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WASHINGTON — A phone call between President Trump and the Australian Prime Minister is threatening to develop into a diplomatic rift between two stalwart allies after the two men exchanged harsh words over refugee policy, and Mr. Trump abruptly ended the call. The phone call last Saturday between Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull turned contentious after the Australian leader pressed the president to honor an agreement to accept 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center. Late Wednesday night, Mr. Trump reiterated his anger over the agreement on Twitter. He called the agreement a “dumb deal” and blamed the...

I went online yesterday to learn more about Donald Trump blocking arrivals from Islamic nations – only to discover something shocking. The US president had been destroyed. Completely destroyed. And not just once but repeatedly. It was all there, as clear as day, in headline after headline: “JK Rowling destroys Trump in one sentence.” – Raw Story, December 8 2015 “Sanders destroys Trump by 13 points.” – The Hill, December 22 2015 “Donald Trump destroyed by Stephen Colbert.” – YouTube, January 30 2016 ..... June was a particularly active month for Trump, who was destroyed five times by Clinton and...

SOME of the most prestigious boys’ schools in NSW face multimillion-dollar lawsuits alleging systemic sexual abuse on an “outrageous” scale. Lawyer Jason Parkinson has more than 1500 cases against such schools as Trinity Grammar, Knox Grammar, St Patrick’s at Goulburn, Newington College and De La Salle colleges at Revesby Heights and Marrickville.

A LONELY pensioner hooked the hearts of hundreds with his catchy and endearing online ad to find a new “fishing buddy.” Tired of fishing South Australia’s beaches alone, Ray Johnstone, 75, of Lewiston, said he was desperate to find someone else to share his lifelong passion — but was left stunned by the enormous response. His ad in Gumtree, featuring a selfie under and which Mr Johnstone jokingly lists himself as “used”, has had a staggering 55,000 views and offers from across the country. “What I want is a fishing mate in a similar position to myself who also wants...

One of US President Donald Trump’s top trade advisers has raised speculation the US will attempt to negotiate a new free trade deal with Australia. Peter Navarro, director of Mr Trump’s White House Trade Council, named Australia and New Zealand as two nations the Trump administration will seek bilateral deals with. Australia already has a free trade agreement with the US, signed in 2004, but Mr Trump has repeatedly said he will look at every trade deal the US has signed and renegotiate them if he can get a better deal for American workers. Professor Navarro, in an interview with...

Link only due to copyright issues: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/australia-will-support-donald-trump-on-strong-border-protection-policies-julie-bishop-20170129-gu133i.html

REFUGEES from Manus Island and Nauru will be resettled in the United States, despite moves by US President Donald Trump to suspend his country’s refugee program for 120 days. Mr Trump vowed to honour the agreement reached between Australia and the previous US administrations during a 25-miute phone call with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today, the first since his inauguration. The one-off refugee resettlement deal seemed unlikely to go ahead after US President this week followed through on his election promise by placing a four-month suspension on allowing refugees into the United States.

CHRISTIAN Democrats founder Fred Nile says he has “no idea” why he was blocked from entering the US for Donald Trump’s inauguration. But the MLC is questioning whether he was denied a visa because Obama administration staffers were unimpressed with his support for President Trump. Rev Nile said he was to stay at Mr Trump’s hotel in Washington, after Australia’s Ambassador to the US, former treasurer Joe Hockey, helped organise the inauguration tickets. But upon reaching the American Airlines desk, tickets in hand, he and his wife were told they would not be allowed entry to the US. “We just...

Built by Fincantieri to the French-Italian FREMM design, Carabiniere is the fifth of the Italian Navy’s Bergamini-class frigates which, displacing 6,700 metric tonnes, are in fact destroyer-sized ships fitted out in both ASW and air-defense versions. (Italian navy photo) PARIS --- A major naval battle is brewing Down Under, as two of Western Europe’s most modern surface combatants steam through the Indian Ocean to fight for the next prize offered by the Royal Australian Navy. At stake is an A$35 billion order for 8 or 9 SEA Future Frigate (FF) to be built in Adelaide, South Australia, under the SEA5000...

The tragic fallout from the horror rampage in Melbourne continued on Saturday with a three-month-old boy succumbing to his injuries, becoming the fifth person to die in the attack. Dimitrious Gargasoulas, 26, has been identified as the man who drove an allegedly stolen maroon Holden Commodore along Bourke Street on Friday afternoon, ploughing through people on the packed sidewalk as they desperately ducked for cover. Four people died at the scene, and police said on Saturday 37 were rushed to hospital. At least ten of them are still in a serious condition, and there are fears the the death toll...

