Australia/Antarctica News

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia on Saturday made high-level representations in China over the arrest of a top mining executive on bribery claims, as diplomatic tensions deepened between the key trading partners.

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 pressed China on Saturday for more details about the detention of a Rio Tinto executive, but said he did not expect the case to affect bilateral trade ties.

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.