Australians may have a love of plain speaking but new laws are set to curtail some of their more colorful language with police issuing on-the-spot fines for obnoxious swearing.

The country's second most populous state Victoria is due to approve new legislation this week under which police will be able to slap fines of up to Aus$240 (US$257) on people using offensive words or phrases.

Banking giant HSBC said Monday it was thinking of introducing Islamic financial services in Australia where the government is keen to use such offerings to grow as a regional finance hub.

"We are a major player in Islamic finance globally and that's an area that we are keeping an eye on," HSBC Bank Australia chief executive officer Paulo Maia told Dow Jones Newswires. "It could be the next one."

Thousands of people turned out for Australia's first "SlutWalk" on Saturday, organizers said, protesting for women to be able to wear whatever they like without fear of being sexually assaulted.

‘SlutWalk’ began in Canada in April after a Toronto police official said that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized".

Australia plans the world's toughest laws on tobacco promotion but Health Minister Nicola Roxon denied Sunday the government's ultimate goal was a complete ban on smoking.

Under proposed legislation, due to take effect next year, all logos will be removed from cigarette packets, which must be a drab olive-green color and be plastered with graphic health warnings.

The tobacco industry on Tuesday threatened to slash the price of cigarettes if Australia goes ahead with plans to introduce plain packaging, saying more people will end up smoking.

Last month, Australia unveiled the world's toughest laws on tobacco promotion that would see cigarettes sold in drab olive-green packets plastered with graphic health warnings.

Australia Tuesday blocked a call from a leading Muslim group for the introduction of a non-extremist version of sharia law, saying local legislation would always win in any clash of cultural values.

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils had urged the government to consider "legal pluralism" for Muslims in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry into a new policy on multiculturalism.

Is it worth life in a wheelchair to take a funny photo to impress somebody you don't know on the Internet?

This is the question police in Australia have posed after a man died on Sunday taking part in the latest craze going viral on the Internet -- "planking".

Women protesting for the right to wear what they like and behave how they choose without facing sexual harassment are set to hold "SlutWalks" across Australia as the movement goes global.

SlutWalk began in Canada in April in response to a Toronto police official saying that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized".

The Lebanese Consul-General to Sydney has reportedly come to Lebanon after a warning he would be arrested if he failed to turn up at an Australian court hearing.

A warrant for Robert Naoum’s arrest is now in the process of being issued after he ignored an order to appear in court over legal and court expenses he incurred in a failed defamation action against a Sydney journalist, said the Sydney Morning Herald.

An Irishman who decided to climb a ladder and move a beehive after downing a few beers has paid the price, being stung more than 60 times.

Andrew Short, an amateur beekeeper in Australia, returned home from the Melbourne Comedy Festival Monday evening in high spirits and thought he'd move a hive from his back yard to the roof of his house.