A long journey over water from Iran to Australia changed refugee Mahdi Sadaghiyani’s life dramatically in more ways than one. “When we were coming to Australia a person fell out in the water,” he said. Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/refugees-lifesavers-to-give-back-to-queensland-community-20150109-12l3d0.html

When Luz Restrepo fled her native Colombia as a political refugee, she didn’t only lose her home. She also lost her identity. The successful businesswoman and university lecturer arrived in Australia in 2010 with no English and no connections. Read…

Joel Carnegie meets musicians who’ve sought refuge in Australia, along with others from rich cultural heritages who’ve lived here for longer periods of time. They all come from professional classical or traditional music backgrounds and they all want to share…

Global demographics are set to undergo unprecedented change as several of the world’s population powerhouses approach stark slowdowns with falling fertility rates and ageing populaces. For much of the world a new era of one child families has dawned and…

The latest federal budget is likely to exacerbate income inequality and poverty in Australia, including among newly-arrived migrants, according to a Senate report into inequality. The report titled ‘Bridging our growing divide: inequality in Australia’ and produced by the federal…

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has dismissed UN criticism of Australia’s asylum seeker policies. A report by the United Nation Committee on Torture, released on Saturday, has slammed Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers, warning of physical and mental suffering, persecution and…

The European Union’s top court has ruled that governments can deny benefits to citizens from another EU state if they have moved countries “solely” to claim benefits. The ruling has come as a relief to governments under fire from Euro-sceptical…

The emergence of Africa as an economic powerhouse has been predicted for more than two centuries. But finally, Africa may be at the dawn of a new economic age, with growing exports fuelling a burgeoning new middle class. In 2010,…

A second wave of migrants escaping the Greek economic crisis has brought much-need skills to Melbourne and and inspired a cultural renewal in the third-largest Greek-speaking city. Victoria Kyriakopoulos reports. Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/greece-is-the-word-for-new-migrants-20141111-11k5cb.html

Australians believe there are nine times as many Muslims living here and an extra 1.6 million migrants that actually call Australia home. The also believe 37 per cent of the population is over 65 and 15 per cent of teenage…

PALLIATIVE care will be easier to access after the lauch of an educational program for Hume’s Arabic-speaking communities. Health Minister David Davis visited Broadmeadows late last month to unveil the Culturally Responsive Palliative Care Project for Arabic-speaking groups, ensuring they…

The federal government is investigating claims the first Afghan asylum seeker to be forcibly deported from Australia was held hostage and tortured by the Taliban within weeks of his return. ABC’s Lateline program on Monday night aired footage that Afghan police say…