: AAP VICTORIA'S holiday road toll has climbed to five following the death of a taxi driver in a crash in Geelong. Investigators believe...

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Toll rises to 10 as Vic taxi driver dies

THE national Christmas holiday road toll has risen to 10 with the death of a taxi driver in Victoria. Police believe a Holden Commodore was travelling east on Ballarat Road in the Geelong suburb of Hamlyn Heights when it crashed into a stationary...

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US yachtsman rescued after 8 days adrift

VIETNAMESE fishermen have rescued an American man who had been drifting at sea for eight days on a disabled yacht. Coastguard official Vo Hoang Liet said on Monday that Kenneth Putney of Melbourne, Florida, was in good health after being rescued...

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Afghan policewoman kills US adviser

AN Afghan policewoman has shot and killed an American adviser outside the police headquarters in Kabul. The woman, identified as Afghan police Sergeant Nargas, had entered a strategic compound in the heart of the capital and shot the adviser...

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Syria peace envoy Brahimi meets Assad

UN-ARAB League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi says he hopes all parties will reach agreement to end the "worrying" situation in Syria. After holding talks in Damascus with President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, he said: "I had the honour to meet...

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Aussies warned about Phuket scamsters

AUSTRALIAN tourists in Phuket should be wary of extortion gangs, some of which are in cahoots with local police. Australian Ambassador James Wise and his British counterpart, Mark Kent, have joined a Thai Ministry of Tourism campaign to tackle...

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Afghanistan Taliban pair pledge tolerance

Taliban have held talks with Afghan government officials at a landmark meeting in France. Source: AAP TWO senior Taliban representatives have pledged to accept a multiparty political system and respect women's rights in future post-war governments....

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Muslims reject anti-Christmas message

MUSLIM leaders have been quick to reject an anti-Christmas message posted on the Lakemba Mosque Facebook page, saying it gives people the wrong impression. The Lakemba Mosque Facebook page became the target of angry responses on Sunday, after...

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The original Wiggles woo Carols crowd

THOUSANDS of arms and legs waved and flailed at Sydney's Carols in the Domain, as the original members of The Wiggles celebrated their last carols bonanza. More than 50,000 people packed into the Domain on Saturday, as the popular annual event...

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Govt approves The Block redevelopment

The government has granted planning approval for the redevelopment of The Block in Redfern. Source: AAP THE redevelopment of The Block in the Sydney suburb of Redfern is one step closer after the state government granted planning approval....

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Fire warning for WA's Pilbara

WA emergency crews are warning residents in the state's Pilbara region to brace for severe fire danger, with the day set to bring a mid-40C scorcher. The 6000-strong inland residents of the region's Shire of Ashburton face hot, dry, windy conditions...

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Remains of missing Victorian man found

HUMAN remains have been uncovered in a search of a Bellarine Peninsula backyard connected to the suspicious disappearance of father-of-five Douglas Kally. Homicide Squad detectives, who earlier on Friday arrested and interviewed a 43-year-old...

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Call for royal commission into Customs

IF Australian Customs officials are found to have been corrupt, the government has "no option" but to hold a commission of inquiry or a royal commission into the matter, a former police officer says. Ross Fusca, a former Australian Federal Police...

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N Korea confirms arrest of US citizen

NORTH Korea has confirmed it arrested a US citizen in November, saying he had admitted to unspecified charges and suggesting he would be formally prosecuted. The man, identified as Pae Jun-Ho, entered North Korea on November 3 as a tourist, and...

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UN Rwanda court jails ex-minister

THE UN tribunal for Rwanda has handed a 35-year jail term to a former minister found guilty of genocide, in the court's final trial ruling. Augustin Ngirabatware, planning minister at the time of the 1994 genocide, was found guilty of genocide,...

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Jobs, growth are govt's priorities: Wong

FINANCE Minister Penny Wong says the government's focus is on jobs and economic growth after Treasurer Wayne Swan revealed a budget surplus is unlikely for 2012/13. Mr Swan on Thursday said he'd rather ditch the surplus than tighten fiscal policy...

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Asian markets mixed, yen up

ASIAN markets mostly rose on Thursday following big gains in the previous session but investors are growing nervous that US leaders have still not agreed a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. The yen slipped a tad against the euro and dollar after...

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Malaysia provides refuge for 'Rohingyas'

MALAYSIA has provided refuge to 40 shipwreck survivors believed to be refugees from Myanmar's conflict-wracked Rakhine state, a Malaysian maritime official says. The refugees arrived late on Tuesday in the southern state of Johor after they...

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French judges keep Strauss-Kahn charges

French judges have decided not to drop aggravated pimping charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Source: AAP FRENCH judges have decided not to drop aggravated pimping charges against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. His lawyer says the former...

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High turnout in S Korea presidential vote

HUGE crowds have voted in a tight presidential race pitting the son of North Korean refugees against the conservative daughter of an assassinated dictator, who both favour greater engagement with Pyongyang. Despite freezing temperatures that hovered...

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Hong Kong stocks end flat

HONG Kong shares have finished flat as an afternoon sell-off wiped out earlier gains despite growing hopes of a deal in Washington to avert the US fiscal cliff. The benchmark Hang Seng Index on Tuesday eased 18.88 points to close at 22,494.73...

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