• 26 mins ago

Several of the young Melbourne men accused of plotting a Christmas Day terror attack have spent time at a place called the Hume Islamic Youth Centre.

• 35 mins ago

A grassfire to the west of Bendigo has been brought under control after residents in several towns had been told to leave their homes.

• BREAKING
• 39 mins ago

A 27-year-old asylum seeker has died from injuries suffered after a fall and seizure at the Manus Island Processing Centre.

• 46 mins ago

One of the young Melbourne men charged with terrorism offences following Friday's dramatic Christmas raids has been remanded in custody until April.

• 46 mins ago

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for parts of NSW to the north and east of Canberra.

• 48 mins ago

A powerful late-season typhoon Nock-ten is spinning towards the Philippines.

• UPDATED
• 1 hr ago

Mystery surrounds an expletive-laden social media rant, aimed at Fremantle and attributed to their former player Shane Yarran.

• 1 hr ago

A young man shot dead and a teenager who copped a bullet to the chest during a deadly dispute at a western Sydney park both had links to the notorious street gang, DLASTHR. 

• 1 hr ago

For some people, Christmas time means it's time to break out the gaudy decorations, twinkling lights and holiday shopping lists. For others this is a deeply religious time

• 1 hr ago

​US President-elect Donald Trump on Friday took a break from preparing to take office to engage in a pastime beloved by presidents: playing 18 holes of golf.

• 1 hr ago

Two fishermen could be facing nearly a million dollars in fines and imprisonment after they were caught with hundreds of illegally caught abalone.

Pulling out the digital map in your pocket might solve one problem, but could land you in another altogether at this special time of year - double demerits.

Fourteen people are dead and 17 others injured after a bus crashed into a ravine on Malaysia's North-South Expressway.

More than 3300 motorists have been fined across Queensland since Friday.

The Christmas holiday period has long been linked to an increase in heart attacks – but can festive indulging and annoying relatives really cause people to drop dead?

Queenslanders can expect humid, showery conditions for Christmas Day and well into next week, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

BRISBANE, Dec 24 AAP - Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld has reopened two more of its so-called "Big Nine" thrill rides.

A motorbike rider who was trying to avoid the rain by speeding home was allegedly caught travelling more than 40 kilometres over the speed limit in Brisbane on Friday.

Picture Perfect: The best of Herald photography

If you are working through the Christmas weekend, you are not alone.

In an unusual move, Iran and six world powers have released previously restricted documents about their nuclear deal to enforce their view that Tehran is not in a position to try to make nuclear weapons.

A 41-year-old man will spend Christmas Eve in court after he was remanded to custody for attempting to steal copper piping and cabling from an abandoned building allegedly owned by the Australian Federal Police.

A truck driver has been killed in a crash between Bunbury and Busselton.

NSW Police are investigating whether the fatal shooting of a man in a Sydney park in broad daylight is gang related.

There is nothing easy about the decision to remove children from their parents but one Canberra couple believes they are not being given a fair hearing in the battle for the return of their kids.

Animal welfare inspectors at RSPCA ACT say they have been frustrated to find people breaching court ordered animal ownership bans, in one case just days after the ban was imposed.

Flash flooding swept four cars off the Monaro Highway on Friday night.

This year we were captivated by tales of international corruption in the oil industry, terror attacks, a property tycoon turned US president-elect, Brexit, a federal election that saw the return of Pauline Hanson, and a scandalous affair involving a former AFL player and his mate's wife

As SANZAAR continues to delay a decision on the future of Super Rugby, step up Eddie Jones. England's coach has delivered a typically blunt assessment of Australian rugby, suggesting two teams should be cut.

Police are looking for a man in his 70s who is wanted over an indecent assault in broad daylight in Mandurah.

Spend much time with economists around this time of year, and you will hear about the dreadful inefficiency of exchanging gifts. But there's a higher logic to the gift economy.

A company which has invested in the Gold Coast Light rail project and owns airports in Darwin and regional Australia has on Friday been chosen the likely commercial partner in the $347 million expansion of the Sunshine Coast Airport at Maroochydore.

Not even Melbourne's unpredictable weather is taking a holiday. 

Police are continuing to search a house in Madora Bay belonging to the parents of Bradley Robert Edwards - the man charged with the Claremont serial killer murders of Jane Rimmer and Ciara Glennon.

Record numbers expected to attend the Sydney Fish Market's annual 36-hour Christmas Seafood Marathon.

The offenders, armed with knives, demanded cash before fleeing the scene.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has a message for the White House and Democratic leaders who accuse him of stealing their candidate's victory: Don't be sore losers.

"What does om telolet om" mean? American DJ duo The Chainsmokers, who have 729,000 Twitter followers, tweeted at 1.22am on December 21.

An hours-old baby girl who was snatched from a Gold Coast University Hospital has been found safe and well in New South Wales.

The FBI is investigating how hackers, believed sponsored by China's military, infiltrated computers at a US federal agency that regulates commercial banks.

• EXCLUSIVE

EXCLUSIVE: A security consultant who held a "top secret" government clearance inside Australia's only nuclear facility has been arrested and charged with the illegal possession of "official secrets" and an unauthorised weapon.

The US abstained from using its veto, letting a UN vote approve the declaration of Israeli settlements illegal.

US stocks posted modest gains in thin trading before the holidays. Gold fell for a seventh week.

It took New South Wales police two months to realise an accused kidnapper had allegedly skipped bail and fled the country, court documents reveal.

When two policemen in a northern suburb of Milan stopped a dishevelled-looking man to ask for his identity papers at 3 o'clock on Friday morning, they had no inkling they were confronting the most wanted man in Europe.

A Christmas Day terrorist bomb plot targeting landmarks in Melbourne's CBD has been foiled by a massive police operation days before it was due to be carried out. Here's what we know so far.

• COMMENT

There will be no relaxed Christmas break for Kerry Stokes and the directors of his Seven West Media.

What we know about the men arrested over the Christmas Day terror plot

Gold futures capped the longest run of weekly losses in 12 years as the case for higher US interest rates strengthens.