Brisbane City Council has received a multi-million dollar proposal to upgrade the North West Private Hospital in Everton Park.

Man accused of murdering two backpackers in a north Queensland hostel will not face trial after he was ruled mentally unsound during the stabbing attack.

Today in America thousands have gathered in Memphis and Washington to commemorate 50th anniversary of the death of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

A polarising figure in his lifetime, King spoke and acted passionately against racial injustice, the Vietnam war, poverty and the economic and social systems that create it.

Supporters of Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani along with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan which backs some rebel groups have met in the Turkish capital Ankara committing to achieving a ‘lasting ceasefire’ in Syria.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a statement in response to claims about its coverage that suggest the BoM had blamed a staffing shortage for a late warning to residents in the path of the cyclone of Cyclone Iris in north Queensland.

BOM Queensland state manager Bruce Gunn reassured the community saying the Bureau remains focused on the threat Tropical Cyclone Iris poses and is fully staffed to run a 24x7 forecasting service.

Australia’s largest cattle company has launched a review into their underperforming assets just three years after opening their 100 million dollar abattoir in Darwin.

The Australian Agricultural Company's preliminary results for their 2017-2018 financial year showed their Darwin abattoir was a major contributing factor in the company’s falling profitability.

Brisbane City Council is investigating what caused a branch of large leopard tree to fall on Ann street outside City Hall, blocking two lanes and the footpath on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the council is currently investigating the causes behind the fallen tree, which was inspected in late February with no identifiable issues.

The federal government will spend $150 million to upgrade a section of Queensland's Bruce Highway in an attempt to ease congestion.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visited the Murrumba Downs section of north Brisbane on Tuesday, marking the start of a three-day blitz of marginal Queensland electorates by the prime minister.

The announcement comes after the federal coalition and Queensland's Labor governments have been at odds over funding for several infrastructure projects, most notably Labor's Cross River Rail.