Erik Pineda

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has expressed his support on the planned legal challenges aired by mining billionaire Clive Palmer against the upcoming carbon pricing scheme that is set to take effect July this year.

Floods and powerful cyclones will remain as features of the Australian weather in the current century but scientists warned that scorching heat waves will also intensify in the decades ahead, no thanks to the worsening global warming.

Fair Work Australia (FWA) has completed its inquiry on the alleged violations committed by former top-ranking officials of the Health Services Union (HSU) in Victoria but wrongdoings seen so far fell short of leading into a likely criminal case.

The United States, the European Union and Japan have formally accused China of violating international trade rules when it restricted the shipments of rare earth elements that global industries use in manufacturing high-tech and other products.

Global shipments of tablet computers are forecast to further surge in 2012 following the more than 68 million units that flooded the market in the past year, according to tech marketing research firm IDC.

Members of the Australian Labor Party have raised concerns that the country's super rich could be circumventing tax regulations through federal laws governing family trust funds.

Not only the public will feast on the raging controversy between Gina Rinehart and her children, the family feud could also spawn considerable concerns on the business interests of Australia's richest person.

The housing market retreated again in the first month of 2012 following its strong showing in December though economists have been upbeat that the rest of the year would witness some form of recovery as investors' confidence regain enough traction.

Yahoo followed through on its earlier threats of lawsuits against popular social media site Facebook as the online search firm filed on Monday patent violations before the San Jose Federal Court in California.

China looks to Australia not only as a major source of its commodities needs but also as a key destination for thousands of Chinese tourists increasingly gravitating towards Australian cities as preferred leisure sites.

No forthcoming tweaks will be implemented on the carbon pricing scheme, meaning the federal government will stick on its current form despite emerging claims that the tax could hinder economic growth.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard finally settled Labor's leadership question when she rousingly vanquished the challenge raised two weeks ago by former Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd and now she emerged, narrowly though, as Australia's preferred leader.

Australian troops have been secretly deployed in a number of African countries since last years and conducting operations normally reserved to intelligence units, Fairfax media reported on Tuesday.

New research findings have suggested that the accelerated pace of global warming may be nearing the tipping point as shown in the observed increasing vulnerability of the Greenland ice sheet.

Global travel agency operator Flight Centre has rejected allegations that it attempted to arrange price fixing deals with specific airlines, calling the charges filed last week by government regulators as 'stupid'.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is all prepped for bruising confrontations as the Parliament resumes session this week, with two points dominating the Labor-led government's legislative agenda.

Decreasing government revenues and the slowing down national economy could hamper efforts to achieve budget surplus by 2013 but Federal Treasurer Wayne remains confident that the fiscal goal is achievable.

The Rinehart legal tussle rages on as two of Gina Rinehart's children continue the mudslinging that started last week, with the latest rants provided by John Langley Hancock, who accused his mother of setting off the dispute.

China has followed through on its open opposition to the recently implemented emission trading scheme by the European Union, with Airbus reporting on Thursday that Beijing has advised against the sale of Euro-made commercial planes to Chinese airlines.

Glencore, bent on securing enough support from Xstrata shareholders, has taken an offensive stance on its quest to push through with the highly touted 'merger of equals' worth $US36 billion amidst spirited opposition from investors of the target firm.

Some 600 jobs will be lost in the insurance industry over the next three years as Insurance Australia Group (IAG) revealed on Friday plans to reduce its workforce to counter the high costs that hit the firm last year.

Australian users hooked on social media activities breached the six billion mark in 2011, according to a marketing report recently released by Internet research company Experian Hitwise.

The Australian government has been accused of conducting sham dialogues that were supposed to back its Stronger Futures legislation for the indigenous communities of the Northern Territory.

Scientists reported that solar flares generated by a huge storm in the sun will reach Earth by Thursday, with high possibilities that the electrically charged particles they bring would cause serious technological disturbances.

Virgin Australia could soon open its doors for foreign investors to come in, with reports that the Richard Branson-controlled airline is nearing completion on efforts to remove ownership caps.

The year 2011 was marked by the heightened financial difficulties in Europe, which inevitably affected the rest of the world but Forbes said on Wednesday that prevailing economic challenges still produced quite a number of new billionaires.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan remains upbeat that the Labor-led government will deliver a budget surplus in 2013 despite indications that tax collections for the current financial year would fall short of expectations.

Defence Minister Stephen Smith has failed to measure up with the top defence officials and must relinquish his current duties, this according to former Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) commandant Jim Molan.

Environmental activists were gearing for costly campaigns that they hope would convince Australia to gradually abandon mining, which they claim would bring economic and ecological destruction over the long haul.