The Arab League is going to meet later in the week to discuss the crisis in Syria. A decision by the league to suspend Syria's membership sparked big protests throughout the country. Violent mobs stormed the Saudi and Qatari embassies in Damascus. The French and Turkish diplomatic missions were also attacked. France and Saudi Arabia have condemned the attacks and Turkey is now evacuating the families of diplomatic staff from the country. 

 

More Aboriginal communities will soon have their family welfare payments linked to school attendance for their children. The Federal Government will introduce legislation next week to extend the intervention program to more than 20 Aboriginal communities. The program’s aimed at fighting high rates of truancy. 

 

Police in South Africa have confirmed that cricket writer and commentator Peter Roebuck took his own life. Mr Roebuck was found dead outside his hotel room in Cape Town at the weekend. He was there to cover the first test series between South Africa and Australia for the ABC and Fairfax. South African police investigators had spoken to Mr Roebuck earlier in the day, but they won't confirm reports that police were present in Mr Roebuck's Cape Town hotel when he took his own life.