SPOOKED by a shock slump in economic growth and a weaker dollar, Australians have become deeply pessimistic.

AN AID worker who helps girls who have escaped imprisonment by Boko Haram has been imprisoned by Nigeria’s secret police.

LABOR’s ideas on raising revenue are unsustainable.

Palaszczuk Labor government ministers donated to so-called ‘independent’ candidates in council elections.

COLES has fessed up to its wrongdoings and agreed to a $10m fine for charges over the way it squeezed money from suppliers.

ANDREW Forrest’s cashless debit card will address the criticisms of a new report, says Alan Tudge.

In trying to involve the Governor-General, the opposition forsakes claims to principle in Dyson Heydon dispute.

Australia faces almost certain defeat in the first Test at Pallekele, where Steve Smith was one of two gone quickly.

Queensland police release new vision of a man who was caught on CCTV allegedly assaulting Brisbane bus passengers in separate attacks late last year leaving the victims with facial injuries.

A FRESH row has erupted over the national broadband network after the signing of a landmark deal.

Sam Dastyari pressed bureaucrats to reveal advice on how Australia would ­respond to conflict in the South China Sea.

How did the company boasting such talent in executive and board ranks not see its China troubles coming?

THE Australian team is taking no chances over health issues surrounding contaminated water at the sailing venue for the 2016 Rio Olympics.

History has repeated itself for the man who police believe is the Godfather of Melbourne’s feared Calabrian mafia.

Aussie Curtis McGrath, injured fighting the Taliban, began his race remembering his mates that didn’t come home.

The deputy leader of the Nationals says the party has struck a deal to allow more foreign workers into Australia to work on farms, hinting that an agriculture-specific visa could soon be announced.

The Reserve Bank is holding the line on low interest rates for years to come, but some economists warn the risks of an inflation "rebirth" are rising, an issue the US central bank will be discussing this week.

Firefighters are battling several out of control bushfires as strong winds hit NSW.

Ronda Rousey was stopped 48 seconds into her much-anticipated UFC comeback, losing to bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes.

THE most recent tests reveal reading skills among indigenous children slowed this year with a fall in the rate of improvement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's face was pasted on billboards ahead of last weekend's APEC summit in Papua New Guinea. So how did he end up getting upstaged?

The federal Upper House looks set to have its youngest-ever senator, with 22-year-old Jordon Steele-John announcing he is prepared to take on the West Australian seat left vacant by his mentor Scott Ludlam.

NSW Nationals MP Troy Grant has hit out at alt-right nationalists after an ABC Background Briefing investigation revealed an infiltration of the party by self-described fascists.

An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo vanished from radar screens yesterday, with terrorism not ruled out.

CRAIG Thomson fined $25,000 for stealing union funds to pay for prostitutes, after a judge ruled jail was not appropriate punishment.