Sydney - Chinese firm Minmetals on Thursday received approval from Canberra to buy mining assets from cash-strapped Australian copper and gold producer OZ Minerals Ltd. Treasurer Wayne Swan said that Minmetals (China Minmetals Non-ferrous Metals Company Ltd) would be required to operate the mines as a "separate business with commercial objectives and using companies incorporated, headquartered and managed in Australia under a predominantly Australian management team."

Melbourne, Apr 23 : It takes only few minutes for an eight-year-old to scoff down a small packet of chips. But guess how much exercise they''d have to do to work it off? Well, according to a new study, an hour.

The news is worse for children who make a meal of a burger, hot chips and a soft drink.

To use up that much energy, the Children''s Nutrition Research Centre has found an eight-year-old would need to spend nearly five hours running around or three hours on a bike.

Sydney, Apr 23 : Camden's residents have united to condemn the Quranic Society, which wants to build an Islamic school in Camden, south west of Sydney for espousing views which are "incompatible with the Australian way of life".

An Islamic school in Camden would be "a breeding ground for terrorists," says a resident who gave evidence in support of Camden Council at an appeal against its decision to block the school.

Sydney - Workplaces that try and stop employees using their computers for blogging, online shopping, social networking and other private purposes might be making a mistake, an Australian researcher says.

Around a quarter of Australian firms try and prevent workers from going online during company time by blocking YouTube, Facebook and other entertainment sites and threatening retribution for errant surfers.

Sydney - Australia's economy will contract 1.4 per cent this year - but almost all other developed economies will shrink more, Treasurer Wayne Swan said Thursday.

He was commenting on an update from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that forecasts an economic slump and Australian unemployment rising to 7.8 per cent by 2010.

Swan said the outlook "is a much milder contraction than expected in almost every other advanced economy, which combined are expected to contract by an unprecedented 3.8 per cent in 2009."

Melbourne, Apr 22: At a court hearing in Australia it was revealed that five Thai women, who were imported for the sex industry, were told that they had to service up to 750 clients before they could earn their own money.

Four men, Kam Tin Ho, Ho Kam Ho, Chee Fui Hoo and Slamet Edy Rahardjo, believed to be involved in the racket, are now facing trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.