A senior Labor figure has warned Parliament should not be used as a court when suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson explains his side of the HSU scandal to the House of Representatives today.

A border protection patrol has intercepted what appears to be the biggest boat of asylum seekers in more than two years.

A strong earthquake has hit Italy, causing at least four deaths and seriously damaging churches, bell towers and a medieval castle.

A senior Labor figure has warned Parliament should not be used as a court when suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson explains his side of the HSU scandal to the House of Representatives today.

A border protection patrol has intercepted what appears to be the biggest boat of asylum seekers in more than two years.

A strong earthquake has hit Italy, causing at least four deaths and seriously damaging churches, bell towers and a medieval castle.

The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people has died, his brother says.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she wants a NATO summit in Chicago to provide a clear plan for local forces to take control of security in Afghanistan.

Several tug boats have reached a bulk carrier adrift in the Coral Sea near the Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland.

The Queensland Government has announced it has removed funding from the HIV awareness group, Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC).

A maintenance worker has plunged to his death in a ship's hold in Newcastle.

Burma is planning to restore a stretch of the infamous Thai-Burma rail line, known as the Death Railway, which was initially built by Japanese-held prisoners of war during World War II.

Pakistan blocked access to Twitter for 12 hours on Sunday, saying the website had refused to remove posts promoting a Facebook competition involving caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

West Coast is back on top of the ladder after earning a five-goal victory over St Kilda at Subiaco Oval on Sunday afternoon.