Sydney news

Police say it is lucky no-one was killed when a suspected drink driver drove the wrong way along a major Melbourne freeway and crashed into an on-coming vehicle last night.

Victoria Azarenka will be looking for her first WTA title since 2013 when she meets Angelique Kerber in the Brisbane International final.

Negative comments about Damien Little, the Port Lincoln man who police say deliberately drove his car off the town's wharf with his two young boys inside, will not be tolerated at a gathering today for residents to mourn the tragedy, one of the organisers says.

A man is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after a stabbing overnight in Melbourne's south-east.

Some 100,000 visitors come to Canberra for Summernats, and businesses are feeling the benefits, none more so than Canberra's sex shops who say the weekend is one of their busiest.

Authorities in Western Australia say calmer winds and high humidity have helped crews slow the spread of a bushfire threatening the South West town of Harvey, but an emergency warning remains in place.

The young Australia Green team of Nick Kyrgios and Daria Gavrilova hold their nerve in a tense doubles clash with France to reach the Hopman Cup final against Ukraine.

New Jets recruit Nicholas Cowburn says Newcastle is more than capable of beating Sydney FC, when the two sides clash this afternoon.

A Port Stephens mushroom farm has stopped using its bore water, even though it is outside the red contamination zone near the Williamtown Air Force base.

At least $4,000 damage has been caused by vandals to Cessnock's main cricket ground, Baddeley Park 1.

The Environment Protection Authority has fined AGL Macquarie $30,000 for a pollution incident at the Bayswater Power Station, near Muswellbrook.

Virgin Australia is increasing the number of services between Newcastle and Brisbane from next month, adding almost 20,000 seats a year on the route.

Young gun Nick Kyrgios continued his hot form ahead of this month's Australian Open with a straight-sets demolition of France's Kenny de Schepper at the Hopman Cup in Perth.

Travis Head again pressed his World Twenty20 claims by helping Adelaide Strikers reclaim the Big Bash League top spot and end Brisbane Heat's finals hopes with an eight-wicket win at the Gabba.

Residents left stranded in Yarloop after the town was ravaged by fire are escorted to Pinjarra, where an evacuation centre is continuing to offer a temporary home to evacuees.

Roger Federer has shaken off a strong challenge from Grigor Dimitrov and his lingering illness to move into the Brisbane International semi-finals.

More than 200 firefighters continue to tackle a large bushfire that has ravaged part of Western Australia's South West and is continuing to sweep south after destroying almost 100 homes.

A Besart Berisha goal in stoppage time saw Melbourne Victory snatch a 3-3 draw with Central Coast Mariners in their round 14 A-League clash in Geelong.

A bushfire emergency warning issued for the southern Perth suburb of Forrestdale in the City of Armadale is downgraded, with one property believed to be damaged in the blaze.

The owners of pop-up shops around Melbourne selling and shipping baby formula to China say they are not behind a shortage of the product, as calls continue for Australian manufacturers to produce more of the in-demand product.

A search is suspended for a man who went missing while swimming at an unpatrolled section of a beach on the New South Wales mid north coast.

Bottom-placed Sydney Sixers grabbed a rare win in the Women's Big Bash League, beating Melbourne Renegades by 25 runs at Junction Oval.

A man hands himself in and is charged with recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm over a one-punch assault in Canberra's city centre on New Year's morning.

Patrons using the controversial cashless system spent $5.1 million over seven days at Taste of Tasmania, according to figures released by the Hobart City Council.

A 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman are arrested after allegedly leading police on a two-and-a-half-hour pursuit from Victoria's north-west to Melbourne.

The mother of two children killed along with their father says her husband "put us first" as police reveal all three had gunshot wounds before their car was driven off the wharf at Port Lincoln.

A 78-year-old pilot escapes unhurt after his light plane crashes and catches fire north of Goulburn in the New South Wales southern tablelands.

A Yeppoon man starts a barter system where people can pay for odd jobs using beer.

Doctors converge on Adelaide to discuss the health risks associated with space travel as the reality of commercial space flights edges closer.

A light plane crashes and catches fire during takeoff north of Goulburn, in the New South Wales southern tablelands.

A fairground with rides made from toilet seats, sewing machines, gas stove tops and bicycles is the main outdoor attraction in Parramatta as part of Sydney Festival.

Central Queensland has gone to infinity and beyond by becoming home to one of the few Australian doctors trained in space medicine.

Marine experts slam a move by an Adelaide nightclub to put two hammerhead sharks on display in a tank inside the venue.

The small town of Yarloop in Western Australia, home to around 500 people, has been virtually wiped out by fires, local MLA Murray Cowper says.

Road closures and power outages mean dairy farmers in south-west Western Australia have to dump milk as bushfires continue to burn.

Great Britain's clean sweep of Germany in their Hopman Cup tie has kept alive its chances of reaching Saturday's final in Perth.

A hammerhead shark is not what most people would expect to see during a night out on the town, but a new club in Adelaide wants to put two sharks in a tank as the venue's centrepiece. That's been met with a strong public backlash, with online petitions registering more than 85,000 opponents. Conservation groups have raised concerns about how the sharks would cope with living in a nightclub.

Police are searching for a man they say walked into a Broken Hill house in broad daylight and threatened its occupant with a knife on Friday afternoon.

The futures of hundreds of workers at the largest iron ore operation in Western Australia's Mid West are in doubt as the mine's Chinese owner signals funding woes.

A 52-year-old Chinese national tells his lawyer during a bedside hearing that he wants the death penalty after being charged with the murder of his two-month-old granddaughter in Brisbane.

Injured Wallabies lock Kane Douglas is still a chance of taking part in Queensland's Super Rugby campaign but the Reds are confident they can cover his absence until his possible return.

A Darwin electronics trader will face the Federal Court over claims it misled vulnerable patients and families at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Western Australia's most destructive bushfire in half a century continues to burn out of control this evening. The historic town of Yarloop has been destroyed, with residents describing a wave of fire which levelled the 95 homes in just minutes.

A new Christian pilgrimage in Tasmania's south is touted as the Southern Hemisphere's answer to Spain's famous El Camino de Santiago.

Visitors to the museum of Tropical Queensland get to see some unseasonal snow and fog as travelling science presenter Steve Liddell brings his Street Science program to Townsville.

An 18-year-old man has been charged with the serious assault of another teenager in an early morning attack on New Year's Day in Glenelg, Adelaide.

The Court of Appeal delays the resentencing of Gerard Baden-Clay until the appeal against the downgrading of his murder conviction goes before the High Court.

Elvis performer Donny Edwards, also known as 'Next Best thing to the King', arrives in Parkes.

Carlton AFL player Charlie Curnow has his driver's licence suspended for two years and is fined $4,000 for refusing a preliminary breath test in November.

An ever-growing cloud of glowing smoke from bushfires in the South West left one Perth couple with little doubt they needed to pack up and leave.