Melbourne, Nov 30 : Owing to the global credit crunch, superstars including Madonna, Paul McCartney and Neil Diamond have scrapped Australian tour plans.

According to reports, Madonna was scheduled to perform at Sydney''s ANZ Stadium and Melbourne''s Docklands in late January.

In fact, Tickets for Madonna''s shows were due to go on sale two weeks ago and ‘The Material Girl’ planned to charge a top ticket price of 400 dollars.

The shows were being presented by US tour giant Live Nation and local promoter Michael Coppel.

"It got as close as anything ever gets. Madonna was coming to Australia, the dates were resolved, then economics got in the way,'''' The Daily Telegraph quoted a tour industry source as saying.

Melbourne, Nov 30 : It’s not just adults who have a thing or two to discuss with other people, babies too have their own social lives and enjoy group interaction, according to a world-first study.

The breakthrough study conducted by psychologist Professor Ben Bradley, at Charles Sturt University, could completely transform the way child-care centres are set up.

In their study, the researchers examined groups of nine-month-old babies in New South Wales and Britain.

And they came across astounding results—it was found that infants had "social brains'''' and focused not just on their mothers but on social life in groups as well.

Melbourne, Nov 29 : The government in Belfast has given the go-ahead for a museum in Northern Ireland, which will recount the legendary Titanic journey.

Ministers have reportedly agreed to a massive funding package.

The Titanic, which was a passenger liner, sank in 1912 after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean, killing 1500 passengers and crew.

The museum will now be built in Belfast on the site of the shipyard where the doomed ship was built nearly 100 years ago.

Work on the Titanic Signature Project is expected to cost about 100 million pounds, reports News. com. au.

Melbourne, Nov 29 : It’s supposed to be a toy for men, but looks like ladies can’t get enough of the cool new iPhone, for the fancy smartphone is being found more in purses than in suit coats, according to Australian mobile phone companies.

Mobile phone sellers in Australia have claimed that more women than men are buying Apple''s iPhone.

In fact one source revealed that up to 70 per cent of iPhone sales were to females.

Vodafone''s general manager for Victoria and Tasmania, Paul Guerra, said they haven’t delved into why women were keener on iPhone than men, despite early assumptions it would appeal more to men.

Melbourne, Nov. 29 : An ugly confrontation is looming between national and state cricket administrators on one side and players who feel they have missed out on rich pickings from the postponed Champions League Twenty20 tournament, reports The Daily Telegraph.

Australian cricketers and state cricket adminsitrators are reportedly feeling that the Mumbai terror strikes have cost them financially.

Cricket Victoria and the West Australian Cricket Association officials were last night reportedly still coming to terms with the Cricket Australia missive that they will now not contest the finals of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

Melbourne/Mumbai, Nov. 28 : The terror strikes in Mumbai this week, which have resulted in the death of over 100 people and injuries to another 327, not only is a devastating assault on Indian democracy, its way of life and its brilliant economy, but also should be seen as a message from terrorists to US President-elect Barack Obama.

According to The Australian, the message going out is “Despite everything you Americans have done, the terrorists are saying, we can still hit you. We can hit your friends in their economic heartlands, and we can hunt down your citizens in the commercial capitals of your friends.”