Australia to beef up security

The Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, has announced that his country is spending an extra $50m on security of its embassies, following last week's attack on the British consulate in Istanbul.

Mr Downer said that in what he called the age of terrorism, Australian diplomatic missions could become targets.

He said most of the money would be spent in South-East Asia and the Middle East, and that in some cases security around existing buildings would be upgraded, while in others embassies and consulates would be relocated.

Australia - one of the closest allies of the United States - has already spent more than $20m on upgrading security around its diplomatic missions since last year.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service