haven't even wrapped up their honeymoon, but the marriage of the two financial powerhouses already looks like it's showing signs of strain.Robert McCann, a longtime, trusted veteran of Merrill, is...

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service is still struggling to control two fires in remote bushland. Hot, windy weather has fire crews struggling to contain a fire that has burnt out around 600...

There is little reprieve in sight for rain-soaked north-west Queensland because the weather bureau is predicting further showers and storms for Thursday. Continuing rain has caused widespread...

THE NSW Opposition has pledged to end the "law and order auction" in a dramatic break with the tradition of promising to increase punishments and fill jails that has characterised every state...

A LIFE-THREATENING superbug more difficult to treat than the notorious "golden staph" has been found on 13 patients at Royal North Shore Hospital.The superbug, vancomycin-resistant enterococcus...

ON THE second floor of New York City Hall - marriage licences $35; wedding ceremonies $25 - casually dressed brides distinguish themselves with a posy, and only rarely with a traditional wedding...

STATE public servants wrote off 235 government cars in 2007-08 while incurring $34.5 million in insurance claims for vehicles. the Opposition said.Area health services were heavily represented in the...

SHOPPERS are expected to remain cautious at the check-out this year, despite slightly better than expected sales in the lead-up to the busy Christmas period. Encouraged by falling petrol prices,...

Police say they have found stashes of sticks, bottles and other potential makeshift weapons stacked behind trees in the south-western Sydney suburb where a large brawl erupted on Monday night. ...

January 6, 2009, 6:38 pm A South Australian health service is not ruling out financial compensation for the parents of a premature baby who was left in the temporary care of a stranger at a...

A 36-year-old Pakistani national charged with importing child pornography and bestiality material into Australia has been granted bail. The man arrived in Sydney on a flight from Hong Kong earlier...

A man has been taken to hospital with minor injuries after the front carriage of a train came off the tracks as it pulled out of Homebush Station in Sydney's west this afternoon. Police say the...

A-League clubs the Central Coast Mariners and Newcastle Jets are happy with their respective draws for the Asian Champions League (ACL). The Mariners have been drawn in Group H and the Jets in Group...

The Tiwi Land Council will start regulating access to waterways around the islands by August, becoming the first council to take advantage of last year's Blue Mud Bay ruling. In July last year, the...

A 36-year-old Sydney man has died after being pulled from rough seas at Coffs Harbour on the state's mid north coast. The man and another person were swimming at Park Beach south at midday when they...

Residents of a small town in the New South Wales Riverina are shocked by a dog attack this morning that killed a toddler and seriously injured her baby sister. A three-year-old girl was found dead...

Graeme Smith batted with a fractured hand in one of cricket's bravest acts but narrowly failed to save his side from defeat as Australia claimed victory with 10 balls to spare on the final day of...

An Australian businessman has died after being stabbed at least 20 times during a home invasion in the Philippines, local media reports. Werner Holz, 70, who was originally from Melbourne ...

A female passenger sustained minor injuries in a train derailment at Homebush which is causing delays tonight for peak-hour commuters. The one carriage derailment involving the front wheels of...

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has criticised a New South Wales Government decision which allows BHP Billiton Illawarra Coal to mine under Sydney's water catchment. The Department of Planning has approved a...

A competitor injured during the Forbes Flatland Hang Gliding Championship has died. Police say the 48-year-old man from Waverley in Sydney crashed while taking off on Saturday afternoon. He...

Fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot (IP) will continue to use its Cockle Creek site for at least another year despite announcing the early closure of the factory. The firm had planned to cease...

An independent report into the aged care needs of Oberon has identified that a facility with at least 60 beds will be required within a decade. The report was commissioned by the Federal Minister...

A Hunter-based obesity expert in charge of a program promoting healthy eating for children is leaving the region to help the World Health Organisation fight obesity in Pacific island nations. Colin...

Helicopters will continue to be used today to water bomb a fire which is burning out of control in the Morton National Park, in the New South Wales southern highlands. The Rural Fire Service say the...

