Convicted pedophile Cardinal George Pell had his appeal against child sex abuse charges rejected by an Australian court on Wednesday. Once the Vatican's third-ranking official, 78-year-old Pell was sentenced this year to six years in jail for sexually assaulting two 13-year-old choirboys at a Melbourne cathedral in the 1990s.
A giant manta ray with several fishing hooks caught below its eye appeared to ask two nearby divers for help in removing them and then waited patiently for them to do so.
An Aboriginal settlement older than the pyramids that provides evidence that indigenous Australians developed sophisticated aquaculture thousands of years ago has been granted World Heritage status, the UN has announced.
Australia's competition regulator said on Thursday it is suing the local unit of South Korea's Samsung Electronics, alleging it misled consumers by promoting its Galaxy smartphones as water resistant.
The man accused of killing four men in a shooting spree in northern Australia while evading police for more than an hour was an ex-convict wearing a monitoring bracelet, authorities said on Wednesday, ordering an urgent review into parole procedures.
Hot, dry weather will persist across Australia's east coast for at least another three months, the country's weather bureau said on Thursday, in a forecast that threatens to severely crimp agricultural production.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is close to securing a majority government as the election's final results are being counted. His conservative coalition has defied polls and is leading with 77 seats, the Australian Electoral Commission says. Only 76 are needed for a majority.
Red-faced bank bosses in Australia admitted to an embarrassing error on Thursday, revealing their state-of-the-art A$50 note had a typo. The yellow and green note, which is worth around US$35, came into circulation last October. It has multiple security features - including microprint of a speech by Australia's first female parliamentarian, Edith Cowan.
Australia's federal government is once again in the spotlight for a years-old plan to cull 2 million feral cats by 2020, this time after details emerged about the reported use of poison-laced sausages to reduce the island's wild cat population.
Warships from India, Australia and several other nations arrived in the eastern Chinese port city of Qingdao on Sunday to attend a naval parade, part of a goodwill visit as China extends the hand of friendship despite regional tensions and suspicions.