THE British and Irish Lions will play Test matches in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney when they tour Australia in 2013.

The British and Irish Lions will play Test matches in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney when they tour Australia in 2013.

New Zealand have included two uncapped 20-year-olds in their 19-man squad for Friday’s Anzac Test against Australia.

NOT content with courting a key cog in Declan Kidney’s Ireland set-up, Super rugby powerhouse the Brumbies seem intent on disrupting Munster’s build-up to tomorrow night’s primetime showdown with Leinster.

China has told Australian officials it is conducting a criminal investigation of Rio Tinto employees with a focus on commercial and economic issues rather than espionage, Australia’s foreign minister said today.

Australia have named an unchanged team for Saturday’s World Cup final against New Zealand at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.

An Australian judge today banned the company that conducts Japan’s whale hunt from killing the animals in a large part of its regular hunting grounds off Antarctica.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard today defended his government’s warnings that a terrorist attack in Indonesia may be imminent, despite officials saying there was no direct intelligence a strike was being planned.

The world’s biggest polluters gathered in Sydney, Australia, today to discuss ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with debate over burning coal dominating proceedings.

Australia was set today to sign a friendship treaty with southeast Asia, formally acknowledging that its economic future is tied to the region after holding back on joining the accord for more than a decade.

Australia will soon announce a new greenhouse gas emission pact with the US, China, India and South Korea as an alternative to the Kyoto Protocol, the environment minister said today.

Australia’s foreign minister is expected to announce next week that Australia will sign a non-aggression pact with its south-east Asian neighbours when he attends an ASEAN security forum, an analyst said today.

Australia’s military today ended six years of peacekeeping duties in East Timor, wrapping up a mission that strained ties with Indonesia and heralded a new era of regional military intervention by Canberra.

The Australian government today offered to send two senior lawyers to help the appeal of an Australian woman who was convicted of drug smuggling on the Indonesian island of Bali and sentenced to 20 years.

AN American passenger jet flying from Australia to Los Angeles returned to Sydney International Airport yesterday after the crew found a written bomb threat which turned out to be a hoax.

An American passenger jet flying from Australia to Los Angeles returned to Sydney International Airport today after crew found a note carrying a bomb threat, Australia’s transport minister said.

Australia knew some US government agencies had reservations about claims Baghdad was rebuilding its nuclear weapons programme when it sent 2,000 troops to fight in Iraq, Prime Minister John Howard said today.

Australia and Canada today closed their embassies in the Philippines capital Manila following a series of terrorist threats.

Hard-line Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock today hugged Australia’s six millionth migrant since the Second World War - a Filipino computer expert.

Canberra: ACT Brumbies 40 Western Stormers 25