An Australian woman who renounced her Islamic faith and campaigns globally for women's rights is arrested and charged in Tanzania, the country of her birth.

Tens of thousands of people are in isolation after potential exposure to the virus at a bottle shop in Sydney's west over a number of days around Christmas and New Year's Eve.

Victoria records three new locally acquired coronavirus cases as the state works to contain a cluster linked to a restaurant in Melbourne's south-east.

NSW Police say Senior Constable Kelly Foster was pulled underwater while trying to rescue an international student from China, after the latter was tipped off her lilo by a whirlpool in Mount Wilson. ...

Queensland's first cyclone of the season forms over the south-east Gulf Coast with people between Mornington Island and Kowanyama, including Burketown, being warned to shelter inside until the system passes. ...

An emergency bushfire warning is issued for a blaze threatening lives and homes in the southern Perth suburbs of Postans and Kwinana Beach.

Police records show 99 security guards were stood down or terminated for coronavirus medi-hotel breaches in South Australia, including sleeping on the job, smelling of alcohol and pretending to be a Defence officer.  ...

India approves two coronavirus vaccines on the same day, paving the way for a huge inoculation program to stem its coronavirus epidemic.

Republican senator Mitt Romney calls a proposed challenge of president-elect Joe Biden's victory in the Congress an "ill-conceived endeavour" that "dangerously threatens our democratic republic". ...

Researchers behind a clinical trial of two COVID-19 vaccines in Australia say they will be able to modify the vaccinations if mutations of the virus occur.

Vandals attack the homes of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after Congress fails to approve an increase in coronavirus stimulus payments.

The Middle Eastern country's Government reports 11.5 out of every 100 Israelis have received their first dose of a vaccine — by far the world's highest proportional rate of inoculation.

SCG could host back-to-back Tests after India reportedly express concerns over having to play under quarantine conditions in Brisbane, preferring the fourth Test be played elsewhere.

Long queues are forming at fever clinics around the state as people who have visited Victoria line up for COVID-19 testing.

After coming through a tough phase marked by drought and bushfires, some inland Australian bird species are now thriving after a plentiful amount of rain.

While thousands of Victorians spent the final hours of 2020 in a frantic dash back over the New South Wales border, Daniel Forrest was off the grid. Now he and others are waiting for an exemption to get back home. ...

China says it will retaliate after the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to delist three major Chinese telecoms after President Donald Trump's executive order on "Communist China military companies". ...

Almost 20 years on, there is still so much to understand about how 9/11 changed our world. But the rise of China and the impact of COVID-19 has added to the West's vulnerabilities, writes Stan Grant. ...

Eugenie Lee combines installation art, scientific research and cutting-edge technology to create participatory artworks that aim to change the culture around pain.

Mick and Marylin moved into their Cobargo haven just before Christmas last year. A few days later their piece of heaven became a fiery hell they only just survived, writes Phil Williams.

As Australia's agricultural industry struggles to fill vacant positions, a group of people in Victoria help solve a small part of the problem.

Papua New Guinea's Olympic Committee is writing to the Australian Government asking for its athletes to be allowed into the country to train for the six months before the Tokyo Games.