TOP STORIES

TEPCO's investigation concluded the tsunami of March 2011 was beyond expectations, and admits it wasn't prepared to deal with such a crisis. [DigitalGlobe: AFP]

Operator denies intent to abandon crippled Fukushima plant

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:48:00 +1000

The operator of Japan's Fukushima plant has denied it ever considered abandoning the crippled nuclear power plant in the wake of last year's devastating tsunami.

Activists gather on Rio's Flamengo beach ahead of the summit. [AFP: Spectral Q/Chico Paulo]

UN chief opens Rio environment summit

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:24:00 +1000

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has opened the Rio+20 summit in Brazil with a warning that time is running out to act on climate change.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned the national assembly to meet on Friday to elect the new premier. [Reuters]

Pakistan president nominates textile minister for PM

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:53:00 +1000

Pakistan's President has nominated Textile Industry Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin to become the country's new prime minister.

Australian travel agent 'stabbed to death' in Thailand

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:01:00 +1000

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that an Australian woman has died in Thailand.

Australian telecommunications company Telstra urged to probe Chinese sweatshop claims

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 13:14:00 +1000

A US-based labour rights group is urging executives from the Australian telecommunications company Telstra to travel to China and confront its phone supplier over working conditions.

PNG PM revokes citizenship of Indonesian 'fugitive'

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 12:20:00 +1000

Papua New Guinea's caretaker Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has retracted the Immigration Department's decision to grant citizenship to an alleged Indonesian fugitive.

Tonga calls off search for missing yachtsmen

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 11:02:00 +1000

Tongan police have called off the search for two Australian yachtsmen missing since last week.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been officially honoured by Oxford University. [Reuters]

Burma's Suu Kyi honoured by Oxford

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:32:00 +1000

Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Oxford University during her visit to the UK.

Britain's Supreme Court last week rejected Mr Assange's request to reopen an appeal against an extradition order to Sweden. [AFP: Leon Neal]

Assange faces arrest for breaching bail conditions

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:07:00 +1000

British police say they will arrest Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for breaching his bail conditions if he steps outside the Ecuadorian embassy in central London.

Tongan Prime Minister Lord Tu'ivakano has dismissed claims he has lost the people's trust.[en.wikipedia.org]

Tongan PM dismisses no confidence threat

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:17:00 +1000

The Tongan Prime Minister, Lord Tu'ivakano, says he is not concerned about a motion of no confidence against his government.

Antonis Samaras campaigns for Greek election. (AFP)

New Greek PM vows to bring 'tangible hope'

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 07:35:00 +1000

Conservative leader Antonis Samaras has been sworn in as Greece's new Prime Minister.

Schapelle Corby was convicted in 2005 for smuggling 4.1 kilograms of marijuana into Bali. [ABC]

Anti-drugs group appeals Corby's sentence cut

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 10:12:00 +1000

An Indonesian anti-drugs group has mounted a court challenge to a presidential decision to slash the jail term of Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby.

The United States military is set to forge closer ties with New Zealand after the countries signed a new agreement. [News Images]

US, NZ sign defence cooperation deal

Last Updated: Thu, 21 Jun 2012 08:41:00 +1000

The United States and New Zealand have signed an agreement to expand defence cooperation, but the deal does not alter Auckland's longstanding ban on port visits by nuclear-armed American warships.

North Korea faces food shortage disaster

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 19:44:00 +1000

Experts are warning a severe drought is expected to worsen serious food shortages in North Korea as the UN food agency reports that three million people urgently need food aid.

The typhoon brought winds of up to 180 kilometres per hour. [AFP: Jiji Press]

Thousands flee as typhoon heads for Tokyo

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:38:00 +1000

A powerful typhoon has forced the evacuation of thousands of people in Japan, and the cancellation of hundreds of flights.

News makes $1.97b bid for Consolidated Media

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:35:00 +1000

James Packer has welcomed News Limited's bid for his pay-television empire just hours before Rupert Murdoch's publishing giant revealed details of a major shake-up of its operations.

PNG's Carol Kidu calls for a constitutional review

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 18:10:00 +1000

Papua New Guinea's retiring opposition leader, Dame Carol Kidu, has called for a wide ranging review of the PNG constitution.

Cambodia ponders extradition for Bo Xilai business partner

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:07:00 +1000

A French architect embroiled in China's biggest political scandal in two decades is in custody in Cambodia where authorities are deciding whether he should be extradited to China.

South Korean taxi drivers strike for better pay

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:19:00 +1000

More than 200,000 South Korean taxi drivers have staged a rare day-long nationwide strike, calling for higher fares and cheaper fuel.

Drogba confirms China move

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 21:58:00 +1000

Didier Drogba has confirmed he is joining Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua on a two-and-a-half year contract.

Anna Funder wins Miles Franklin award

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 20:34:00 +1000

Sydney author Anna Funder has won this year's Miles Franklin Literary Award.

An ethnic Rakhine man holds homemade weapons as he stands in front of a burning house. [Reuters]

Death sentence for Burmese killers

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:18:00 +1000

Lawyers have announced two men have been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman in the Burmese state of Arakan, also known as Rakhine, last month.

Ousted president Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to life in prison on June 2. [AFP: Egyptian state TV]

Hosni Mubarak's death denied by Egyptian general

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 10:53:00 +1000

A member of Egypt's ruling military council has described state media reports of the death of jailed former dictator Hosni Mubarak as "nonsense".

Diplomat says Australia's help is valued in the Pacific

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:11:00 +1000

A veteran Australian diplomat with wide Pacific experience says Australia's regional reputation is much better than some people seem to think.

News Limited has announced staff redundancies and a consolidation of its Australian operation. [Getty Images]

Redundancies announced for News Limited in Australia

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 15:02:00 +1000

Australian media company News Limited has followed the move of its rival Fairfax and announced major changes to its operations, including staff redundancies.

Obama and Putin at the G20 summit in Mexico. [AFP]

Russia, China not committed to removing al-Assad: Obama

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 12:28:00 +1000

The US President Barack Obama says Russia and China have "not signed on" to any plan for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from power, but that they recognise the dangers of an all-out civil war in the country.

Another Australian media shake-up

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 13:24:00 +1000

Australia's media landscape looks set to be rocked for a second time this week with Rupert Murdoch's Australian arm News Limited poised to announce it is slashing jobs in a massive restructuring of the way it delivers news.

The quake epicentre, near the rural centre of Moe, in the Gippsland region, east of Melbourne. [US Geological Survey]

Australian quake most powerful in 30 years

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 17:05:00 +1000

South-east Victoria has been rocked by more than 40 aftershocks after a magnitude-5.4 earthquake hit near Moe in Gippsland on Tuesday night.

Tablets help PNG banks reach remote customers

Last Updated: Wed, 20 Jun 2012 16:37:00 +1000

Papua New Guinea's Bank South Pacific (BSP) has become one of the first banks in the world to use hand-held tablet computers to sign up new customers.