A surge in full-time jobs has cut the unemployment rate from 5.3 to 5.1 per cent.

Two men will face court today, charged over the fatal shooting of a police constable during a drug raid in Sydney's south west last night.

Penny Wong has hit back at claims Australia needs a new Climate Change Minister with a more consultative approach.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has welcomed new Liberal MPs to parliament at their first meeting since the election.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has maintained its opposition to National Australia Bank's proposed takeover of AXA Asia Pacific.

Port Adelaide has confirmed the appointment of former AFL premiership player Matthew Primus to the club's head coaching position on a full-time basis for the next three seasons.

Plans by Virgin Blue to undergo a joint venture with Delta Air Lines has been knocked by the US Department of Transportation.

More than a thousand people affected by the floods in Pakistan have been treated at an Australian health centre set up in the country last week.

A man has been jailed for at least 18 months for setting fire to his struggling business at Mount Barker in the Adelaide hills.

Holden says it will employ 50 more workers when a second production shift resumes in mid-November at its Elizabeth plant in Adelaide's northern suburbs.

The AFL Players' Association (AFLPA) says Brisbane Lions forward Brendan Fevola needs to be given the chance to prove his innocence over allegations of another off-field scandal.

The Police Union in Western Australia is pursuing a multi-million dollar payout for a constable who was partially paralysed after being head-butted.

A Sydney man's odyssey to find his abducted son is about to end with a happy reunion in Amsterdam.

The Northern Territory's road toll stands at nearly double the toll for the same time last year after a fatal crash near Timber Creek, about 600 kilometres south-west of Darwin.

Wildfires swept through several villages in Siberia, burning down over 400 homes on Wednesday, Russia's Emergencies Ministry said, following a wave of blazes that killed over 50 people earlier in the summer.

Economists are predicting a fall in the unemployment rate when official figures are released today.

The cause of eye irritations at the Royal Adelaide Show remains under investigation.

A mother has accused authorities of wanting to hide all the consequences of a Tasmanian school science experiment that resulted in HIV and hepatitis testing on high school children.

The State Emergency Service (SES) is turning its attention to the Murray River town of Echuca and Loddon River town of Kerang as flood waters continue to move across the state.

US stocks have partially recovered the previous session's losses, with a worrying Federal Reserve Report offset by positive signs that European governments will be able to fund their deficits.