Communities on the shores of Gippsland Lakes in Victoria's east on Flood watches water level continues to rise.The state's Emergency Service says flood peaks and high tides at Lake entrance overnight were lower than expected.

A former prostitute has recounted her story that independent MP Craig Thomson had sex with her.The woman said she was in New Zealand at the time and retracted her statement before Channel Nine story went to air.

Child care providers on the Union representing work will meet today to head off the rising costs of child care.The Union found it's now paying on average 70 dollars a day for child care.But in some capital cities, they are paying as much as 130 dollars a day.

And Syrian army has been accused of carrying out another massacre as heavy fighting continues for a second day in a coastal province.The Opposition says the massacre happens in the central Hama.Meanwhile, Foreign Ministers meeting on Syria in Turkey have agreed to set up a coordination group to provide support to the Syria Opposition.

Afghan officials say at least 18 civillians have died in a NATO airstrike near the capital Kabul.A Taliban commander and his bodyguard are also among the dead. Two suicide bombers have killed at least 22 people at a market near Kandahar.