Vittorio Hernandez

The Australian share market managed a second session of gains today, despite worries about the US budget impasse and falls on most global markets overnight.

Aussies could expect their favourite soap opera, starring the country's richest family, to resume soon, following the decision by the New South Wales Supreme Court to reject the appeal by Ginia Rinehart, the youngest heiress of the mining magnate Gina Rinehart, to resolve their family feud via arbitration.

Taiwanese phone maker HTC is reportedly rushing altering the components of its flagship HTC One in a bid to outwit a possible import ban in the U.S. and other major markets, following a preliminary U.S. court victory by Nokia.

The Australian share market is moving higher for a second straight session, despite weakness on Wall Street overnight as the US government shutdown entered its second day. This morning our time, US President Obama and Congress have been holding talks in an effort to reach agreement over the budget impasse.

Indonesian journalists are angry at Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott for excluding them in a press conference he held on Tuesday morning. The head of Indonesia's journalists' union claimed that Mr Abbott even committed a criminal offence for his act.

Eighty-six per cent of consumer payments by Australians are done in other ways except cash, indicating how far ahead if the country in terms of becoming a cashless society.

A recently excommunicated priest is counting on the recent statement of Pope Francis that the Church should stop being anti-gay and the pontiff's move to reform the Church, particularly its Vatican-centric orientation.

The fate of the Surface RT and Surface Pro, which caused Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer his job, would hopefully not be repeated in the newly launched Surface 2 tablet which is being tapped by a major air carrier.

The themes seen in early trade remained in place this afternoon. Volumes remained low as investors remained wary of US political developments.

The Australian stock market pushed slightly higher at the open, following gains in US and European markets informed by hopes that the partial United States government shutdown will not seriously harm the economy.

Two weeks after Apple made available two next-generation iPhone models in retail outlets in the U.S., the company's iPhone 5S was named by Business Insider as the best smartphone in a list of 15 mobile devices for October 2013.

Besides the 700,000 American federal workers who have been victimised by the shutdown of the U.S. government, another group of people are angry over this political development. They are tourists whose arrival in New York happened to coincide with the shutdown.

A 10-year-old Mexican boy was killed on Friday by a 4-metre crocodile in the state of Oaxaca. The boy was playing with his older brother, aged 13, near a swollen river when the reptile just grabbed the child's heat and dragged him for several metres before releasing the child.

The Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee of the European Parliament unanimously approved a legislative resolution to craft a law that would require all mobile phone manufacturers to make a universal charge to cut down on e-waste.

Controversy continues to hound Miss World 2013 Megan Young of the Philippines just days after she bagged the coveted blue crown in Bali, Indonesia.

The Australian share market has closed modestly lower on what was a very busy day for investors around the globe.

Gina Rinehart, Australia's richest person, stunned the New South Wales Supreme Court on Tuesday when she ended the prolonged family feud with her two estranged adult children. Ms Rinehart told the court she would step down as head of the Hope Margaret Hancock Trust as sought by John Hancock and Bianca Hope Rinehart.

The Australian share market is trading slightly firmer at lunchtime in the East, as US lawmakers scramble to make an 11th hour agreement on budget changes ahead of the October 1 deadline. If changes can't be agreed, there will be a shutdown of many (mainly non-essential) US government services. The looming deadline impacted offshore trade overnight, sending the Dow Jones Index down 0.8 per cent.

As expected, the mother, brother and grandmother of former Glee star Charice Pempengco did not show up at the Power of 2 concert of the lesbian singer on Saturday, Sept 28. Charice was paired with another lesbian singer, Aiza Seguerra, who let the concert goers know that she is in a romantic relationship with former beauty queen Liza Dino.

The October 17 release date of Windows 8.1 OS is barely two weeks away and Microsoft is ready with its first advertisement that highlights the return of the Start button.

A Christchurch man is waging a one-man battle against prostitution in his community and could get into trouble for his tactics and community organising efforts

Apple's iPhone has often been compared to Samsung smartphones or the mobile devices of other top cellphone brands such as HTC and Sony.

A rail accident on Saturday morning in Zaporozhye, Ukraine, created headlines since it was no ordinary hit-and-run accident. The couple hit by the train was having sex on top of the rail tracks. The woman died on the spot, while her 41-year-old boyfriend lost his legs.

Sellers moved in on the Australian share market today, dragging the index from fresh five year highs reached on Friday. It was the worst one day session the Australian share market has experienced since the 3rd July. However the Australian share market notched up its best quarterly gain since September 2009, rising 9.3 per cent in the three months to September.

It's been a predictable start to the week for local stocks. Sellers have made an impression by taking the index lower as investors weigh the debt ceiling on one hand and the implications for the Fed's tapering calendar on the other. The US Congress has not yet passed a "continuing resolution" to fund the US government beyond Monday 30 September which is the end of the US fiscal year.

The list of devices with the word smart appended to it is fast expanding. Beginning with smartphone, soon smartglasses and smartwatch followed. A smartcar that could drive or park by itself, while a U.S. company had introduced the smartrifle.

Are Australians losing their confidence in Australian banks that 1 million Aussies have moved out their accounts from these lenders in the past 12 months?

Paul Allen, the owner of Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers, topped the list of 34 richest sports team owners in the U.S. with a net worth of $15.8 billion.

In yet another confirmation of the impending darker days ahead for the once top Canadian tech firm BlackBerry, T-Mobile U.S. said over the weekend that it would no longer have BlackBerry smartphones in its stores nor air ads for its slow selling devices such as the Z10.