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Europe and North America may be panicking about the floundering expectations of their economies but in China that's certainly not the case.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, china
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Correspondent Rachael Brown takes a stroll through the twisted streets of London to mark the bicentenary of the birth of Charles Dickens.
Topics: books-literature, arts-and-entertainment, novel, england, united-kingdom
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Correspondent Norman Hermant travels outside Moscow to see what Russians think of their government.
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In the United States, the breast cancer charity behind the iconic pink ribbon became embroiled in a political row this week, after it cut links to a group which provides abortions.
Topics: charities-and-community-organisations, community-and-society, charities, united-states
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Correspondent Dominique Schwartz remembers the good old days of television, before mobile phones and PCs.
Topics: journalism, information-and-communication, new-zealand
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Superannuation funds are being pushed to invest their members' money in environmentally-friendly projects. The Financial Services Institute has drafted guidelines based on United Nations principles that fund managers are being asked to follow. Peter Ryan speaks with the institute's chief executive Russell Thomas.
Topics: superannuation, ethical-investment, australia
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A budding entrepreneur in the United States is hoping to entice teenagers into reading classic novels by giving them a new pitch. Justin Stanley says many of the great books of the past century have also been banned and believes that's what will make them too hard to resist for many a non-reading teen.
Topics: books-literature, english-literature, united-states
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The UN Security Council is having trouble drafting a resolution on Syria that will be acceptable to Russia. Moscow says it'll veto any resolution that demands the resignation of Bashar al Assad.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, government-and-politics, syrian-arab-republic, russian-federation
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Homeless people are being forced out of temporary accommodation earlier than before say advocates, and they're being asked to contribute to the cost of their temporary accommodation. The NSW Department of Community Services denies that it's enforcing a new policy.
Topics: homelessness, states-and-territories, activism-and-lobbying, nsw
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Victoria's gambling regulator has approved a bid to triple the number of poker machines in the central Victorian town of Castlemaine, north-west of Melbourne.
Topics: gambling, community-organisations, castlemaine-3450
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West Australian police say an Aboriginal man who survived a desert ordeal, resulting in the death of an eight-year-old girl, is unlikely to be charged over the tragedy. Augustine Miller and the girl went on a hunting trip on New Year's Eve, driving out from a remote community in Western Australia.
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After months of stagnation, there are signs that the US economy could be improving. Joblessness has dropped to 8.3 per cent, improving the election hopes of Could President Barack Obama.
Topics: obama-barack, world-politics, united-states
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The survivors of the PNG ferry disaster are being treated in Lae's Angau Hospital, while relatives of survivors try to find out the fate of their loved ones. PNG correspondent Liam Fox spoke to Rebecca Kabrette as she helped care for her mother Regina.
Topics: maritime, death, papua-new-guinea
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There are fears that the temporary levy protecting the Queensland town of Charleville may fail, as floodwaters continue to affect towns on both sides of the NSW/Queensland border
Topics: floods, roma-4455, australia, nsw, moree-2400, charleville-4470
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Mass meetings of coal miners at the Queensland operations of BMA, managed and half-owned by BHP Billiton, have overwhelmingly endorsed a campaign of rolling strikes which would severely disrupt the world's supply of coking coal. BMA is Australia's biggest supplier of coking coal, used to manufacture steel.
Topics: mining-industry, business-economics-and-finance, industry, industrial-relations, qld, australia
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Australia's major share indices eased slightly as traders avoided heavy commitments ahead of US employment data and a possible Greek debt deal. A statement to the ASX confirms Gina Rinehart now owns 12.6 per cent of Fairfax, making the mining magnate the company's biggest single shareholder.
Topics: business-economics-and-finance, australia
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It's a big weekend for the markets. Traders have high hopes that tonight's US unemployment data will confirm the country's economic recovery is on track. Economists, however, are warning the markets could be setting themselves up for more disappointment.
Topics: mining-industry, business-economics-and-finance, industry, industrial-relations, qld, australia
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The world's dominant commodity trader, Glencore, wants to merge with one of the world's biggest miners, Xstrata, in a deal that would create an $80 billion mining powerhouse. The move would be a re-merger, after Xstrata was split out of Glencore around a decade ago.
Topics: mining-industry, business-economics-and-finance, industry, australia
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New research says that malaria kills twice as many people a year as previously thought. The study published in the journal The Lancet shows that malaria kills 1,2 million people worldwide each year.
Topics: malaria, health, diseases-and-disorders, australia
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Protesters have once again taken to the streets in Egypt. The protestors have said they want justice for the Al-Ahly supporters who lost their lives in the Port Said football tragedy.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, government-and-politics, egypt
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The New South Wales Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, has denied responsibility for a failure by the department to organise school transportation for hundreds of students with a disability in New South Wales. Parent and bus contractors say the department has had months to sort out a pay dispute at the heart of the matter.
Topics: disabilities, australia
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An independent report has found that Tasmanian woodchip markets to Japan have collapsed. The State Government is sending a trade delegation to Japan and China to try to drum up markets. The Greens' leader says the Government can't greenwash the industry and the Opposition says the trade delegation has taken too long to organise.
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Parts of Queensland have been declared a disaster zone as the flooding continues to worsen on both sides of the border. The State Emergency Service is making food and medicine drops to thousands of people isolated by the rising waters in northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.
Topics: floods, moree-2400, australia, nsw, qld
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Flood engineers have been accused of mismanaging Wivenhoe Dam and colluding to cover it up, in an afternoon of more dramatic exchanges at Queensland's Floods Inquiry. Also today, there were more tears and proclamations of innocence from the dam's engineers.
Topics: floods, brisbane-4000, australia, qld
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The Prime Minister Julia Gillard has urged her colleagues to stop focusing on themselves as they prepare for Federal Parliament to return next week. Speculation about Julia Gillard's hold on the leadership is increasing, with Kevin Rudd's backers increasingly confident that he'll mount a challenge. The Prime Minister's supporters say she's safe in the job, and they're urging caucus to unite behind her.
Topics: alp, federal-government, canberra-2600
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AEDT = Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time which is 11 hours ahead of UTC (Greenwich Mean Time)
