An Indian national has been arrested for sending lewd pictures to teenage girls to groom them for sex in Australia. Tegveer Sandhu, 24, sent the images in March last year to an undercover police officer he mistook for a 13-year-old girl.
Punjabi is the second-largest foreign language spoken in Australia, owing to the large number of immigrants from this part of the country. "Punjabi has become an indispensable part of Australia. In fact, it is the second-largest foreign language spoken in Australia," said Eric Abetz, leader of the opposition in the Australian Senate, who is on his maiden visit to India.
Emotional members of the Indian community in Melbourne paid tribute to the young woman who died of injuries after she was brutally assaulted and raped in New Delhi on 16th December. Around 40 people gathered on the steps of the Indian consulate on St Kilda Road to light candles and pray for the 23-year-old, whose death on Saturday morning has sparked protests in India.
The Sikh community in Australia has protested the government's move to disallow the kirpan (ceremonial knife) being worn in schools through an amendment in the constitution. The Weapons Act 1990 states, "A Sikh may possess, in a public place, a knife known as a kirpan to comply with the person's religious faith."
The Indian-origin nurse, who committed suicide after answering a hoax phone call about the Duchess Kate's pregnancy, had reportedly made two attempts to kill herself a year ago and had been prescribed antidepressants.
The Australian radio hosts who made a prank call to a London hospital treating Prince William's wife Kate tearfully told of their heartbreak on Monday at hearing that a nurse had been found dead.
Taking the legacy of her father ahead, Amanjot Kaur Ramoowalia helped a family of nearby Dhaliwal Bet village in getting the body of their son back from Australia. Tirath Singh, who went to Australia six years ago and had got the citizenship six months back, died of a heart attack a few days back.
Celebrating the Hindu festival of lights, an annual Diwali event was held here that attracted thousands of Indians and locals to enjoy cultural performances along with fund raising for an awareness campaign to "stop violence against women".
Australian leaders' on Saturday expressed deep shock over sudden demise of India's consul general in Melbourne, S K Behera. Behera, 50, died last night after a massive heart attack.
Australia is keen to expand its defence ties with India and develop maritime security architecture with the Asian giant in the strategic Indian Ocean region. Australian defence minister Stephen Smith who met visiting West Bengal Governor and former National Security Advisor MK Narayanan in Sydney discussed expansion of security and defence ties with India.
An Australian lawmaker has tabled in parliament a petition seeking that the horrific violence that took place in November 1984 in India following the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi be recognised as genocide against the Sikh community.
An Indian-Australian taxi driver has been charged with a 'culpable driving' offence, after he sped and zig-zagged his car that had five passengers, before crashing into a pole. One of the passengers was killed on Lygon Street, Brunswick (Melbourne).
An estranged Indian-origin couple died in a mysterious house fire here on Thursday. Police said officers were attending an unrelated matter in the area when they observed a fire coming from a house in Hale Street early this morning.
A 28-year-old Indian taxi driver was on Tuesday found guilty by an Australian court of raping his inebriated female passenger last year in Brisbane. Sunveer Jassar, hailing from Punjab, was found guilty of raping the intoxicated female student in the back of his cab after driving her to an isolated area in Brisbane's city centre last year on April 12, according to The Courier Mail.
The Australian government will introduce 'label-free visa' travel arrangements for Indians from October 1, 2012, which means applicants would not need to deposit their passports for a visa stamp.