POLITICS & POLICY

Factories of at least 18 garment makers in two cities in Bangladesh have been ordered to shut down as the death toll from the April collapse of a building rose steadily, now reaching 804.

Australian soldiers were reportedly facing a case of misconduct in Afghanistan.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar remains below USD 1.0200 this morning as central banks around the world are reacting to the enormous levels of cash pumping through their economies.

From being just a mere restaurant dishwasher, Charles Ramsey is now regarded around the world as the uncanny hero responsible for the escape of decade-long kidnapped victim Amanda Berry and her two companions.

Heroes are made. And they don't necessarily need to be white or perhaps as dashing as Thor's Chris Hemsworth, as filthy rich as Iron Man's Tony Stark or as powerful as Superman. Heroes can come from any nook in the neighborhood and yes, from any colour or race, such as "black" Charles Ramsey, the accidental hero in the escape of decade-long kidnapped Amanda Berry.

After the US government directly linked China to cyber attacks launched against some its institution and business, China releases a categorical denial and dismisses the allegation as a mere ploy to justify the US government's efforts to shore up its military capabilities and to hype up China;s perceived military threat.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened lower this morning again following yesterday's decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to reduce interest rates by 0.25% to 2.75%.

Is it time for marriage equality? Majority of Australians seems to think so, according to an Essential poll.

Will Australia ever have an aboriginal or indigenous prime minister? This teasing question was thrown to Aussies through a full page advert in the Saturday edition of The Australian.

The decision of Australia's central bank to cut interest rates to 53-year low has been well received by business groups still reeling from aneamic economic fundamentals led by exports and low consumer demand.

US closed mixed, with Bank of America advancing strongly on news of a key mortgage securities settlement. The broad-based S&P 500 edged to a new all-time closing high, rising 3.08 (0.19 per cent) to 1,617.50. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 5.07 (0.03 per cent) to 14,968.89 and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.34 (0.42 per cent) to 3,392.97.

A surprise jolt underneath the Philippine's Mayon Volcano, world-renowned for its perfect cone shape until its last eruption in 2010, has claimed 5 lives when the volcano spewed ash early on the morning of Tuesday.

Apart from re-elected Prime Minister Najib Razak, one of the big winners in Malaysia's recently concluded national elections is the Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp and its' processing plant in Kuantan.

It was supposed to be a fun-filled Saturday night out for newlywed bride Neriza Fojas, a 31-year-old registered nurse from Fresno and her friends but it ended in tragedy. A stretch limousine carrying the 9 female passengers suddenly burst into flames at the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge in San Francisco Bay killing 5 passengers, including the newlywed, and injuring 4 women during the 90-second fire.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened lower this morning ahead of the Reserve Bank's interest rate announcement today.

IG MARKETS CHIEF STRATEGIST, CHRIS WESTON'S VIEWS:Asian markets have opened the new week on a firmer footing after the solid US payrolls report. Still, with Japan offline today volumes have been pretty poor in the markets that are still open.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 142.38 (0.96 per cent) to 14,973.96 on Friday, after having breached the 15,000 mark earlier for the first time.

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia may already pale in comparison to the rise and creative inventions of Apple and Samsung Electronics Co, but in the UAE, it still remains king of mobile phones, at least according to a review by the country's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has pushed higher by half a US Cent, to now be above USD1.0300, due to a strong US jobs market result on Friday night.

Sexy, blonde bombshells like Pamela Anderson are not sufficient enticements for the 53-year-old bachelor president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, particularly if the subject matter is an ailing elephant.

The political career of Conservative MP for the Ribble Valley may be at risk following the arrest on Saturday of 55-year-0ld Nigel Martin Evans on charges of rape and sexual assault filed by two men in their 20s.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) on Thursday has finally stamped its approval paving for the usage of Samsung Electronics Co. and Research in Motion Ltd. (Blackberry) devices in its defense network.

Federal Government releases white paper detailing its decision to purchase F-35

The official Korean Central News Agency confirmed on Thursday, May 2, that the Supreme Court sentenced US citizen Kenneth Bae to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea for allegedly committing “hostile acts” against the Korean government. The US government currently insists amnesty and release for the captured US citizen.

Carmen Blandin Tarleton of Thetford began her “hell journey” in 2007 after husband Herbert Rodgers struck her with a bat and soaked her face with industrial-strength lye due to suspicion of infidelity. Six years later after the attack, the 44-year-old victim publicly revealed for the first time her new look from the successful face transplant surgery at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s hospital in February 2013.

A man from Australia might face public beheading if proven to be a terrorist

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Essentially, the government of Papua New Guinea wants a life for every irrationally claimed life.

He received it as a gift meant to entertain and educate him with the rigours of responsible gun handling and gun safety. But what should have been a simple child's toy has claimed a life of another loved one.

It has become tradition at La Estancia de Cafayate for Casey Research to host an intimate conference in conjunction with the Harvest Celebration. In the most recent of the series, Bill Bonner, co-founder of The Daily Reckoning, kicked the program off with a thought-provoking discussion about the nature of information.