Breaking news out of Melbourne, Australia that at least three people have died after a vehicle plowed into a group of pedestrians near a shopping mall. According to one witness, the driver was screaming, “Allahu Akhbar, Allahu Akhbar, Allahu Akhbar!”… Witnesses describe the scene: “There was a man hanging out of the window screaming” – teen describes driver as thin, dark hair, appeared Middle Eastern. @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/Y6JWW3djp1 — Andrea Hamblin (@AndieHamblin) January 20, 2017 This witness claims the driver was screaming, “Allahu Akhbar, Allahu Akhbar, Allahu Akhbar!”

POLICE are chasing a rogue car which has driven erratically through the Melbourne CBD. Ambulance Victoria confirmed paramedics had reports multiple people had been hit by a car. A number of unmarked Police cars and a police helicopter have been deployed in the chase. Paramedics are still unsure how many pedestrians had been hit. Emergency services were flooded with calls about 1.30pm.

Nicole Kidman is clarifying the comments she made about Donald Trump‘s presidency. The 49-year-old actress came under fire after she addressed the 2016 presidential election results in an interview with BBC 2’s Victoria Derbyshire. “I just say, [Trump‘s] now elected, and we as a country need to support whoever’s the president because that’s what the country’s based on,” the Hawaiian-born actress, who was raised in Australia and has dual citizenship, said. The call for unity fell on some deaf ears, with many on social media lashing out at the actress. But in a new interview with Access Hollywood, Kidman clarified...

EXCLUSIVE TERRIFYING video has emerged of the moment a young woman strolls into a suburban 7-Eleven with an axe and then hacks into two customers waiting to be served. CCTV footage shows the bloody rampage second by second as it takes place inside the 7-Eleven at Enmore, in Sydney’s inner west, in the early hours of Saturday morning. It is 2.19am and a blonde 24-year-old strolls casually into the store carrying an axe. She is wearing black shorts, a dark singlet top, black sandshoes and, in her right hand, a long-handled black and red axe. The 7-Eleven, which sits at...

MICHAEL Chamberlain, the man who fought one of Australia’s longest battles for justice — the fight to clear his family’s name after their baby daughter Azaria was snatched by a dingo in 1980 — has died aged 72, according to reports.

Australia’s heath minister temporarily stepped down Monday while her travel expense claims are investigated. The scandal surrounding Minister Sussan Ley’s expense claims could trigger the first reshuffle of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s Cabinet since his government was re-elected six months ago. Ley has been under scrutiny since last week over allegations that she made taxpayers pay for personal travel in recent years, including to the tourist city of Gold Coast where she bought a luxury apartment in 2015. Turnbull said Ley had agreed to stand aside without ministerial pay while the prime minister’s department investigated whether her expense claims met...

Australia has a serious cat problem, with feral cats covering 99.8% of the country according to new research published in the journal Biological Conservation. The exact number of cats fluctuates from roughly 1.4 million after continent-wide droughts cramp food sources to about 5.6 million after extensive wet periods, which result in plenty of available prey. An additional 700,000 feral cats are estimated to live in other environments, including Australia’s urban areas, rubbish dumps and intensive farms. Despite this, researchers say that the cats’ impact on Australia’s fauna is still severe, and that reducing this impact is of critical importance. The...

NZ plane hijacker threatens repeat action The country's only convicted plane hijacker has almost completed her prison sentence and is threatening to hijack another aircraft if she gets the chance. Asha Abdille was sentenced in the High Court in Christchurch to nine years jail in 2010. Photo: David Hallett / The Press / Fairfax NZ Asha Abdille stabbed both pilots on an Air New Zealand flight from Blenheim to Christchurch in February 2008. One passenger was injured in the incident. The Somali refugee took knives onto the 19-seater plane, which was forced to make an emergency landing. Abdille was sentenced...

Transgender school students will be able to use their preferred names, wear the uniform and use the toilets of their choice under a new Education Department policy. They will also be able to sleep alongside students of the gender they identify with on school camps. - See more at: http://www.skynews.com.au/news/national/sa/2017/01/05/new-sa-policy-for-transgender-students.html#sthash.ovb0spL2.dpuf

INDONESIA has backed down on its threat to suspend all military ties with Australia, according to reports. Cabinet minister Wiranto issued a statement this evening explaining that the suspension will only apply to language classes at Special Forces facilities, the ABC reported. It’s a stunning reversal from comments made only 24 hours earlier that Indoensia would suspend all military activity and co-operation with Australia after one of its special forces officers was offended by a poster and training materials at a Perth army base which were insensitive to Indonesia’s position on West Papua — a nation which has long-sought independence.