POLITICS & POLICY

Samantha Stosur wrote sports history when on Sunday, she displayed composure in a tense final match with American Serena Williams to pull off a stunning 6-2 6-3 upset at the 2011 U.S. Open, which ended Australia’s decade-long title drought in any Grand Slam event.

The first gay rights rally in support of same sex marriage was held recently near the office of independent Member of Parliament Bob Katter.

The $1 million cap on government bank deposit guarantee will not lapse in October 2011 as initially planned, but a new permanent ceiling will take effect in February 2012. The new cap will be down to $250,000 per person.

Support for incumbent Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard is at a record low, according to a survey by Fairfax/Nielsen released Monday. But the Australian Labor Party still has hopes of winning if it brings back Kevin Rudd.

A Tunisian coalition called "Free Women Union" was recently created "to enhance the visibility of women in public life," reported Business News Sept. 7.

President Barack Obama, seeking to rescue the troubled U.S. economy and his own prospects for re-election, embarks on an uphill battle on Friday to win Republican support for a make-or-break $447 billion jobs plan.

Japan's economy shrank further and exceeded more than the government's initial estimates in the second quarter as the stronger currency diminished efforts for the country to fully bounce back since the March earthquake. The G-7 member-countries will likely be asked for fiscal intervention to weaken the appreciating yen, that so far did more bad than good to the entire economy.

South Australian Liberal Senator Mary Jo Fisher admitted on Friday in her trial in Adelaide that she unintentionally took groceries as part of her depression which caused her to lose control and plunge into depths of despair.

New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell criticised on Friday that some public workers - who are at the same time parents and joined the massive Thursday strike against the state's pay policy - would get paid while off their jobs.

Australia’s accommodation industry is planning to encourage member businesses in Broome to participate in the expanded Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme, which has been announced today.

An international human rights group demanded that Vietnam close down drug rehabilitation centers that are subjecting inmates to abuse and forced labor.

‘Carbon’ and ‘Tax’ seem inextricably linked in political debate but they are separate issues and should be viewed as such, a group of Melbourne’s leading industry CEOs was told on Friday.

In a meeting held in Tokyo on Wednesday, Sep 7, Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoshio Hachiro has asked assistance from Australia's Minister for Resources, Energy and Tourism, Martin Ferguson in acquiring coal and other resources for power-generation needs, NHK World report says

With still no reprise from a harm's way, Japan's newly elected Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda set foot on the devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to personally see the extent of the damage and massive efforts in decontaminating the areas plagued with high radiation.

A new report has belied federal authorities’ perennial harping that the spirited rise of the resources sector keeps the local economy afloat amidst global declines and pressures from within.

The unemployment rate in Australia went up to 5.3 per cent in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday. The number of employed people declined 9,700 to 11.433 million in August.

Amidst the public apology issued on Wednesday by U.S. energy giant ConocoPhillips, over oil spills in Bohai Bay, Beijing has ordered a thorough investigation of the affected area to know the exact damage to the environment, reports said.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard won some form of political reprieve on Thursday as the New South Wales state police declared that it will cease further probe on a Labour MP who accused of contracting the services of prostitutes using union finances.

Thousands of public workers in Sydney walked off their jobs on Thursday to protest the New South Wales government's wages policy.

There is no solid ground to launch a deeper look on Foster’s Group’s financial report, according to a decision handed down on Thursday by the Takeover Panel, which rebuffed a plea by global beverage firm SABMiller to probe the Australian brewer’s financial standing.

Hollywood's hottest and rock and roll's finest Johhny Depp and Keith Richards, respectively showed up for the GQ "Man of the Year" awards in London on Sept. 6.

Reports are buzzing around Kate Middleton's alleged pregnancy, and it seems Buckingham palace is expecting its first "Royal Twins."

Forcing carbon pricing to an economic environment still reeling from the residues of the global financial crisis will only hamper recovery efforts, according to Rio Tinto managing director David Peever.

Rio Tinto criticized on Thursday the Australian government for its failure to deliver on carbon tax promises, which the Labour government agreed on with industry leaders.

In our December 2010 article (see issue 8.12), we discussed the activities of the Fair Work Ombudsman, the independent regulatory agency that investigates complaints involving suspected contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 and its predecessor, the Workplace Relations Act 1996, as well as breaches of awards and agreements.

Western Australia Auditor General Colin Murphy has found that agencies need to address potential conflicts of interests in the procurement of contracts for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects and the acceptance of gifts and travel at the Department of Health.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the pending sale of 66 F-16 aircrafts from the United States to Taiwan may sever the peaceful development of Sino-US and cross-Strait relations.

The Gillard government’s proposed carbon price from July next year poses limited impact on super funds overall, a new report released today shows.

China plans to adjust its procedures for selling weapons to other countries after news came last week that state-owned arms manufacturers were selling arms to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's government in July.