AUSTRALIA

Nine months after last hearing from the Mars rover Spirit, NASA is stepping up efforts to regain communications with the rover before spring ends in Mars' southern hemisphere in mid-March.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan laid out plans to revive the economy in 2011 in his New Year remarks. While his proposals may boost some sectors of the economy, they miss the point.

The number of people looking for health information online is set to soar as workers return from holiday breaks, but few will check where the information comes from, according to an international survey on Tuesday.

The huge floods sweeping across northeast Australia could have a significantly negative impact on the global steel industry.

Moon takes a bite out of the Sun, as the colloquial saying goes, during the start of the year 2011. This year's first partial solar eclipse will be seen on Tuesday, in view from much of Europe, North Africa and central Asia.

Australia's relief over the years of drought being finally broken by rain in December was short-lived as its states now brace for flooding which the government has described as biblical.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday as optimism continued to permeate the market ahead of data on factory orders and car sales.

Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.08 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.09 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.02 percent at 0921 GMT (4:21 a.m. ET).

The devastating floods in Queensland Australia has driven up the prices of certain commodities, including coal, wheat and sugar. With warnings that the flood may not recede for weeks, the longer-term impact on commodity prices becomes a great concern.

Queensland in Australia, submerged in severe floods, became the first news of natural disaster in the New Year with 200,000 people and 22 towns affected. On Sunday, one woman drowned while crossing a causeway, while the Queensland Bureau of Meteorology has warned that another strong thunderstorm in the night.

Hope, despair, promises and more promises. World leaders have spelled out their intent, or say an 'action plan' for the coming year. Note them all, some merely possible, some probably intricate others perhaps a bunch of lies.

New Year celebrations have begun all round the World. Thousands of revelers in New Zealand welcomed 2011 with a bright display of fireworks illuminating the skies. Australians and tourists who flocked at the Sydney's harbor bridge were treated to the biggest fireworks since the millennium celebrations. A clear, warm day in Sydney cheered up the occasion.

U.S. stocks were poised for a flat open on Thursday after data on the labor market was better-than-expected but showed the overall employment picture remained soft.

The stars of motoring show 'Top Gear', one of the BBC's biggest selling programme brands around the world, have landed in a religious row for dressing up in burkas on the Boxing Day special.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as investors awaited economic data for insight on the strength of the economic recovery heading into 2011.

Stocks were set to open slightly higher on Thursday, adding to gains from the previous session, with futures for the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq all up by around 0.1 percent by 0900 GMT (4 a.m. ET).

England inflicted upon Australia one of their heaviest defeats with a margin of an innings and 157 runs to retain the Ashes on the fourth day of the fourth test at Melbourne.

Researchers have found that the paintings have maintained their vivid colors even though they have never been repainted due to the replacement of the original paint with a bio-film of living, pigmented micro-organisms.

Asian shares rose on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei maintaining a fourth quarter rally as investors hunted bargains in one of the developed world's cheapest markets, but Australia's main index lagged as bad weather hit shares in mining heavyweights.

Motorola is expected to launch the new Android 3.0 based Tablet at Consumer Electronics Show in early January and will probably be the first Tablet to run on Verizon's LTE (4G) network.

Ricky Ponting, the Australian cricket team captain, has admitted that he regrets his argument with umpire Aleem Dar on day two of the Melbourne Ashes test, over a post-review not-out call against Kevin Pietersen.