Sydney news

A High Country mayor has high hopes of a degree course in Cooma becoming a new distance learning option for regional Australians.

A man's body is found at Mount Cottrell, north-west of Melbourne, prompting an investigation by the homicide squad.

Bomb squad to carry out more controlled blasts at Burpengary house.

A Chinese state-backed multinational food and beverage company has agreed to buy a 50 per cent stake in New Zealand's largest meat processor, Silver Fern Farms.

Big-talking Dan Evans believes he's living in Bernard Tomic's head and can scupper Australia's hopes of sending Lleyton Hewitt out as a three-time Davis Cup winner.

The Rock is set to have a pebble.

The news, traffic and weather to get you up to speed.

A report on Newcastle's revitalisation should go to council by early next year.

Republican presidential candidates struggle to name an American woman worthy of being represented on US banknote.

The United States Federal Reserve will early tomorrow Australian time make a historic decision on whether or not to lift interest rates the first time in nearly a decade.

The following are highlights from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's press conference.

The NSW government is paring back its ambitions for Parramatta Road, reducing the number of new properties it wants to build on the corridor.

Local shares are poised to open flat as investors seem perplexed how best to interpret the US central bank's decision to hold rates steady for longer.

Major Wall Street indexes gave up a 1-per cent rally to end lower after the Federal Reserve cited concerns about global economic growth in its decision to hold off on raising interest rates.

The Queensland Government seizes on the change of Prime Minister and sends a list of the state's infrastructure needs to Malcolm Turnbull.

A disability advocacy campaigner says the NDIS will be a massive change for people with a disability, and they need to start planning now.

Transport and heritage advocate Margaret Henry is being honoured for her lasting legacy today.

Supporters of a go-kart track at Bathurst say they plan to turn it into an international attraction by capitalising on Mount Panorama's fame.

The federal member for Calare John Cobb is vowing to fight plans to shut 13 polling booths in his electorate.

Autism foundation deplores presidential candidate's remarks despite scientists rejecting any link between autism and vaccinations.

Another leader, here we go again. Old is new, and recycling is good for the planet.   

FIFA says it suspended secretary general Jerome Valcke with immediate effect, hours after he was the subject of allegations over a deal for 2014 World Cup ticket sales.

The Rural Fire Service says it is important a new headquarters in the region's south is not built in an area of potential urban growth.

Channel Seven is being taken to task by former Liberal MP for Charlestown Andrew Cornwell.

The Western New South Wales Local Health District says telehealth would ease the burden of travel on patients.

MP Joel Fitzgibbon says the effects of the Williamtown airforce base toxic leak are potentially catastrophic.

Business is booming in the Hunter's cattle market, with producers fetching record prices.

Blinky Bill suffers from limitations of a relatively low budget, but highlights are found in its action sequences.

A police crackdown on registered child-sex offenders in the Newcastle area ahead of the school holidays has resulted in 14 people being charged.

We take a look back at key moments during The Bachelor which were giveaways that Sam Wood was always going to choose beautiful Perth mother, Snezana Markoski as his forever girl.

The Wallabies are unmoved by World Rugby's plans to crackdown on players feigning for penalties and stamp the tactic out with the threat of being sent to the sin-bin.

Global packaging giant Amcor has paid its former chief executive, Ken MacKenzie, a $US16 million ($22.3 million) retirement package, praising him for turning the box maker into a world leader.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation has been given permission to hire only women for track maintenance roles across Newcastle and the Hunter Valley.

Army aircraft mistook picknicking tourists for militants in incident that killed 12 people, including eight Mexicans.

Death rates from malaria have plunged by 60 per cent in the past 15 years, meaning more than 6 million lives have been saved - the vast majority of them African children, United Nations agencies said on Thursday.

A 25-year-old Australian man has died in Bali after he fell through a glass window in his Kuta hotel.

A Long Bay prison inmate "reeled in" the accused murderer Robert Xie, a court has heard, by drawing out "admissions" as they chatted.

Swiss authorities have approved the extradition of Uruguayan citizen Eugenio Figueredo to the United States as part of an investigation into suspected corruption in football, the government said on Thursday.

Following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates at historic lows, there is no shortage of reaction.

The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday in a nod to concerns about a weak world economy, but left open the possibility of a modest policy tightening later this year.

The following is an unedited version of the statement released by the Federal Open Market Committee.

​Apple wins appeals court ruling that may force Samsung to stop using some features in its smartphones and tablets.

As gunfire rang in the streets, military officers ordered the West African country's borders sealed and imposed a curfew.

Findings could shed light on the internal dynamics of one of the few worlds in our solar system with the potential to host life.

China's stocks sank in the last 30 minutes of trading in thin volumes as traders tested the limits of state support.

Marlon Williams and Courtney Barnett, along with Victorian hip-hop artist Briggs, rising star Harts and some of Australia's best emerging singers, will play live on the same stage when The Age Music Victoria Awards celebrates its 10th year on November 11.

Last year, the ex-music venue's century-old interiors were stripped. Now it will reopen as a store - and some have seen skips of material being removed.

The advertising adorning the front of one-day cricket uniforms sends a message that riles the Premier.

From '80s mania with Paul Young to all-star action in Everest ​and annual artfest Art & About, we have your weekend covered.

Rejecting Sri Lanka's planned truth and reconciliation commission, the UN has called for a special hybrid court to investigate "horrific" abuses committed by both sides.