December 14, 2016 'Democracy sausage' snags Australia's official word of 2016 A humble barbequed sausage on a slice of bread sold at polling booths around Australia was picked Wednesday as the country's official word of the year — "democracy sausage." Despite being two words, democracy sausage qualified as the Australian National Dictionary Center's word for 2016 because it was essentially a compound word, the center's director Amanda Laugesen said.
December 14, 2016 Sydney swelters through hottest December night in 148 years Sydney residents sweltered through the city's second hottest night on record and its hottest December night in 148 years, with many cooling off at beaches long after dark.
December 13, 2016 Australia nursing home worker jailed for murdering residents A staff member at an Australian nursing home was sentenced on Tuesday to 40 years in prison for murdering two elderly residents and attempting to murder a third with insulin injections.
December 12, 2016 Syrian refugee graduates top of class from Australian school A Syrian refugee has graduated from an Australian high school with top honors just two years after beginning to learn English.
December 9, 2016 Investigative journalist Phillip Knightley dies at 87 Phillip Knightley, an investigative journalist who helped win compensation for victims of thalidomide, has died at the age of 87.
December 9, 2016 Australian-Chinese consortium wins bid for cattle empire The Australian government on Friday approved the sale of the nation's largest cattle empire to Australia's richest woman and her Chinese business partner, ending a drawn-out battle over foreign ownership of farmland.
December 7, 2016 Chinese ship pulls out of MH370 search, leaving lone ship Officials say the sea bed search for the missing Malaysian airliner has been left to a single ship, with a Chinese vessel heading home to Shanghai.
December 6, 2016 Ransomed: The freeing of 226 Christians from Islamic State Over the course of a year, Assyrian Christians raised millions of dollars in ransom money to free more than 200 members of the ancient community who had been taken hostage in Syria by the Islamic State group, those involved in the campaign say.
December 6, 2016 Australian leader rules out generators paying for pollution Australia's prime minister has ruled out making power companies pay for greenhouse gas pollution they create — a policy option that angered conservative government lawmakers when proposed by a minister this week.
December 5, 2016 Zookeeper's punch scares off kangaroo that held dog in headlock It’s been dubbed the most Aussie video you’ll ever see — a man dressed in flannel squaring off with a big kangaroo in the rugged Australian bush.
