POLITICS & POLICY

Despite the nationalist concerns by the UK political elite, support is welling up from many quarters asking the Scottish not to dither in making a choice for independence, reports the Guardian. A report in Guardian talks about the support offered by top leader of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru. In an interview its leader Leanne Wood said solidarity through divergence was a better way of showing people outside of Scotland what is possible

Now that it's been discovered that Russian President Vladimir Putin's daughter Maria is living in Holland with her boyfriend, the people of Netherlands are now clamoring for her deportation to her father's country.

At least 32,000 people in Taiwan were left without power supply after typhoon Matmo pummeled the east Asian country. Matmo has likewise made landfall in China, the country's second weather disturbance within a week.

All they wanted was a chance at a better life. But migrants aboard a boat enroute to Europe didn't realize death could come knocking while they pursue their journey. On Wednesday, Italian police arrested at least five men for the alleged deaths of over 100 as panic ensued triggered by poisonous fumes in the overcrowded boat.

In the upcoming US mid -term elections, Hedge funds tycoon Tom Steyer will unleash a $100 million campaign spread in 7 states as an offensive against Republican party candidates, reports CNN. Backed by his environmental advocacy group the green billionaire is planning to go on an all out offensive to stop Republicans from controlling the Senate and key statehouses by November.

Why did MH17 crash? Here are three popular theories circulating the Internet.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights indicated that Israel might have committed "war crimes" during its offensives in the Gaza Strip.

New Zealand and China will work towards strengthening defence ties, reported 3 News. This is conveyed in a joint statement issued after a high-level meeting held in Wellington between the two sides. The statement also mulls about enhanced cooperation in the South Pacific region.

New Zealand’s Opposition Labour Party is too keen to be back in power in the elections scheduled for Sept 20. However, the rank and file of the party seems to be a tad unhappy at the casual way the top leaders are handling the hard battle. According to a 3 News Report, a controversy is brewing over a media scoop which quoted an anonymous insider from Labour party, blasting the party’s PM candidate David Cunliffe for going on a holiday when the party workers were battling the heat of electi...

A new study published in the American Society for Microbiology online journal mBio has said that the MERS-CoV virus (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) could be spread airborne.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a hard line approach against Russia if it is not mending its ways in patronising the Ukraine rebels. According to a report in the Guardian, Cameron wanted the EU to blacklist the coterie and oligarchs around the Russian President Vladimir Putin. The PM’s hard stand was in response to the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 over eastern Ukraine.

Australian preacher Musa Cerantonio, who is suspected to endorse “jihad” in Syria and Iraq, arrived in Melbourne.

Labour leader David Cunliffe has regretted going on a skiing holiday if he had known about the poor poll results of his party. He said he has decided to focus on Labour's major policies. Reports said that Cunliffe appeared to stay away the animal testing policy of Labour.

A new senator from Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party, who once described Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as a psychotic politician, stirred Aussie radio listeners on Tuesday by listing two traits she wants from potential suitors.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin has yet to admit any responsibility for the downing of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, Russian citizens in Moscow have step up to ask for forgiveness through a memorial. The entrance to Moscow's Dutch Embassy has been turned into a memorial as Russians commemorate the victims and some leave signs claiming "Putin is a terrorist."

In the run up to the elections in New Zealand, regional development is becoming a serious poll issue, reports NZ Herald. Both the National and Labour parties seem to be drumming up support from regional development bodies by showcasing their approach to regional issues pertaining to development.

A Twitter bot had caught a Russian media outlet allegedly tinkering and rewriting the information on a Wikipedia page dedicated for the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

In view of the National Ice Cream Day on the third Sunday of July, an analyst from USA-based online food ordering company GrubHub revealed the most ordered flavors and toppings by Americans.

New fighting erupted at the rebel centre of Donetsk on July 21 near the railway station, with separatists describing the incident as the government's attempt to take back the city.

At least 565 Palestinians died so far, and U.S. finally asks for ceasefire.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: FX markets trade was again quiet, with yesterday's Japanese holiday quelling whatever latent interest may have been around.

The latest poll from Fairfax Nielsen, released on Monday, said that Opposition leader Bill Shorten leads Mr Abbott by 5 per cent as the preferred prime minister with ratings of 46 per cent and 41 per cent, respectively. In terms of being perceived as a trustworthy leader, Shorten even enjoyed a 10 per cent lead over the PM as he got a 45 per cent rating versus Mr Abbott's 35 per cent.

Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi is now a freed man after an Italian appeals court overturned a lower tribunal's guilty verdict handed down in June 2013.

New Zealand pays tribute to a Kiwi woman and her Dutch husband who were among the passengers killed in the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Meanwhile, New Zealand has requested a special meeting of the UN Security Council to call on authorities concerned to secure the MH17 crash site for an international investigation, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key criticised Labour's coherence as it prepares for the election in September. According to reports, Mr Key said Labour was "unfit to rule" the government amid the party's poor results at the polls and other internal problems.

A new player has joined the worldwide list of nations hurtling space missions to Mars. The United Arab Emirates recently announced plans to send a mission to the red planet by 2021.

Japan's highest peak Mount Fuji has been placed by a team of researchers in a "critical state" to erupt, spurred by the pressure built underneath it by the 2011 magnitude-9 Tohoku-Oki earthquake.

At least 18 people have died after typhoon Rammasun struck Hainan island off China's southern coast on Friday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, accused Israel of “barbarism that surpasses Hitler.” Erdogan criticised the Israeli government after it had launched ground invasion in Gaza.