Reissa Su

The staff of Lonely Planet in the travel guide company's Melbourne headquarters is bracing for the upcoming job cuts expected to be announced on Thursday. At least 100 employees will lose their jobs after Lonely Planet will issue the order.

Julia Gillard has returned to her home in Adelaide and has reportedly signed a no-holds-barred book deal with Penguin Australia. The first female prime minister of Australia who lost her post in a leadership ballot to Kevin Rudd last June is allegedly signed a book deal for her memoirs.

A man was found naked with severed genitalia lying in the middle of the road of Washington, U.S. Authorities are still trying to investigate how the man ended up on the road and who was responsible for cutting off his penis.

Parents and the local community engaged in violent protests after 22 children died and dozens more fell sick after eating contaminated meals provided by the school for free. In Dharrmasati Gandaman in Saran district, four police vehicles were set on fire by angry and grief-stricken parents and villagers. Chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, says this could have national political repercussions. More details of the food poisoning case in India are expected to be revealed as soon as officials h...

Scientists rejoiced at the phenomenal discovery of fossils that are possibly millions of years old in the northern part of Brisbane. The scientific discovery at a work site was hailed as the world's first to include a rare collection of 50-million-year-old fossils, including crocodiles, fish, frogs and plants.

Labour MP Maryan Street is under pressure to withdraw support for a bill legalising euthanasia. The euthanasia bill is cause for concern for her political party members who think it will only be a distraction in the 2014 elections.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is set to crack down on wealthy Australians with lifestyle assets as part of its focus for the taxable year ahead. Entrepreneurs and private citizens with yachts and property farms that belong to private corporations but are being enjoyed for personal use will be the target of ATO.

Google may be to blame for the young Australians' lack of basic scientific knowledge. Today's Generation Y depends on the popular search engine rather than own brains. Experts say this reliance on the Internet is a factor in the lack of scientific knowledge.

The Australian Labor Party's advertising agency has been sacked by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd for offering "exclusive" interviews in exchange for pro-Labor advertisements and editorials in websites for the youth.

Start-up companies and small businesses in Australia and New Zealand will have the opportunity to enter Facebook's small business accelerator program.

A former high school cheerleading coach who blackmailed a teenage girl from Colorado to perform sexual acts in video chats may have also prowled on Australian teenage girls. After the teenage girl is convinced to do lewd acts during webcam sessions, the sexual predator distributes the videos to pornographic websites.

Since Google's coup with Woolworth's, the tech giant has added thousands of enterprise users in Australia. Among the companies that recently signed up for Google's corporate solutions are Woolworths majority-owned Australian Hospitality & Leisure and top women's fashion retailer Specialty Fashion Group.

Since Kevin Rudd's return as prime minister of Australia last month, the number of women who supports the Australian Labor Party has soared to 38 per cent, up 4 points. Rudd gains the approval of more women over the way he does his job as prime minister compared to Ms. Gillard.

Parents beware. Babies should not be allowed to sleep in car seats according to a study published today by researchers from the University of Auckland.

According to a report from Universities Australia, more than two-thirds of the student population is worrying about their tuition fees and other finances. The current figure is a big leap coming from just half of university students reportedly under financial stress in 2006.

Banks in Australia have the highest concentration of residential mortgages than any other type of institution in the world, making them vulnerable to a possible house price correction according to the analysis of a leading credit market economist. Since houses in Australia are overvalued, many Australians consider housing affordability an issue. This is true especially for voters as housing ranks ahead of border security, broadband and education among the issues government must focus on.

The Australian market was subdued from morning to mid-day at the start of this week as investors become cautious while awaiting key data regarding China's economy. Some investors took profits after recent market gains, contributing to the fall.

Most Australians struggle with recognising symptoms of diabetes based on the results of a new survey. Diabetes is the fastest growing disease in the country and one of the complications of obesity.

In an attempt to downplay the results of the latest opinion poll showing the Australian Labor Party closing in on the Coalition, Tony Abbott claims Kevin Rudd had nothing to do with it. He said the dramatic results are due to voter relief for the Labor's removal of Julia Gillard and not because Kevin Rudd took the leadership of the majority. Abbott also attacked Labor's plans of scrapping carbon tax policy to switch to an emissions trading scheme.

Verizon Communications Inc's contract with Apple Inc will apparently end this year as the deal becomes due. Verizon owes to Apple Inc an outstanding balance of almost $12 billion. A Verizon shortfall of $12 to $14 billion has an estimated value of $4-5 per share.

Tourism Events Queensland has signed a three-year marketing deal with Qantas worth $12 million to promote tourist destinations of Queensland to the world. Zimmerman says the $12 million deal will boost Queensland's international profile and bring in more visitors to the state. Qantas is the biggest and most important airline in Queensland. The deal will connect tourists who are going to Queensland to Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and the further north of Australia.

The Newman Government in Queensland has changed its mind on a proposed plastic ban due to fear of voters' retaliation. One day after announcing the plastic ban was being considered as part of the state's waste minimisation strategy, Environment Minister Andrew Powell has apparently had a change of mind.

Viagra could help improve the survival and health of unborn babies. The world's first clinical trial in Australia and New Zealand are underway to test if the male virility drug can save the lives of the unborn.

Returning Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd found an opportunity to tag Tony Abbott as a doomsday prophesier without any concrete economic plan for the nation's future. Mr. Rudd also called for a productivity pact between government, business and unions in his first major speech before the National Press Club.

Newcrest Mining Ltd is cutting jobs at its Telfer mine in Western Australia as proof of concrete action on its controversial restructuring plans announced last June 7.

James Packer is confident in the booming gaming market of the Philippines. Packer's Asian gaming joint venture Melco Crown will be building a gaming complex at Manila Bay. The investment is worth US$1 billion and is one of the three new casino ventures in Manila, Philippines.

Labour force figures today are expected to push the unemployment rate higher than last month's 5.5 per cent as the decline of the Australian dollar and sluggish economy hampers jobs growth.

More than a million of Australia's youth feel that no political party best represents their needs based on the research study of the Australia Institute. More than 800 respondents between the ages of 17 to 25 participated in the survey and 47 per cent of them believe no political party represents their best interests not even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Australian Labor Party which also the same party vacated by former prime minister Julia Gillard.

Pope Francis was named "Man of the Year" in the newly released Italian edition of Vanity Fair. The magazine said the pontiff's first 100 days at the Vatican has made him one of the most respected top leaders in the world.