AUSTRALIA

The United States slipped from first to third place after the U.K. and Australia in a ranking of financial development released by the World Economic Forum on Thursday, as the global financial crisis badly hurt bank stability in developed countries.

Vaccination programs against H1N1 swine flu are under way in the United States, China and Australia and will begin soon in parts of Europe.

A new viewing platform has been opened at Uluru (Ayers Rock). The platform - named Talinguru Nyakunytjaku, or ‘place to look from the sand dune' in the Aboriginal

Undersea earthquakes caused panic in the South Pacific on Thursday, sending islanders fleeing to higher ground on fears of a second devastating tsunami in as many weeks, but a series of waves proved to be tiny and harmless.

Vaccination programs against H1N1 swine flu are under way in the United States, China and Australia and will begin soon in parts of Europe.

HSBC has resumed talks with Royal Bank of Scotland over the purchase of the remaining retail and commercial units that bailed-out RBS owns in Asia, sources said on Thursday.

An Australian talent show skit based around late pop star Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 has backfired after U.S. guest star Harry Connick Jr called for an apology and viewers accused the program of racism.

Canada's dollar rose against theU.S. currency early on Thursday on the backdrop of highercommodity prices and growing expectations that domestic jobsdata due later this week could be better than expected.

The University of Queensland has advanced two places to be named 41st in the world in the UK's Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings, released today.

The University of Sydney has improved its position in the prestigious Times Higher Education world rankings.

Methods used for analysing a person's risk of cardiovascular diseases are shedding new light on assessing and modifying a person's risk of depression, according to a study from The Australian National University.

Griffith University has leapt 34 places to be ranked 291st in the world by the prestigious Times Higher Education - QS World University Rankings announced today (October 8).

The University of Melbourne has jumped two places to No 36 - and again is the only Australian university to have all surveyed disciplines in the Top 30 in the world - in the Times Higher Education-QS (THE-QS) 2009 World University Rankings, released toda

There are some valuable lessons Americans can learn from Australia's health care system and vice versa, according to a Macquarie University academic and expert in the field.

Deaths from lung cancer are higher than for any other form of cancer, with more than 8,000 Australians diagnosed each year - but the latest technology being demonstrated at The University of Western Australia offers new hope to sufferers.

The composition of an Aussie loaf of bread will change forever this week, thanks to a new mandatory food standard - backed by University of Sydney research - which demands bakers replace salt they now use with iodised salt.

Asian shares rose on Thursday as surprisingly strong Australian jobs data raised hopes for a stronger global economic recovery and pushed the Aussie and New Zealand currencies to fresh 14-month highs, while gold hit another record.

A huge subsea quake struck the southwest Pacific on Thursday, local time, prompting a tsunami warning for island nations only a week after a deadly wave swept over the Samoa islands, killing around 150 people.

The dollar gained against the euro and a basket of major currencies on Wednesday as optimism following Australia's interest rate hike fizzled out and traders said the greenback's recent decline was overdone.

Stock futures were little changed on Wednesday, but could build on the previous session's gains on the strength in commodities.

Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday, but could build on the previous session's gains on the strength in commodities.