ECONOMY

True to their word, Melbourne's taxi drivers converged for another protest action at the city's airport, creating passenger and traffic mayhem on the first day of the week.

At least five people have died and two others now in critical condition after getting infected with a new SARS-like virus in Saudi Arabia.

Travelers who have scheduled airflights this weekend at the Melbourne Airport have been advised to take alternative options as taxi drivers vowed to refuse taking in passengers in light of their protest to the end of the short-fare queues system at the airport.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's call for austerity among his high- and low-ranking officials have unwittingly created an alleged covert underground spending movement.

QinetiQ North America (QQ) a world leading defense technology and security company providing satellites, drones and software services to the U.S. Special Forces deployed in Afghanistan and Middle East suffers humiliation as intelligence officials confirmed that China was able to steal the U.S. classified documents and pertinent technological information - all this because of QinetiQ's faulty decision-making.

Taiwan did not surprise when it released its data on the economy, showing that GDP slowed in the first quarter on a year-on-year basis.

Australian clothing companies allegedly use cheap labor to produce their garments.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has just spiced up the raging smartphone war between Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc., with Blackberry sure to be a potential casualty of war, as the Pentagon announced it is currently working to award separate security approvals to the two companies as part of a wider plan to improve its communications network.

Australia's first ever banknote is scheduled to go on sale and expected to generate some $3.5 million for its current owner.

Airline travelers frequently passing through Australia's Darwin International Airport may expect to experience improved changes as the airport starts next month its planned $75 million expansion upgrade.

Look out world. It seems not everything fake or imitation just originates from China. Another Asian country, war-torn Afghanistan, has been reportedly selling iPhone 5s for $700 courtesy of a retailer not recognized by the Apple Store hierarchy.

Are you a rich or adventurous vagabond out to conquer the most delicious restaurant cuisines the world can offer? British magazine Restaurant has released its annual 50 best restaurants in the world, and for 2013, the top spot distinction has been given to Spain's El Celler de Can Roca.

Ah. So that's what happens when you spend money you expect to have and then the money fails to show up. You get a $7.5 billion federal deficit that will be around $12 billion by the end of the year. If Standard and Poor's said Australia's AAA credit rating was under threat without a government commitment to reduce the deficit, then aren't bigger government deficits a threat to Australia's credit rating now?

The biggest question facing investors in this new age of centrally planned economies is this: inflation or deflation?

Hunan Province has been included in Taiwan's alert list for travelers bound for China, with the total number of areas now reaching 10. Taiwan first issued the travel health advisory Thursday last week, April 25.

Public school students in Queensland might as well start looking this early for a possible new school as 55 state schools have been listed on the drawing board due for the padlock soon.

The Co-operative Bank, which currently owns one bank branch and three outlets in Scotland, came forward in December 2011 to bid £ 750 million for part of a business owned by Lloyds Banking Group. It entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with "Lloyds Banking Group" to complete the purchase by November 2013.

South Korea has reasons to boast as it saw its Q1 GDP climb at the fastest rate in two years. The expansion was above analysts' expectations as growth was driven by an improvement in construction and investment, not to mention strong exports. In spite of optimistic data , it seems that the country will struggle as consumers and exporters are less confident.

In 1971, American country singer John Denver released a song titled Take Me Home, Country Road, which immortalised the state, West Virginia, as a place that feels like heaven because of its beauty.

GrainCorp Ltd., Australia's largest listed grain trader and the last standing independent grains handler, has conceded to a $3.4 billion takeover bid offer of U.S.-based Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM).

Russian billionaire Alexander Nesis is poised to enter a joint venture that will tackle the extraction and production of precious rare earths from the country's giant Tomtor deposit in Yakutia.

The government of Taiwan has advised would-be travelers to China to take extra precautionary measures when visiting the country after one of its residents have contacted the new avian influenza virus H7N9.

Global equity markets surged overnight on the back of deteriorating manufacturing data out of the US, China and Europe. Yep, you heard that right.

That little smugness must have appeared as Credit Suisse Group AG, which happens to be the Switzerland's second biggest bank, informed that its quarterly earnings topped analysts' projections. The bank is slowly levering itself on feet after facing many challenges, including restructuring, debt, etc.

While speaking on fiscal policies in Brussels, the European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, admitted that the 'fiscal austerity' policy practiced in EU in the past 3 years outlived its cause and no longer enjoyed the backing of the people.

Five years after the global financial crisis hit in 2008 and Wall Street crashed, unemployment remains a top problem in the United States. Across the 50 states, the unemployment rate is 7.6 per cent in March, slightly down from 7.7 per cent in February 2013.

If Aussie computer whiz kids can level up to include entrepreneurial skills in their list of technological expertise, Australia can create a sector of tech start-up firms that could contribute $109 billion to the economy annually by 2033 as well as create 540,000 new jobs.

A ray of hope is on the horizon for the bird flu scare gripping China for three weeks now as scientists from the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) on Tuesday said the influenza A H7N9 virus showed to be combination of genes from various viruses.

Grain growers in Australia's South Australia and Victoria have been advised to implement necessary measures as prevailing dry weather conditions are expected to continue for at least the next three months, according to the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).