Phil Mercer

Australia's debt ceiling debate didn't look too much like America's.

Why Australia is happy and booming.

In Australia, conservationists are making the case that koalas are a threatened species. Government regulators aren't so sure.

Researchers from Japan uncover vast underwater deposits of the key materials used to make gadgets from smart phones to laptops, threatening China's dominance as a supplier

Australia's economy was hit by the biggest fall in 20 years in the first quarter, shrinking by 1.2 percent, after extreme weather struck at home and abroad.

Samoa is hoping to move its economy into the future -- by a full 24 hours. The time change would put Samoa on the same schedule as major trading partners like New Zealand and Australia.

The value of the Australian dollar has risen 10.5 percent in less than two weeks. Today, one Australian dollar will buy you $1.03 in U.S. dollars.

The Australian airline Qantas grounded its entire fleet of Airbus A380s after a flight made an emergency landing after an engine ripped off.

Smoking kills millions of people each year. And now public health experts from 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific region want to fight back. They're meeting in Australia to look at ways to take on the tobacco industry. The BBC's Phil Mercer reports.