Vittorio Hernandez

Local stocks have started the trading week on a positive note, boosted by hopes of good results during the busiest week of reporting seas. European markets were weaker on Friday while US markets closed flat. Locally, the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 28.3pts or 0.6pct to 5082.9pts, its highest level since September 8, 2008.

The Australian sharemarket is improving by 0.6 per cent or 31.4 pts to 5086, adding to five straight weeks of gains. Global markets were mixed on Friday night, however U.S equities (shares) edged higher by a modest 0.1 per cent. Global investors could remain a little cautious today to overcommit due to the President's Day public holiday in North America. U.S shares will be closed on Monday however will return to trade normally on Tuesday.

Androids continue to dominate the global smartphone market, indicating has far this mobile OS has gone since it was rolled out in 2008. Since the Android Market introduced a set of widgets then, the Android has expanded to wider platforms and ecosystems with the latest being the Jellybean and the Lime Key Pie on the horizon.

Schweppes drinkers in New Zealand should be warned that it could also produce pain and blood because of glass fragments found in five flavors - lemonade, tonic water, soda, dry ginger ale and soda lemonade twist. The affected drinks are those in 300 ml clear glass bottles with best before dates between Jan 10, 2014 and Jan 30, 2014.

Sony has introduced Xperia Z with precision engineered full HD smartphone. It is considered one of the most durable phones in the market today. It has waterproof and dust-proof casing to protect it from most daily hazards for mobile devices. It also features clearer images viewed from its panels with OptiContrast, stunning video and photo under any lighting condition with 13MP rear shooter camera, and maximum durability versus water and shatters.

Google is planning to open retail shops in the United States by the end of 2013. Besides the U.S., Google is also planning to open an outlet in Dublin, Ireland, as the tech firm attempts to make its products more reachable to consumers, both in-web as well as physical items.

The HTC 2012 flagship model One XL is receiving an Android 4.2.2 Cyanogen Mod 10.1 Nightly Build. Cyanogen Mod developers are currently developing this custom ROM featuring the latest Jellybean 4.2.2 released by Google recently with all features of the stock ROM itself.

While the Australian cattle dog was originally bred in the land down under to drive cattle over long distances across rough terrain, Rogue, a one-year old cattle dog, instead drives electric toy cars.

While other nations are planning migration to planet Mars, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States is planning to fly to the moon - that is Jupiter's moon which is covered in large oceans of water under a thick ice later.

DNA tests confirmed over the weekend that dinners tainted with horse meat had reached schools. The discovery prompted British councils to push for the withdrawal of processed beef dishes from menus following the confirmation that the equine meat hidden in cottage pies was sent to 47 schools.

The famous religious leader who has more than 1.5 million Twitter followers will no longer tweet after Feb 28. Pope Benedict XVI, who owns the Twitter handle Pontifex, will no longer tweet beyond next Friday, reports Al Jazeera.

Malaysia detained and deported Australian independent Senator Nick Xenophon over the weekend. Authorities cited his being a security risk as the reason behind their action against the senator.

While Korean artist Psy was holding his Manila concert on Saturday at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City, Philippines, at the other end of Roxas Boulevard, a former president was dancing Psy's hit song Gangnam Style.

Korean YouTube sensation Psy will perform at the inauguration ceremony of South Korea's first female president Park Geun-hye. The swearing in rite will be held on Feb 25 at the National Assembly Square in Seoul.

There is great news for Samsung users owning Galaxy S2 for the international versions is finally receiving an update of Jellybean. The almost-forgotten flagship has received the source code and can be downloaded using Over-the-Air update.

These two cartoons depicting the last two popes of the Roman Catholic Church tell it all how wide a gap exists between the two pontiffs in terms of popularity.

If the matter were entirely up to boxing eight-division world titlist Manny Pacquiao, he wants eight kids as well for each world division he reigns supreme. The Filipino boxing champion has four children with his wife Jinkee, although it is rumoured that he has some love children with other women.

From talk about Pope Benedict's resignation on Monday, the focus is now shifting towards the election of his successor. The discussions run from the serious to the humorous.

The Australian share market opened slightly lower this morning after a mixed night on overseas markets. Overnight European indices were hit by the news that growth in the Eurozone had contracted by 0.6% in the final quarter of 2012. This was not good news after a report earlier in the day showed the Japanese economy also contracted in the December quarter of 2012.

iOS 6.1 has improved many of its security features and still carried over some from the previous generation. Apple has begun entering the corporate environment, providing devices with state-of-the-art protection against hacking, attempting to steal the position where Blackberry used to dominate.

The United States is being invaded by stinging ants from Asia, NBC reports. The ant invasion is damaging not only properties but also harming Americans because the tiny insect's sting produces small welts that are surrounded by a rash, itches and hurts when scratched.

Dolphin and whale watch cruises are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Auckland, New Zealand. However, this thriving money earner is being jeopardised by the threat of extinction by 2030 for one dolphin sub-species - the Maui dolphin. Scientists from the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) in the U.S. said that the population of the world's smallest dolphin sub-species has gone down to only 55.

The social networking Web site LinkedIn have reached their two million members mark during the love month. And because of the hard work of the 3,500 LinkedIn employees, the company's CEO, Jeff Weiner, gave them a special gift on Valentine's Day.

Battery life is one of the most important aspects a user should check when purchasing a phone or tablet. Battery life is affected by many factors, and the description written in the box of the product is usually under a condition set by the manufacturer during testing. Though manufacturers do testing of their devices, battery life will change over time and continues to depreciate that will eventually require a replacement. So it is best to take good care of the battery to make it last for as lon...

Most users just buy new Android phones for status to blend in with the tech trend. Only some Android users really know how to maximise their devices by learning and using the capabilities of their smartphones. HTC Droid DNA is one among many smartphones with hidden tricks that anyone can actually do. Here are at least 11 of them.

South Korean artist Psy continues to be on a roll as his record-busting Gangnam Style video reached over 1.3 billion hits as of Valentine's Day. He is currently on an Asian and Oceania tour and just finished a concert in Malaysia, will have a one-day concert next week in the Philippines and five concerts in Australia in March.

Korean YouTube sensation Psy held a Chinese Lunar New Year concert in Penang, Malaysia on Feb 11. While the government-controlled newspaper, The Star, reported on Wednesday on its front page the success of the Gangnam Style singer's concert, it kept quiet about an embarrassing incident involving the Muslim country's prime minister, Najib Razak.

Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) continues to reap the negative impact of the bad business decisions made by outgoing Chief Executive Tom Albanese, who was forced to resign over losses suffered by the company. On Thursday, Rio reported $3 billion losses for 2012.

Sydney police arrested on Thursday Khoder Zahab, 42, at the family residence in Bankstown for the death of his father, Toufic Zahab, 69. Khoder allegedly killed his father and even beheaded him.