Esther Tanquintic-Misa

Rainfall poured down by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald has brought flowing to the eastern state of Queensland, Australia, where so far 20 have been rescued.

Teachers in Australia's Victoria have threatened to go on strike on Valentine's Day if their demands remained unmet by the state government.

Virtual marketplace eBay has pulled out from its shelves the controversial 'Django Unchained' toys after the Weinstein Company, the film's producer and likewise facilitated the creation of the toys, discontinued making them following complaints and criticisms from various African-American advocacy groups.

Crediting strong sales of its Galaxy S3 smartphone and Galaxy Note 2 phablet, Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., now the world's preferred mobile phone maker, has reported profits during the fourth quarter of 2012 has jumped tremendously to a record high 76 per cent versus a year ago.

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 inched 0.5 per cent at 0347 GMT at 4813.1, boosted by news from its major trading partner China which was reported to have yielded a growth in its purchasing managers index for the month of January.

An international survey by content delivery provider Akamai Technologies has found that of all the continents in the world, Internet speed was found to be at its fastest in Asia.

"Made in Australia." "Australia made." "Manufactured in Australia." "Australian owned." Just some of the food labels Aussies routinely encounter in the groceries and supermarkets. While some people may not even give a damn on these labels, but to Australian consumer group Choice, it is important that Aussies know exactly from where the food they just picked and will eat later, came from.

Australia, known for its huge minerals and metals resources, is seeking partners to develop the massive shale oil, believed to be worth more than $20 trillion, that one of its miners discovered in South Australia, which could essentially propel the country Down Under to become one of the most important global players in the oil sector.

Actual shipments of rare earths in 2012 by China reached only 16,265 metric tonnes, declining by 3.5 per cent versus a year ago, official data released by the China Customs Statistics Information Center on Tuesday showed.

Given the speed of lightning exchanges in Twitter, a new research made by the Australian University of Sydney said public health authorities ought to maximise the medium to announce important and updated public health information.

Racing overtime, the World Wildlife Fund and the Australian Marine Conservation Society have merged together to create a conservation campaign, primarily geared towards political leaders, in a futile attempt to save the Great Barrier Reef from being delisted off its World Heritage status.

Racing overtime, the World Wildlife Fund and the Australian Marine Conservation Society have merged together to create a conservation campaign, primarily geared towards political leaders, in a futile attempt to save the Great Barrier Reef from being delisted off its World Heritage status.

If Prince Harry would have his way, assuming he had the tremendous freedom to go with it, he would always choose life as that of being an army soldier over that of being a British royal.

Patrons of the footlong sandwich of U.S. food chain Subway are reeking mad over the alleged advertising fallacy of its footlong sandwich which was discovered to be lacking an inch short.

A mother, along with her four children who have been trapped overnight on a rooftop, have been rescued by a helicopter, as flash floods continue to strike northern Queensland as an aftermath of Cyclone Oswald.

Whether the crew onboard the USS Guardian deliberately ignored the "no navigation" warnings surrounding the area of the Philippines' Tubbataha Reef or it relied on wrong map navigational data, what's certain is that the U.S. government still ought to pay for the damages its Navy minesweeper caused on the World Heritage-listed coral reef.

Cliché-ish as often indeed it sounds, but nothing really beats the good and sincere intentions of the human spirit. The Long brothers from Tennessee, Conner, aged 9, and Cayden, younger at age 7, but the one with cerebral palsy, definitely know that in their very young hearts. Competing together in triathlons, more for play and brotherhood but also with a noble mission, the two boys were ultimately recognised by the Sports Illustrated Kids magazine, naming them as the 2012 SportsKids of the Year...

After agreeing in principle in October 2012 to finally sell uranium to India, officials from Australia are expected to further intensify the nuclear partnership between the two countries in talks scheduled this coming March.

In a race to control and manage its worst yet smog pollution for the year 2013, China's lawmakers have targeted to slash the number of vehicles and close down factories during polluted days, as well as bar outdoor barbecue rituals. Residents, however, remain indifferent to the measures.

Followers of Pope Benedict XVI's Twitter account may well ought to take a crash course or two in the Latin language as the head of the Catholic faith has chosen to send Twitter messages in the old tongue of ancient Rome.

Australian toddlers and other young children frolicking in the shallow waters of Bulcock Beach in Queensland were saved by a foreign national on vacation from an attacking dusky whaler shark.

Google's main bottomline is to make passwords a thing of the past.

Nick Xenophon, independent Senator for South Australia, is bent to make online predators not only stopped in their tracks in luring young women into their traps, but also to be meted the full penalty of the law.

Toyota Australia on Friday announced it is ready to ship this year its four-cylinder automobile engines to Thailand and Malaysia.

With only a mere handheld metal detector to use, an amateur Australian prospector has unearthed in Ballarat a huge gold nugget, believed to be weighing 5.5kg or 177 ounces, the value of which could reach a whopping A$300,000 ($315,000).

As fires continued to burn to the north and south of the capital of Australia on Friday, those who lived through the horrors of the 2003 firestorm which killed four and destroyed 500 homes as well as injured hundreds of people in Canberra paused to remember the fear and lessons of survival and love that poured in 10 years ago.

Motivation, a pair of tennis shoes and some tough love. All proved sure winning ingredients for a 9-year-old Californian girl to topple off her obesity, from weighing 186 pounds to shedding 66 pounds in less than a year.

When most, if not all, parents thought that sibling rivalry occurs only at stages when their children, most specially twins, get to understand the concept, a video research conducted by London doctors on twins showed the fight for supremacy starts early from inside the womb.

Angered by President Obama's actions when he signed into law a decree that punishes Russian human rights violators, Russian President Vladimir Putin retaliated by signing a bill that bars Americans from adopting Russian children. The tirade has left caught in the middle some more than 50 Russian children who were about to go on adoption by American families.