Melbourne, Apr 5 : By using age-old household remedies for stubborn stains, Australia''s Shannon Lush has become the best-selling author with her book `Spotless' and is being referred to as the `Queen of Clean'.

Lush can remove any stain, be it a dark carpet of bleach marks, a benchtop of ink, a wooden floor of nail polish or clothing of red wine.

Her book with journalist Jennifer Fleming, `Spotless'-the guide to fighting household grime-turned out to be so successful that it has sold more than 500,000 copies.

Melbourne, Apr 4 : Aussie model Lara Bingle has been spotted checking out a new beachside home, which she will be sharing with her fiance Michael Clarke.

Bingle, 22, was dressed in thigh-high leather boots and a little black dress when she checked the pad out with another blonde, believed to be a lawyer involved in the property transaction, reports the Daily Telegraph.

Singapore - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on Saturday exchanged views on the G20 summit with his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and the city-state's Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Rudd, in transit through Singapore after the London Summit, also discussed global challenges of the economic downturn, Singapore's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Sydney, Apr 4 : Your dream of possessing a Harry Potter invisibility cloak could be just months away, at least that's what a British scientist claims.

Sir John Pendry, who pioneered the concept, believes that the cloak that can make an object disappear could be unveiled within next six months.

"The first man-made cloak will be more like an invisibility "carpet", the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Pendry as saying.

Melbourne, Apr 4 : A bacteria present in the fluid near the ovaries may reduce a woman's chances of becoming pregnant via in vitro fertilisation (IVF), according to an Aussie researcher.

Dr. Christine Knox, a microbiologist at Queensland University of Technology, says that this finding contrasts the traditional view that fluid surrounding the ovum, known as follicular fluid, is sterile.

In her opinion, the study can help increase the success rates of assisted reproductive technologies (ART).

Sydney  - An English teenager docked in Tasmania on Saturday at the half-way point of his attempt to break a round-the-world sailing record held by an Australian.

Mike Perham, only just 17, hopes to break the record set 10 years ago by Melbourne's Jesse Martin, who was 18 when he circumnavigated the globe alone.

Perham, who set out in November, said his worst moment came a week ago off the coast of West Australia.