AUSTRALIA

Apple Inc's new iPad went on sale in Australia early on Friday, greeted by throngs of fans hungry to get hold of the U.S. consumer giant's latest, 4G-ready tablet computer.

The United States sought on Thursday to allay concerns over delays and escalating costs for its new F-35 fighter, telling its eight partner nations there would be no further delays in the rollout of the radar-evading aircraft.

Apple has confirmed that the new iPad, the third generation of its category, will launch in the U.S. and nine other countries on Friday, March 16, at 8 a.m. local time. Here are all the information on the device's pricing, availability, trade-in offers and roundup of reviews from mainstream publications.

Former India cricket captain Sourav Ganguly says current skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virender Sehwag have settled their differences.

A Vietnamese tech site, which claims to have its hands on the new 6GB WiFi + 4G iPad, has leaked photos taken with the tablet's new camera displayed on the revolutionary iPad Retina Display.

Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, said her children are unsuitable to manage her multi-billion dollar trust.

It's time to get in line as Apple has announced that the new iPad will be in stores around the world at 8 a.m. local time on Friday.

Chinese state-owned firms, private corporations and wealthy individuals are buying European vineyards as they look to capitalize on a growing domestic thirst for foreign wine.

Harmony Gold, South Africa's third-largest bullion miner, said on Tuesday it would consider a Hong Kong listing once its massive Wafi-Golpu project in Papua New Guinea is up and running in around 5 years time.

Chevron Corp reiterated plans to grow production by about a fifth by 2017, helped by massive liquefied natural gas projects in Australia that are set to start up beginning in 2014.

Dominos, the world leader in fastest pizza delivery, had credited mobile technology apps for an increase in demand for pizza, which has created more than 1000 jobs.

The Khan Academy, which aspires to change the education industry by providing free world-class education to anyone anywhere, officially launched its iPad app on Monday in an effort to distribute the not-for-profit organization's 2,700-plus educational videos.

Apple has released iOS 5.1, along with the debut of the new iPad. Users can now update their iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices to iOS 5.1. The update is available at iTunes Store. Users can also update from their Apple device by navigating to Settings -> General -> Software Update and following further instructions there. The new OS is more than just a bug-fix update. Here are top 10 reasons for updating to iOS 5.1.

Scientists in Australia have crossed a popular, commercial variety of wheat with an ancient species, producing a hardy, high-yielding plant that is tolerant of salty soil.

Struggling British video games retailer Game (GMG.L), denied new titles by suppliers, has put itself up for sale and warned shareholders their equity in the firm could be worthless.

Commodities traders Cargill and Glencore are both interested in acquiring Viterra, Canada's biggest grain company, according to reports, setting up a potential deal that would further consolidate the food industry.

Asian shares fell Monday as investors paused to assess the effect of strong U.S. jobs data, which scaled back expectations for more easing ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting, while concerns over China's slowdown also weighed on sentiment.

In honor of the spider invasion currently taking over Australia, check out 7 recently discovered species of plants, animals and fungi that seem straight out of a sci-fi/fantasy nightmare, whether it be giant leeches like those in Stephen King's IT to spiders whose webs put Shelob of The Lord of the Rings to shame.

As the solar storm continues to hit the Earth on Friday, reports indicate there have not been any major disturbances as was once predicted possible. However, the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, a rare phenomenon in the night sky, have taken place across the globe.

Thousands of spiders deserted their underground homes and cast their webs over acres of farmland in eastern Australia in an attempt to avoid the rising floodwater in the country.

The world's largest cruise line operator Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) swung to a loss, as rising fuel costs and one-time write downs offset an increase in revenue, while the Costa Concordia tragedy had little effect on the bottom line.