Australia

Kangaroos thump Kiwis in Four Nations final

Mal Meninga's team ran in six tries and returned to the top of the world rugby league rankings, after over-running a disappointing Kiwis side, who meekly surrendered the title they won in 2014.

The Kangaroos made their intentions clear after just two minutes when Trent Merrin's huge shot on Jordan Rapana dislodged the ball and from the resulting scrum, Darius Boyd found Blake Ferguson with a superb cut-out pass for the Sydney Roosters star to score.

Four Nations: Australia hammer New Zealand 34-8 in final at Anfield

Mal Meninga's team went through the tournament unbeaten - and in wrestling the title from the Kiwis reclaimed the world number one ranking.

With a quarter of the match gone, tries from Blake Ferguson, Josh Dugan and Trent Merrin plus a penalty from Johnathan Thurston gave the Kangaroos an unassailable 20-0 lead.

That was 24-0 by the break as the ruthless Australians added to their score when Dugan touched down a kick from Thurston.

Jedinak demands quick fix after Thailand shock Australia

The Aston Villa midfielder opened the scoring in Bangkok from the penalty spot, but the home side overturned that advantage thanks to two goals from Teerasil Dangda.

Jedinak levelled with a second spot-kick but the Socceroos were unable to fashion a winner, leaving them outside the automatic qualifying spots for Russia 2018 after five third-round matches, a point behind Saudi Arabia and Japan.

Turnbull, Dutton announce refugee resettlement deal with US

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the agreement this morning, but did not provide any details on timeframes or the number of people involved.

Speaking in Canberra alongside Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, Turnbull said the deal would only apply to those currently on Nauru and Manus Island.

"There will be American officials from Homeland Security coming to Australia to begin the process in the next few days."

As of October 31, there were 872 people in the processing centre on Manus Island and 390 people in Nauru's centre.

Australian Senate considers asylum abuse claims

Australia has run the controversial camps on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and on Nauru for the past three years, amid heavily criticism from human rights groups, NGOs, medical organisations and former staff.

Doctors call for sweet drink levy to tackle obesity in Australia

The Committee of Presidents of Medical Colleges, representing bodies including the Royal Australian College of GPs, the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, has developed a six-point obesity action plan to tackle what it calls the most pressing public health issue.

Professor Nick Talley, head of the Committee of the Presidents of Medical Colleges, said urgent definitive action was needed.

"We need leadership, not just telling people to lose weight," he said.

Australia flies a sixth refugee from Nauru to Cambodia

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the Syrian man who arrived last Sunday was being cared for by the International Organisation for Migration, which has received millions of dollars from Australia to care for refugees in Cambodia.

But only one of the five other refugees who agreed to take a one-way flight from Nauru since the deal was signed two years ago remains in Cambodia.

Concerns in Fiji over Australian visa-free hoax

Fijivillage reported that the Commission says it is a major concern because more than 50 cases of misleading and deceptive trade practices by various travel agents have been recorded in the past year.

The Australian High Commission said it was aware of a scam circulating on social media but said Canberra has made no changes to the entry requirements for Fiji citizens.

It said any suspected fraud should be reported to the police, the Commerce Commission or the Australian High Commission in Suva.

 

Provocative 'tourism ad' stirs mixed feelings in Australia

The logo quickly made headlines - it was dubbed "the wildest tourism slogan ever" by one news outlet - with critics variously hailing it as hilarious or distasteful.

It bellows "See You in the Northern Territories", but uses acronyms throughout.

"Well this is a bold strategy for a travel campaign," one person tweeted.

But despite appearances, it is not an official campaign - as the actual NT tourism authority soon made clear.

Australia senate stops gay marriage vote

The government said a non-binding ballot, or plebiscite, was the quickest way to amend the Marriage Act..

Same-sex couples can have civil unions or registered relationships in most Australian states but they are not considered married under national law

Opinion polls indicate that most Australians support same-sex marriage.

However opposition parties and many supporters of same-sex marriage argued a plebiscite would be expensive and could unleash a divisive campaign.

Instead, they say parliament should make the decision itself.