Beijing and Canberra have agreed to enhance military ties, Chinese state media reported, lauding defense relations between them even as Australia strengthens cooperation with the United States and Japan.

The move follows President Xi Jinping's visit to Australia last month, when they agreed to raise their ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership" and sealed a free trade accord, the official Xinhua news agency reported late Tuesday.

The Australian government was Saturday accused of secrecy over an operation with Sri Lankan authorities in which a boat carrying asylum-seekers was intercepted and all but one of its passengers sent back.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Saturday that a people-smuggling boat carrying 38 Sri Lankans had been stopped north west of the Cocos Islands two weeks ago as it made its way to Australia.

An Australian parliamentary committee Thursday recommended strengthening rules on foreign investment in the country's booming housing market, calling enforcement of the current framework "severely lacking".

The committee's review was commissioned this year amid concerns that local buyers were being squeezed out of the residential property market by foreign investors, particularly cashed-up Chinese.

President Xi Jinping Wednesday hailed China's warmest-ever relations with Australia after a successful state visit that his counterpart Tony Abbott called among "the most remarkable days of my life".

Xi has been feted in Australia, both during the G20 summit in Brisbane and on trips to Sydney, Hobart and Canberra, and he noted that since his first visit in 1988 relations had been "moving forward with a strong momentum".

A second Frenchman who appeared among Islamic State jihadists in a grisly execution video has been identified as a man from an eastern suburb of Paris, a source close to the case said Wednesday.

President Francois Hollande earlier confirmed a second Frenchman was spotted in the video, who the source said went by the name Abu Othman and originated from Val-de-Marne.

Leading critics of President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday urged Britain to step up pressure on the Kremlin chief by imposing sanctions on visiting Russian government officials and oligarchs.

Former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov, members of the punk rock band Pussy Riot and environmental campaigner Evgenia Chirikova also urged Western leaders to stay united against Russia over Ukraine.

Francois Hollande on Tuesday became the first French president to make a state visit to Australia, pushing to strengthen ties almost two decades after nuclear tests in the South Pacific sparked fierce criticism of Paris.

The president, welcomed with a 21-gun salute in parklands on Sydney harbor, said his visit was also designed to underline France's presence in the Pacific and its intention to remain there.

China's President Xi Jinping committed to greater Antarctic cooperation with Australia Tuesday, while fulfilling a long-held dream to visit the nation's smallest state in a trip which included a close encounter with a Tasmanian devil.

Xi supported the use of Australia and particularly of Tasmania as a gateway to the frozen continent in an agreement with Prime Minister Tony Abbott in the state capital Hobart, where the flagship of China's Antarctic program, the Xue Long, is docked.

Australia arranged a warm and fuzzy welcome for the world's most powerful leaders at this weekend's G20 summit with a campaign dubbed "koala diplomacy", in which top politicians cuddled the shy native marsupials.

There may have been sharp differences during policy discussions but G20 leaders were unanimous in their desire to be photographed with the furry grey animals, which were brought in from a local wildlife park for the summit.

Australia and China sealed a landmark trade deal hailed Monday as a "game-changer", abolishing tariffs in the lucrative resources and agricultural sectors as Canberra confronts a painful downturn in mining.

The pact, signed during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, was lauded by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as the first Beijing had reached with a major economy and "the most comprehensive agreement China has concluded with anyone".