Sydney news

Former Brumbies coach Andy Friend will take charge of the Australian men's sevens team at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The rain continues to fall in Sydney, with day three of Australia's third Test against the West Indies likely to suffer the same fate as day two. Follow our live blog for updates.

Newcastle police have charged a man with firearms offences, after he allegedly barricaded himself inside a motel room with a sawn-off shotgun overnight.

Australia will play South Africa in November, leaving Pakistan to carry the burden of drawing crowds to the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests.

A woman, who was trapped in a car after a crash on Pialligo Avenue in Canberra, is freed and taken to hospital.

The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority is investigating a report of run-off being discharged from a Santos-run site near Narrabri following recent rainfall.

Two men are charged with raping two women in the Western Australian town of Kununurra, with police saying one man encouraged the other, who is deaf and mute, to commit the offence.

A man has died and three people have been arrested after a brawl in Claymore in Sydney's south west overnight.

Some residents who live in the fire-ravaged towns of Wye River and Separation Creek on Victoria's Surf Coast will have limited access to their homes today.

Police express frustration at people who have "not eased up on the festivities", with a naked and intoxicated cyclist, hooning taxi driver and a man who allegedly terrorised passers-by with a chain keeping them busy in the NT.

Cessnock Council is expecting major improvements in road safety for students at a local school.

Driver behaviour over the Christmas New Year period is getting better but according to the head of the region's Highway Patrol Command further improvement is needed.

The Newcastle Jets have had an early start to the new year, taking part in a training session this morning ahead of Sunday's clash with the Melbourne Victory at Hunter Stadium.

A man is taken to hospital for treatment after part of his ear is bitten off during a brawl between two groups of men in Surfers Paradise.

A woman suffers burns to her legs in a house fire in the Perth suburb of Belmont.

Australian Toby Price leads the motorcycle category of the Dakar Rally after winning the second stage.

A man charged over the murder of Tamworth woman Johann Morgan has been remanded in custody to appear at court next month.

Port Lincoln locals pay their respects after a father and his two children died in a tragedy at the local wharf.

World number two Andy Murray leads Great Britain past France and, with Serena Williams sidelined by injury, Ukraine overcomes USA 2-1 at the Hopman Cup.

Parents in an NT community threaten to keep their kids home from school after a number of alleged incidents including a child in detention allegedly not being allowed to use the toilet.

A 12-year-old boy is charged with lighting a large fire near the Monash Freeway in Melbourne's south east.

The Member for Wagga Wagga, Daryl Maguire, has announced he will bat for Lockhart Shire when merger plans go before the Boundaries Commission.

A Perth motorist is filmed driving with a shark strapped to the front of their 4WD in Safety Bay near Rockingham, with the video proving a hit on social media.

The father of a teenage water polo player killed in a one-punch incident in Brisbane remembers his son as a beautiful man, as two men accused of the attack have their charges upgraded.

A central west agronomist says a research project could potentially lead to the doubling of organic soil carbon during the next 15 years.

More than 50 people will be involved in a search today in the New South Wales central west region for a man missing for more than two weeks.

The developer of a $5 million organic composting plant near Bathurst says it will provide a significant boost to the local economy.

A man accused of bashing two women in Newcastle on Boxing Day will face court again tomorrow, as police try to reverse a decision to grant him bail.

Port Stephens businesses are ramping up their campaign to bring more couples to the region to tie the knot.

Upper Hunter horses are expected to lead the pack at this year's iconic Magic Millions yearlings sale.

Women's cricket is seeing a transformation across Australia and it has young cricketers, fans and officials excited.

People are being urged to stay away from the Hunter's rivers and creeks as they swell over the next few days.

Newcastle Knights coach Nathan Brown is not ruling out sharing the club's captaincy role between several players this season.

Murray Valley irrigators in southern New South Wales are calling on the federal Member for Farrer, Sussan Ley, to do more to support their efforts for greater scrutiny of the social and economic impacts of the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

The bodies of two small children and their father are found by police divers in a submerged car which drove off a wharf at Port Lincoln in South Australia at high speed.

The death of Cole Miller after an assault in Fortitude Valley has once again shocked a Queensland community that still struggles to understand how or why such things happen.

Umbrellas will get another workout in south-east Queensland on Tuesday, with up to 35mm of rain predicted to fall and temperatures expected to be in the mid 20s.

West Indian cricket star Chris Gayle has drawn stern criticism online after making advances at Channel Ten sideline reporter Mel McLaughlin during a post-innings interview.

Even by the standards of news about North Korea, this story about two Korean doctors and their wives is truly bizarre.

Lockridge residents will be forced to wait until Wednesday to put their case for ending the detention of mentally impaired offenders in a centre based in their eastern Perth suburb.

Sam Groth loses to Korean teenager Hyeon Chung on a horror day for the Aussie men at the Brisbane International.

Technological change, the New Economy, driving outsized salary gains and surging income inequality

A miserable day two is mostly washed out at the SCG - as Cricket Australia offers patrons a full refund - with the West Indies at 7 for 248 at the close of play in Sydney.

The big-serving world number 60 failed to get past Korean teenager Hyeon Chung in his first appearance of 2016.

In the days leading up to Christmas, Origin Energy customers were notified that "a rise in the market price of renewable energy" meant GreenPower electricity charges would increase from 3.61¢ per kilowatt hour (excluding GST) to 5.10¢ per kilowatt hour from January 1, 2016.

A 12-year-old boy has been charged over a fire on Monday afternoon in Endeavour Hills , south-east of Melbourne CBD.

Skipper Aaron Finch leads a resurgent Melbourne Renegades to a five-wicket Big Bash League win over the Hurricanes, while team-mate Chris Gayle makes moves on and off the field.

Champion boxer Danny Green has called for tougher penalties for coward punches in the wake of Cole Miller's death on Monday.

A "glitch in the system" has caused some Metro Trains to double the frequency of its safety message, 'mind the gap', driving some commuters loco.

France this week commemorates the first anniversary of the Islamist militant attacks on satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo.