As Florida officials worried about public safety surrounding a small church's plan to burn the Koran, US President Barack Obama added his voice to the chorus of opposition to the church's intention to burn copies of Islam's holiest book.

US President Barack Obama warned a Florida church's plan to burn Korans would bolster Al Qaeda as the church at the centre of the storm defied a growing chorus of global outrage.

A British-Pakistani journalist abducted by suspected Islamist militants in Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal areas in March has been freed, the British High Commission said.

A British watchdog has hit Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs with a fine of 17.5 million pounds ($29 million) for information failures tied to US fraud charges.

A British watchdog has hit Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs with a fine of 17.5 million pounds ($29 million) for information failures tied to US fraud charges.

A consortium of mining companies is not going ahead with its bid to buy the Queensland Rail (QR) coal network.

A rise on Wall Street overnight and a strong surge by NAB have both helped boost local stocks by almost 1 per cent.

Chief Minister Paul Henderson has acknowledged the construction of the Inpex gas plant in Darwin could lead to a labour shortage for locals.

The Cancer Council New South Wales is encouraging all women in the far west to get involved in this year's Girls Night In.

The Cancer Council says a new stress management program for cancer sufferers is proving successful.

A national men's group is claiming victory over what it calls a feminist agenda on domestic violence.

Women in central and far west New South Wales are taking part in a national internet forum to learn more about health in the 40s.

In August, Lateline revealed the existence of a tobacco industry-funded campaign to fight back against a looming ban on logos and branding on cigarette packets.

In August, Lateline revealed the existence of a tobacco industry-funded campaign to fight back against a looming ban on logos and branding on cigarette packets.

Large daily doses of B vitamins could delay, or even halt, the onset of Alzheimer's disease, a study suggests.

Queensland Health Minister Paul Lucas says the Government did not want to have a dispute with the state's top doctors over an employment agreement.

Authorities in Papua New Guinea are trying to track down the family of a fisherman who was rescued by an Australian container ship last week.

Research into issues affecting Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Pacific Island Nations will be presented at a forum in Cairns in far north Queensland today.

The bodies of three Australians and a New Zealander killed in a Papua New Guinea plane crash have arrived in Brisbane.

The remains of the four people killed in Tuesday's plane crash in PNG have been recovered from the crash site.