Housing slump drags on shares
A slump in housing finance figures offset gains resulting from positive consumer confidence data on the Australian share market today....
Zoo trumpets baby elephant's first steps
A baby elephant has taken its first steps at Sydney's Taronga Zoo despite being declared dead in his mother's womb on Sunday....
Charity staff killed in militant attack
A spokesman for US-based charity World Vision says four Pakistani staff have been killed in a militant attack on their offices in the north-west of the country....
Fraser slams Aust approach to asylum seekers
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser says the problems of people smuggling and asylum seekers cannot be solved in boat-by-boat negotiations with Indonesia....
Alcohol a 'recurring theme' in youth violence
The chair of a long-running Federal Government inquiry into youth violence says she is starting to see a recurring connection between alcohol and aggression....
Afghan blast kills NATO soldiers
A suicide attack targeting a NATO-Afghan border police compound in eastern Afghanistan has killed two foreign soldiers and wounded several others....
Much to lose if friendship falters: SBY
Indonesian president tells Parliament his country and Australia are stakeholders in a common future, with much to lose if the relationship falters....
Police quell Dennis Ferguson relocation fears
Police have taken the unusual step of contacting convicted paedophile Dennis Ferguson in response to community concerns that he is planning to leave Sydney and move to the Hunter Valley....
Man who posed as ASIO agent guilty of fraud
A Melbourne man who posed as an ASIO agent to con his girlfriend has been found guilty of fraud in the Victorian County Court....
NSW Liberal leader shrugs off Abbott 'insult'
The New South Wales opposition leader Barry O'Farrell has shrugged off reports of a back-handed insult from his party's federal leader....
Bali mastermind confirmed dead
Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has confirmed the death of one of the masterminds of the 2002 Bali bombing....
'Jihad Jane' charged for recruiting terrorists
An American woman known as "Jihad Jane" has been charged with recruiting jihadist fighters via the internet and conspiring to kill an unnamed person in Sweden....
Man guilty of $55m pyramid scheme
A British court has found a man guilty of defrauding thousands of investors out of 34 million pounds ($55.6 million) through a series of pyramid scams....
Inquest hears police evidence
The third day of a new inquest into a death in custody on Palm Island in north Queensland has spent the morning re-examining police statements....
Clarke named in Test squad
Australia has included troubled vice-captain Michael Clarke and out-of-form batsman Marcus North in a 14-man squad for this month's two-Test tour of New Zealand....
New Dr Who to make online debut
Australian Doctor Who fans will be able to legally watch new episodes of the sci-fi series online before they air on television....
Organised crime family targeted in raids: police
Nine people have been arrested and 19 properties raided in a joint operation by New South Wales and Victoria police investigating firearm and drug offences....
Ministers savage 'just say no' Abbott
The Federal Government has attacked Tony Abbott for heading "the most obstructionist Opposition in 30 years", accusing him of economic sabotage and threatening payments to families....
Haitian children rescued from traffickers
Authorities in Bolivia have rescued 19 children and teenagers thought to have been kidnapped in Haiti by human trafficking gangs....
Housing finance market plummets
The combination of higher interest rates and the expiry of the boost to the first homeowners' grant has driven a big fall in housing finance in January....
Fuel runs low in flood hit town
A tiny south-west Queensland community has almost run out of fuel as floodwaters continue to cut access to the region....
Jumps racing season delayed
Racing Victoria will delay the start of the jumps season by 11 days because of problems with the construction of its new barriers....
RBA warns of housing, worker inflation risk
The Reserve Bank has said one of Australia's greatest challenges in the years ahead will be to boost the supply of new houses and skilled workers, so the economy can grow without sparking inflation....
Third world living conditions
The Broome Shire has accused the West Australian Government of failing to address what it calls the "third world" living conditions of Aboriginal visitors to the town....