POLITICS & POLICY

Rio Tinto's coal assets in Australia are being eyed by suitors from China and India.

The Australian government has launched a TV ad that warns Afghans of indiscriminate travel by boat to Australia. The government said it will continue to transfer people arriving to Australia to Nauru or Manus Island, with no guarantee of being accepted as a refugee. The add airs on Afghanistan's prime time television.

Headwinds will collide in Russia as parliament mulls to approve a new anti-gay law bill that not only seeks to arrest and imprison people for promoting homosexuality but also impose stringent fines. Foreigners who are members of the LGBT community don't hold international immunity and will be immediately deported.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has opened below USD0.9500 this morning following some disappointing Chinese data over the weekend.

At 17:38 Beijing time (09:38 GMT) on Tuesday, China will again hurtle into space its newest space mission aboard Shenzhou-10 as part of plans to build and place a permanent Chinese space station above the Earth in the near future.

A Syrian mother grieves for her 15-year-old son shot by rebels before her for blasphemy.

Despite pressure from some Australian Labor Party (ALP) members, Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten is not taking a shortcut to power by withdrawing support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Nelson Mandela remains in the hospital as South Africans pray for him

The Talibans in Afghanistan beheaded two boys in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar for spying, BBC quotes officials.

Iran announced a major breakthrough in its space program on Sunday, setting up its first space center to monitor bodies hovering in the orbit.

British PM David Cameron wants Google and other search engine companies to do something about the proliferation of child pornography on the Internet. Cameron said lives are at risk if child porn if search engines like Google, continue to bring up graphic and sexual images of children on Internet search results.

New South Wales Finance Minister Greg Pearce is being accused of using taxpayers money to fund his parliamentary travels that coincided with various sporting events across Australia.

Lack of stability and inappropriate funding for federal small business has led the small business shadow minister Bruce Billson to take up the issue for immediate solution.

After Labor lost the last state election in 2012, former Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is now battling cancer. The 52-year-old politician was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after a tumour was removed from her neck at the St Vincent Hospital in Sydney last week.

Amid claims that Australia's 457 visas for skilled workers is being abused by employers, the Australian Sex Workers' Association (ASWA) is calling on the federal government to allow the entry of foreign sex trade workers using that visa category.

Ousted PM Eddie Obeid remains confident that he will be vindicated from corruption allegations leveled against him and his family. Mr. Obeid faced the ICAC recently over corruption issues that claimed he made millions of dollars from the mining licenses issued to him by former minister Ian MacDonald.

The Turks were now clear about what they want; apparently the government chose to remain deaf

Israel Defense Forces or IDF is on its way of passing a regulation specifying limitations on soldier’s use of social networks.

Amid safety concerns raised by some sectors particularly the Rail, Train and Bus Union, the NSW government is pushing through with its plan to operate Sydney's North West Rail Link with driverless trains.

Australian employers have expressed opposition to the proposed reforms by the government to the 457 visa scheme. They complain of the tedious compliance requirements that the changes will bring, and accuses the government of politicising the issue and perpetuating fictitious stories of systemic abuse to justify such reforms.

Cleveland kidnapping victims, Amanda Berry, Gina de Jesus and Michelle Knight are to be given $25,000 per year and college tuition

The world had been asking why a hero will kill innocent civilians. American soldier Robert Bales finally had the answer.

The same-sex marriage debate in Australia is far from over. Since Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott did allow a bill to recognize gay marriage in Australia, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will move to a vote in a Senate before June ends.

Protesters in Istanbul remained unfazed on the eighth day of protests; however, motives for the protests reached an incomprehensible state.

Defence Minister A.K. Anthony of India came to Australia to meet with Australian Labor Party Defence Minister Stephen Smith discussing maritime security and bilateral defence cooperation.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar has fallen quite suddenly overnight, dropping to a low of USD0.9512 early this morning, which has it more than two-and-a-half cents since Tuesday.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell will likely fire state Finance Minister Greg Pearce over suspicions he has been using public funds for his private travel. The threat came after Mr O'Farrell warned Mr Pearce of his drunk behaviour in the state parliament last week.

A latest report released on Wednesday by the Council of Australian Governments Reform Council showed the number of homeless is growing in Australia.

The tiny landlocked nation Andorra is poised to introduce a personal income tax for the first time, effectively putting an end to its status as a tax haven as it comes under increasing pressure from its European neighbours to clampdown on tax evasion.