Australian captain Michael Clarke on Tuesday said that it will be tough to beat South Africa in their own backyard. Australia are scheduled to play two Twenty20 Internationals, three One-day and two Test matches against South Africa starting October 13.

Qantas warned on Monday of fresh disruption after 4,000 ground staff announced their second strike in as many weeks, hitting thousands of travellers on one of Australia's busiest weekends of the year.

The commodities-linked Australian dollar on Thursday slumped below parity with the greenback for only the third time since October due to disappointment at the US Fed’s new plan to support its economy.

Australia's conservative opposition on Sunday warned it would almost certainly knock back laws vital to the government's salvaging of its Malaysia refugee swap deal.

Opposition spokesman Greg Hunt sa

Australia brought in new passport rules Thursday allowing citizens to nominate their official gender as male, female or indeterminate, without having to undergo surgery as proof of a sex change.

Canb

Australian carrier Qantas said it was readying contingency plans Wednesday after 3,800 baggage handlers, ground staff and other employees announced a four-hour walkout next week.

The national strike

Australia's jobless rate unexpectedly rose on Thursday to 5.3 per cent, its highest level in almost a year, as the mining-powered economy showed signs of flagging.

A man who marched into a Sydney law office with his daughter and said he had a bomb in his backpack was taken into custody on Tuesday after a tense, 12-hour standoff with police.

The man's 12-year-ol

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit off the coast of the South Pacific island of Vanuatu on Sunday, the US Geological Survey said, but there was no tsunami warning issued.

The quake struck just before 10

A shark killed an Australian bodyboarder on Sunday after snatching him from a group of friends and savaging him so badly the lower half of his body was torn away, police said.

The man, aged in his ea