Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has left hospital and is now waiting to leave the country at Beijing airport, but he is yet to be given a passport.

The high-profile activist, who escaped house arrest last month, has previously said he feared for his and his family's safety.

He has told the ABC he is waiting for a passport and he thinks he is going to be put on a flight to the United States.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is monitoring a bulk carrier that is drifting out of control toward the Great Barrier Reef in far north Queensland.

An animation film festival at Wagga Wagga in central New South Wales has drawn entries from filmmakers in 30 countries.

Northern Territory Police have found four of the seven teenagers who escaped from the Alice Springs Juvenile Detention Centre last night.

East Timor will tomorrow commemorate its 10th anniversary since independence from Indonesia, and the World Bank says there are plenty of reasons to celebrate.