Sydney news

The Northern Territory has the highest levels of lead detected in blood of anywhere in the developed world, the Centre for Disease Control says, with the effects on children described as "long-term" and "irreversible".

You are left with a house and shed full of a lifetime's clutter when a parent dies. What do you do?

Abandoned fishing nets should be the enemy of a turtle hospital, but Townsville's Reef HQ Aquarium and Turtle Hospital has them underfoot.

Perth's Madjitil Moorna Choir is bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous singers together to learn the importance of one of Western Australia's first languages.

Footage obtained by the ABC shows a patient at a hospital south of Brisbane being tackled to the ground by a private security guard, resulting in a deep gash to the woman's head.

Veteran swimming coach Laurie Lawrence tells Bernard Tomic "if you don't want to be a winner, give it away" as sport psychologists wonder what is going on the deflated player's personal life.

The new play covers Sir Joh's ascent to power, prime ministerial campaign and resignation using a range of 60s protest songs, disco and "gloriously trashy 80s songs".

Mines will be shelved and jobs lost in existing coal regions if the Galilee basin is opened up, with massive declines in output from the Hunter Valley and significant falls in central and south east Queensland.

Cultural ignorance by university staff about Sorry Business and smoking ceremonies are just some of the reasons Indigenous students are dropping out of their degrees.

Arawang are hoping a combination of youth and experience will result in their first win of the season against Queanbeyan in the 2017 State League Netball competition.

US and South Korean troops have fired missiles into the waters off South Korea, the US military said, in a show of force after North Korea's ICBM test.

China will agree to sanctions at the UN Security Council overnight, but is likely to stop short of the measures the US is demanding, predicts a Chinese analyst.

An autistic tourist who went missing from a Melbourne beach has returned to the place he was staying with his family.

A single knockout punch has ended the professional and playing career of AFL diversity manager Ali Fahour.

​Queensland's parole board will need to take into account any available national security intelligence and possible assaults on corrections staff when deciding whether to release prisoners, under new guidelines.

Just minutes after Nelson Bay contractor Scott Pateman and his son Rhys freed two victims of a rollover on the Devils Pinch, they turned to see a car flying through the air towards them.

Police reveal that 87 bodies have been found in the "apocalyptic" wreck of Grenfell Tower. But they still fear the inferno claimed more lives, and some of the dead may not be found before Christmas.

An iconic modernist Caulfield North house is under threat of demolition, prompting the local council to seek an urgent interim protection from the planning minister.

Police are appealing to the public for information after a woman was forcefully dragged into a vehicle in Burwood on Tuesday night.

Trivia and word buffs: test yourself with today's interactive superquiz and Target.

South Australia's steelmaking business, Arrium, is fundamentally sound and can once again become a profitable company once its sale goes through, its future owner says.

"When you think about all the other improvements that are going on in the Valley, this is the one piece of the puzzle that is holding the Valley back."

Outages have hit the Tax Office's IT system on Wednesday.

The AFL's diversity manager, Ali Fahour, is banned from playing or officiating in any future football matches after being handed a 14-week ban and automatically deregistered for striking an opposition player in the head.

Over the past 30 years West End resident Tim Mather has seen his street change from a quiet place where his kids could play cricket to being dangerous and lined with cars parked bumper to bumper.

The top architecture awards in one of the smallest but most interesting forums of design in modern Australia – Tasmania — were announced last week and several practises and projects won multiple gongs.

Mark O'Hara was shocked to find that sleep apnoea was stopping him from breathing longer than a minute at a time through the night.

Casual workers have won the right to demand a permanent full-time or part-time job after 12 months under a landmark Fair Work Commission ruling.

Media billionaires Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon face stiff competition and a race against time in their bid to take over the besieged Ten Network, Fusion Media's Steve Allen says..

The Brumbies will finalise their bench, and Christian Lealiifano's comeback fate, on Thursday.

The Brumbies are preparing for a fired-up Queensland pack after Rob Simmons was named at flanker.

​Former Richmond hardman Jake King has been charged with making threats to kill over an alleged extortion attempt.

Four years ago the Herald reported on a leaked version of an upcoming train timetable. The story was reasonably positive. We tallied changes between the then timetable and the leaked version, which was to take effect in five months. We reported services on some lines would increase, but services to some stations would drop.

Canada's deft young Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, was beaten at his own game by his younger, newly elected Irish counterpart, Leo Varadkar, in Dublin on Tuesday.

Little-known Arina Rodionova has saved seven match points to emerge as an unlikely saviour on a day of carnage for Australia at Wimbledon.

Hawthorn player Tyrone Vickery and ex-AFL player Jake King are arrested as part of an extortion investigation.

Students will be able to see minimum and maximum ATARs for all university course offers from next month and the misleading term ATAR "cut-off" will be phased out, under a new national admissions transparency plan .

Almost one in 10 Brisbane buses do not arrive on time, but at least it is improving.

Tony Abbott's latest criticism of the Government, revealed in a secret recording, includes labelling the May budget 'second best' and saying the party is at a 'low ebb'. It's prompted Cabinet minister Arthur Sinodinos to call for Mr Abbott to ensure his interventions are helpful to the Government.

Jack Riewoldt might be keeping a lid on things but older cousin Nick won't hesitate to say it – Richmond are playing their best football in years.

He was the mystery massage therapist whose presence at the Wests Tigers led to the demise of coach Jason Taylor and he now looms as an asset for the Blues.

Blues advisor Peter Sterling has implored Mitchell Pearce to make himself heard if NSW's plans threaten to fly off course again next Wednesday night.

Almost every Aboriginal clan experienced massacres at the hands of early settlers in the "colonial wars", according to the first stage of new online mapping project.

The New South Wales coroner will hold an inquest into the death of murdered environment officer Glen Turner, who was gunned down by a farmer in 2014 in the state's north-west.

Ben Stratton's season is over after the Hawthorn defender succumbed to a lingering knee injury.

The integrity of the NRL is under a cloud amid revelations that players from several clubs have taken secret benefits or cash payments in likely breach of salary cap rules.

Police in Melbourne search for a 34-year-old British man with autism who went missing while visiting a beach with his parents.

West Coast Eagles coach Adam Simpson leaps to the defence of tagger Mark Hutchings after Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge criticises a "cowardly" bump on his defender Jason Johannisen.

A military strike to wipe out or at least set back North Korea's nuclear capabilities risks retaliation, escalation and carnage on a scale unseen since the last Korean war.

OK! editor Nicole Byers has been named the new woman at the helm of The Australian Women's Weekly.