POLITICS & POLICY

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.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened below 1.0300 this morning as markets on Friday night had a generally quiet session.

Stocks edged mostly lower as declines in Wal-Mart Stores and the energy sector offset firm readings on consumer confidence and New York manufacturing.

Malaysia detained and deported Australian independent Senator Nick Xenophon over the weekend. Authorities cited his being a security risk as the reason behind their action against the senator.

The Australian Capital Tourism (ACT) has asked 500 Humans to participate and show support with the 2013 Human Brochure campaign but the most important social media campaign reached approximately 4.2 million Humans in Australia.

If only the Earth can catch it, Asteroid 2012 DA14, which is expected to flyby the planet on Feb. 16 at 4:30am (AEDT), could have a variety of valuable resources, including metals such as iron and nickel, as well as water that can be utilised in space as rocket fuel, all worth a whopping US$195 billion.

How ironic that as the Philippines battles its sovereignty claims with China over portions of waters and islands at the South China Sea, local bookstore chains in the former had been unknowingly selling globes to schools, offices and homes that had already depicted China as the rightful owner of those highly contested territories.

Blue chips remained in the red mid-day, but gains in energy and consumer-staples sectors helped pull the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to the flat line in a deal-heavy day.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened slightly higher, following a night in which the key news was the release of worse than expected Euro Zone GDP data, confirming the ongoing recession.

Sydney police arrested on Thursday Khoder Zahab, 42, at the family residence in Bankstown for the death of his father, Toufic Zahab, 69. Khoder allegedly killed his father and even beheaded him.

Shares of Alumina Ltd jumped as much as nine per cent on Thursday as China's largest state-owned investment company, Citic Group Corp, announced it will buy off a 13 per cent stake into the Australian alumina refiner.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian Dollar bounces to two week high.

There are some single persons who despise the date February 14 or better known as Valentine’s Day. It’s either they bitterly witness how the couples publicly display their affection for each other or watch bouquets of roses as well as boxes of chocolates being delivered almost everywhere which has been pointed out in numerous “Forever Alone” memes.

German supermarket chain Aldi has plans of adding as many as 110 stores across South and West Australia as it boosts its 300-strong supermarkets portfolio all over Australia.

Australia got enmeshed in a nasty human rights violation scenario as 23 Indonesian minors prepare to file a civil suit against the federal government on allegations they were locked up in adult prisons where they suffered abuse.