Australian banking giant Westpac on Monday posted a 12 percent jump in full-year net profit to Aus$7.56 billion (US$6.60 billion), driven by growth in lending volumes and customer deposits.

The result in the 12 months to September 30 compared to Aus$6.82 billion the previous year, with chief executive Gail Kelly hailing it as "high quality" at a time of slower global growth.

A man who taxied his light plane down a street in Australia and parked it at a pub while he went inside for a beer was being questioned Monday by police, who were not amused.

Locals in Newman, Western Australia, were stunned when they saw the wingless Beechcraft two-seater aircraft chugging down the main drag of the mining town in the Pilbara region, before pulling up at the local watering hole.

The United States and Australia said Friday they were lifting sanctions against Fiji after elections in the Pacific island nation last month following eight years of military rule.

U.S. Ambassador Frankie Reed said that in recognition of Fiji's return to democracy, Washington was lifting restrictions on financial assistance and visas, as well as exploring fresh engagement with the country's military.

Australia on Thursday passed a law criminalizing travel to terror hotspots, a tough counter-terrorism measure aimed at stopping jihadists from going to Iraq and Syria to fight.

The Australian government has been increasingly concerned about the flow of foreign fighters to the Middle East to join militant groups such as Islamic State, with 70 Australians believed to have already made the journey.

New Zealand will hold a binding referendum in 2016 on changing the national flag, with Prime Minister John Key hoping to drop the current design featuring Britain's Union Jack in favor of a silver fern.

Key announced a schedule Wednesday for New Zealanders to vote on the contentious issue, saying it was time for the former British colony to adopt a flag that was more recognizably Kiwi after more than a century under the existing banner.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi stressed on Tuesday that Christians should help Muslims to confront the assault against Islam by terrorists.

“The developments in the Middle East are not related to ethics or humanity in any way,” al-Rahi said during his visit to the state of Victoria in Australia.

Australia said Monday it was suspending migration from Ebola-hit West African nations to try to prevent the virus from crossing its borders, as a teenager who arrived from Guinea tested negative for the disease.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison told parliament the government had stopped issuing visas to people from those countries hit by the disease, which has claimed close to 5,000 lives in its worst outbreak.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi voiced on Sunday his support for the Lebanese army, while condemning the attack against it in the northern city of Tripoli.

He said during his Sunday sermon: “We pray for the success of the military institution and security forces in preserving security and stability in Lebanon.”

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-RAhi renewed on Saturday his call for the election of a new head of state, rejecting to let the Lebanese get used to the vacuum at the Baabda Palace.

“There is no justification for not electing a new president,” al-Rahi said during a meeting at the Maronite Diocese of Saint Maron of Sydney in Australia.

An Australian state is set to unveil tougher measures to tackle bats after three flying foxes were found to be carrying the deadly lyssavirus, officials said Thursday.

The New South Wales government fears transmission of the potentially fatal Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) to humans and the state's health department has issued a warning to residents not to approach the bats.