POLITICS & POLICY

New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith proposed on Thursday limiting the number of times an Australian could legally change name. He wants to limit it to three times and to impose as well tougher requirements in a bid to prevent criminals from hiding from the law.

At least four foreign resource firms have expressed interest to conduct talks with Mumbai-based firm Varun Industries after it announced the discovery heavy minerals reserves at its blocks in Madagascar.

Despite a Supreme Court ruling allowing former Philippine president Gloria Arroyo to receive medical treatment abroad, the Philippine government prevented her from leaving NAIA (Ninoy Aquino International Airport) in Manila.

Police had arrested a suspect in a shooting incident at the White House on Friday night.

Despite existing self-regulation adopted by the food processing industry in 2009, television food advertisements promoting the so-called junk foods still make their way to considerable number of Aussie children, a new study said.

Falling global prices of iron ore as well as internal country problems had hurt India's mining industry as exports of its iron ore dropped 25 per cent to 35.38 million tonnes from April to October, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) said in a statement.

The debate over the Labor-government proposed lifting of uranium export ban to India has taken a new turn with the inclusion of visiting U.S. President Barack Obama's name in the arguments for or against the proposal.

France has protested an Israeli airstrike on Gaza that killed one Palestinian policeman and hurt the French consul, his daughter and pregnant wife, who suffered a miscarriage as a result.

An alleged attempt by the Thai government to bring back ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra from exile in Dubai through a royal amnesty has been exposed disgusting the opposition and raising the spectre of another political crisis.

Optus sought on Thursday for Telstra to be transparent on its use of the $11 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) windfall to ensure it would not use the money to stifle competition.

A unit of the Bank of China (BOC) is arranging to enter the iron ore swaps business next year to exploit the growing demand for hedging from steel mills and traders.

For millions of bike riders across Australia, local government efforts of ensuring for a cycle-friendly environment has become a norm for most of the country’s key metropolis, according to a new study issued this week by Bicycle Network.

Global miner BHP Billiton Limited is set to embark on two multi billion projects over the next three years.

Vending machines have come a long way from their roots. From their simple beginning as a way to sell postcards in the late 1880s, vending machines now sell everything from a pack of gum to shiny new cars.

The average salary of Australian workers grew by 3.6 per cent yearly, newly released date from the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The rate is almost the same as that of inflation rate which means wage growth was just modest and manageable.

China said its territorial dispute with neighbors should not be discussed in the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Bali, Indonesia on Saturday.

On Wednesday, US oil prices jumped to five-month highs triggered by a US pipeline stake sale that traders surmise could potentially reduce transport blockages and boost demand for US and Canadian crude.

After it successfully bought a majority stake in Australia's Legacy Iron Ore in September, India's largest iron ore miner NMDC Ltd. pursues its aggressive expansion plans of acquiring overseas mines, this time eyeing companies in Brazil and the US.

London-listed company African Minerals recently achieved a remarkable milestone with its shipment of a first batch of iron ore from its mine in central Sierra Leone, the country's first export of the commodity after almost 30 years.

The buildup of U.S. Marines permanently stationed in Australia will start next year with the arrival of 250 soldiers rising to 2,500 by 2017, U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Julia Gillard jointly announced Wednesday night.

Bell FX Currency Outlook: The Australian dollar looks at risk of heading back down through the parity level in the short term.

From IG Markets: Global markets were weaker overnight in a choppy session which saw headline risk prevail. US markets had pared losses on the back of comments from Boston Fed President, Eric Rosengren, which suggested that we may see coordinated action by the Fed and the ECB to help solve Europe's problems. However, US markets stalled their recovery into the close after Moody's downgraded the senior debt and deposit ratings of 10 German banks, and reports that the Super Committee talks h...

From Craig James, Commsec Chief EconomistMORNING REPORT (8am AEDT)US industrial production rose by 0.7pct in October, well above forecasts centred on a gain of 0.4pct. US consumer prices fell by 0.1pct with core prices (excludes food and energy) up 0.1pct. Both results were broadly in line with forecasts.

Elizabeth Taylor's love affair with jewellery rivals that of her love affair with men and is as famous as the Hollywood icon herself. This year, auction house Christie's is doing something a little different by auctioning off her jewellery online. The "Crown Jewels of Hollywood" collection will be divided into halves; an estimated 1,000 pieces will be auctioned online, something that he house has never done before.

Gold traders in India are preparing for a deluge of customers eager to buy the yellow metal as this year's annual wedding and festival season is expected to further boost sales of gold jewelry around the country.

Atlas Iron Limited has announced it has acquired for A$2.1 million in cash a 90 per cent stake from Gondwana Resources Limited to own the Corunna Downs DSO Project in the North Pilbara in Western Australia.

World industries dependent on rare earth elements, so named because of their scarcity and high value, will be facing an uncertain future as supply could be disrupted by technical, environmental and financial factors.

The Australian government is set to deport an Afghan national, whose application for political asylum has been turned down by immigration authorities, soon, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by the Immigration Ministry.

The spot inspections that China started last week over the production of rare earth metals in the country will likely affect global supply quotas next year.