POLITICS & POLICY

India and China Hold First Strategic Economic Dialogue

In the first India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue held in Beijing, Indian delegates headed by Deputy-chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia told media the dialogue serves as a "knowledge transfer" conveying substantial benefits to both countries, The Hindu reported.

Rudd Attributes Slip of the Tongue to Jet Lag

A slip of the tongue by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd fueled more speculation that the former prime minister could be interested in his old job amid calls from the opposition for incumbent Prime Minister Julia Gillard to resign.
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Saudi Women Getting Right to Vote, Run for Office

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will allow women to vote and run in the next election. Human Rights Watch says the reforms are significant, but such promises have been made before, and now women still have to wait four years for the announced reforms to take effect.

Unions Defend Customs Strike

Thousands of employees of Australia's Customs and Border Protection agency will strike on Tuesday to protest their pay and work conditions.

Royal Decree Gives Saudi Women Political Rights

Saudi Arabia announced Sunday that women will be given the vote by 2015, a move that analysts see as the conservative kingdom's attempt to appease the wave of revolt sweeping the Arab world.

Labor Stalwarts: PM Gillard Will Keep Post and Finish Term

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will stay on, at least until her term ends, this according to Australian Labor Party stalwarts who called the whirling speculations about the impending return of Kevin Rudd to the Lodge as mere rubbish coming from the Liberals.

Australian Dollar Outlook - 09/26/2011

The Australian Dollar opened at USD 0.9783 this week, finding support as the markets digest the IMF's policy board's weekend announcement, to act decisively and collectively, "to restore confidence and financial stability, and rekindle global growth".

Visa, MasterCard to Raise Debit Card Swipe Fees

Payment networks Visa and MasterCard will impose the highest fees for even the smallest debit transaction for cards issued by JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup as allowed by a U.S. law that put caps on such fees.

Youth Suicide in S. Korea Soaring High

South Korea accounts for the largest number of suicide cases among 34 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with 28.7 individuals committing suicide for every 100,000 people last year, says the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention (TKASP).

Japan's Noda Commits $1B for Africa, Middle East Infra Projects

Despite Japan's soaring debts, Prime Miniters Noda's administration has boldly offered additional loans to "Arab Spring" in North Africa and the Middle East for infrastructure projects, which will ensure to yield employment opportunities and emerging industries.

Australia Scraps Retrospective Application of GST

Sales of homes built under development lease arrangements commenced before 27 January 2011 will not pay GST, according to the Australian government. Residential development lease arrangements are used by government to partner with the private sector to supply housing on publicly owned land.

U.S, EU, Australia Walk Out from Ahmadinejad’s U.N. Address

Australia joined the walk out led by the United States and member states of the European Union on Thursday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blithely accused ‘western powers’ of arrogance and military adventurism during his United Nations General Assembly speech.

Troy Davis Execution: Should Death Penalty Laws be Reviewed?

Is there really finality in death? Two days after Troy Davis was executed via lethal injection close to midnight on Wednesday, the controversy surrounding his death still goes on. Can death really give both defendant and accused and all concerned parties the closure they need? Hardly it seems.

Feds Give Green Light to Chevron’s Giant LNG Project in Pilbara

The federal government stamped its environmental approval on the Chevron-led Wheatstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project that experts said would lead to billion-dollars of investments but could disrupt the marine eco-system off the coast of Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

ACCC Loses Google Court Case

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) lost in a court case the regulator filed against search engine giant Google. ACCC complained that Google violated Australia's trade practices law by its using advertisement placements as basis for ranking of search results.

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