The man accused of killing British backpacker Grace Millane was jeered as he appeared in a packed Auckland court. Ms Millane (22) died while travelling in New Zealand and her body was found in bushland on Sunday afternoon, about 30 feet from a highway outside the New Zealand city. The 26-year-old accused, who cannot be […]

MELBOURNE, Australia — Asylum seekers who attempted to reach Australia by boat but were instead detained in offshore camps are suing the government, claiming that they have been subjected to “torture” and “crimes against humanity.” In two class action lawsuits filed in the country’s High Court on Friday, about 1,200 migrants detained on the islands […]

SYDNEY, Australia — Almost 30 years to the day after a gay mathematician from the United States was forced off a Sydney cliff in a hate crime, the police on Sunday announced a reward of 1 million Australian dollars for information leading to the perpetrators. The mathematician, Scott Johnson, was a 27-year-old doctoral student at […]

The killing of criminal lawyer Joseph “Pino” Acquaro in Melbourne sheds light on the hidden machinations of the ‘Ndrangheta, says Australian crime writer Adam Shand. Liborio Benvenuto, who died in 1988, was the last of the old-time Australian godfathers. He understood his power but also its limits. His protege Joseph “Pino” Acquaro, who was murdered […]

A New Zealand woman has unsuccessfully argued that she was a victim of racial discrimination after being labelled a “Kiwi” by her colleagues in Australia. Julie Savage said she was disrespected when her boss and co-workers referred to her as “Kiwi” instead of her name. However an Australian tribunal ruled that she had not suffered […]

Thousands of Australian school students have urged greater action on climate change in protests across the country. The students skipped school on Friday to highlight what they say are inadequate climate policies by the Australian government. On Monday, Australian PM Scott Morrison rebuked their plans for “activism” during school hours and insisted his government was […]

MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian basketball association that runs tournaments for teenagers from the country’s South Sudanese community said that xenophobic attitudes had forced it to cancel its annual December tournament. The South Sudanese Australian National Basketball Association has been a pipeline for athletes who go on to play in colleges in the United States […]

Thousands of Australians have been told to evacuate their homes as a powerful bushfire threatens properties in Queensland. It follows the raising of the state’s fire danger warning to “catastrophic” – the highest level – for the first time. More than 130 bushfires are burning across Queensland, fuelled by strong winds, a heatwave and dry […]

A small plane overshot its destination in Australia by almost 50km (30 miles) after its pilot fell asleep in the cockpit, air safety officials say. The pilot was the only person on board the freight flight from Devonport to King Island in Tasmania on 8 November. The incident, classified as a case of “incapacitation”, is […]

A modified Boeing 737 has been used to fight a wildfire for the first time, Australian authorities say. The former passenger jet was deployed as a water-bombing aircraft in New South Wales on Thursday and Friday. It can carry more than 15,000 litres (4,000 gallons) of water and fire retardant – a large amount, though […]