Esther Tanquintic-Misa

It's like looking a lot at some tug-o-war. While many still pick on the supposed end of the world on December 21, 2012, still others take round the clock efforts to debunk the Mayan doomsday myth. While the Mayan calendar indeed ends of that date, it actually heralds the start of new beginnings for Earth and its people.

An earthquake that lasted for three minutes forced Australians living in Darwin, probably already deep in dreamland, to rouse from their sleep at 2.30am local time. The source of the earthquake? A 7.3 magnitude earthquake in the Banda Sea off Indonesia that is actually more than 600 kilometres away from Darwin.

Ten days to be exact from today and the planet Earth will witness its final, chilling end on December 21, or at least that's what Mayan doomsday cultists say. The world's getting fidgety. France's Bugarach Mountain, said to be a refuge from the impending end-of-day scenario, is slowly gearing up to seal off its environment from the outside world. In lieu of that, focus has now been turned towards Serbia's Mount Rtanj which according to cultists could be a second sanctuary from the on...

Latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Monday had revealed that the number of new home loans in Australia grew just a pinch in October, which was well below industry expectations.

Australian businesses, either small or large corporations, really ought to ensure they have a good and solid IT system in place, or otherwise always end in the mercy of hackers.

So you are a tourist who has an iPhone that is most probably equipped with Apple Maps. And then you got lost somewhere in Australia. Of course your first recourse would be to locate your whereabouts in the resource-rich nation through Apple Maps. But Australian police warned better notdepend on Apple's new iPhone mapping system or risk experiencing the same fate of motorists who got lost after relying on the glitch-filled app.

Existing shareholders of Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp continued to express support to the mining company by agreeing to its share purchase plan even as its beleaguered processing plant in Malaysia continued to face strong opposition from the community on which the facility is located.

During Christmas one gets sick due to stress and anxiety that the harried season sometimes give. And if you get sick right smack on Christmas Day, and it so happened you're miles away from home coz you're celebrating Christmas at some other town, the more you feel you'll get sick because you don't know of any available doctor nearby.

As the famous cliché goes, all good things come to an end. Or something to that effect. In today's era ruled by smartphones, tablets, and other more convenient portable options, Sony announced over the weekend it is finally giving its Walkman and other handheld cassette players lineup the rest it deserves. Sony said that the current batch of TCM-400, TCM-410 and TCM-450 devices will be the last that it will produce, effectively easing out the product item from the IT and gadget market early n...

The latest survey of consumer confidence by the Chamber of Commerce of Western Australian and the Industry-Curtin Business School have shown that despite hard times, consumers in that state would still be willing to splurge for this coming 2012 Christmas season.

Australia has launched its first hybrid engine plant facility in Altona, Melbourne, operated and managed by Toyota.

Australians would most likely patronage or buy items sold locally, such as gadgets, if only they were priced cheaper than counterparts sold overseas, a study by MasterCard released on Friday showed.

For the first time in more than two years, Australians' contributions into various superannuation funds experienced a decline in the September quarter, spurred by jobs cuts and financial anxieties.

Australia's construction sector in November, despite enjoying lower interest rates, continued to remain sluggish--a trend foreseen to hover until 2013.

Australian parents on the lookout for either cheap or cute toys to give to their little ones have been forewarned to take precautionary measures as the Office of Fair Trading in Queensland seized thousands of toys it deemed dangerous to give.

Almost 100 expressions of interest from potential buyers planning to purchase all or part of the ailing Australian food icon Rosella have been collected by its receivers, raising hopes that the company and its 275 workers still have a bright future ahead.

Much has been said and discussed about the impending end of the world Mayan apocalypse on December 21, four days short of Christmas Day. But it seems there is one place on Earth, the town of Bugarach in France, which can offer refuge when that catastrophic day does incur.

Today is December 6. With only 15 more days to go and the hyped December 21 end of the world prediction on the Mayan Calendar will occur. Are we ready for it?

Today is December 6. Only 15 more days to go and the much-hyped December 21 end of the world prediction on the Mayan Calendar of an apocalypse will occur. Are we ready for it?

With Christmas Day only two weeks away, all the hype that goes with the season, including retailer selling and shopping, are expected to go all the more excitedly grueling in the coming days. And as Australians try to find that perfect gift either for one's self or for friends and loved ones, they may be too busy to notice purchased items void of receipts.

In yet another expected twist, Australian rare earths miner Lynas Corp got into another legal battle for its newly operational processing plant in Malaysia.

Fox population has been confirmed on the rise in Tasmania, Australia, sending concerns the growing presence of the predator will eventually put at risk the island's native wildlife.

And now it can be told. The hoax that is the Sandy Island off the South Pacific really never actually existed.

With the world's temperature predicted to hit 4C-6C by 2100, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged on the global federal governments to abolish the fossil fuel subsidies as it believed this would greatly lead to reduce carbon emissions.

What could have been a merry observance to mark the end-of-school celebrations in Fiji has resulted to the tragic death of a 17-year-old lad from Queensland, Australia.

U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) may have upped its takeover bid into GrainCorp Ltd., Australia's largest listed grain trader, as well as bought an additional 5 per cent of the company, but Australia's last standing independent grains handler remain unconvinced it should sell itself to its present persistent suitor.

Melbourne Airport authorities have approached the state government with a draft plan to mount an $80 million worth airport road expansion that it would want to start constructing sometime in 2013.

Spurred by budget cuts, the state government of South Australia is mulling to terminate 105 jobs across its non-hospital health services as a result of budget streamlining measures.

Hotter days are coming for the nations of the world as a leading Australian climate scientist predicted global temperatures will rise to 4C-6C by 2100. The culprit? Global carbon emissions have grown three times faster compared with a century ago.