Sydney news

The ringleaders of a riot at the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre in Townsville are flown to Brisbane where they are expected to face criminal charges, with some youth justice workers caught up in Thursday's incident "too traumatised to return to work yet".

SES crews from across Victoria are arriving in Mildura and Merbein to help locals clean up after Friday's mini tornado, described as the worst storm event in the region in decades.

A 23-year-old Launceston runner has claimed his third straight win in a gruelling Hobart half-marathon.

A wet and wild day in Hobart threatens to wash out day two altogether after Australia fell well behind South Africa on day one. Follow all the action in our live blog.

A major air, land and sea search is underway for the pilot of a hang-glider, reported missing after he was forced to conduct an emergency landing near Rainbow Beach, north of Noosa, on Saturday afternoon.

New South Wales Deputy Premier Troy Grant's leadership is under renewed pressure, with the results of the Orange by-election still hanging in the balance after a massive voter backlash against the Nationals.

Decriminalisation of sex work and pill testing at music events gets some support at the ALP's state conference in Tasmania.

Australia's terrible opening to the second Test in Hobart, is highlighted by the wildly contrasting performances of its team's two leaders.

Low-lying farms and properties north of Adelaide are likely to be protected by new levees in the near future, with authorities now looking at ways to improve the system in the wake of September's costly flooding.

New South Wales Deputy Premier Troy Grant's leadership is under renewed pressure, with the results of the Orange by-election still hanging in the balance after a massive voter backlash against the Nationals.

The Shooters and Fishers Party may take the electorate of Orange, with the NSW Nationals party facing a devastating swing after Saturday's by-elections.

Sydney is announced as host of the 2018 Invictus Games, an international sporting event founded by Prince Harry for military veterans who have suffered an injury or illness.

Melbourne Victory cash in on Western Sydney's defensive howlers, claiming a 3-0 win over their A-League rivals at Docklands Stadium.

Brisbane Airport resumes normal operations after its runway lights are turned back on following an outage caused by wild storms which also cut power to more than 17,000 properties around south-east Queensland.

Confusion reigns in the Australian cricket teamon the field and in the selectors' headquartersafter a shambolic day's play in the second Test in Hobart, writes Geoff Lemon.

Roy Krishna scores one and sets up another in Wellington Phoenix's 2-0 A-League win over the Central Coast Mariners in Canberra.

Adelaide radio personality Bob Francis is remembered as a legend of the industry, after his sudden death at the age of 77.

Fifteen wickets fall on day one of the second Test with Australia dismissed for a disastrous 85, but the hosts fight back against South Africa to claim something of a foothold in a dramatic day in Hobart.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull might not be invited back to the Sydney Mardi Gras, after a motion was passed at the parade's annual general meeting today for him to be declared not welcome.

Darren Lehmann says Australia simply has to bat better and assess conditions properly after being skittled for 85 all out by South Africa on day one of the second Test.

South Africa reaches stumps on a dramatic day one at 5-171, leading Australia by 86 runs after a calamitous first innings by the hosts in Hobart.

International and domestic flights are diverted and some are forced to wait to land after this afternoon's wild storms took out the runway lights at Brisbane Airport.

Late actor Heath Ledger's family have contributed treasured childhood memorabilia for an exhibition to open in Perth next year.

Holy diabetes! McDonald's have put Nutella inside a burger.

The racial discrimination complaint against provocative newspaper cartoonist Bill Leak has been withdrawn.

It was the trip of a lifetime that ended Elly's life.

They came, they saw, and, with three major exceptions - the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups and Cox Plate - they completely conquered.

Americans have started their own #illridewithyou campaign following Trump's win.

Thousands flock to Brisbane's Supanova pop culture convention, many of them in costumes they have spent the past months or even years working on, to meet and mingle with like-minded people.

Small auctions

Police are seeking witnesses after a man allegedly tried to snatch a girl off the street in Essendon.

Catholic archbishop Christopher Prowse attracted criticism for not attending the healing ceremony for abuse victims on Thursday.

Melbourne Boomers aim to put an end to their losing run when they host Townsville Fire at the State Basketball Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Large hailstones and damaging winds forecast for south-east Queensland as three storm cells move across the State.

To many, DonaldTrump is the champion of anti-political correctness.

Australia's Laura Enever and Josh Kerr could establish themselves as two of the world's best all-round surfers when they take on monster waves.

Five years to the day since Australia were infamously bowled out for 47 in Cape Town Steve Smith's side has suffered another jaw-dropping collapse.

The first French politician to congratulate Donald Trump on his upset victory was a grinning Marine Le Pen, president of the right-wing Front National.

Hopes of Aaron Mooy playing in the English Premier League for Manchester City remain alive after the Socceroos midfielder confirmed he is on the club's radar despite being moved on loan to English Championship side, Huddersfield.

The Aaron Smith toilet incident has taken a new turn after the woman involved says the pair didn't have sex in the airport bathroom.

Alex Brosque will play his 150th game for Sydney FC on Sunday when they face Perth Glory at Allianz Stadium but despite spending eight seasons at the club, it's a milestone he never thought he would reach.

Anna Meares, one of the country's most decorated Olympians, take the first lap around the $59-million international cycling venue officially named after today, ready for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

Anything Charlie Appleby can do, John O'Shea can to. 

Jeremy Devereux, Perth's bike Santa, is getting ready for a Christmas rush.

Some of the biggest alleged free speech champions on the right of Australian politics have used the defamation law to protect their own reputations even though they are trying to remove the "insult and offend" protection in the Racial Discrimination Act.

Andrew Kellaway was on Mad Monday celebrations when he received the best phone call of his life to date.

A chunk of the country was struck dumb with the election of Donald Trump. But something inaudible rang out the next day – a silent but piercing alarm, rousing some people to action.

Wallabies captain Stephen Moore says he is thrilled to see Sydney granted hosting rights for the 2018 Invictus Games; the international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemen women created by Prince Harry.

For the first time in five Four Nations tournaments, the qualifier stole a point from one of the sport"s 'top three', Steve McCormack's Bravehearts snatching an 18-18 draw with a late conversion by needled-up captain Danny Brough.

Facebook users have expressed confusion after receiving a banner message on their profile pages and news feeds, which flagged their account as memorialised, as if they had died.