Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Australia's centre-right government is poised to lose its one-seat majority in parliament after early counting in a crucial by-election on Saturday showed voters deserting the Scott Morrison-led government.
The governing Liberals suffered a 23 percent swing against the party with just over 20 percent of votes counted in the by-election for the constituency of Wentworth, according to the electoral commission.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp forecast the early swing was enough to strip the seat from the government, with an independent candidate emerging as the likely winner.
Should the projection hold, Morrison will be left relying on the support of independent lawmakers to continue to govern. The next election is not due until May 2019, although it could occur earlier if the government can't win the support of the independents.
Two independents have already ruled out supporting the government, and others have warned Morrison that he will have to pay a hefty price for their backing.
A large group of Australians have protested Friday their premier’s remarks on relocating the country’s embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing the city as the capital of Israel.The demonstration organized by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) was held in Melbourne city in support of Palestinians. The protestors also condemned the Israeli violence against the people of Palestine.The protest came after Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was “open to” relocating his country’s embassy to Jerusalem and recognizing the city as the capital of Israel.The protesters were of the view the prime minister’s remarks would do nothing other than making problem in the region even harder to resolve.Video: Activists protest Morrison's Jerusalem embassy move The demonstrators chanted pro-Palestine slogans as “Free Palestine” and “Free Jerusalem”.In December, U.S. President Donald Trump triggered world outcry after unveiling plans to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and declare the city as the capital of Israel.Ever since, the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah has rejected any U.S. role in the stumbling Middle East peace process.Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Middle East conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
Australians protest PM's remarks on embassy relocation
Southeast Asian defence ministers on Friday agreed to a set of guidelines to manage unexpected aerial encounters between their military aircraft, and a deal to exchange information on terrorism and extremism.The leaders of the ten-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping signed the joint declaration following a meeting in Singapore.A code to manage unexpected encounters at sea already exists and was adopted last year by ASEAN countries alongside Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russian Federation, and the United States.All 10 also agreed to adopt the "our eyes" initiative, launched by six member-states in January, as a platform to exchange information on terrorism, radicalism, violent extremism, and other "non-traditional" threats in the region. 
Southeast Asia agrees guidelines on air encounters, terrorism data swaps