Vittorio Hernandez

It is bad that cigarettes are linked to lung cancer and tobacco firms continue to push their addicting products, especially to young people. Now, tobacco giant Phillip Morris is even making smoking more addictive by marketing marijuana cigarettes under the brand Marlboro M, according to report from a Web site named Abril Uno.

TIP News reported that beginning May 2014, all children born throughout Europe will be required to have an RFID chip embedded under their skin. The procedure allegedly will be done in public clinics in the European Union which will log all names in a report sheet.

In a parody of the popular video game Angry Birds, a seagull and a large black crow attacked on Sunday at the Vatican Square. However, the objects of their attack were not pigs but fellow avians - two white doves released by children who stood beside Pope Francis.

The Australian share market has ended the trading week in the red, closing lower by 0.4 per cent today as weakness in financial stocks weighed on sentiment. The Australian dollar also took a beating, following comments from an external Reserve Bank board member.

Sellers continued to make their case in early trade on Friday. There have been few consolations on offer for the bulls in recent days. A small positive has emerged on Friday. On several occasions sellers attempted to force the index through the 5250 area on a sustained basis. However buyers seemed content to defend this area. Having failed on 4 occasions, sellers retreated. Thereafter the market recovered ground quickly to be in positive territory at lunchtime. The question this afternoon will b...

Risk continued to trade with a negative tone after price action broke down in yesterday's Asian trade. The selling was really triggered by the disappointing HSBC China PMI reading which came in contractionary territory, and disappointing earnings in the US didn't help the situation.

n US economic news the flash Markit PMI eased from 55 to 53.7 in January. Slower rates of output and new order growth were behind the modest fall. The leading economic indicators index rose by 0.1% in December. US existing home sales rose by 1% in December. Existing home sales totalled 5.09 million units over 2013 - a seven year high. The national median price for existing homes was up 9.9% on a year ago. US jobless claims rose by 1,000 to 326,000 last week.

An international law expert from the University of Indonesia said on Thursday that Australia could be defying the 1951 Refugee Convention, based on the statement of Prime Minister Tony Abbott that Canberra would stop boats carrying asylum seekers that enter the country's waters.

Horticulture New Zealand warned the country's fruit and vegetable exporters that their produce could be blocked by overseas market because one pesky Queensland fruit fly in Northland was discovered.

A broadband speed test conducted in London on existing fibre network by British Telecom and Alcatel-Lucent, a French networking equipment firm, achieved 1.4 terabits per second of transmission.

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims he is not homophobic and points out that he is a fan of a gay icon - singer and songwriter Sir Elton John. He made the clarification amid calls for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in February hosted by Sochi, made by gay rights group.

Corporate Knights, a Canadian investment research company, named on Thursday Australian bank Westpac as the world's most sustainable company. The recognition was given at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

A disappointing monthly reading on the health of China's manufacturing sector pushed the Australian market and dollar lower this afternoon. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) slipped by 1.1 per cent, the most significant daily loss in a week.

The Australian sharemarket is slipping for the third time this week and for the 11th time in 15 sessions. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) is down 0.1 per cent. China's HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI will be issued at 12.45pm (AEDT) and measures the state of manufacturing activity in China. The market is expecting a slight rise from 50.5 to 50.6. A reading above 50.0 indicates manufacturing industry expansion. A surprise could move currencies.

US markets have provided no platform for Asia to move higher, so it seems we will need to see China come out firing again for the ASX 200 to make any upside traction.

The debate over whether boys need to be circumcised or not was given another anti-argument after three indigenous Northern Territory teenagers were recently hospitalised over a botched ritual circumcision.

One downside to stealing high-tech gadgets is that it is easier to track down the device. In a virtual repeat of what happened to a woman in the U.S., another woman in New Zealand also lost her device to thieves, but Dropbox turned out to be their ally in identifying the culprits.

European shares edged higher on Wednesday, led by solid results from Dutch technology firm ASML. But concerns about earnings across the broader market kept a lid on the advance. ASML the world´s leading provider of tools for making computer chips, rose by 7%, after it beat forecasts for fourth quarter results and reinterred an upbeat outlook for first-half sales. Portuguese shares (down 3.3%) underperformed the broader market, pressured by a slump in the country´s banks after local media reporte...

The questions posed by that YouTube uploader would probably be answered soon as embattled Canadian phonemaker BlackBerry is selling the bulk of its commercial real estate holdings in the country. It would combine vacant sales and sale-leaseback arrangements to divest itself of the properties measuring about 3 million square feet of space.

Credit card skimming would soon become a thing of the past since beginning Aug 1, credit and debit card holders in Australia would no longer need to sign for the purchases of over $100. Instead, they would key in PIN codes in an attempt to significantly cut payment fraud.

Evidence collected by a police forensic accountant could help pin down disgraced Australian MP Craig Thomson on charges that he misused the Health Services Union (HSU)-issued credit card to pay for sexual services.

Google Glass has a new app which aims to help improve the sex lives of couples. The Sex with Glass app was specifically designed to enhance the user's experience while engaged in coitus.

The Australian share market closed in the red today but managed to rally off earlier lows thanks to gains from financial stocks.

The Australian share market is being sold off on Wednesday, following a mixed lead from Wall Street and despite European shares rallying to a fresh five and a half year high.

A report released on Tuesday by Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD), in response to a parliamentary question from Conservative MP Nick de Bois, found that over the past seven years, a total £7 million worth of items have been stolen.

Asylum seekers from Africa are accusing Australian Navy personnel of torture on Wednesday. Their charges were corroborated by Hidayat, the Indonesian police chief, and backed by photos of the injuries.

Iron ore producers in Australia are under pressure following the drop to a six-month low of prices of the key steelmaking ingredient to $124.80 per tonne. The price decline was mainly due to Chinese iron ore buyers retreating.

Fundamental questions around strength of the US earnings remain; after having seen a 30% gain on the S&P in 2013, the current earning season is masking what really is a disappointing start.

European shares rallied to a fresh 5½-year high on Tuesday. Better than expected earnings from consumer goods maker Unilever (up 1.8%) supported investor sentiment. Sales rose 8.4% in emerging economies and accounts for more than half of earnings. In addition solid German sentiment data remained near 8 year highs. The monthly ZEW survey of economic sentiment slipped from 62.0 to 61.7 in December. Economists now expect Germany´s growth expansion of around 1.7% in 2014 after 0.4% in 2013. The FTSE...