POLITICS & POLICY

A day before she lost in the Australia Labor Party leadership challenge on Thursday night, then Prime Minister Julia Gillard was the cover girl for Australian Women's Weekly. She was shown indulging in her favourite hobby - knitting. Was the cover photo, seen by many Australians as a put on, prophetic in the sense that Ms Gillard would now have more time to knit kangaroo toys for the royal baby of Prince William and Kate Middleton?

History repeated itself on Wednesday night as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) lost by a leadership vote. Julia Gillard got only 34 votes versus the 57 votes cast for Kevin Rudd, who is now back as prime minister of Australia.

A former director of national intelligence under Obama's administration says Australia and the US do not spy on each other. Admiral Dennis Blair, who is also a former US forces chief in the Pacific, said Edward Snowden is "delusional" and should be put in prison.

Homophobia, defined as the hatred or fear of homosexuals, is growing in Africa so much so that acts and expressions of violence against gay and lesbians have grown more visible and discriminatory, according to Amnesty International.

Chip Starnes, an American and president of Specialty Medical Supplies Beijing Co., Ltd, could not believe his fate. For five days straight now, he has been held against his will and rendered captive inside his own factory in China by workers disgruntled over their salary.

A hailstorm, by far a very rare occurrence in Singapore, pounded the island nation on Tuesday. But government environment authorities stressed the weather disturbance has no relation at all to the ongoing cloud seeding over Indonesia.

Federal Independent MP Rob Oakeshott and New England Independent MP Tony Windsor retire from politics.

"Democracy requires an informed citizenry in order to function properly, and transparency and accountability are essential parts of that. That means knowing what our government is doing to us, in our name." - Bruce Schneier

Labor MPs refuse to show their ‘loyalty’ hands over Gillard and Rudd’s battle for the Australian Labor Party Leadership

The much talked about cover magazine of Prime Minister Julia Gillard knitting a kangaroo for the royal baby backfires as a total turn off to most of NSW voters

Two female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who claimed to have been sexually abused by a former Philippine labor official assigned in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia have surfaced. The women, currently in Jeddah, are determined to press charges against the labor official once they set foot back home.

The White House sex scandal that almost destroyed the political career of then President Bill Clinton is back in the limelight because of the auction of the mementos that belong to former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Angelina Jolie appeared before the United Nations Council to urge officials to stop rape in the war zone.

Australia's Gold Coast may be the hotbed of crime due to the city's worsening incidents of crime and violence. A young man was recently stabbed to death for having alleged bikie connections on the steps of a luxury home in Gold Coast. A former detective and leading criminologist at Bond University, Dr. Terry Goldsworthy says data shows an increasing rate of violent offences throughout the district in the recent years.

The bad weather composed of heavy rain, strong winds and high tides hitting Australia's state of NSW is expected to get worse through Tuesday until Wednesday.

Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has done what most global leaders today find hard to do - to humble himself and his nation before their neighbors for a clear and visible wrongdoing. On Monday, Mr Yudhoyono formally apologised for the smoke haze that is now choking Singapore and Malaysia.

Guilty. Former Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has been made to face the full wrath of Italian law and was slapped with a 7-year jail time for having sex with an underage prostitute.

Labor abandoned its plan of compelling internet and phone companies to save customer’s data for up to two years.

he Australian Labor Party may lose almost half of its lower house seats in the upcoming election in September based on the results of a new poll.

The alleged prostitution sex ring involving Philippine representatives and distressed female distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in foreign lands have been confirmed by at least three Filipinas who got stranded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Tourist authorities in New Zealand are looking for a gay couple in Australia to become the first to marry after New Zealand will legalise same-sex marriage on August 19.

The alleged prostitution sex ring involving Philippine representatives and distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in foreign lands have been confirmed by at least three Filipinas who got stranded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Australian PM Julia Gillard takes a break from politics by posing for a major women's magazine. Her photo on the cover of Australian Women's Weekly shows her knitting with her beloved dog, Reuben. This is a welcome diversion for federal Labor who is currently battling a leadership crisis.

Fairfax Media journalist Joanne McCarthy admitted receiving “bizarre” requests from police handling the cases of a priest’s child abuse

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened higher this morning following comments from US Federal Reserve Presidents overnight that the market may have overreacted to last week's Fed Statement.

Plans are in place to amend the Immigration Act to include harsher sentences for employers who violate the law. Minister of Immigration Michael Woodhouse says specific penalties concerning exploitation of migrants with temporary visas will be introduced soon.

In a bid to seal and formalise the recent passage of the same-sex marriage equality law, Tourism New Zealand has launched a search for the first Australian same-sex couple to be wed on the Tasman shores.

The giant pandas held in captivity in China's Sichuan province has given birth to twins.

In another show of support for gays in the U.S., American President Barack Obama has nominated eight openly gay men to be the country's ambassadors in different nations. Among the eight are John Berry, ambassador to Australia, and James Brewster, ambassador to the Dominican Republic.