POLITICS & POLICY

It's been two years since a devastating magnitude 9 earthquake hit Tōhoku, Japan in March 2011, of which a resulting tsunami erupted and seriously impacted the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Japan is now grappling after it found out that the groundwater at the nuclear plant contained above average levels of a radioactive substance called strontium-90.

Bundaberg, severely hit by massive floods brought by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald in early January, has recovered. On Wednesday, after more than five months forced suspended operations, one of Queensland's biggest sugar exporters was able to export the raw commodity again.

The Australian Defence Force may have a difficult time to eliminate a culture of sexism and bigotry. Analysts say it would take years for the ADF to become improve its perspective on women soldiers as another investigation was soon to begin for the alleged posting of abusive material online.

The U.S. Naval Academy filed on Wednesday rape charges against three Naval football players for the sexual assault of a female midshipman in April 2012. The incident happened at an off-campus house in Annapolis.

A day after the Climate Commission released a report urging a slowdown to extraction of fossil fuels due to the negative impact of the use of oil and coal on the environment and climate, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman accused shady agents of killing the state's coal industry.

Clive Palmer, Australia's mining billionaire who is daring Opposition leader Tony Abbott and Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the prime ministership in the Sept 14 election is not bold enough when it comes to question concerning the resource industry.

As Fed chief Ben Bernanke is about to step down from his post, a relatively unknown woman is expected to take his post.

Russia's Lower House of Parliament, or the Duma, has unanimously approved to support a bill that bans foreign gay, same-sex couples to adopt Russian orphans. The bill is also expanded to prohibit single foreign nationals from adopting as long as they came from a country where same-sex marriage is legal.

A double suicide bombing spree inside a Shiite mosque in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on Tuesday has killed 31 and wounded 57 others.

Officials in the embassies of the Philippines located in Jordan, Kuwait and Syria have been alleged to have formed prostitution rings to sexually abuse female distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in exchange for their repatriation.

Australia was able to preserve the World Heritage Site status for its renowned Great Barrier Reef, but only for until 2014. And unless Canberra can present concrete ways and measures to satisfy UNESCO on how it plans to protect the reef, the World Heritage Site status could easily be changed and included into the body's list of endangered places next year.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The RBA minutes released yesterday leaves the door open to further cuts in interest rates.

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi has come under fire with his recent comment that legalising same sex marriage would only lead to calls for the legalisation of polygamous marriages as well.

Two more countries have taken a bold stand against genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), according to new reports.

The Minerals Council of Australia is not supporting the call by the Climate Commission for the resource industry to move away from coal as the commission pushes for a slowdown in mining of fossil fuels.

Girls Education rights advocate Malala Yousafzi condemned the bombing of a bus in Islamabad by a female suicide bomber

The Australian bond market drops after news that Federal Reserve will slow down on its bond buying spree.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has let interest rates remain the same amidst weak economic conditions. The mining industry remained weak following the job cuts and shutdown of Newcrest Mining's Brisbane offices. The RBA is open to reduce interest rates further if the weak mining industry begins to put a strain on the entire economy of Australia. Based on a tame inflation outlook, the central bank of Australia said it still has leeway to lower interest rates.

At least more than 50 people in northern India are feared dead after their homes were swept away by ravaging floods brought about by incessant heavy monsoon rains over the past days. The worst hit were the states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

A group of entrepreneurs called ArcView Investor Network encouraged entrepreneurs to join the growing Cannabis industry

Bell FX Currency Outlook: It was a fairly quiet session for currencies overnight with the AUD slowly drifting back towards the USD0.9550 level.

Treasurer Wayne Swan rolled out on Tuesday his own app, the Fix-o-Gram which allows his constituents in the marginal Brisbane seat of Lilley to send him photos of potholes, traffic jams or other local problems to alert him.

In a Customer Privacy statement released by Apple, the company detailed what data they allow and do not allow for government to access.

Phone-making giant BlackBerry defends its security after the recent espionage expose.

On, Tuesday, the federal opposition has asked to a parliamentary review on the proposed reforms to the controversial 457 visa scheme. The changes are scheduled for deliberation in the parliament's lower house later in the day,

A sting operation for online child predators carried by police operatives in the lead up to this weekend's recently concluded Father's Day celebration had yielded 41 arrests, including 1 female. The operation spanned several counties throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and central Florida.

China may have become finally aggressive in combating its pollution-riddled air and environment, but it would take at least 18 years for the zooming super-power to realise the fruits of its labor and be finally able to eat it too.

Trial for Cleveland suspect Ariel Castro subjects victim Amanda berry, Michelle Knight and Gina de Jesus to more emotional pain

Kevin Rudd makes it known that he wants the support of top government officials before he bids for premiership.