Esther Tanquintic-Misa

Shock-stricken school children of Sandy Hook Elementary School have been facilitated to come back to school on January 2 at a new building as the children, their parents and school officials reclaim normalcy back in their lives after that fateful shooting spree last week that claimed the lives of 20 children and six school staff.

The Malaysian Court of Appeal has dismissed the latest application for injunction filed against Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp by environmentalist group Save Malaysia Stop Lynas (SMSL), effectively enabling the mining firm to keep in its hand the controversial temporary operating license (TOL) on its $800-million rare earths processing plant.

A Facebook event evidently created by a restless and disconcerted individual urging for mass spiritual suicide on December 21, 2012 has forced the state government of Cordoba, Argentina to close to the public the Uritorco Hill, a mountain allegedly possessing mystical and energetic qualities as well as paranormal phenomena.

In just three days after it was launched on December 14, Apple's iPhone 5 had swept China by storm, with over 2 million units already sold, and still counting.

Although majority of Australian online shopping retailers think they have yet to breach the mark of their online sales projections, the number of individuals who have resorted to online shopping have reached gigantic proportions forcing Australia Post to hire additional hand just to ensure every package and parcel gets delivered to its owner or shopper before Christmas Day.

Clothing retailer Cotton On has been slapped on Tuesday with a $1 million fine for selling highly combustible fire hazard children's nightwear.

In various parts of the world, people are getting anxious over the supposed end of the world on Friday, December 21, 2012. But to the very descendants of the Mayan culture who supposedly predicted the world's annihilation, they will face the end of the calendar and change of times with calm and serenity.

The movie "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" has beaten the first weekend sales receipts of the previous "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy films, with sales recorded at a whopping $84.8 million in North America alone.

Bus commuters in Sydney may now have some luxury of time, so to speak, as the state government of New South Wales released on Monday new real time bus smartphone apps that would enable them to track just how far away their next bus is from the station.

Acting Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt has urged on the federal government as well as the entire Australian populace to ponder on banning the issuance and release of semi-automatic handguns in the resource-rich nation following the Connecticut massacre of innocent school children as well as school teachers in the U.S.

Shares of beleaguered Australian retailer Billabong International rode on a high early Monday morning before being placed on a trading halt on rumors of a $526.8 million takeover bid by a consortium led by former director Paul Naude.

Australia has approved for nationwide use a 30-minute test that will help immediately determine if a person is positive to the dreaded HIV virus infection, Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek announced on Monday.

Australia's efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef will be judged by the United Nations' environmental arm UNESCO in 2013, a deadline that will likely push efforts to the limits as this would be a make or break for the tourist attraction if t it is deserving as UNESCO's World Heritage site and worth to be preserved.

Australia has launched over the weekend its first clean coal carbon capture plant technology in central Queensland, in a bid to lessen the country's mammoth contributions to the world's overall greenhouse gas emissions generated from coal-fired power stations.

So it's the last Monday prior to the dreaded Armageddon on December 21, 2012, at least according to the minority of Mayan doomsday cultists who believe the planet Earth will already collapse this Friday. Although the myth had been debunked countless times by scientists, NASA and even by the Mayans themselves, it would probably do no harm to try to fill up an emergency survival bag kit just in case the crowds get rowdy and hysterical at the end of this week.

Google Maps, the world's most often go to map app by people because of its near authenticity and reliability, has been found also defective by Australian police authorities.

Opponents to the controversial Lynas rare earths processing plant in Malaysia now clamored for the resignation of the four ministers who approved the awarding of the temporary operating license (TOL) to Australian miner Lynas Corp after the latter denied the existence of a provision in its licence which states that the plant's residue must be shipped out of Malaysia.

A new 2012 International Communications and Market Report has revealed that Australians have been ranked as the highest in the world when it comes to emptying wallets for phone and internet usage spending.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has released a set of draft rules directing the country's various telcos to inform consumers of exact mobile costs and charges while roaming overseas.

Australia has flatly rejected to support a United Nations-backed proposed treaty governing international telecommunications by not affixing its signature to the accord and was totally disappointed of the consensus reached.

Today is the last Friday to the supposed end of the world on December 21, 2012, according to cultists of the Mayan calendar doomsday countdown. Seven more days to go and the planet Earth will witness its last, final moments, so they say. As the number of days get shorter towards the much anticipated D-Day, believers of the doomsday phenomenon all the more get agitated looking for a possible area for refuge against the impending Armageddon. Next to France's Bugarach town and Serbia's Mount ...

Christmas selling and spending this 2012 could be the best ever in three years for Australian retailers, according to a Christmas Retailers' Survey by the Deloitte Access Economics as consumers, cajoling Australian businesses ought to sing and dance as cash registers are predicted to ring louder this year.

After eternally bashed for its defective iPhone iOS 6 mapping system, which had led numerous tourists to Australia to get lost in the land Down Under, Apple has finally released the much reliable and dependable Google Maps app for its Apple iPhone products.

Residents in South West Australia's Collie town are currently preparing for a severe flooding situation after a storm on Wednesday dumped more than 189mm of rainfall in just 24 hours.

Barely two weeks only into effect and Australia's tobacco plain packaging law will face an acid test of effectiveness and authority once a stickers marketing company launches its wraparound stickers for cigarette packs.

In the lead up to the Mayan doomsday countdown on December 21, 2012, one cannot help but wonder why there are some people gullible enough to be swayed by such myths and unfounded knowledge. Despite already being deflated by many Western scientists, including NASA and even the Mayans themselves, there are still people who continued to believe on the end of the world balloon bandwagon. The surrounding scenario around the world concerning the impending Armageddon seems no longer centers on whether ...

First it was Russia hoarding all it can on supplies in the lead up to the December 21, 2012 Mayan doomsday countdown supposed to happen next week. Now it's the Chinese who are hoarding, this time on all candles they can hold at on fears there will be three consecutive days of darkness after that fateful day.

A survey of 25,000 Australian high school students has found that alcoholic drinking among younger teens 12 to 15 years dropped. However, those considered older teens aged 16 to 17 continued to consume alcohol in much riskier levels.

A Facebook competition organised by Hooroo, Qantas' online accommodation Web site, has discovered resource-rich nation Australia has more to offer than just metals and minerals. Aussies from all over the country participated in the survey which called for the country's best kept tourist spots, and they came down with 40.