Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's attempt to marginalize the opposition by claiming it would change abortion rights and sideline women has backfired with a poll Monday showing male voters are deserting her.

The United Nations refugee agency Monday said it was concerned by the at times “mean-spirited” debate about asylum-seekers in Australia, along with the country's increasingly restrictive policies for those arriving by boat.

Australia imposed an interim ban on 19 synthetic cannabis and cocaine-like drugs on Sunday as part of a crackdown on the psychoactive substances which mimic the highs of their illegal counterparts.

An Australian radio presenter was sacked Friday after sparking outrage by pressing embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard on air whether her hairdresser boyfriend Tim Mathieson is gay.

The Dalai Lama waded into Australia's bitter gender war Thursday, saying his successor as the spiritual leader of the Tibetans could be a woman.

A high-profile Australian political candidate apologized Wednesday for a menu at one of his fundraisers featuring a quail dish named after Prime Minister Julia Gillard which had “small breasts” and “huge thighs.”

Australian authorities said Monday they had called off a major air and sea search for survivors from a boat carrying at least 55 asylum seekers which disappeared suddenly off a remote Indian Ocean territory.

Vietnam's leaders faced a first-ever confidence vote in the communist-controlled parliament on Monday as the authoritarian regime seeks to allay growing public anger at corruption and a lack of political accountability.

Planes, merchant and navy ships were scouring seas off Australia Sunday in a major search operation after a people-smuggling boat carrying 55 men, women and children sank, with 13 confirmed dead.

An Australian property mogul Wednesday lost his lawsuit against the nation's largest casino after wagering more than US$1 billion there and losing over US$20 million.