Australia

The board of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park voted unanimously to end the climb because of indigenous sensitivities.

The giant red monolith in the Northern Territory is a sacred site for Aboriginal Australians.

Local people have long asked visitors not to climb the outcrop, which was known for many years as Ayers Rock.

Signs at the start of the climb ask people to abstain from going up in respect to the traditional law of the Anangu Aboriginal people, the custodians of the land.

The UNEP's Emissions Gap 2017'report shows Australia is projected to miss its 2015 Paris Agreement pledge by more than a third.

Australia has said it will cut its 2005 emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2030.

The report released last night showed the country is projected to emit 592-million-tonnes of CO2-equivalent by 2030 compared with its maximum target of 440-million-tonnes.

Tinakula volcano in the country's remote Temotu province had what local disaster officials describe as a minor eruption eleven days ago.

On some nearby islands, including in the Reef group, significant volcanic ashfall covered crops and contaminated water supplies.

According to Australia's High Commission in Solomon Islands, an estimated 11,500 people's primary water sources such as tanks, wells and ground water were contaminated.

Australia has held asylum seekers on PNG's Manus Island since 2012. The camp is scheduled to close on Tuesday.

PNG says refugees will not be forced to stay in the nation against their will - while those without refugee status cannot stay either.

Canberra has consistently said that none will be transferred to Australia.

Australia controversially holds refugees and asylum seekers who arrive by boat in centres on PNG's Manus Island and the Pacific nation of Nauru - arguing that it prevents deaths at sea and discourages people smugglers.

The Kangaroos scored three tries to one but England showed they were more than capable of matching their old foe.

While the result didn't go England's way their bigger concern will be the fitness of star forward Sam Burgess, who was sidelined in the first half with a knee injury.

Australia holds refugees and asylum seekers arriving by boat on PNG's Manus Island and the Pacific nation of Nauru.

The Manus center is due to close next week. Australia has set up alternative accommodation in a nearby town.

A Human Rights Watch report said asylum seekers risked suffering "unchecked violence" in PNG after the closure.

The group, which visited the island in September, said refugees and asylum seekers had been attacked by local men "sometimes armed with sticks, rocks, knives, or screwdrivers".

Fairfax reported the Australian Border Force told the committee the estimated cost of services would be between $AU150 and $AU250 million for 12 months from 1 November.

Australian Border Force deputy commissioner Mandy Newton said Australia was required to maintain services after they were discontinued at the centre.

"What I'm telling the committee is that all services will stop on the 31st of October and all residents of the facility will be expected to live in the alternate facilities where they'll receive all services."

The man, 43, was arrested at his Melbourne home on Tuesday after a 16-month investigation by counter-terrorism authorities.

There is no current threat to the public, authorities said.

Police allege the Australian national helped run a promotional website for the US man and sent about A$5,000 (£3,000; $4000) to him in Syria.

The money was allegedly transferred in up to 10 transactions between April 2013 and November 2014.

They included the suspect's own money and payments he had received from unidentified bank accounts overseas, police said.

The tighter controls come after authorities foiled an alleged terror plot to bring down a plane leaving Sydney Airport in July.

Australian baggage handlers and airport staff working in restricted zones will now be subject to random tests for traces of explosives.

Inspections will also be carried out on employees' belongings and vehicles.

The changes follow concerns raised by union and intelligence experts about the screening of staff, many of whom are on casual contracts.

The ABC has confirmed the heads of the immigration and defence departments were among those opposed to Beijing's ambitious 'One Belt, One Road' initiative, firmly advising the Turnbull Government earlier this year not to join it.

Several government sources said the Chinese plan also provoked a schism inside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, with trade bureaucrats broadly in favour of joining while the diplomatic corps was reticent.