Canberra, Sept 26 : An Australian technologist has claimed that Facebook can track the web pages you visit, even when you are logged out of the social networking giant.

According to Wollongong-based Nik Cubrilovic, when the user is logged out of Facebook, rather than deleting its tracking cookies, the site merely modifies them, maintaining account information and other unique tokens that can be used to identify its users.

Canberra, Sept 19 : Indian infrastructure giant GVK will pay 1.26 billion dollars to acquire a majority stake in coal assets owned by Australia''s Hancock Group.

Hyderabad-based GVK will take a 79 percent stake in two mines and own a third, as well as a port and rail project, the BBC reports.

GVK, which is controlled by Indian billionaire GV Krishna Reddy, currently owns airports, power plants and other infrastructure projects in India.

Canberra, Aug 30 : Anna Hazare, India's first anti-corruption crusader who pressurized the government to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen Ombudsman Bill) in a `peaceful and non-violent' manner, did an impressive job of transforming his native village as well, but surprisingly, he did so in an entirely `autocratic, violent way,' reveals the Sydney Morning Herald''s international editor Peter Hartcher.

Canberra, August 24 : Federal lawmakers in Australia will present a petition to the parliament today opposing gay marriages. Lawmakers are divided on the issue of same sex marriage, with the Greens claiming nine in ten people support it, but Liberal and some Labour politicians claim only a minority of Australians are in favour of the idea.

In Canberra, a 32 year old man has sentenced to jail for one month for stealing a charity tin. Brendan Dickson, who lives in Waramanga, was accused of taking the charity tin and put it into his clothes, when he went to a Canberra restaurant, Zambrero, last January. He was caught on CCTV, while stealing the charity tin from service counter.

The charity tin was decorated with Christmas wrapping, with a smiling photo of the boy. Also it had a notice that the donation gathered, will be used to help the family of the five-year-old who is suffering from stem cell tumor and it had the words, Dylan Cook Appeal.

Canberra, Feb. 7 : The Giant feral pigs have outnumbered humans in Australia, with 24 million of the beasts compared to a human population of about 21 million - a phenomenon that is ruining city drinking water and triggering an official cull.

According to the Herald Sun, parasites from pig excrement have been found in surface-water catchments, and it is likely to cost millions of dollars to treat and purify the water.

“We rely on our surface water. It''s an important part of our water supply. The feral pig issue is something we don''t want to get worse,” Water Department director John Ruprecht said.

Canberra (Australia), Dec. 2 : Muslim representative bodies across the world, and particularly in Australia, have reacted angrily to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd''s `adjust or leave Australia'' remark, saying the comment was prejudicial to their community and uncalled for.

Rudd had said that Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law should get out of Australia.

Separately, Rudd angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation''s mosques.

Canberra, Nov. 30 : Despite a string of racial attacks on Indian students, Australia’s education sector grew by 22.6 percent this year, generating earnings of 9.5 billion dollars from international students against last year’s 1.3 billion dollars.

According to figures for international trade from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only coal, iron and gold performed better nationally than education, which generated a record 16.6 billion dollars for Australia in the past financial year.

Canberra (Australia), Nov. 26 : The Australian Government and the Australian Opposition today united with India in condemning the terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai in 2008.

Simon Crean, Minister for Trade, said on the occasion of the first anniversary of the incident: "Today, we remember the attacks and we remember those who lost their lives, including two Australians, Douglas Markell from Woollahra and Brett Taylor from Turramurra.

Today, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims of this senseless attack.

Canberra, Nov 9 - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd will visit India this week in a bid to forge stronger relations between the two countries, media reports said Monday.

The prime minister's two-day visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, beginning Wednesday, will give the federal government another opportunity to reassure India that its student population is welcome in Australia, news. com. au reported.

This will be his first visit to India after two previous trips were cancelled.

Canberra/New Delhi, Oct. 12 : Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith will undertake a five-day visit of India from October 12 to October 16.

In a statement released ahead of his visit, Smith said that this would be his second visit to India as Foreign Minister and that he would staying in New Delhi and Mumbai.

Canberra/New Delhi, Oct. 12 : Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith will on Tuesday inaugurate a photographic exhibition titled "All of Us" in New Delhi.

The exhibition, which celebrates Australia's cultural diversity is organised in collaboration with the Delhi International Arts Festival (DIAF) and will tour Indian cities over the next four months.

Canberra, Sep 23 : In what is seen as a vital decision for the Government of India and Indian students in Australia, the Australian Government has released an issue paper that has sought advice on how to improve the country’s troubled international education sector.

According to reports, Australian Education Minister Julia Gillard had last month requested former Liberal Member of Parliament Bruce Baird to conduct a review on the effectiveness of the 15.5 billion Australian dollar international education sector.

Canberra, Sep. 17 : Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned Indian students living in Australia not to take the law into their own hands.

The local Indian community has been told to take "some form of retaliation" following the assault of four men outside a bar in Melbourne on the weekend, reports The Age.

India has urged Australia to put in place quickly promised measures to protect overseas students.

Rudd said Australia was a law-abiding nation.

Canberra (Australia), Sep. 14 : Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard said every effort would be made by her government to ensure the safety of international students in the country.

She was speaking on the opening day of a two-day round table meeting in Canberra on Monday to discuss major issues of concern for international students, Sinhua reports.

The overseas student industry, worth 15.5 billion Australian dollars, has been under scrutiny following an outcry earlier this year over violence against Indian students.

Canberra - A Sydney-bound Qantas Airways passenger jet made an emergency landing in Perth on Wednesday after a fuel leak was discovered four hours into its flight from Singapore.

The Boeing 747-400 was carrying 290 passengers and is the same plane diverted from Hong Kong to Manila in July last year after an exploding oxygen cylinder blasted a hole in the fuselage mid-flight.

Canberra  - Government handouts and mineral exports to China have kept Australia out of recession, officials in Canberra said Wednesday.

The economy grew 0.6 per cent in the June quarter, making it the only advanced economy not to experience contraction this year.

"I think Australians everywhere can be proud of this achievement in the worst global conditions in over 75 years," Treasurer Wayne Swan said. "When every other major advanced economy fell into technical recession, we did not."

Canberra  - Tourists have the opportunity to find out why Australia is so different at a number of unusual festivals taking place there in September and October.

The small town of Tully in Queensland is hosting a rubber boot celebration on September 5 which begins with the parade of an eight-metre-high "golden" boot along main street. The highlight of the Golden Gumboot Festival is a rubber boot throwing competition.

Canberra (Australia), Aug. 19 : The Australian Minister for Education, Julia Gillard, today warned education providers that they risk being shut down if they don’t comply with rules relating to international students.

Gillard was speaking in the Australian Parliament at the introduction of an Amendment Bill to the Education Services for Overseas Students (ESOS) Act 2000.

Canberra (Australia), July 31 : Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard has said that her government is pulling out all stops to protect foreign students studying at Australian colleges.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Gillard as saying that students are being guaranteed a place in an equivalent course even though the scheme that funds the transfers is not insured.