A new mental health facility has begun construction at Brisbane’s Prince Charles Hospital.

The $27 million dollar purpose built facility has a focus on increasingly serious cyber bullying cases, according to Queensland Health mental health branch executive director John Allan.

The new centre will include 12 beds, a full-time daily school, communal spaces, a classroom and training areas alongside access to specialists.

The US says it will join Australia in developing a naval base in Papua New Guinea, a move to curb China’s growing influence

US Vice President Mike Pence said the three countries would work together on the facility on Manus Island.

Australia announced last month that it would work with Papua New Guinea to develop the island’s Lombrum Naval base.

Royal Commission highlights need for mortgage broking reform.

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn is conceding that the services provided in return for ongoing commission fees charged by mortgage brokers are "closer to none."

Pat McConnell, visiting fellow in the Applied Finance Centre at Macquarie University, says the issue of mortgage broking as a financial activity should be re-thought.

India’s most powerful rocket aced its second orbital flight on Wednesday, preparing for a robotic lunar mission in January.

The Indian Space Research Organization (IRSO) launched the rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Center, successfully delivering a communications satellite into orbit.

The world’s first ‘groundscraper” hotel - plunging 88 metres into an old quarry on the fringes of Shanghai - is set to open its doors to the public today.

British Architect, Martin Jochman told Xinhua the quarry pit was the source for his inspiration, that he wanted to build a hotel that integrated with its natural environment.

The construction process was reportedly fraught with delays and challenges, such as drainage and the complicated transportation of building materials.

A workplace health and safety report more than a decade old found no safety breaches in Dreamworld's Thunder River Rapids ride.

During a 10-day WPHS audit, inspector Ian Stewart identified dozens of serious safety concerns. Mr. Stewart told the inquest on this Monday the ride was "poorly maintained" and severely understaffed.

As the inquest enters its sixth week, WPHS officers have become the focus of the inquiry.

The Brisbane City Council has requested consumer metadata from telecoms companies, prompting concerns from the Labour opposition.

The request would include access to details of numbers called by phone users, their location, the length of calls, email addresses, and other information telcos are obliged to keep for two years under national security laws.

A spokesman for Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says the information from telecommunication companies will be used to assist police investigations.

A canola oil factory catches fire in Carrum Downs, Melbourne.

It took firefighters more than 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control, and police and fire crews are at the scene investigating the blaze.

The building has been damaged with police treating the blaze as suspicious, there are no reports of injuries.