POLITICS & POLICY

As the month of May comes to an end, the May 31 Friday night will provide one last spectacular 2013 Dance of the Planets view. Planets Jupiter, Mercury and Venus will be forming a rare straight alignment with the visibility of a “closer-than-usual” Supermoon.

Whether one admits it or not, the very reason racism still exists in Australia is because parents continue to put it in the minds of their young.

American-Iranian national Mansour J. Arbabsiar has been slapped with a maximum 25-year jail time by a New York federal judge on Thursday for his 2011 plot to murder Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.

The mermaid hoax on Animal Planet drew mixed reactions from its 3.6 million viewers (and still counting). Social media channels are being filled with mermaid insights, jokes and memes. "Mermaids: The New Evidence" is drawing much publicity - both good and bad. Have you seen the mockumentary?

Should unmanned aircrafts, drones or robots be allowed to kill people without supervision or control? It seems like a plot right out of a science fiction novel but the answer to this question remains under debate as UN officials examine reports of developing countries planning to build armed defense robots.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar remains steady above USD 0.9600 once again after a relatively quiet session overnight.

Australian farmers are not happy with what’s happening and they are taking it out. More and more farmers are turning to social media to aid their cause. Just as corporations use social media for their promotions, Australian farmers are learning their value in terms of defending their livelihood and challenging their opponents.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed himself to history when he approved several measures legalizing marijuana. The governor took the first steps in implementing marijuana in the state making Colorado the first potential legal pot market for adults in the world. Colorado will become the first place to have legal, regulated and taxed marijuana.

The Philippines has called on China to stop interfering with its sovereign affairs in the West Philippine Sea. The Philippines asserts ownership of the territory and claims China has no right to dictate on what the Philippines can or cannot do with its own domain.

The strong growth posted by the Philippines for the first quarter of 2013 has made the country the fastest growing economy in Asia, taking the pole position from perennial number one China.

It appears that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is a favourite sandwich target among students. Within the same month, two sandwiches had been thrown at her.

Aimed to control the population of the Rohingya Muslims in Western Myanmar, officials imposed a two-child policy

The Big IF campaign in London adds Bill Gates and David Beckham to its list of contributors. The highly publicized rally is set on June 8 at Hyde Park.

Women empowerment, it seems, is slowly getting powerful in Saudi Arabia so much that Abdullah Mohamed al-Dawood, a self-help writer and cleric, had to create a hashtag in Twitter to spur a campaign against its women. But it was not simple tweet. He specifically wanted Saudi men to molest working women.

Labor says the deal made between major parties regarding electoral funding is not going as expected. Coalition backbenchers told ABC that some members of the party are not happy about the electoral deal – measures are not going smoothly.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar remains steady above USD 0.9600 this morning after a very volatile day yesterday and then an offshore session in which financial markets showed genuine skittishness as only they can at times.

Prime Minister Gillard came to the government’s defense following the discovery of funding records for Australia’s intelligence agencies. Four Corners previously reported that the cyber attack launched by Chinese hackers also targeted ASIO.

France blacklisted a total of 17 countries over alleged Foreign Aid Fraud

Despite piles of incriminating evidence, including a checklist and a timeline for the attacks, the mother of 17-year-old Grant Alan Acord who planned to stage a bomb attack on his school said the youth is mentally sick.

3D printer makers have facilitated the creation of the printed gun, printed bullet, even a 3D printed tracheal splint to help save a baby's life. It has been reported that an Austin company wants to manufacture 3D pizzas for astronauts. Then comes in the U.S. Navy which is mulling to turn city-sized aircraft carriers into mobile factories through the aid of 3D Printing. With the do-it-yourself mentality hype that accompanies 3D printing, it won't be a surprise that the simple technology wo...

After about 23 years, Italian Mafia’s big bosses and Italian officials faced trial for conspiracy

Top ranking Catholic official Cardinal George Pell faced the Victorian Parliament yesterday afternoon to answer sexual child abuse queries. The cardinal admitted to the committee that the Church indeed tried covering up the scandal and that members of the clergy were involved.

The problem with this government is that it takes an eternity for it to act on crucial law enforcement laws, Michelle Roberts, Australian State Opposition's police spokeswoman, ranted on Tuesday.

Lesbian lovers, Rehana Kausar and Sobia Kamar defied Muslim religion as they exchange their vows in a registry office in London

The Google Inc.'s executive top brass has finally commented on the recent spate of calls that the company has had from UK's tax officials. The edgy-criticism came from Google Inc.'s executive chairman Eric Schmidt who is commonly recognized for his snappy 'don't be evil' phrases.

Planets Jupiter, Mercury and Venus are currently performing their exceptional dance in the night sky and they will carry on for the rest of the week. Captured images of the 2013 Dance of the Planets are now being shared on the social networking site Twitter for online viewers to see.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened almost unchanged this morning after a quiet offshore session overnight.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has accused China of stealing the blueprints of the agency's new headquarters in Canberra. The blueprints, which contain highly confidential and sensitive information on the new ASIO base, were reportedly stolen from a contractor involved with the project.

He was supposed to take care of the elderly and infantile, but the reversed happened almost two years ago. Nurse Roger Kingsley Dean, who initially said the blaze that gutted down Quakers Hill nursing home in Sydney was an accident, on Monday pleaded guilty to the murder of 11 elderly people.