AUSTRALIA

A Tanzania business group has opposed a new U.S. law labeling all gold produced in countries neighbouring the conflict-hit Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as conflict mineral.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: VRTX) announced positive interim results on Wednesday from a Phase 2 two-part study of 'telaprevir' combination therapy for treatment of hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus, also known as HCV-HIV co-infection. The shares of the drugmaker touched a new 52-week high of $47.82 on Wednesday.

As Charlie Sheen makes an impactful land on the 'Twitterverse', the users of the microblogging site, Tweeps, are not so kind to the embattled 'Two and a Half Men' star.

Tata Steel, the world's No. 7 steelmaker, has raised its stake in Riversdale Mining to more than 27 percent, making it harder for miner Rio Tinto to seal its $3.9 billion bid for the Mozambique-focused coal miner.

As the United States moves military ships toward the Mediterranean Sea and officials discuss the possibility of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said it was irresponsible to consider all options to resolve the situation there, including an invasion.

Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures have invested $42 million in a San Francisco-based start up WeatherBill, a provider of insurance to farmers against weather-related damages.

India will quadruple export duty on iron ore fines as it seeks to curb exports, mostly to China, in a budget move announced on Monday that hit domestic producer shares and could push spot prices to new record levels.

Gold rose to $1,413 an ounce in Europe on Monday as turmoil in the Middle East region lifted safe-haven buying and fueled a fresh spike in oil prices, stoking concerns over U.S. growth and knocking the dollar.

A new online initiative titled Unileaks - clearly inspired by the radical Wikileaks organization - seeks to expose the murky truths of higher education around the world.

Leaning towards Internet-based learning has led to a growing tendency among students to skip classes, cutting attendance by up to half in certain courses.

Australia's financial regulator has ruled certain assets, including quasi-sovereign bonds, cannot be considered a reliable source of liquidity for banks and financial institutions, taking a harder line than many global peers and dealing a setback to local banks.

Hutchison Whampoa's ports unit is looking to raise as much as $5.8 billion in an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore, allowing investors to tap into China's booming infrastructure business.

New Zealand's earthquake-shattered city of Christchurch prepared to bury the first victim on Monday of last week's devastating tremor that killed at least 148 people as aftershocks forced the evacuation of scores of people in hillside suburbs.

The long-anticipated fight ends in a unanimous draw

Violent aftershocks hampered desperate efforts to find survivors in the quake-ruined New Zealand city of Christchurch on Saturday as the death toll climbed to 123 and was set to rise further.

In the process of picking up the pieces of his own broken heart, Thomas Edwards stumbled upon a business helping others fix their love lives. After a college romance ended badly, Edwards' confidence tanked and his social life disappeared.

China's Sinopec clinched the second-largest single Chinese liquefied natural gas deal, and ventured for the first time into a foreign unconventional gas asset to feed a domestic boom for the clean fuel.

Australian supermodel, Elle Macpherson and Virgin Blue have partnered to launch the brand's new flight attendant uniforms on a fashion runway on Wednesday.

The two welterweight titans tangle in Sydney, Australia, at 10 p.m. EST, in a heavily anticipated match. Jon Fitch is favored but many anticipate B.J. Penn will pull of the upset.

Two top-ranked welterweights tangle this Saturday

The Gold Price rose further in London trade Thursday morning, hitting new 2011 highs for Dollar investors as Brent crude oil jumped to $119 per barrel and a raft of economic analysis warned of stagflation ahead for the global economy.