Sunday, May 27, 2012 5:18 PM EDT
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent (the world's smallest) the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the north-east, and New Zealand to the southeast.
By Reuters
Moody's Investor Service downgraded credit ratings of three large Nordic banks on Friday, citing their reliance on market funding, tough competition for retail loans, and their exposure to the spreading euro zone debt crisis. (May 25)
MORE TOPICS: BNP PARIBAS, JAPAN, RETAIL, MORTGAGE, COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
By IBTimes AU
Ace Young, an American Idol graduate, proposed to ‘Idol’ Season 3 runner-up Diana DeGarmo on the Idol stage Wednesday night during the 11th season finale of the show. Here are other celebrities who worked in a show or a movie together before they got engaged. (May 25)
MORE TOPICS: BRAD PITT, COURT, HOLLYWOOD, AMERICAN IDOL
By IBTimes AU
Neil Armstrong is considered a great symbol of human achievement since he was the first man to walk on the moon. Despite that unique and prestigious honour, Neil Armstrong kept a private life and rarely gave interviews. (May 25)
By IBTimes AU
This could mean another round of iron ore shipment surge for Australia as China announced on Friday its approval of the $US11-billon steel project proposal submitted by Shanghai-based Baosteel Group. (May 25)
MORE TOPICS: CHINA
By IBTimes AU
A group of domestic and international banks has granted in principle the $8.5 billion in project financing needed to finally drumroll the $20 billion Australia Pacific liquefied natural gas (LNG) project of Origin Energy Ltd. and ConocoPhillips. (May 24)
MORE TOPICS: CHINA, CONOCOPHILLIPS
By IBTimes AU
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has ordered for a sweeping overhaul of security measures on Australia's key waterfront areas following reports from police authorities that confirmed the operations of criminal groups in Brisbane and Melbourne. (May 24)
MORE TOPICS: JULIA GILLARD
By IBTimes AU
Australia has failed so far in raising the quality of life prevalent among the indigenous people living in the Northern Territory, according to the latest human rights review released this week by Amnesty International (AI) in Australia. (May 24)
MORE TOPICS: HUMAN RIGHTS, JULIA GILLARD, TONY ABBOTT
By IBTimes AU
Rio Tinto remains on track to expand its iron ore operations despite earlier indications from the mining giant's CEO, Tom Albanese, that at a certain period the company will temporarily slow down on its output plans. (May 24)
MORE TOPICS: CHINA, RIO TINTO, INVESTMENT
By IBTimes AU
Earning $1 million every 30 minutes has its disadvantages too. For Gina Rinehart who was named this week by BRW Magazine as the world's wealthiest woman with $29 billion to her name, it meant more public scrutiny of her companies as well as her ... (May 24)
MORE TOPICS: COURT, TONY ABBOTT
By IBTimes AU
A high-profile advertising campaign failed to convince thousands of subscribers to remain with Vodafone. (May 24)
MORE TOPICS: ADVERTISING, OPTUS
