Vittorio Hernandez

Australian drug firm CSL recommended the rationing by hospitals of penicillin because the country's stock of the drug is down to one week.

Amid the rising prices of gold expected to peak at $2,300 an ounce, the Greens are pushing for the inclusion of gold in the proposed mineral resource rent tax (MRRT). The party estimates that gold would add $1.8 billion to government coffers in the next 10 years.

Residents of New South Wales Blue Mountains have declared their area a nuclear-free zone, a federal government report released on Wednesday said.

The Australian Industry (Ai) Group will push for an increase in the goods and services tax (GST) rate in the Oct. 4 and 5 tax forum organized by the federal government.

The federal cabinet approved on Monday frontline combat duty for Australian women. Defence Minister Stephen Smith said the change had strong support from the chief of the Defence Force.

Customs and quarantine workers in different Australian airports struck on Tuesday to protest a pay dispute with the federal government.

Federal Court Justice Annabelle Bennett hinted Monday that she may grant a brief injunction on sales of Samsung tablet while studying arguments from Samsung and rival Apple, a development that would likely delay the Australian debut of Samsung's 10.1 Galaxy Tab.

New cases of gonorrhea and Chlamydia are on the rise in Australia, particularly among young members of indigenous communities.

The four largest Australian banks have a combined $25.9 billion direct loans to European nations. Since it comprises only 1 per cent of their combined loan book of $1.8 trillion, the banks have a strong buffer against the ongoing global market turmoil caused by the eurozone debt crisis.

Air New Zealand hiked its stake in Virgin Australia by 5 per cent to 19.99 per cent. With the increase, the flag carrier became the second largest shareholder next to parent firm Virgin Group.

A slip of the tongue by Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd fueled more speculation that the former prime minister could be interested in his old job amid calls from the opposition for incumbent Prime Minister Julia Gillard to resign.

A freak driveway accident caused the death of a two-year-old boy and injured a 63-year-old man in Victoria on Monday night. The incident was the result of a 32-year-old woman accidentally stepping on the gas pedal instead of the break while she was about to park her car on the lawn.

TV evangelist Pat Robertson told 700 Club viewers that divorcing a partner with Alzheimer's disease is justifiable because the ailment is considered "a kind of death," AP reports.

Thousands of employees of Australia's Customs and Border Protection agency will strike on Tuesday to protest their pay and work conditions.

A study by the Western Australia Institute of Medical Research Epidemiology warned of the risks of bowel cancer for fruit juice drinkers.

Samsung plans to launch its 10.1 Galaxy Tab in Australia on Friday, an Apple lawyer told Australian Federal Court Judge Annabelle Bennett.

Australian female executives pushed for the government to make costly childcare and nanny services tax deductible. By doing that, there would be more women available for employed, while those already working could have more opportunities for promotion.

Queensland's banana industry is recovering after the Australian state was flooded in summer. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh forecast lower banana prices in the coming weeks from the peak of $15 a kilogramme due to expected bumper harvest from North Queensland.

With another round of global economic crisis looming, there is a growing call for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to cut interest rate to avoid a recession.

Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan acknowledged that the debt contagion problem in Europe and the budget deficit problem in the U.S. will affect Australia and Asia, which would make it harder to achieve a budget surplus by 2012-13.

Queen Elizabeth II will be in Australian to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth in late October.

The first genome of a 100-year-old hair from an Australian aborigine establishes the arrival of migrants from Africa to Australia about 50,000 to 70,000 years ago.

Australian researchers have identified a master gene which could be the key to reversing Type 2 diabetes. Called Id1, the gene switches on and disrupts beta cells inside the pancreas responsible for insulin production when a person eats high-fat diet.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) lost in a court case the regulator filed against search engine giant Google. ACCC complained that Google violated Australia's trade practices law by its using advertisement placements as basis for ranking of search results.

Four days after baggage handlers, ground workers and other Qantas employees struck on Tuesday, it will be the turn of the air carrier's engineers to pursue a similar job industrial action in Melbourne on Friday.

Although there is a growing movement within the Labor Party for Kevin Rudd to reassume leadership, current party leader and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has secured sufficient support from powerbrokers. Enough support for her to remain in post amid discontent over her failed Malaysia Solution on border security.

Economic slowdown could force Australian banks to downsize in the coming months, Swiss bank UBS warned on Thursday.

The investment traffic between Australia and its Asian neighbors is lopsided in favor of Aussies. Asian investments in Australia are 1.5 times that of Australian investment in Asia.

Protest and demonstration are expected to greet Pope Benedict XVI on his first state visit to Germany on Thursday. The harsh reception would contrast with celebration that took place when Josef Cardinal Ratzinger was elected pope six years ago.