CeBit is one of Australia’s biggest technology fairs.

The fair has evolved as the largest and most comprehensive annual gathering of industry, government and services in Australasia.

In recent years, it has moved away from being a platform for consumer gadgets, to a showcase for IT business services.

Ricardo Goncalves took a look at some of the bigger exhibitions at the 2012 event.

President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai shakes hands with US President Barack Obama. (AAP)

Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan, shook hands with Barack Obama, his American counterpart, on the weekend and thanked Americans for their “taxpayer money” and the help that cash has provided over the past years.

You’re welcome.

Karzai and Obama were meeting in Chicago before the official start of the NATO summit, the largest meeting of member countries in the organisation’s 63-year history that also included the Afghan presence and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

NATO, of course, now leads the western world’s intervention in Afghanistan (Australia, too, contributes to ISAF) and Afghanistan obviously dominated discussions. Mainly, it appears, discussions about how to get the hell out of there.

The Australian sharemarket is now in negative territory for 2012, after a 2.7 per cent fall today.

Around $35billion was wiped off the value of Australian shares today.

For the month of May, just over $110billion has vanished.

I spoke with Julia Lee from Bell Direct for more.

Earlier this week, European central bankers for the first time, spoke publicaly about the possibility of Greece leaving the Eurozone.

It was a much taboo topic, often denied, but as Greece's political uncertainty grows as a government fails to form, more and more financial leaders are contemplating a Union without the Hellenic state.

Overnight, the head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde told France 24, that if the country's budgetary commitments are not honoured, its bailout plan needs to be revised, otherwise an orderly exit from the Eurozone may need to be considered.

Even Australian based businessmen are commenting, like ANZ CEO Mike Smith, who told Bloomberg Television overnight, that a break-up of the eurozone was quite likely.

Republican challenger Mitt Romney (Getty)

Just hours after President Obama announced his support for same sex marriage last week, the Washington Post presented a story about Republican challenger Mitt Romney that could not have painted a more different picture of a man who wants to lead America.

The Post journeyed back to 1965 and Romney’s year as a high school senior at the prestigious and elite Cranbook School. Romney, remember, was not just any kid. He attended the school, where students wore ties and carried briefcases, as the son of Michigan Governor George Romney.

The Post tracked down five fellow students who told, independent of each other, of an incident where Romney led a cheering and baying gang in pursuit of one John Lauber, a new student a year below Romney who was an apparent non-conformist and presumed to be gay.

The future want-to-be President believed, according to the accounts, that Lauber’s bleach-blond hair, draped over his eye like a future synth pop star, did not belong at Cranbrook. “He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” Romney said, according to Matthew Friedemann, his close friend at the time.

Romney later led a mob who pinned Lauber down and forcibly cut Lauber’s hair as the younger student sobbed, humiliated. Meh, you might say. High school high jinx should not reflect a character over 40 years later. Many would agree.

One of the hardest comments to get out of market watchers is their opinion of where the Australian dollar is going.

And that's because there are just too many factors, often unpreidcatble factors, influencing currency moves.

Interest rates, global politics, economic growth and carry-trades are just some of the variables.

The recent slide in the Australian dollar has been attributed to the escalating political uncertainty in Greece.

Steve Kean, a man with no prior managerial experience, replaced Sam Allardyce as manager. (Getty)

Blackburn Rovers are rightly considered one of the staples of the EPL – they won the league in 1995 and remain just one of four clubs to have won the revamped Premier League.

But this weekend they were relegated, with hardly a whimper, after a 1-0 home defeat against Wigan Athletic, and only the most deluded of Blackburn fans could have said they didn’t see it coming.

The rot began in November 2010, when the club was purchased by Indian chicken company Venky’s for GBP 23 million.

Their owners, Verkatesh and Balaji Rao greeted fans on the pitch at Ewood Park before a 2-0 win over Aston Villa, and soon after promised to sign a host of big-name players, the most eye-opening of which was former Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldinho.

So, yeah, I've interviewed another professional wrestler. But seriously, can you blame me?

Name the first wrestler that pops into your head. Even if you know next to nothing about the squared circle, or if you have some vague recollection of it from your childhood, chances are you would've mentioned this week's guest.

Not only is he the biggest name professional wrestling has ever produced, his incredible popularity over more than three decades has also made him one of the most recognisable pop culture icons of all time.

So this week "Pop, Cultured" chats to the immortal Hulk Hogan, about the past (including his most disturbing fan encounter), the present (his three years with Impact Wrestling), and the future of both Impact, and Hulkamania itself...

...bruther.
 
 

Gay rights and marriage equality is on the radar (AP)

“Who do you love?” asked Vice-President Joe Biden on Sunday. “And will you be loyal to the person you love?”

Biden was not calling for universal adoration of President Obama but, instead, was trying to take politics out of an issue that has become very politicised in many countries – not just the United States.

The issue of same-sex marriage.

On Meet The Press, one of a series of American Sunday morning TV interviews that like to set the tone for the political week ahead, Biden stressed he was only the Vice-President and that Obama set the administration’s agenda.

More than one in five Australians over the age of 18 opened their wallets for a chance at the $50million Oz Lotto jackpot last night.

A Tatts group spokesperson told me, the amount estimated to have been spent by hopeful players couldn’t be revealed, because it’s an ASX listed company and the information is share price sensitive.

But what we do know, are the odds of winning such a prize.

Because no one picked the winning seven numbers, the division one pool surges to $70million next week, still below the all-time record of $106.5million won by two players in June 2009.