Julian Assange’s newly formed Australian WikiLeaks Party (WLP) announced that if elected, it will immediately introduce a national shield law to protect a reporter’s right not to reveal a source, as current state-based shield laws are “inadequate.” “Only a uniform shield law covering the whole Commonwealth is acceptable,” WLP spokespersons... 

In the wake of an Australian investigation into cosmetics’ brands and inaccurate information provided to consumers, Humane Society International urges companies to join forces with its global campaign Be Cruelty-Free and end animal testing. An investigation by Australian consumer watchdog group Choice appears to show representatives of major cosmetics... 

An Argentinian ghost town is re-emerging as a tourist destination after spending 25 years underwater. Epecuen’s revival as a visitor attraction is fitting – the scenic lakeside town was built as a tourist village in the 1920s. Epecuen was once a bustling lakeside resort in the farmlands southwest of Buenos Aires. Filled with saltwater baths and spas,... 

Australia says it would continue to send back illegal Sri Lankan asylum seekers if their claims are not covered by the refugee convention. “When people arrive in Australia unauthorised, any claims they make for their reasons to travel to Australia are assessed by the Department of Immigration. If these claims are not covered by the refugee convention, they... 

Nearly 40 per cent of immigrants from China gaining New Zealand permanent residence last year were aged 50 or over. The number of elderly Chinese migrants arriving in the country is nearly four times the 10.7 per cent average of permanent residents in the age group from all other countries. At the same time, those leaving the country are much younger. Sociologist... 

The boycott, divest and sanction campaign, known as the BDS campaign, is a global civil movement that strongly opposes Israel’s occupation of Palestine. It says it hopes to promote a message of impunity of Israel in its serial breaches of international law and internal humanitarian law. The BDS movement is spreading in Australia with one of the country’s... 

Julian Assange’s new political party is open for membership, WikiLeaks announced on Twitter on Saturday. The party must enlist 500 dues-paying members to officially register with the Australian Electoral Commission. The WikiLeaks party was created as part of Assange’s bid to become an Australian senator in September 2013 elections in Victoria State. At... 

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard addresses a press conference in Canberra on March 21, 2013. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has managed to hold onto her position as the leader of the country’s Labor Party. The 51-year-old Gillard remained the party leader after a vote on Thursday, as MP Kevin Rudd failed to garner enough party support to replace... 

Flood wreaked havoc on the state of Queensland, Australia, in January 2011. Thousands of people in eastern Australia have been cut off from their homes by floodwaters, following thunderstorms and tornados that wreaked havoc to the region. Flooding, caused by heavy rain and stiff winds, continues in Australia. The State Emergency Service (SES) said Sunday that... 

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange addresses members of the media and supporters from the window of the Ecuadorian embassy in Knightsbridge, west London, December 20, 2012. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange believes that he can extricate from his prolonged asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London if he wins a seat in Australia’s upper house of parliament. “The... 

An Australian court has ruled in favor of allowing a company to patent a human gene. Concerns have been voiced that allowing a company to monopolize genes will turn the human body into a commodity, and will adversely affect healthcare. The judge argued the act of removing a specific gene from the body and isolating it made it into a product “of new manufacture”... 

Nearly 200,000 Australians have been released from the medical slavery that is artificial water fluoridation thanks to a major governmental policy change. The Liberal National Party (LNP) government of the Australian state of Queensland has not only cut $14 million of funding that had previously been used for fluoridation, but has also decided to allow local... 

NASA photo of Nendo, the largest of the Santa Cruz Islands An 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific on Wednesday. At least five people died as the disaster reportedly flattened several coastal villages. Five people were confirmed dead in the disaster. They were two elderly men, two elderly women and a boy aged between 10 and... 

In an in-depth interview, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom discusses the investigation against his now-defunct file-storage site, his possible extradition to the US, the future of Internet freedoms and his latest project Mega with RT’s Andrew Blake. The United States government says that Dotcom, a German millionaire formerly known as Kim Schmitz, masterminded... 

An Australian company claims it has found an untapped shale oil field with estimated reserves that could potentially put the country next to remarkably oil-rich Saudi Arabia. Still, extracting the discovered treasure poses a huge technical challenge. ­Brisbane-based company Linc Energy has presented two estimates by respected independent consultants claiming...