Russian president Vladimir Putin reappears after 10 unexplained days out of public view, laughing off the "gossip" over his health that had erupted during his absence.

The Indigenous Affairs Minister promises to boost the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the Federal Government employs, even if his new policies upset non-Indigenous Australians.

The journalists' union and crossbench senators criticise a compromise aimed at protecting reporters' sources from the Federal Government's proposed metadata retention laws.

Motoring Enthusiast Party Senator Ricky Muir is the latest crossbencher to confirm he will vote against the Federal Government's bill to deregulate university fees.

An international human rights group says Cyclone Pam's most vulnerable victims are the women left in its devastating wake.

Conservative Christian group, the National Civic Council, orchestrated a campaign to spam federal Liberal MPs with thousands of emails in support of Prime Minister Tony Abbott ahead of last month's spill vote.

The National Gallery in Canberra is offering the chance for visitors to strip-down and experience the popular James Turrell exhibition in the nude.

Murder charges are laid against three men over the death of a man whose body parts washed up in the Maribyrnong River in western Melbourne.

The Government agrees to an Opposition demand to modify its data retention legislation, to better protect journalists' sources.

A Federal Government move to sideline a $1.9 billion budget cut to higher education courses and push ahead with fee deregulation fails to sway the Senate crossbench.

New South Wales Government plans to sell off electricity poles and wires could worsen the state's budget position, a leading economist says.

Mining company Linc Energy is alleged to have exposed workers to dangerous gases at an experimental plant in Queensland.

Members of Sydney's Muslim community have set up a $1 million television studio to counter the mainstream media's treatment of Islam in Australia.

A Red Bull adviser has warned that the team could pull out of F1 unless changes were made to the current regulations.

An explosive text message leaked to the ABC's Four Corners reveals the treasurer of the Federal Liberal Party urged the removal of the PM's chief of staff Peta Credlin, referring to her as the "Horsewoman of the Apocalypse".

A new taskforce and extra staff will work to contain the threat of an outbreak of Panama disease in Queensland's far north.