A makeshift levee is holding in the southern Queensland town of St George as floodwaters continue to slowly rise.

Queen Elizabeth has marked the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne by spending a low-key day with school children.

Spanish rider Alberto Contador has been stripped of one of his three Tour de France titles after being banned for two years for failing a dope test during the 2010 race.

A makeshift levee is holding in the southern Queensland town of St George as floodwaters continue to slowly rise.

Queen Elizabeth has marked the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne by spending a low-key day with school children.

Spanish rider Alberto Contador has been stripped of one of his three Tour de France titles after being banned for two years for failing a dope test during the 2010 race.

There is growing panic in the Syrian city of Homs as Syrian government troops step up their assault against opposition forces in the city.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has rejected suggestions his criticisms of the big four banks could hurt small businesses.

A massive clean-up operation is expected to get into full swing today in the badly flood-damaged town of Mitchell, east of Charleville in Queensland's southern inland.

Thousands of people in northern NSW are facing weeks of isolation, as record floodwaters from Queensland cross the border into already swollen waterways.

A Sydney man's home renovations have taken a potentially explosive turn, with the discovery of an artillery shell under the floorboards.

The death toll from a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake that hit the central Philippines just before noon on Monday has risen to 43 as landslides struck a mountainous area.

Cricket Australia will remove Indian adverts for chewing tobacco from the boundary rope in the current one-day series.