SYDNEY - Officials at an Australian zoo say a clever orangutan used a rope to swing out of its enclosure and enjoy a brief taste of freedom.
DILI, East Timor - Rebel soldiers accused of trying to assassinate the president and prime minister of East Timor went on trial Monday.
DILI (AFP) - An East Timor court began the trial under tight security Monday of 28 people accused of trying to kill the president and prime minister in a failed twin assassination attempt.
CANBERRA/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australia summoned China's ambassador on Monday for a second time to press for details of the detention of Rio Tinto's top iron ore salesman in China and three other staff accused of spying.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - China's President Hu Jintao personally endorsed an investigation into global miner Rio Tinto that led to the detention of four of its China-based staff, a newspaper said on Monday, citing Chinese government sources.
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australia on Sunday warned China risked damaging its business reputation abroad by holding a top Rio Tinto executive accused of spying and predicted a lengthy diplomatic stand-off over his fate.
PERTH/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australia warned China on Sunday of the risks to business confidence from the detention without charge of an Australian executive accused of stealing state secrets, and Chinese executives feared a wider purge.
KUPANG, Indonesia (AFP) - Indonesia has found 15 of the 74 Afghan migrants who went missing in treacherous waters en route to Australia, according to police.
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Australia's trade minister, Simon Crean, said on Saturday he had expressed "strong concern" to the Shanghai city government regarding the detention of an executive working for Rio Tinto.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia on Friday said China's arrest of a top Rio Tinto executive was over alleged bribery during fraught iron ore negotiations, as Chinalco denied the move was payback for a collapsed deal.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd spoke out against plans to stop people climbing tourist hotspot Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, as debate raged about the ban.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia is adopting a cautious approach to dealing with Chinese allegations of spying against Shanghai-based staff of Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Friday.
SYDNEY - Residents of a rural Australian town hoping to protect the earth and their wallets have voted to ban the sale of bottled water, the first community in the country and possibly the world to take such a drastic step in the growing backlash against the industry.
BEIJING/SYDNEY (Reuters) - China said on Thursday detained staff from Australian miner Rio Tinto had harmed China's economic interests in a case that has rattled currency markets and raised questions about China-Australia relations.
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australia's last surviving World War II recipient of the Victoria Cross, who was awarded the elite medal for storming a Japanese machine gun post, has died aged 90, officials said.
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australia has dismissed speculation that China's spying claims against a top mining executive were linked to trade disputes, as Shanghai officials confirmed four Rio Tinto staff were being held.
SHANGHAI (AFP) - Four employees of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto have been detained in China for allegedly stealing state secrets, the Shanghai branch of the state security authority said.
MELBOURNE (AFP) - An Australian executive with mining giant Rio Tinto was being held in China as a suspected spy, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday.
SYDNEY - Climbing Uluru, Australia's famous red sandstone monolith, may be banned in the future under a plan released Wednesday by the national parks service, citing cultural, safety and environmental reasons.
CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian government proposal to stop people from climbing the famed Uluru, in deference to the wishes of indigenous people, sparked debate on Wednesday with lawmakers opposing the plan.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Baffled Australian police have launched an appeal for information after a 700-year-old skull washed up on a beach.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been accused of "sheer arrogance" over moves to press the Pope to create the country's first saint.
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Malaysia appealed for international help to curb people-smuggling, amid talks with Australian leaders who are pushing for action to close down illegal migration routes.
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Mining giant Rio Tinto on Monday announced the 1.2 billion US dollar sale of Alcan's American food packaging arm to US firm Bemis as it offloads assets to pay off its big debts.
MELBOURNE (AFP) - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said allegations that members of the navy ran a sex betting ring were "disturbing" and promised a full investigation.
SYDNEY - A 265-pound (120-kilogram), big-eared and long-nosed bundle of joy was welcomed in Australia as an important step in helping to save the endangered Asian elephant.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia has welcomed the first elephant ever born in the country with the arrival of a 100-kilogram (220.4-pound) male calf at a Sydney zoo, according to keepers.
CANBERRA, Australia - Scientists have confirmed for the first time that Australia was once home to a dinosaur that was big, fast and terrifying, and they've named it like something from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Meet the Australovenator.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - New Zealand's national airline has adopted a cheeky way to encourage passengers to watch its in-flight safety video: The cabin crew's uniforms are nothing but body paint.
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia announced a 155 million US dollar package for isolated Aboriginal communities on Friday, after a new report revealed shocking levels of child abuse among the downtrodden minority.