Sydney news

The Australian racing community mourns the loss of "ambitious and well-respected" Brisbane jockey Tim Bell, 22, who fell to his death from a Singapore high-rise.

Torrential rain drenches parts of South Australiawith Port Pirie receiving 87mm and Whyalla 57mm as Port Lincoln, further west, cleans up after flash flooding.

Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle Payne says she hopes her victory on Prince Of Penzance will inspire the next generation of riders.

A man has been shot in the finger during an alleged road rage incident in Sydney's south-west after grappling with an armed man, police say.

Pine Creek store owner, Eddie Ah Toy reminisces about his store's closures after 80 years of serving the Northern Territory.

Michelle Payne was not the only female jockey who had a win yesterday.

The trial of a South Coast man accused of murder, has started in the New South Wales Supreme Court.

Australian researchers hope to improve human health by vaccinating chickens against disease in Timor-Leste.

Police are investigating after a woman was found unconscious at a house at Glenmore Park in Sydney's west.

Newcastle Labor MP Tim Crakanthorp says the NSW planning minister has given a commitment to consider changing zonings in the CBD to rule out 20 storey towers.

A driver loses his licence for speeding, then leads police on a car chase after being caught allegedly speeding again hours later on the NSW north coast.

Community organisations have raised concerns about the ACT's working with vulnerable people card scheme, Canberra Liberals MLA Nicole Lawder says.

A prominent NT developer and donor to the ruling Country Liberal party is selected as the preferred tenderer of an area of "prime Crown land" near Darwin.

Western Australia's peak heavy transport organisation launches a blistering attack on Premier Colin Barnett's decision to delay part of the $1.6 billion Perth Freight Link project.

Trainer Darren Weir says Prince Of Penzance's upset win in the Melbourne Cup has made him a believer that dreams can come true.

The future of an industrial estate in Goulburn is set to be examined as part of plans to allow the next stage of the city's hospital redevelopment.

The Local Government Minister Paul Toole is under fire for withholding funding from councils that refuse to merge as part of the Fit for the Future reforms.

A man crashes his car and is charged following a police pursuit after allegedly driving up to 62 kilometres per hour over the speed limit at Coffs Harbour.

Two Griffith men will spend at least 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to participating in a criminal group.

A man's body is found in a charity clothing bin in the Sydney suburb of Rosebery.

The Local Government Minister is not saying if he has scrapped the proposed 'rural council' model.

An Upper Hunter mine is proposing to extend its operations for another 19 years, generating more than $1 billion in revenue and worker wages.

Central west councils are touting the region as an ideal place for aspiring medical professionals in a bid to address workforce shortages.

Having learned from his "tough times" in recent years, Usman Khawaja believes he has never been better placed to make a spot in the Australian Test team his own.

Advocates of people with a disability say for too long they have been excluded from discussions about changes to the Hunter's public transport network.

Cessnock mayor Bob Pynsent has raised concerns about proposed changes to electoral boundaries that would see the local government area split between two federal electorates.

The Maitland-Newcastle Catholic Diocese hopes to open a new childcare centre in the Newcastle CBD early next year to meet growing demand.

Tasmanian shot put champion Todd Hodgetts hopes to defend his world Paralympic title at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The group responsible for managing Hobart's Mount Wellington alters its Management Plan helping to pave the way for a cable car from Hobart to the mountain's pinnacle.

Hundreds of workers will walk of the job today in protest against the state government's plans to privatise disability services.

In less than 24 hours, Michelle Payne has gone from a little-known jockey to a history-making pioneer for women in sport after she beat a field of international stars to win yesterday's Melbourne Cup on a horse that was a rank outsider. The 30 year old says she hopes to use her new found prominence to promote women in racing.

Comedian Robin Williams had been planning to undergo neurological testing the week before he committed suicide last year, and likely only had three years to live, his widow said on Tuesday.

It was written off as an event lacking star appeal, but the 2015 Melbourne Cup still managed to corral an eclectic mix of celebrities from both home and abroad.

 It powers Bitcoin could this tech innovation soon power our banks?

Prosecutors argued on Tuesday that South Africa's "blade runner" Oscar Pistorius should be convicted of murder and sent back to jail for shooting his girlfriend, challenging a court's decision to sentence him for a lesser offence.

A cyclone with hurricane-force winds made landfall on Yemen's Arabian Sea coast on Tuesday, flooding the country's fifth-largest city Mukalla and sending thousands of people fleeing for shelter.

Darren Weir, trainer of Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance, dreamed when he started out of winning a Stawell Cup, a Ballarat Cup, a Swan Hill Cup – because that was the nearest neighbourhood track, just down the road from his Mallee home of Berriwillock.

Dan Poskitt felt an insuppressible wave of rage as he sat across from the man who had murdered his sister. Then he forgave him.

Paddy Payne, racing stalwart and father of Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Michelle, says unlike many punters he thought Prince Of Penzance had a good chance of winning Australian racing's biggest prize.

Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi chairs her first council meeting since being re-elected, saying she will not stand aside during a Department of Local Government review.

The Coalition's biggest backer of same-sex marriage has welcomed Julie Bishop's show of support for the reform but said it's unlikely it will change other Liberal MPs' views.

The ATO has been targeted more than 11,000 times by identity fraudsters attempting to steal tax refunds in 2014-15.

It is the exam so secret that not even teachers know what it contained until a day after students put their pens down.

Positivity can breed gullibility, so is getting grumpy the secret to not being scammed?

We look at how long-term use of daily, low-dose aspirin can benefit health.

Not since 1975 - 40 years ago - has a Governor-General performed so poorly at the Melbourne Cup.

Darren Weir, Michelle Payne and Prince Of Penzance combined to produce a stunning upset in the Melbourne Cup.

 The Churches of Christ is offloading an office building in Alphington in the emerging population hotspot dominated by the Amcor development site.

Some well-heeled guests were forced onto the pavement with the Birdcage nonentities. And who was responsible?

Dentists, flight attendants, podiatrists and immigration inspectors have been awarded the dubious honour of professions that carry to highest health risks.