THE widow of slain soldier Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney has given birth to his son only hours after his military funeral.

Rural Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has turned down an offer to serve in Julia Gillard's Cabinet as the Minister for Regional Australia.

JADE and Dionne Lacey have had their jail terms extended by six years for abducting a teen at gunpoint and forcing him to dig his own grave.

FORMER DJs boss accused of fondling his penis and rubbing his crotch against a 19-year-old.

QUEENSLAND students have slipped behind in the rankings on this year's national tests, but have improved, earning teachers a well done from the government.

MORE than 30 people were injured when an explosion rocked a neighbourhood near San Francisco, sending residents fleeing in panic.

IN the latest blow for Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson, a Gold Coast officer has been stood down following a Crime and Misconduct Commission raid on his home.

POLICE have called on the community to help find Hildegard Elisabet Falkenberg, 79, of Tolga in far north Queensland.

FOUR teenage boys have been charged after a mobile phone camera was allegedly used to film the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in WA.

A HUGE explosion sent flames roaring through the hills south of San Francisco, destroying more than 50 homes and leaving at least one person dead.

A SERIAL offender who brutally bashed and robbed a Melbourne teacher who was trying to help him has been jailed for more than four years.

FALLS to mining and energy stocks led the share market to close about half a per cent lower.

THE dollar closed at a four-month high on news that China's trade surplus had unexpectedly shrunk.

CLIVE Palmer says he had no corrupt dealings with the WA Nationals leader over the dropping of an environmental bond for an iron-ore project.

POLICE have made two more arrests over the theft of a python and a lizard from a Melbourne pet store.

EDUCATION Minister Simon Crean doesn't want the numeracy and literacy tests to be a competition between states, but that seems to be what's happened.

FAMILY was the most important thing in Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney's short life.

CHARGES against two Tamil asylum seekers accused of rioting at the Christmas Island detention centre have been dropped.

THE widow of slain soldier Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney has given birth to his son only hours after his military funeral.

Rural Independent MP Rob Oakeshott has turned down an offer to serve in Julia Gillard's Cabinet as the Minister for Regional Australia.

JADE and Dionne Lacey have had their jail terms extended by six years for abducting a teen at gunpoint and forcing him to dig his own grave.

FORMER DJs boss accused of fondling his penis and rubbing his crotch against a 19-year-old.

QUEENSLAND students have slipped behind in the rankings on this year's national tests, but have improved, earning teachers a well done from the government.

MORE than 30 people were injured when an explosion rocked a neighbourhood near San Francisco, sending residents fleeing in panic.

IN the latest blow for Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson, a Gold Coast officer has been stood down following a Crime and Misconduct Commission raid on his home.

POLICE have called on the community to help find Hildegard Elisabet Falkenberg, 79, of Tolga in far north Queensland.

FOUR teenage boys have been charged after a mobile phone camera was allegedly used to film the sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl in WA.

A $100-BILLION gas deal signed yesterday puts Queensland only a step away from 6000 new jobs and $120 million a year in state royalties.

VIRGIN Blue suffered a major setback after US regulators knocked back a joint venture plan between its struggling overseas carrier V Australia and Delta Air Lines.

FORMER DJs boss accused of fondling his penis and rubbing his crotch against a 19-year-old.

FALLS to mining and energy stocks led the Australian share market to close about half a per cent lower.

A FAILED bid by coal miners for central Queensland coal rail tracks has cost the taxpayer an estimated $1.5 million.

QUEENSLAND Rail is headed for the stockmarket after a coalition of big coal companies dropped a $5.1b bid for its coal-freight network.

A CONSUMER backlash in areas of Queensland has forced grocery giant Woolworths to review its rollout of coin-lock shopping trolleys.

A SURGE in full-time jobs increases the risk of a rate hike by the end of the year, experts say.

SANTOS says it will ''work constructively'' with a new Government that includes Independents and Greens who have concerns over the impacts of mining.

EVEN the most successful couples sometimes need a lift. But it's advice David and Victoria Beckham seem to have taken rather too literally.

BRITISH pop songstress Lily Allen is expecting a baby boy with her construction worker boyfriend Sam Cooper. See Lily's baby bump.

BANDS looking to break overseas markets have been warned to forget about the issue of being Australian and instead focus on making great music.

CAPPING a dramatic week in which it dumped Stephanie Rice from its payroll, the Seven Network has confirmed troubled entertainer Matthew Newton's contract is dust.

UK dance act Faithless has been revealed as the headliner for February's Good Vibrations music festival on the Gold Coast.

A FILM about an Australian speech therapist's relationship with King George VI, starring Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth, will be one of the highlights of the London Film Festival.

LED Zeppelin's lead signer Robert Plant has recorded another album. Exclusive stream here

THE creator of the iconic musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show was granted residency in New Zealand on Tuesday following a Facebook campaign.

TRACTOR beams are real and they're here now - thanks to a team from the Australian National University.

NEARLY seven in every 10 Australians have fallen victim to cyber crime, according to a worldwide report.

FINDING spells bad news for students who claim to be a dab hand at multi-tasking.

SOME tweeters are way over the top with when and what they decide to tweet. Besides live tweeting a heart attack, here are 10 more examples.

CELLS from India's red rain of 2001 multiply under extreme heat - and they don't contain DNA.

APPLE'S gadget changes shape, colour and size again and iTunes embraces the world of Facebook.

Star Trek's sci-fi medical technology is even closer to reality, with a new iPhone stethoscope app that doctors are using to save lives in Britain.

UBER-nerds, cyber-geeks and tech-heads will be descending on Brisbane next month for the eagerly awaited 2010 World Computer Congress.

AFTER 10 years of comparative slumber, the sun is waking up - and astronomers are on full alert.

BANKS are enticing depositors to take out high-interest overdrafts on basic transaction accounts.

ONE of Australia's most desirable penthouses is for sale - but is any apartment worth that much?

COMMONWEALTH Bank likely to lift mortgage rates out of step with the Reserve Bank, analysts believe.

SUPERMARKET "store brand'' products match premium labels for taste and nutrition, study shows.

WEAKNESS remains in home lending sector, giving RBA room to hold rates steady, economists say.

HOME sales jumped last month as first-time buyers returned to the market in sign of confidence.

WORLD-FIRST study calls for 10pc tax on junk food and higher  alcohol and tobacco taxes to save lives.

RESERVE Bank leaves its cash rate unchanged at 4.5 per cent.

PERFECT economic conditions continue ahead of RBA's meeting where rates tipped to stay steady.

THREE Pakistan cricket players questioned by British police over claims they were involved in a fixing scandal will return home on Friday.

PRESTON Campbell's hopes of a shock start against the Warriors tonight are fading, with the Titans playing down his chances.

THE Wallabies have had a massive boost on the eve of the Bledisloe Cup Test by announcing the re-signing of star five-eighth Quade Cooper.

DREW Brees and the Saints extended New Orleans' post-Super Bowl euphoria after a 14-9 victory over the Vikings.

THE truth behind one of Australian sport's most enduring mysteries has finally been revealed by the man at the centre of it all as a simple accident.

AUSTRALIAN golf has enjoyed a recent resurgence, but you wouldn't have known it from the first round at the BMW Championship in Chicago.

TOP seed Rafael Nadal advanced to the US Open tennis semi-finals by beating eighth-seeded Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 7-5 6-3 6-4.

LAS Vegas police are seeking boxer Floyd Mayweather Jnr for questioning about a domestic battery complaint lodged by his former girlfriend.

IN overnight sports news, British police will interview Pakistan bowler Waham Riaz over match-fixing claims and the US basketball team beat Russia.