POLITICS & POLICY

Barbecue-related activities and cooking in open stoves in public, densely-populated places in China would soon be prohibited to limit the smog but could be a bane to street food hawkers and vendors.

Majority of Australians believe that the September national election would be a contest between the Coalition and the Australian Labor Party. Which party would get a majority vote would determine who would be Australia's next prime minister.

Stocks continued to sink midday, after reports of manufacturing pullbacks in the U.S. and Europe piled on top of investor concerns over the possibility of an earlier-than-expected end to the Federal Reserve's stimulus programs.

Bell FX Currency Outlook:The Australian Dollar hit a 4-month low in early morning trade due to a number of issues which has dampened recent market confidence, but did find support at this key level.

At the rate that Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth of Britain, is hitting the news for his jokes, he could give any court jester a run for his money. On Wednesday, the Joke (Duke) of Edinburgh once more made the frontpages of British dailies when he joked that the Philippines must be half-empty because the other half is working as nurses in his country.

Residents in towns located across northern NSW have been advised to brace for a wet weather on Thursday evening going towards Friday morning in what could also potentially result to floods, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

A senatorial candidate in the Philippines, millionaire Jamby Madrigal, is on the hot seat due to an advertisement in her Facebook fan page account that if anyone "likes" her page, they will win a free Apple iPad.

Stocks held shallow losses after minutes from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy-setting meeting showed rising unease about its recent stimulus efforts

Australian voters who are tired of the months-long Julia Gillard-Tony Abbott word wars - which range from misogyny issues to the carbon and mining taxes - can temporarily heave a sigh of relief.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar tumbles in morning trade as the U.S. established gains with the Federal Reserve minutes showing concern that more quantitative easing might be needed.

Formerly known as QR National, rail operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd. on Wednesday slashed its full year guidance for coal haulage volumes as it expects the January 2013 floods that affected Queensland would greatly impact operations and earnings.

A UFO sighting of three strange lights forming a triangle in the night sky was reported in video format to MUFON from Plano City in Texas. The footage was received a day after an old photo of the sky outside a Wisconsin house was submitted for scrutiny. Take a look at the photos and video to check out what the uploaders may or may have not missed.

The smog pollution that hit China's capital in Beijing, so massive that it even crossed borders over to Japan, has been found to contain cancer causing photochemicals.

No shots were fired. No one was injured. The robbery was over within minutes. That told, and eight hooded thieves have just pulled off what could be one of the biggest $50 million worth diamonds heist in a lifetime.

Probably nobody by now would question the effectiveness of social media networking site Facebook when it comes to locating missing people or raising charity for people or organisations in need. Yet this proven efficacy took another dimension for a mother who was contacted by local police of her son's death through Facebook.

The breaking of the Labor-Green Party coalition on Tuesday did not surprise political observers in Australia. After all, politicians follow the most important rule in the business, that is - In politics there are no permanent friends or enemies, only permanent interest. What pundits would observe is Greens leader Christine Milne's next moves given that the country's election is just a few months away. They are asking if Ms Milne would do a Nick Clegg and be a kingmaker, while at the same t...

On the 19th of February, leaders of two Southeast Asian countries informed that a new high-speed rail link would be build between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital of Malaysia.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar was little changed for the second successive night in offshore markets. The AUD looks to the RBA rate cut expectations should recede further with the economic news trickling in.

Blue chips rose to within 1% of all-time highs, as reports of corporate dealmaking and an upbeat reading on German investor sentiment emboldened stock-market bulls. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 46 points, or 0.3%, to 14027 in mid-afternoon Tuesday trading as investors returned from the three-day Presidents Day holiday weekend.

Photo-sharing site Instagram has finally arrived! The popular site with more than 100 million members as of January 2013 was where the photo of a Palestinian boy with his head in the crosshairs of a sniper rifle was shared. The photo spared international outrage.

This time hopefully, with the aid of technology and satellite mapping, the much-hyped Titanic II would be able to make a full maiden voyage of the world and return back in one piece with all its onboard travelers still alive and breathing normally.

Queensland's great flood for the first quarter of 2013 may have already went past, but the effects of the recent floods caused by ex-cyclone Oswald apparently are still not. On early Tuesday morning, a two-storey building that housed a marine supplies business caved in a "sinkhole" in flood-ravaged Bundaberg where authorities fear could further swallow at least 10 more other business establishments along its way.

The 2013 Russia Meteor Blast became a historical event for the affected city of Chelyabinsk. While most people found the meteor blast as a terrifying experience, some Netizens decided to use a humorous approach to tackle the rare space phenomenon with the use of funny memes that immediately spread like wildfire on the internet.

With U.S. markets closed for a holiday on Monday, European stock markets ended low but Asia-Pacific markets hit higher notes led by Japan now avoiding criticism on a weakening yen.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened little changed this morning in relatively quiet markets.

The Brighton and Hove City Councils plan to replace the usual male and female lavatories with gender-neutral toilets to make it easier for the cities' transgenders. Instead of the words MEN or LADIES, the new loos to be built would have the images of a male, female and child as an indicator anyone, regardless of gender or sexual preference could use the toilet.

Residents off Melbourne's northern suburbs have been advised to stay alert and calm as a fast moving 200 hectare out of control grassfire could pose an immediate threat to lives and homes in the Wollert area.

No less than Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has gotten into the fray of allegations against virtual marketplace Amazon over employing neo-Nazi tactics against its foreign workers. Ms Merkel wants the online retailer to explain pronto.

Just when everyone was preparing to go to work or school, paramedics were blaring sirens and rushing to reach the Grocon Myer redevelopment site at Melbourne's CBD in hopes to revive and save a man who accidentally fell from a scaffolding 10 storeys high above the ground. But death was instant the minute he slammed on to the pavement.