Sydney  - Australian Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon was fighting to keep his job Thursday after admitting he failed to declare trips to China paid for by family friend and prominent local businesswoman Helen Liu.

"This was a mistake, and for that, I apologize," the embattled minister said after being carpeted in Canberra by Education Minister Julia Gillard, who is standing in for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd while he tours abroad.

Melbourne, Mar 26 :  A 139-year-old envelope, which is believed to be earliest known airmail item addressed to Australia, has fetched more than 190,000 dollars at an auction.

The envelope, or so-called balloon post cover, was flown out of Paris in 1870 by hot air balloon when Paris was under siege from the Prussian army in the Franco-Prussian war.

It has been bought for by a French buyer for a record price of 190,800 dollars.

Manila - The Philippines and Australia have signed a new air service agreement that raises the number of flights and airline seats between the two countries, the Australian ambassador said Thursday.

Under the agreement signed on March 13, Philippine and Australian airlines are now able to offer up to 4,000 seats each way per week from the previous limit of 2,500 seats.

Over time, and in response to demand, the new limit could be increased to 6,000 seats, said Australia's ambassador to Manila, Rod Smith.

Sydney, March 26 : The Australian police have warned aspiring models against web predators, after a 35-year-old Indian national has been charged with sexually assaulting a young woman in Sydney.

Cops have revealed that the man used the online name James Carter, and posed as a modelling agent on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook.

They allege that he arranged for a meeting with the woman after chatting with her online, spiked her drink, and raped her.

Sydney, Mar. 26 : Triple Olympic medallist Eamon Sullivan was left red-faced following a drunken argument with a short-changed cabbie.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Sullivan left the driver short of his ten dollar fare after being driven home from a pub crawl at Kings Cross on Wednesday night.

After realising he did not have the money to pay the fare, the world''s fastest swimmer spent more than 15 minutes rummaging through his Sydney house for extra cash.

Melbourne  - BMW-Sauber Thursday filed a protest against rival teams Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota over their cars three days ahead of the Australian Grand Prix.

BMW motorsport director Mario Theissen said the team was protesting over the use of the three teams' diffusers.

Protests from Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull were expected to follow.

The dispute centres around the rear diffusers, a part of the bodywork between the rear wheels and under the rear wing which disperse air from under the car.