Australian heroin courier Renae Lawrence was released from an Indonesian prison on Wednesday, the first of the so-called Bali Nine drug smuggling ring to gain freedom after the execution of the two ring leaders strained ties between the countries. Lawrence, 41, left Bali’s Bangli prison through a doorway where prison officers had laid Hindu offerings. […]

SYDNEY, Australia — Amazon will grant Australians access to products from its main website, walking back a decision made earlier this year that angered its customers in the country. The online retailer had announced that it would redirect Australians to a local website to comply with changes to Australian tax law. That law requires online […]

How do you stop a great white shark, a creature that can grow up to six metres in length and weigh more than a tonne? It is a question that has dogged authorities in those countries where people suffer attacks by sharks (great white and others). Attacks continue to happen, and as long as they […]

A 42-year-old man has died after a suspected stingray attack off the Tasmanian coast, Australian police say. They said the man developed a cardiac arrest after “sustaining a puncture to his lower abdomen” at Lauderdale Beach. The statement said the wound was “possibly inflicted by a marine animal”. Officials told local media it was consistent […]

Does your typical morning start with a steaming hot mug of dark roasted coffee, or do you prefer the homely taste of a traditional cuppa? Whatever your predilection, your choice may depend on your genetics. Scientists at Northwestern Medicine and the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia carried out a study to investigate the […]

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — In the grand library of the Auckland War Memorial Museum on a Saturday morning in August, a small group of new and slightly nervous Wikipedia editors gathered for a day of training that would arm them to tackle New Zealand’s lackluster representation on the crowdsourced online encyclopedia. Leading the so-called Wikiblitz […]

Australia is currently searching for a saboteur (or saboteurs) amid a national scare involving the hiding of sewing needles within strawberries. In one case, a consumer who swallowed a needle had to be treated in hospital. Children and others have reported narrow escapes. Since the first cases were reported last week, authorities have also stepped […]

A man has been arrested after setting a car on fire and stabbing three people – one fatally – in central Melbourne, Australia. The attacker was shot by police after confronting officers on a busy city street, authorities said. He was taken into custody in a critical condition. The two survivors were taken to hospital […]

Surgeons in Australia have begun a complex operation to separate Bhutanese conjoined twins. The 15-month-old girls, Nima and Dawa Pelden, are joined at the torso and share a liver and possibly a bowel, doctors say. They were brought to Melbourne with their mother to have surgery in October, but it was postponed so the girls […]

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s recent announcement that he is considering recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital took many by surprise, and none more so than Indonesia, perhaps Canberra’s most crucial regional ally. Enter some unusual diplomacy to mend ties, writes Kathy Marks in Sydney. He was dumped as prime minister, relinquished his seat and insists […]