Esther Tanquintic-Misa

Prices of safe haven yellow metal gold rose to $1,598.55 an ounce, or as much as 0.3 per cent, at 11:25 a.m. in Singapore on increased from China even as the country continued to produce more gold within its confines.

It was not as if it was unexpected, but Vatican had announced and confirmed that the revisions made on the century old procedures surrounding a papal conclave was indeed facilitated to give way for the selection of the successor of outgoing Pope Benedict XVI.

The torrential rain pounding across southern Queensland and the resulting flashfloods has claimed at least one life on Tuesday. But hopes returned in favor of the rescue teams who were able to find a 47-year-old woman after being reported missing for more than 12 hours. Efforts to rescue another stranded motorist is underway.

Authorities in Western Australia have sounded off the alert warnings on Tuesday as Cyclone Rusty continued to pack in strength and had developed into a Category 3 storm.

All of them were complete strangers to each other. And what's more, they don't even know personally the man whose funeral service they were attending. Yet 200 people responding to a Facebook plea campaign turned up to pay their last respects for James McConnell, a Royal Marine, who died in January at 70 years old in a Hampshire nursing home.

It was every inch a bittersweet moment. Pope Benedict XVI, outgoing spiritual head of the Roman Catholic secular religion, has given his final mass and bestowed his final blessing to the thousands of sober supporters who turned up on Feb. 24 at St Peter's Square in Vatican City.

Huawei, the Chinese smartphone company and the world's third-largest maker, released on Sunday what it claims the world's fastest smartphone to date, the Ascend P2.

Some 16 young students of Brisbane Christian College have been plucked out into safety as the school bus they were riding got stranded in flash flooding near the intersection of Learoyd and Paradise roads at Acacia Ridge on Monday morning at 8.40am. All children were safely recovered.

Residents in Western Australia have been advised to take cover as Cyclone Rusty intensified on Monday to become a Category 2 storm. The development has forced the closure of major iron ore ports in the region, essentially derailing exports of the steelmaking key ingredient. Iron ore prices are likewise forecast to spike in the world market.

Barbecue-related activities and cooking in open stoves in public, densely-populated places in China would soon be prohibited to limit the smog but could be a bane to street food hawkers and vendors.

A new research conducted by the Westmead Millennium Institute in Sydney have found that contrary to lon- held perceptions on vanity, it is the obese boys who are more stressed over their body image than their equally overweight girl counterparts.

Residents in towns located across northern NSW have been advised to brace for a wet weather on Thursday evening going towards Friday morning in what could also potentially result to floods, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

In what could be his last final stand before actual resignation day, outgoing Pope Benedict XVI is mulling to implement last-minute changes to the 99-yea- old procedures surrounding a papal conclave in a bid seen to hold this year's much anticipated assembly of cardinals at a much earlier date, or on Mar. 10.

Formerly known as QR National, rail operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd. on Wednesday slashed its full year guidance for coal haulage volumes as it expects the January 2013 floods that affected Queensland would greatly impact operations and earnings.

A few days from now, or on Feb 28 to be exact, Pope Benedict XVI, the 265th pope, officially steps down as head of the secular Roman Catholic religion.From then it begins the month-long arduous process of choosing and electing the next pope of the world's 1 billion Catholics.

The smog pollution that hit China's capital in Beijing, so massive that it even crossed borders over to Japan, has been found to contain cancer causing photochemicals.

No shots were fired. No one was injured. The robbery was over within minutes. That told, and eight hooded thieves have just pulled off what could be one of the biggest $50 million worth diamonds heist in a lifetime.

Probably nobody by now would question the effectiveness of social media networking site Facebook when it comes to locating missing people or raising charity for people or organisations in need. Yet this proven efficacy took another dimension for a mother who was contacted by local police of her son's death through Facebook.

China has bested the United States of America to now become the world's biggest market for smartphone and tablet devices, a no mean feat since it is by far the world's most populous country.

This time hopefully, with the aid of technology and satellite mapping, the much-hyped Titanic II would be able to make a full maiden voyage of the world and return back in one piece with all its onboard travelers still alive and breathing normally.

Queensland's great flood for the first quarter of 2013 may have already went past, but the effects of the recent floods caused by ex-cyclone Oswald apparently are still not. On early Tuesday morning, a two-storey building that housed a marine supplies business caved in a "sinkhole" in flood-ravaged Bundaberg where authorities fear could further swallow at least 10 more other business establishments along its way.

New Zealand's major telecoms players, Telecom, Vodafone and Telstra, announced on Tuesday that they have entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding that would pave for the construction of a new $60 million worth fiber-optic cable connecting New Zealand with Australia. Opposition parties in the country immediately slammed the concept as furthering the already monopolistic nature of connectivity and pricing that they already have.

Facebook could be such a pain in the ass at times, but one can never belittle its efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to helping people locate missing loved ones. And again, for the nth time, the social networking media site has been the most helpful tool in the safe recovery of a diabetic Brisbane teenager who went missing two days ago.

China has fired up its first nuclear power plant after the destructive 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, near Wafangdian in Liaoning province at its northeast portion.

Residents off Melbourne's northern suburbs have been advised to stay alert and calm as a fast moving 200 hectare out of control grassfire could pose an immediate threat to lives and homes in the Wollert area.

No less than Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has gotten into the fray of allegations against virtual marketplace Amazon over employing neo-Nazi tactics against its foreign workers. Ms Merkel wants the online retailer to explain pronto.

Finding the exclusive Catholic mass services for gays and lesbians being offered at a Soho London church directly running against the teachings of the Roman Catholic hierarchy, the archbishop who had approved its concept in 2007 has called for the closure of the services.

Just when everyone was preparing to go to work or school, paramedics were blaring sirens and rushing to reach the Grocon Myer redevelopment site at Melbourne's CBD in hopes to revive and save a man who accidentally fell from a scaffolding 10 storeys high above the ground. But death was instant the minute he slammed on to the pavement.

If only the Earth can catch it, Asteroid 2012 DA14, which is expected to flyby the planet on Feb. 16 at 4:30am (AEDT), could have a variety of valuable resources, including metals such as iron and nickel, as well as water that can be utilised in space as rocket fuel, all worth a whopping US$195 billion.