Erik Pineda

Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke has called on current Australian Labor Party leaders to steer through the modernisation of the party and implement reforms that would secure its existence in the years ahead.

Women with an abnormal number of a certain hormone are more likely to develop dementia, as suggested by latest study conducted in cooperation with the Framingham Heart Study (FHS).

As Western powers move closer to enforce its planned economic sanctions against Iran, Tehran gave the green light for its navy to conduct test firings of missiles on Monday, quickly earning condemnations from France and the United States.

Threats of periodical downsizing and bankruptcies in the past few years now appear to have been conquered by the American auto industry as car makers reported on Monday increasing sales figures for two years in a row.

Considerable successes it reaped in the mobile phone market and the general consumer electronics industry will not stop Samsung Electronics from moving further even in the face of a financial downturn across the globe.

Sony followed the tactics employed in early 2011 by Hewlett-Packard and Research in Motion, cut the price of a slow-moving product.

Australian airlines are scrambling to reconfigure their international service flights to stay afloat and recoup losses incurred on steep price cuts to fend off lingering threats of competition, reports said.

Power outages hit large areas of South Australia on Monday, with authorities explaining that the measure was necessary to prevent bush fires as temperatures in the region continue to climb up and reach unprecedented levels.

Banking reforms introduced in late 2010 by the federal government appear to have made little difference as giant banks continue to hold sway in the mortgage market, capturing much of the share in the home loan market pie.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard fulfilled her earlier pledge of pushing up the benefits contained in the Family Tax Benefits, picking the first day of the year to mark the realisation of an electoral promise.

Telstra admitted another data breach over the weekend when customers' information were again displayed online through a spreadsheet inadvertently deployed by one of the giant telco's consultants.

Gay union advocates have called on the Australian Labor Party on Monday to consider right timing before any member of the ruling party officially introduces private member's bill supporting same-sex marriage.

China's manufacturing sector posted moderate growth in December, breaching by hairline the index's point of contraction, according to new official purchasing managers' index issued by the country's National Bureau of Statistics.

India has decided to further open up the country's stock market as part of its efforts to attract more investments and reignite growth of its domestic economy.

The kidnappers of the Australian national snatched in the southern Philippines a few weeks before Christmas had asked for ransom money in exchange for his freedom, police officials said.

U.S. President Barack Obama confirmed on Thursday the sale of new F-15SA combat planes to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, amounting some $30 billion will push through.

The ongoing financial distress happening in Europe prompted business leaders on Thursday to call on the federal government to introduce more supportive measures that would safeguard the health of the Australian economy.

A California family was awarded $17.8 million in compensation by a U.S. federal court following the death of four of its members in 2008 when a malfunctioning Navy combat plane crashed into their neighbourhood.

Millions of smartphones and tablet computers made their way to new owners this holiday season, with both Apple and Google getting considerable piece of the action, latest reports said.

U.S military officials hinted strongly on Wednesday that Tehran courts possible military response if it makes good its threat of sealing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the major passageway of oil shipments to and from the Persian Gulf.

Iraq is on the brink of collapse, according to the country's former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, no thanks to bold political maneuvring being implemented by present Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

As reports indicated that U.S.-based shoppers have splurged tens of billions in online shopping during the busiest weeks of the holiday season, Amazon reported on Thursday that its best-selling products, both the original Kindle and Kindle Fire, sold more than one million apiece.

OZ Minerals has downplayed the dangers posed by chemicals that spilled earlier this week when one of its freight trains was derailed due to heavy flooding that had hit the Northern Territory.

Mining has been the Australian economy's backbone for some time but its benefits were essentially eclipsed by rising living costs, forcing many consumers to rationalize their spending habits.

Residents of New South Wales and Victoria face alarming threats of a rare avian disease this summer that health officials said was being caused by mosquitoes.

The Boxing Day aftermath proved encouraging enough for the Australian retail sector, and major players are still cautiously optimistic about the general picture.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard appears to be regaining momentum among voters in specific areas across Australia, latest survey said, but not enough to turn back the spectre of defeat if elections were held shortly.

Jetstar has revealed plans to attract another partner for its new Japan venture, the Jetstar Japan, adding up to the budget airline's present investors - Japan Airlines and trading firm Mitsubishi.

Major consumer electronic firms, led by Samsung and Sharp, have agreed to settle on Tuesday the U.S. lawsuits that alleged they collaborated to control prices of LCD panels, reports said.