Vittorio Hernandez

If the topless photos of Lebanese skier Jackie Chamoun created an uproar in her country, the video of the photo shoot which contains more explicit images of the 22-year-old athlete is certain to raise more hackles among her conservative countrymen.

Choppy US trade has preceded a day of very interesting Chinese data, and the call for an 'orderly' unwind of monetary stimulus from the Fed overnight, suggests the market is in for a bit of a pause over the next two days.

The US Federal Government ran a $10.4 billion budget deficit in January, against expectations of $27.5 billion deficit.

Are you one of the young Aussies who dread the arrival of Feb 14 yearly because you have been a NBSB or NGSB card-holding member? NBSB refers to people who had No Boyfriend Since Birth, while NGSB stands for No Girlfriend Since Birth. Rather than mope around or lock yourself in your bedroom, join instead the growing number of single young Aussies who declared that the Day of Hearts is also Galentine's or Palentine's Day.

Russian snowboarder Alexey Sobolev probably saw the Sochi Olympic Games as his chance to meet many women, Russians as well as foreigners, by placing his mobile phone number on his helmet.

Because of a new federal law in 2013 that banned the sale of alcoholic drinks inside sports stadium and arenas, plus a local ordinance approved in January 2014 that also prohibited sale of alcohol within 50 metres of sports venues, the Sochi Olympics is considered the driest winter games in Olympic history.

The NZX 50 Index added 21.089 points on Wednesday, equivalent to 0.4 per cent, bringing it to 4869.972. The rise in New Zealand stocks came after the SkyCity Entertainment Group met guidance for its first-half earnings despite the strong kiwi dollar.

Higher demand from Chinese buyers led to a record-high importation by China of cooper and iron ore from major sources such as Australia and Chile. Bloomberg reports that besides using these commodities for construction, it also serves as collateral to secure credit.

The Australian share market made it five wins in a row today, closing at its highest level since mid -January on the back of positive gains on Wall Street, positive Chinese economic data and solid earnings results.

Apple has recently advertised for a User Studies Exercise Physiologist, with the applicant expected to have knowledge in creation and conduct of studies related to cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure such as calories burned, metabolic rate, aerobic fitness level and measurement/tracking.

The Australian sharemarket is modestly higher at lunch, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up 0.4 per cent, taking the gains since last Thursday to 4 per cent. U.S. stocks jumped by 1.2 per cent (only the second time this calendar year the DOW has gained in excess of 1 per cent). U.S. Fed chief Janet Yellen delivered her first testimony before congress and calmed the market. She didn't mince her words and seemed set to continue with the tapering while expressing her concerns relating to the ...

The typical female athlete has evolved from the butch-looking swimmers of East Germany in the 1980s to the very feminine sportswomen who now grace the covers of magazines with minimal clothing. For many women athletes, especially the pretty ones like Lolo Jones, Julie Chu, Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold - who are all competing in the ongoing Sochi Winter Olympics, - baring their bodies for magazines or commercial endorsements has become part of the things they need to do to fund their training fo...

Janet Yellen's maiden testimony to House Financial Services Committee may well have come from her predecessor.

In testimony to the US House of Representatives, US Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, said that she strongly supports the current policy strategy and expects a ´´great deal of continuity´´. Yellen also noted that recovery in the labour market is far from complete.

The inability of a man to rise to the occasion when in bed could be bad not only on his marriage or ego, but also his general health. A new Australian study found that men from age 20 or older who suffer from erectile dysfunction - or the inability of their penises to attain erection - have twice the risk of cardiovascular events compared to men who don't have ED.

The unusual things that passengers bring into New Zealand when they arrive at its airports from overseas would make an interesting list if the staff of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) would make such a compilation. One item that would be on that list is a 29-cemtimetre donkey penis declared by a Chinese passenger as food, Stuff.co.nz reports. New Zealand has a policy of disallowing the entry of many kinds of ready-to-eat or raw food, whatever shape these items are or whatever body part...

In an unusual display of unconditional love - an apt theme for this month of love - a couple from Sydney, Australia, decided to push through with the pregnancy of the wife despite the unborn baby having 2 faces and 2 brain, but one body.

On Monday, Quinn once more tweeted a second incident involving another Sochi door - this time it was not a bathroom door but an elevator door. He was trapped in the lift with fellow American athletes David Cripps and Nick Cunningham.

The ASX 200 completed its fourth consecutive day of gains on Tuesday. Much like yesterday, the index started the trade at the lows and ended around close to the best levels of the session. The ASX was shut down for 30 minutes this afternoon as a result of market data related issues. Volumes remained at healthy levels with $4.3 billion changing hands.

Despite a slightly weaker start this morning, the Australian sharmarket is managing to maintain some modest gains at lunch. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is up 0.4 per cent and has cracked through 5250.0pts.Our second largest trading partner; Japan is closed today for a holiday1.

Early this morning Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew announced he will have to take extraordinary measures to avoid hitting the debt ceiling as the February 12 deadline approaches.

European shares were mixed on Monday. The new head of the US Federal Reserve, Janet Yellen, is to deliver her first testimony to the House of Representatives on Tuesday and the Senate on Thursday. The FTSEurofirst 300 index rose by 0.1% with the UK FTSE up by 0.3% while the German Dax was lower by 0.1%. Mining shares were also mixed in London trade with BHP Billiton shares up by 0.6% while Rio Tinto lost 0.7%.

With competition heating up in the ongoing Sochi Winter Olympics despite the freezing weather, the funny and horror stories such as twin toilets and yellow water coming out of taps that preceded the opening ceremony on Friday have taken the backseat.

Large bricks-and-mortar retail shops in Australia would likely be both happy and sad with more foreign fashion brands opening stores in the Land Down Under.

Australia's car manufacturing would die by 2017, while about 50,000 workers from the supporting industry would become jobless. That would be on top of 2,500 Toyota employees also joining the ranks of the unemployed in less than four years from now.

Not all Nek Nominate challenges are fatal. Some are just downright embarrassing. However, in the spirit of drunkenness, a lot of young people are taking the challenge for the sheer fun of it.

The Australian share market had a solid start to the trading week, on the back of solid gains on Wall Street on Friday night.

The Australian sharemarket is improving for the third straight day, with the All Ordinaries Index (XAO) up by 0.7 per cent. The miners are the best performers while weakness from the property trusts, utilities and consumer staple businesses are keeping a cap on the gains.

Online forum chatters reacted to reports that a Chicago teen allegedly killed his elder brother over the high score the latter got in the hit game Flappy Bird. Wafflesatnoon pointed out that the source of the article is a humorous Web site huzlers.com, the same portal that was involved in various hoaxes in 2003 such as the alleged kidnapping of Vine star Lil Terio and the shooting of YouTube star Sharkeisha.