POLITICS & POLICY

Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student and majorette at King College Prep High School and who attended the Obama inaugural in early January was shot dead on Tuesday.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The local unit fell to a low just above 1.0400 against the Greenback as concerns over a potential rate cut next week have started to creep in.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average seesawed within a narrow range, though carrying a slight negative bias, after the FOMC was slightly less dovish in its policy statement. The Fed concluded its latest two-day meeting by keeping rates unchanged and continuing its bond-buying efforts amid a mixed picture of economic growth.

On the same day that Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced Sept 14 as the day for the country's federal election, a major business group challenged politicians to focus on six key issues.

Australian supermarket companies such as Wesfarmers vowed not to increase their prices in the face of the floods that have affected Queensland over the past few days. But the supermarket giant however did admit that the delivery of food and other supplies from warehouse to target areas could become a challenge.

It won't be long before fresh air starts getting to be a luxury item in China. In fact, a Chinese entrepreneur had already thought of canning fresh air, similar to sodas in cans, and selling them to his fellowmen as heavy smog again griped China for the second time this month.

If Neil Armstrong, the first person who stepped on the moon on that historic July 21, 1969, was still alive today, he would probably feel glad that his "one giant leap for mankind" has been bolstered no less than by man's primate ancestor, as Iran on Monday launched into space a monkey as part of its space plan programs. The monkey has successfully returned back to Earth.

A potable water shortage is now the main problem faced by residents at Brisbane after brown, muddy floodwater seeped into the city's largest treatment plant.

In an unexpected move, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced on Wednesday the federal election date months ahead of the actual date. Australians will cast their votes on Sept 14.

Adele Hall, wife of Hallmark chairman, dies at 81, leaving a legacy of philanthropy, volunteerism, and kind acts.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard will face the National Press Club on Wednesday presenting crucial structural revisions that hopefully will lead to federal savings, the bulk of which to fund programs that are in line with Labor’s core values.

Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) has been receiving phone calls from startled residents of Cotulla, Texas who reported numerous UFO sightings in the area. The organization claims that their experts can solve the mystery surrounding the unidentified flying objects recently caught on camera.

“Tampon Girl” Giovanna Plowman may be enjoying her sudden fame but the Buffalo teenager is somehow willing to share the spotlight with Dino Bruscia. He is another New York City teenager who created internet uproar months ago with a video of himself eating his own poop mixed with ice cream.

Google Maps have recently released an update containing a detailed map of the isolated country, North Korea. The update was released three weeks after the visit of Google's executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, to Pyongyang.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian Dollar is higher after international investors welcomed news of a surge in domestic business confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 68 points, or 0.5%, to 13950 in midafternoon trading Tuesday, on pace to close at the highest level since October 2007. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose seven points, or 0.5%, to 1507. Blue chips headed toward a five-year high as Pfizer topped earnings expectations and investors shrugged off sluggish consumer-confidence data.

If your goal as a leader is to be an authoritarian and rule over people rather than represent them and govern on their behalf, then you're probably a student of one of the most popular and oft-taught political principles throughout the ages: the use of fear.

David Cameron, Prime Minister of Britain, promised the UK membership of the European Union following an extensive reform which would include an in and out referendum, provided his party is re-elected as the government in the 2015 general elections. However, some European leaders disagree with Cameron's pledge to renegotiate membership terms.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: Australian dollar tumbles to lowest level in a month as markets consolidate.

There are many applications that can be used in Facebook including games, horoscopes, inspirational quotes and other useful info. The Useful Info app delivers trivial information about health, touching stories, food, technology, quotes, and politics. One of the finds of that app featured a political icon that would put other politicians to shame for their lavish lifestyle. He is Jose Alberto Mujica Cordano, the current president of Uruguay since 2010. He is an entry in Useful Info Facebook app w...

An Australian Industry (AI) Group study of the impact of the carbon tax on the energy cost of doing business indicated it is lesser than anticipated. The analysis seems to support the contention by Treasurer Wayne Swan that the tax also did not lead to runaway prices, contrary to the scare campaign initiated by the Opposition against the measure.

With no clear cut and defining rules for engagement, debt collectors have managed to infiltrate Facebook and other social media channels in their pursuit to settle unpaid financial obligations of errant debtors. But as contact cases escalated over the years, consumers now point the method has tantamount to online harassment.

With no clear cut and defining rules for engagement, debt collectors have managed to infiltrate Facebook and other social media channels in their pursuit to settle unpaid financial obligations of errant debtors. But as contact cases escalated over the years, consumers now point the method has tantamount to online harassment.

Since Australia is a multi-cultural country, it would not be surprising that Aussies would celebrate their national day in different ways. While Australia Day is Jan 26, since it is a Saturday, the country would observe it on Monday, Jan 28 which is a public holiday.

Labour and the Coalition have pushed the campaign buttons early in 2013, analysts said. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is consolidating her power-base within the ruling party while Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has instructed Liberal MPs to spread words about the party platform.

Rainfall poured down by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald has brought flowing to the eastern state of Queensland, Australia, where so far 20 have been rescued.

Teachers in Australia's Victoria have threatened to go on strike on Valentine's Day if their demands remained unmet by the state government.

The “Django Unchained” film’s slave toy collectibles were supposed to bring more success to the Weinstein Company. Criticism from the African-American groups caused the company to discontinue selling the Django toys particularly on the virtual marketplace eBay.

If Gina Rinehart is Australia's richest person, and once the world's richest woman, her counterpart in Angola is Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of the country's president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Forbes reported on Wednesday that Ms dos Santos's wealth breached the one billionth mark, making her Angola's first woman billionaire.