LAW

Former West Australian Premier Brian Burke is facing a new corruption trial after the Court of Appeal in Perth reversed on Wednesday his acquittal by the Supreme Court.

U.S. groups representing victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests on Tuesday sued the pope and Vatican officials before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for crimes against humanity.

Government officials of South Korea consider proposing talks with Japan over the issue of South Korean "comfort women" who were subjected to brutality by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II, Korea Times reported on Tuesday.

The United States government grants tax incentives to companies working on medical breakthroughs, urban redevelopment and alternatives to fossil fuels, the results of which could improve lives worldwide. However, the US government also grants tax breaks for the video game industry. Tax analysts are asking, “Why?” In a country that provides tax breaks for a company that created a video game about killing space zombies, tax analysts are baffled, to say the least.

In an act that could be classified as part of a larger global legal war between Apple and Samsung, a German court banned Korean firm Samsung from selling an iPad-like computer tablet in Germany, ruling it had emulated the iPad.

An international human rights group demanded that Vietnam close down drug rehabilitation centers that are subjecting inmates to abuse and forced labor.

Auckland barrister Mark van Leewarden said 67 people from NZ invested and all together lost $6.7 million over a period of five years when they trusted a Hamilton man now living in Panama. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) confirmed on Wednesday it had investigated a complaint about Tony Lusby and his investment scheme, but they could not act on the Kiwis behalf.

HTC Corp., Asia's second-biggest maker of smartphones, on Thursday filed infringement claims against Apple Inc. using nine patents it bought from Google Inc. HTC believes it now has more ammunition in its fight to fend off multiple patent-infringement claims lodged by Apple that contend phones running Google's Android operating system copy the iPhone.

The parents of an English schoolgirl of Pakistani descent, who went missing eight years ago have appeared in court charged with her murder.

Having a snake as pet in NZ, gets jail time.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the pending sale of 66 F-16 aircrafts from the United States to Taiwan may sever the peaceful development of Sino-US and cross-Strait relations.

The alleged victim, Johnny Jean, and his mother, Rose Marie Jean, told Haitian radio stations he had been raped by Uruguayan marines and provided testimony to a judge in the southern town of Port-Salut, where the incident allegedly took place on July 28.

Qantas pilots have lost a dispute with the airline and its New Zealand subsidiary, Jetconnect.

As British parliamentary hearings on the Murdoch empire's phone hacking scandal resumed Tuesday, James Murdoch's credibility came under more doubt.

The Chinese government through its Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Jiang Yu has validated Libyan opposition spokesman Abdel Raham Busim’s statement that earlier this year, communist China accommodated Muammar Gaddafi’s forces in hope to purchase firearms and other high-caliber guns following the Libyan rebellion, reports said.

WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing site founded by Julian Assange, continues to dodge legal complications.

Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop has contributed an interesting idea to the asylum seeker debate in the wake of Prime Minister Julia Gillard leaving for the Pacific Islands Forum. Ms Bishop has suggested that the PM should use this particular trip to explore the possibility of Nauru taking asylum seekers.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il expressed his distrust in his country's number own trade partner and political ally China, in spite the support the latter has extended to the communist nation, reports said.

Finance Minister Penny Wong has conceded that the downward spiral in the popularity of Prime Minister Julia Gillard is not unexpected.

Things get a little stickier for Julia Gillard as needed public support for her wanes further.

Portuguese authorities arrested two Australian men over attempts to smuggle six pieces of rhinoceros horns valued at $538,000.

Fathers will soon be able to watch their newborns 24/7 when industries begin to grant paternity paid leaves beginning on January 1, 2013.

The Australian Prime Minister has defended comments she has made about the High Court in relation to the Malaysian refugee deal initially proposed by the Government, eliciting criticism from the Law Council of Australia.

Assistant Foreign Minister Wu Hailong on Friday called for larger representation of developing countries within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), specifically African nations, in line with the UN's goal for reform.

The perils of making friends via social networking websites have never been clearer, but warning signs have abound after cases such as murder and theft have been linked to some friends found through Facebook and other social networks.

The Australian parliament passed two bills that would make the nation the first country to introduce plain cigarette packaging in place of company branding.

One of Australia's most wanted men, who allegedly strapped a fake bomb on the neck of an 18-year-old, has been arrested in Kentucky, U.S. authorities said.

Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) signed a deal to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) total of $12.5 billion. While Google has assured that the Android will continue to be open source, and thus available to other smartphone makers, questions remain as to how Google will beef up its newly owned Motorola when the Android platform is also being 'freely' made available to Motorola's rivals.

Prime Minister David Cameron said on Thursday that government was considering blocking the use of social media services like FaceBook, Twitter, BlackBerry Messenger to prevent riots.