Kremlin extends welcome to foreign miners Asia Times Online The Australian major lost out to the Arter Group, a group of Russian companies headed by a small entrepreneur from Chita, Andrei Chuguyevsky. ... and more »

Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, today announced additional one-off funding of $6 million for legal assistance services. The additional one-off funding will provide:. Collaboration between Family Relationships Centres and Community Legal Centres will mean that families are able to get early and targeted legal information and advice.

Researchers in Sydney have , the prestigious medical journal Nature Bioechnology has reported. The Australian scientists have worked out a way to use nano-sized particles as. Professor Ian Fraser, Chairman of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation's medical research advisory committee, said that these .

The Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, today confirmed that following the Second Conference on the Fight against International Tax Fraud and Evasion held in Berlin, Germany, the Rudd Government continues to strongly support the tough global position against tax evasion taken by the 19 participant countries. 'The G20 has delivered a very strong message to the global community - tax havens, tax avoidance and tax evasion are unacceptable. Australia is also a long-standing supporter of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Harmful Tax Practices Initiative , which aims to prevent tax avoidance and evasion through global standards that promote greater tax transparency and improved international cooperation.

The Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon, Member for Forde, Brett Raguse and Queensland Deputy Premier and Health Minister Paul Lucas today visited Logan Hospital to discuss the Rudd Government's $44 million expansion of the Logan Hospital Emergency Department. The Logan Hospital is a busy hospital serving the outer southern suburbs of Brisbane between the Brisbane CBD and the Gold Coast. Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon said she was pleased with the progress report from Logan Hospital and looked forward to being kept up to date on developments by the local member Mr Raguse.

The latest State of Our Public Hospitals report for the 2007-08 year underlines the decline of our health and hospital system under the Howard Government. As the State of Our Public Hospitals Report indicates, Australia's 765 public hospitals admitted 4.7 million people in the previous year and received 7.1 million emergency department presentations. The State of Our Public Hospitals, June 2009 report is available from Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing website.

Newborn babies, Indigenous Australians and people with sleep problems are among the beneficiaries of a raft of new medical research projects that have received funding from the Australian Government. An announcement on the Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health was made earlier this year to coincide with 2009 World Health Day. The CCRE for Oral Health will focus on the prevention and treatment of oral diseases and disorders and their clinical consequences.

The free `catch up' vaccination program for Human Papilloma virus (HPV) ends today for women aged 18 - 26 but will continue to provide free vaccines on an ongoing basis for 12 and 13 year old girls to be delivered through schools. The HPV vaccine protects against HPV types 16 and 18 which cause 70 per cent of all cervical cancers in Australian women. For further information about cervical cancer call 13 15 56 (for the cost of a local phone call) or about the National HPV Vaccination Program call 1800 671 811.

Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, today announced 10,447 new aged care places worth more than $347 million a year will be provided for care for frail older Australians under the latest Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR). The 10,447 aged care services include 5,748 new residential aged care places - two-thirds of them high care places - and 4,699 community care places to be provided to aged care facilities and community care services. They are designed as an alternative to low care residential aged care.

From tomorrow, midwives and GPs, particularly those in rural and remote Australia, will get more support under a Rudd Government initiative to provide safe, quality maternity care to Australian women. 110 eligible GPs to receive up to $40,000 each for training to become GP obstetricians or GP anaesthetists. It is part of the Government's $120.5 million package of measures to improve choice and access to maternity services for pregnant women and new mothers in Australia, including recognising the important role played by qualified midwives in the birthing experience of many Australian women.