Australia

Australia's national carrier says it will connect Perth, in the west of the country, to the UK capital using Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

The 9,000 mile (14,498km) flight will take 17 hours.

Perth will be a hub for passengers from eastern Australia going to the UK, tourism minister Steven Ciobo said.

He also said the new service would boost employment and tourism in Australia, a sector growing three times faster than the rest of the national economy, and one that supports 580,000 jobs.

This comes after the importation of avocado trees from New Zealand and Australia seven years ago was believed to be the source of the destructive black twig borer now present in the country.

Minister Kiriau Turepu said both the ministry and private individuals had brought in the plants but he said it was a problem he had only been made aware of in the past two weeks.

Mr Turepu said the problem in the Cook Islands was the lack of a post quarantine facility to ensure the plants were disease free.

But he said he expected this to change quickly.

Anna Neistat recently visited Nauru and conducted research into the plight of the people being held in the Australian-run camps on the island.

Amnesty concluded that Australia was effectively torturing the asylum seekers and refugees as a deterrent to others considering trying to reach Australia by boat.

Canberra had claimed it was necessary to stop the boats and save lives, but Ms Neistat said it was high time Australians questioned this.

Now, the agency is working with Australia in what both sides call an unusual, not-to-be-replicated agreement to send some of those refugees across the world, to be resettled in the United States.

The deal, announced by Australia last week, is aimed at shutting down two offshore detention facilities — one on the island nation of Nauru and the other on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea — where hundreds of people are housed in what rights groups describe as deplorable conditions.

The United States has agreed to take some of them; how many, and how quickly, remains unclear.

On Sunday, the Turnbull government announced it would permanently ban asylum seekers who attempt to reach Australia by boat from ever entering the country, even if they are genuine refugees and seek to come as tourists or on business decades later.

Legislation will be introduced to Parliament in November, applying to all adults detained on Manus and Nauru and backdated to July 2013. 

Tries from Iain Henderson and Garry Ringrose helped the hosts to a 17-0 lead but the Wallabies fought back with three touchdowns to move into the lead.

Keith Earls' score proved decisive but it was the Irish forwards who laid the platform in a breathless encounter.

The result ended Australia's hopes of a Grand Slam over the home nations.

They had defeated Wales, Scotland and France and will face England in the final match of their northern hemisphere tour next week.

This will affect clients submitting visa applications in Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Nauru and Kiribati.

The changes have been announced by the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Changes to TTS Service fees

The following TTS Service Fees will take effect from 01 December 2016:

COUNTRY            CURRENCY          PRIMARY SERVICE FEE   SECONDARY SERVICE FEE             BIOMETRIC FEE

The 48-year-old singer and actor Joshua Sasse, 28, announced their engagement earlier this year.

The couple subsequently vowed to postpone their nuptials until same-sex marriage becomes legal in Australia.

Dressed in "Say I Do Down Under" T-shirts at the Arias in Sydney, the pair urged the change to come next year.

"We're here to introduce a shining light in the Australian music industry," Minogue told the audience on Wednesday night.

"But we're also here to say thank you to everyone who has supported Josh's campaign for equality."

Winner of the inaugural Stella Runway 2016 Designer of the Year Award, Genevieve Igara-Falevai, the designer and founder of Wantok Clothing, showcased her label’s unique on 21 October.

An accidental fashion designer, Genevieve passed on a career in economics to follow her passion to create beautiful garments with a Papua New Guinean twist.

Starting her label in 2015, Genevieve has been awarded Miss Pacific Islands Pageant Project Runway 2015 and 2016; Stella Runway 2016 Designer of the Year; and dresser for Miss Papua New Guinea 2015 and 2016.