POLITICS & POLICY

The state government of New South Wales says changes are necessary in the existing proceedings regarding organ donation sign ups and families overruling prospective donors’ decisions.

That shocking attack by Japanese planes on the multiplex of U.S. military bases in Hawaii was not just one of the most significant moments in American history; it was also one of the largest news days at the time.

Australian Defense Minister Stephen Smith is in India to hold uranium export talks with officials of the south Asian nation in anticipation of the lifting of the ban.

Globe Metals & Mining on Wednesday announced the discovery of a new area with significant rare earth element (REE) mineralization at its Mount Muambe REE-Fluorite Project in Mozambique.

Mexican miner Grupo Mexico announced on Wednesday production output at its Buenavista del Cobre copper mine will hit 475,000 tonnes per year by 2015. The figure is a 6 per cent growth from estimates made earlier in April.

The Australian sharemarket ended a touch lower today with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) losing 0.3 pct or 12.4 pts to 4338.9. Almost all regions of the market lost at least some ground, with the energy sector by far the worst in percentage terms. The miners flirted with positive ground for most of the day and did not add to the market's weakness today.

Indian nationals better ought to brace themselves for more power shortages and energy crisis as state-run Coal India Limited (CIL) announced on Wednesday production targets for the current fiscal year as contained in its annual plan have been slashed to 440 million tonnes from 453 million tonnes.This, as the federal government of India rejected CIL's demand to scale down its target output.

India is now abuzz with activity related to its annual wedding season. In almost every nook and cranny, one will find hordes of beaming brides and their families hopping from one jewelry shop to another trying to find the perfect gold jewelry that is fit to their budget.To accommodate the budget, India's gold jewelers have devised ways to sell their merchandise, to the point of tweaking the jewelry's gold content.

Three tobacco entities are now arrayed against Canberra as international cigarette manufacturer Imperial Tobacco officially lodged its legal challenge against Australia's new plain packaging policy set to be imposed on cigarette products sold in the country.

Two months before the traditional lunar Year of the Dragon, the Chinese are already agog in their preparations, including acquiring and purchasing gold related products, even as prices of the yellow metal have surpassed $67.69 per gram in Beijing.Latest data gathered from the website of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) disclosed gold output by the world's second-largest economy grew by 8.436 metric tonnes, a 3.87 per cent hike year on year, to reach 226.38...

ANZ Bank announced on Thursday that it will pass on to consumers the full 25 basis points interest rate cut made by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday. It becomes the first of the four large Australian banks to cut its interest rate by 25 basis points, leaving the pressure on Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac to follow suit.

Former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev has called for a repeat of Sunday's parliamentary elections, saying the results were tainted by widespread reports of fraud.

From an earlier 9.4 per cent projection, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), a government think tank, on Wednesday slashed to 9.2 per cent its forecast of China's GDP for 2011, citing the current sluggish economic recovery worldwide coupled with the country's tight monetary policy as well as withdrawal of stimulus measures on consumption as culprits for the growth slowdown.

The Australian sharemarket is losing ground for the second time this week with the All Ordinaries index (XAO) down 0.2 pct or 9.8 pts to 4341.5. Most sectors are lower with the energy and financial stocks holding the market back at lunch. The miners were lower in early trade, managed to creep into positive territory at around 11am (AEDT) only to pullback over the last hour.

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who tried to sell the appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama in 2008, was sentenced Wednesday to 14 years in prison for corruption.

Oil tumbled after a report by the US Energy Information Administration showed the American nation's supply of oil and gasoline suddenly surged by 1.3 million barrels last week.

While smaller Australian banks have passed on in full to customers the 25 basis points overnight cash rate approved by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) on Tuesday, the four large banks are playing a waiting game which one will first pass on the rate reduction and by how much.

US markets extended their gains overnight in a choppy session, as traders tried to position themselves ahead of the key European summit. Reports out of Europe continue to dominate trade, with plenty of headlines to digest. A report suggesting the G-20 is considering a $600 billion IMF lending program saw US markets charge higher late in the session. However, the IMF has since denied the report which resulted in US stocks retreating in the last moments of trade.

US consumer credit grew sharply for the second straight month, rising by $7.65 billion in October. German industrial production jumped by 0.8pct in October to be 4.1pct higher than a year ago. In contrast Italian Industrial production fell by 0.9pct with UK industrial production down by 0.7pct in October.

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Australian miner Thor Mining on Wednesday said it has raised some A$173,000 worth of funds to support advancement plans into its gold and tungsten projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

So it’s not as bad as previously reported, but what could be done about it? A new research has found that only 2 per cent of teenagers send sex-related messages and/or naked photos of themselves using their mobile phones, as opposed to 20 per cent reported in 2008.

Challenges in sourcing funds for new mining projects, interruptions in both new and ongoing mine production, as well as the conclusion of the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) agreement are near-perfect ingredients for a shortage of uranium in the very near future, a top producer warns.

The local share market generally rebounded from yesterday's 1.5pct sell-off today, with investor sentiment boosted by hopes European leaders will make progress in addressing the region's debt crisis at the European Union summit being held later this week. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 29.7pts or 0.7pct to 4351.3 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmed by 30.5pts or 0.7pct to 4292.5.

China's foreign trade remains unbalanced and has "unsustainable" components, a white paper released by the government Wednesday states.

The Australian Industry Group Australian Performance of Construction Index was 4.9 points stronger in November at 39.6, although it was still well below the 50 point level separating expansion from contraction. November marked the 18th straight month the national construction industry index has been in the red.

Leading figures of the Australian Labor Party have asked the leadership to force to the sidelines a prominent member accused of corruption while serving as a minister.

The wife of an Australian businessman jailed for alleged embezzlement, bribery, falsifying records and corruption in China says she has cancer and fears her death is likely to happen sooner than her husband’s release from prison.

At least seven manufacturing industries, including automotive, chemicals, aviation and renewable energy, are likely to face a shortage of raw materials and a slump in industrial activities, as 14 rare earths may run even shorter in the next five years.