The Independent

Streaker fined for royal flash at the Queen Down Under

15 February 2012 12:00 AM

A streaker was fined AU$750 (£510) yesterday for mooning at the Queen and Prince Philip on a royal visit.

Umar Patek after his hearing in Jakarta yesterday

'Demolition Man' appears in court a decade after Bali bombings

14 February 2012 12:00 AM

Indonesian police called Umar Patek "Demolition Man", such was his alleged bomb-making expertise. Yesterday Mr Patek went on trial charged with a string of terrorism-related offences, including assembling the explosives used to blow up two Bali nightclubs in 2002.

Norfolk Island running on fumes as residents grapple with fuel shortage

11 February 2012 12:00 AM

The pace of life is always slow on Norfolk Island, a scenic speck of land in the Pacific Ocean settled by descendants of the Bounty mutineers.

Building that collapsed in Christchurch quake 'was substandard'

10 February 2012 12:00 AM

A six-storey building that collapsed, killing 115 people, in last year's Christchurch earthquake, was made of weak columns and concrete and did not meet minimum standards, the government said yesterday.

Video: Baby survives after pram rolls onto train tracks

06 February 2012 11:33 AM

A baby has survived after its pram rolled onto rail tracks at a Melbourne train station.

Flood crisis is back, isolating 11,000

04 February 2012 12:00 AM

Military helicopters evacuated stranded residents from flooded towns in eastern Australia yesterday as authorities warned of further flash flooding.

Gina Rinehart chairman of Hancock Prospecting, inherited her vast fortune from her father, Lang Hancock

The $18bn family feud that is a real-life Australian soap opera

04 February 2012 12:00 AM

A messy court case has shed light on Australia's richest and most secretive family.

Hundreds saved from rough seas as ferry sinks in Papua New Guinea

03 February 2012 12:00 AM

Rescuers plucked more than 230 survivors from the sea after a ferry sank yesterday with up to 350 people on board.

Chinese swoop on 16 dairy farms in New Zealand

28 January 2012 12:00 AM

Chinese investors are buying New Zealand farmland for the first time, causing anxiety in a country heavily reliant on agriculture.

Mutiny quelled in Papua New Guinea

27 January 2012 12:00 AM

The government in Papua New Guinea has halted a mutiny by rebel soldiers and regained full control of its main military barracks, the country's Prime Minister, Peter O'Neill, said last night.

Julia Gillard is bundled out of a restaurant by her bodyguard after it was surrounded by furious Aboriginal rights protesters in Canberra

PM Gillard jostled on Australia Day

26 January 2012 06:14 PM

Australian prime minister Julia Gillard stumbled and was caught by a security guard as riot police helped her force a path through a crowd of rowdy protesters during a ceremony to mark Australia's national day.

Papua New Guinea rejects mutineers' demand

26 January 2012 03:57 PM

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill refused to step down despite a mutiny Thursday by soldiers who seized Papua New Guinea's military headquarters and demanded that he cede power to his ousted predecessor.

Web tycoon Mr Dotcom denied bail

26 January 2012 12:00 AM

Kim Dotcom, the founder of a file-sharing website Megaupload, was denied bail by a judge in New Zealand yesterday pending an extradition hearing to face charges of copyright infringement in the US.

Stranded pilot whales are helped by volunteers at Farewell Spit on New Zealand's South Island

36 stranded whales die in New Zealand

24 January 2012 11:10 AM

A mass-stranding of whales on a New Zealand beach has left 36 of the creatures dead and threatens 40 more.

Indonesia: Lethal deterrent for 'train surfers'

18 January 2012 12:00 AM

Indonesia has gone to imaginative extremes to try to stop commuters from illegally riding on the roofs of trains, including hosing down offenders with red paint, threatening them with dogs and appealing for help from religious leaders.