POLITICS & POLICY

Bombings and violence in the southern and central part of Iraq have taken the lives of 13 people, cites new reports Monday. As Iraq emerges as a Shi’ite-led state, it is still scarred by a history of attacks by extremists. The Iraq War, waged by the U.S. and its allies to contain terrorism led to toppling the despotic reign of Saddam Hussein regime.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar traded down to just above 0.9000 on Friday night as markets focused on comments from the Chinese finance minister and another US Fed Reserve president on the prospect of a reduction in US monetary stimulus.

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.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd snatched all likeability percentage from political rival Tony Abbott

During Julia Gillard's reign as prime minister for three years, Opposition leader Tony Abbott used the Gillard government's carbon tax as a tool to win support for the Coalition. Until the end of June, it worked for him because he was leading pre-election surveys. But the Labor leadership spill changed all that because returning Prime Minister Kevin Rudd immediately took lead as preferred prime minister just days after the party leadership change. Now, he is even threatening to pull the ru...

In a confusing state of events following the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, diplomats are calling for a government that represents interests of all political parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

President Jacob Zuma of South Africa said that he was happy with former President Nelson Mandela's health. He was responding to treatment for lung infection. He added that the improvement comes after "a difficult last few days."

9/11 terrorist mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is currently working on a vacuum cleaner and reading Harry Potter

Chinese netizens and human rights groups are fuming again over a latest infanticide case in the world's second largest economy, after a footage from a surveillance camera aired by a local TV station showed a bag containing an unwanted newly born baby girl was thrown out of a building window by her very own mother. And upon landing on the streets, the bag containing the baby was ran over by an unsuspecting driver. It would be a miracle for the baby to survive this ordeal, but no she did not.

Days after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s visit to Indonesia, Jakarta had refused extradition of people smuggler to Australia

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.

Aussie bank robber, ‘Robin Hood Style’, was sentenced in the U.S. to minimum 5 years of prison time

Reports have confirmed the death of one individual as tropical storm Chantal swirled past a southern island in the Dominican Republic – the island of Hispaniola. There was a threat of Chantal converting into a hurricane as it headed for Haiti and the Dominican Republic, while authorities in these two countries and Puerto Rico have warned of flooding that may result in landslides.

Reports say Australian Customs officers have confirmed at least seven asylum seekers jumped off their boats. An Aussie patrol boat assisted them but did not bring them on board, say reports. The asylum seekers were rescued on June 28 by the Royal Australian Navy ship, HMAS Larrakia. The rescue took place 217 nautical miles from Christmas Island.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was disrespectful to a disabled woman, although he might not be aware of his action, according to a disability campaigner. The Australian politician is under fire for patting and scratching a woman in a wheelchair’s hair, which is deemed as a condescending action towards the disabled.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is rocking the world of Social Media

For U.S. Texas lawmaker Rep Steve Stockman, punishing school children just because they are mimicking characters with imaginary weapons and want to save the world is already downright killing their right to play.

Inspired by Julia Gillard, Lisa Clutterham stood for pre-selection for one of Australian Labor Party’s safest seat in Lalor

Corruption and bribery are becoming more widespread globally, said a survey of 114,000 people across 107 countries made by Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International.

Fukushima's highly radioactive groundwater could already be spreading out to the Pacific Ocean, Japan's nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said on Wednesday.

Apart from his birthdate, July 11, 2013 could well become one of the unforgettable dates in the life of the juvenile implicated in the December 2012 gruesome gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old paramedical female student in Delhi, India. On July 11, either the juvenile goes scathe-free and resumes life as always or serves time for the next three years at a reformatory home.

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.

Concerned for the waning morale of its members, not to mention how the dwindling membership numbers are affecting the organization and its varied activities, the Yamaguchi-gumi, Japan's biggest crime syndicate, has published a magazine exclusive for its legion. Yep, it is not available on news or magazine stands for everyone to see.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar has a wild night. After breaking the 0.9200 range in early London, it fell to below 0.9100 at one point after the release of the FOMC minutes (around 4:00am). Then another bounce after Bernanke's Q&A session, where his comments were taken as a little more dovish that expected, has seen it back above 0.9200.

According to recent reports, Edward Snowden, ex-U. S. National Security Agency agency has not formally accepted Venezuela's offer for asylum. The White House says he should return to the U.S.

If you set your mind to something, no one can stop you, the mother told the young heroine in 'Wadjda,' the first feature film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. Coincidental or not, those words may have also served as the filmmaker's guiding light to plan, execute and finish the movie, for it was a woman, Haifaa Al-Mansour, who actually directed the film amidst the kingdom's many stiff rules against women working in public.

Tony Burke calls for no-advantage policy over asylum seekers coming to Australia

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd backs Nova Peris as the Australian Labor Party's candidate for the Senate in the Northern Territory after local officials approached Rudd and told him the indigenous Olympian can unite the party.

According to a top Kremlin official, Edward Snowden, who leaked sensitive U.S. intelligence information has decided to accept asylum in Venezuela.