POLITICS & POLICY

Although the singer's will to adopt a Carribean girl is an act of goodwill, fans and readers seem to think that the singer could have made a "horrible mother" if the adoption was pushed through.

Higher consumer prices in the last three months were posted in Australia and this has been indicated in the July inflation index compiled by TD Securities Inc. and the Melbourne Institute released in Sydney on Monday.

Personally, I never understood what got people so excited about Barack Obama. But back in 2008 people were positively gooey about him, and one of the lesser reasons was "cybersecurity". Obama "got it". He understood the deadly seriousness of this business.

In what is shaping up to become the nation's largest-ever municipal insolvency, Jefferson County, Ala., officials recently hired a major law firm to tackle the county's approaching Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing. A federally-mandated sewer upgrade project plunged the county into severe debt back in the 1990s from which it has since been unable to recover.

The Australian Census will count same-sex couples who are married for the first time ever on Census night.

Australia’s second mainland National Broadband Network (NBN) site has been switched on this morning, with residents in the Kiama Downs and Minnamurra, south of Sydney, set to experience superfast fibre broadband.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)Ongoing concerns about the US debt crisis saw markets around the Asian region heavily sold off again today. Investors remain concerned that even if US lawmakers come to an agreement over the raising of the debt ceiling, the US could still have its AAA credit rating downgraded. Japan's Nikkei index eased by 1.6pct today while the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) fell 73.4pts or 1.6pct to 4539.2 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) eased by 73.6pts or 1.6pct to 4463.8....

World-leading solar researchers and industry members in Australia are collaborating to develop new ways of generating zero-emissions electricity using a printing machine to produce solar cells.

Owners and managers in Australia are warned of cyber security risks and are advised to take the necessary measure to protect their businesses from hacking.

As the law enforcement crackdown against hacktivist groups Anonymous and LulzSec continued, British law enforcement on Wednesday announced the apprehension of "Topiary," a 19-year-old man from the Shetland Islands north of Scotland who has served as the spokesperson for the group.

In a followup article to the Front Page Project Rebellion article, Ben Hurley from the Australian Financial Review has published a new story on an ongoing investigation by the ACCC into the activities of RealEstate.com.au and to a lesser extent Domain.com.au.

Obamacare opponents in Ohio collect enough signatures to get constitutional amendment on fall ballot

In his rambling, 1,500-page manifesto, Norwegian shooter Anders Behring Brejvik said he used the video games "Modern Warfare 2" and "World of Warcraft" as training methods.

Industry groups in Australia have expressed concern as the value of the local currency surges pass the usual parity against the U.S. dollar. Is the rising Australian dollar a blessing or a curse to the domestic economy?

Consumer prices for food, clothing, and services in Australia have risen in June, triggering a record-high for the country's currency.

The uncertain state of global economies, the debt crises in both the United States and the Euro zone, has largely prompted majority of Australian households to build up buffer reserves for the rainy days, according to Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Glenn Stevens.

As the US government grapples on addressing its budget issues, Australia’s planned upgrade on its air defence capability could run into more glitches, according to the country’s defence chief.

After a year-long investigation by PETA Asia-Pacific and the National Bureau of Investigations, police have now charged a Philippine couple with cruelty to animals and other crimes related to producing a series of pornographic videos in which young girls torture and kill animals. Faced with the charges, suspects Dorma and Vic Ridon have fled. Warrants have been issued for them.

AFTERNOON REPORT (4.30pm AEST)Local stocks rebounded today, despite an impasse over the US debt crisis. US President Barack Obama today urged the Republicans to come to a compromise over the deadlock, which needs to be finalised before August 2nd or the US government will default on its debt repayments for the first time in history. Overnight, US and European markets fell, however investors bought back into local stocks which were heavily oversold yesterday. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) r...

Should Australia have tighter privacy laws to avoid a similar phone hacking scandal involving the media? Treading on press freedom and creating policies to protect individual privacy are delicate issues that government authorities and law makers are assessing amidst the phone hacking issue in the United Kingdom involving News Corp owned by Rupert Murdoch, serving as a test case for media organizations in the country.

Australia will provide a $20 million in additional humanitarian support for the 11.6 million people affected by the looming catastrophe in the Horn of Africa.

Banks in Australia will be put to a test by the contagion of a looming global financial crises spiraling from Europe to the United States now facing a politically charged debt crisis.

The Australian Human Rights Commission is worried about sending people who claim asylum in Australia to Malaysia or other third countries, and has urged that, in particular, the government not send vulnerable individuals such as unaccompanied minors, families with children and torture and trauma survivors under this agreement.

The recently concluded agreement between Malaysia and Australia has created strong reactions in Australia’s multicultural communities for its rejection of Australia’s international humanitarian obligations.

AFTERNOON REPORT (12pm AEST)The local share market is trading higher at lunchtime in the East, despite a negative offshore lead on continued worries over the US debt crisis. US President Barack Obama has addressed his nation within the last hour, telling Americans Democrats and Republicans have still not agreed on a solution to stop the government from defaulting on its debt repayments ahead of the August 2nd deadline. However, local stocks, which were heavily oversold yesterday, are today ...

Consumers are given better access to lower-priced internet service, according to Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy citing one of the key benefits of the National Broadband Network (NBN) network.

Hundreds of thousands face death and starvation in Somalia if the ongoing conflict in the region will keep international relief workers from reaching the affected areas, according to reports by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP).

MIDDAY REPORTLocal stocks have started the trading week in the red, after US leaders failed to agree on a deal to raise the government's borrowing power, or so-called "debt ceiling" before the August 2nd deadline. The debt ceiling is currently at $14.3 trillion, and the Democrats want it increased by $2.4 trillion in order to meet legal obligations, such as Social Security and Medicare payments. The Dow Futures is pointing to a negative start for Wall Street following the gridlock o...

Rigid security measures implemented by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly bordered beyond decency as foreign journalists covering the Israeli leader complained of intrusive checks imposed on them.