Long-range weather forecaster Hayden Walker has predicted three cyclones for Queensland over the next three months. Mr Walker believes a cyclone as destructive as Cyclone Larry, which hit the...

The Federal Government is expected to announce within days whether it will approve a revised plan for redeveloping Newcastle's historic Nobbys Lighthouse. Local businessman Neil Slater has already...

Schools in south-east New South Wales have been given a bad report card over the use of health-threatening materials in their construction. A State Government audit has found that asbestos is...

A three-year-old girl has died and another child has been seriously mauled in a dog attack at  a south-western NSW home. A 45-year-old female carer was found collapsed with minor ...

Two Queenslanders have been charged over recruiting people to a Nigerian scam which netted the fraudsters more than $4.3 million. Police said the Sunshine Coast man, 48, and woman, 40, were ...

Aluminium producer Alcoa says its Australian operations will not be affected by the company's global plans to cut more than 13,000 jobs. The US company has announced plans to cut 13 per cent of its...

Timber giant Gunns has ramped up its battle with anti-logging activists in Tasmania, suing 13 protesters involved in a raid on one of its woodchip mills last month. Thirteen activists from...

7 January 2009 Sydney's Chinese New Year Festival kicks off in Belmore Park on Friday 23 January with a weekend packed with music and dance, food and gift stalls and activities for all the...

A bloody brawl on a public housing estate in western Sydney on Monday night has prompted politicians to ask whether the public housing system is failing Australian families. Police patrols on...

The family of a Sunbury woman who went missing near Geelong almost three weeks ago are still hopeful she will be found. Fifty-seven-year-old Dawn Wilson walked out of a St Alban's Park medical...

Mitchell Johnson chimed in to remove JP Duminy for 16 as Australia honed in on a face-saving third Test win against South Africa at the SCG. Duminy was trapped plumb in front for 16 to leave the...

A shark has been reported swimming close to Perth's southern coast as a memorial service for a 51 year old shark victim was underway. Fishermen spotted what they believed was a large shark just...

A dog has killed a three-year-old girl and seriously injured a toddler in the New South Wales Riverina. Police were called to a house at Whitton about 11:00am (AEDT) after reports two children and a...

January 5, 2009, 7:43 pm Archaeologists from the National Maritime Museum are quietly confident they have found the site of an historic shipwreck on the Great Barrier Reef . They left Cairns...

WA pig producers say they are starting to make a profit for the first time in about five years. Many producers left the industry last year, saying it was unviable to continue. With the subsequent...

January 6, 2009, 6:38 pm Canberra is experiencing its first real taste of summer with temperatures set to reach 37 degrees this afternoon. A cool change will bring some relief tomorrow...

RailCorp will carry out vegetation clearing along the Wollongong and South Coast rail corridors this month amid concerns expected heat wave conditions could bring bushfires close to rail lines. The...

January 7, 2009, 9:23 am Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett is insisting that the Gunns timber company do more research on the environmental effects of its proposed pulp mill. But...

Victoria Police are investigating the theft about $130,000 worth of water near Swan Hill. Police say someone drained about 400 megalitres of water into Lake Boga early yesterday morning. The gates...

The first results of an expanded air quality checking scheme in the Gladstone region in central Queensland should be released early next month. As a result of a two-year study in Gladstone to...

Papua New Guinea police have branded as "barbaric" the murder of a young woman burnt alive after being blindfolded and gagged with her arms and legs lashed to a pole. The body of the woman,...

An 18-year-old man will face court today over a violent street brawl at a housing estate in Sydney's south-west. Police say the man was involved in a neighbourhood feud that erupted in Rosemeadow on...

January 7, 2009, 9:10 am The anti-whaling group, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society , says Japan's push to block it from refuelling at Australian ports is unlikely to succeed. The group's...

Water restrictions have been officially suspended on the Gold Coast. Queensland Water Commission spokesman John Bradley says the decision was made after recent rain caused the Hinze Dam to overflow....

NSW Premier Nathan Rees missed out on keeping his wedding secret, but still declared himself "thrilled to bits" to be marrying his childhood sweetheart, Stacey Haines in New York. The couple...