For nearly 40 years crowds have been gathering at Lorne to watch the brave, the fit and the determined swim the 1.2 kilometre course from the pier to the cheerfully noisy crowds gathered outside the Lorne Surf Live Savers Club.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson blamed Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan for Donald Trump's decision to abandon a visit to London, as he vowed not to let the Labour leader and London mayor put the "crucial relationship at risk."

Pain or no pain, the Swiss have decided that dropping a creature into boiling water is no humane way to go.

The Food Regulator had to apologise to its own nanotechnology expert advisory group for misrepresenting their views in a public statement about nanoparticles in baby formula, internal emails reveal.

Brisbane residents' favourite reason for contacting the council is to ask about their wheelie bin or gripe about parking enforcement.

Political furore over youth crime, and claims of "gang" violence, take toll on local community, meeting hears.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle is under investigation for declaring a $40,000 donation he made to his own election campaign more than a year after the poll was held.

The two brides sealed their marriage with a pinky promise, and a kiss.

But Seqwater has assured residents the measure will have minimal impact on the region's water supply security.

Apart from drawing condemnation from around the world, Trump's 'shithole' comments have blown up negotiations on a potential immigration deal and made it harder to avert a government shutdown.

Myanmar's de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Friday it was "positive" that the country's military was taking responsibility for its actions of troops.

A controversial pesticide allegedly linked to bee death will be pulled from Bunnings' shelves by the end of this year, a spokesman has confirmed.

The last touch rule has been introduced to AFLW as the rulemakers attempt to increase scoring rates and open up the game.

The KKK member was convicted of the notorious Freedom Summer killings of three civil rights workers in 1964.

• UPDATED

Train commuters are being asked to defer travel after storm damage took out the Hurstbridge and South Morang lines on Saturday afternoon.

A 39-year-old man has been charged following a fatal head-on crash on the NSW south coast last week, which left a former Olympian fighting for his life, killed his wife, and injured a young boy.

Firefighters are working to control a bushfire near Newcastle which has burnt 1381 hectares of land and which was moving east along Cabbage Tree Road towards Newcastle Airport on Saturday afternoon.

A young Melbourne musician who was thought to have died in a fire two years ago may have been killed before the blaze started.

A Lyons man was remanded into custody on Saturday morning after threatening a police officer on Friday.

New figures reveal the shifting shape of the flock.

The ACT government chose a therapeutic protection place operator in 2010 but determined them unfit to care for children.

One Ghanaian shopkeeper summed it up for his continent: "He's saying he's civilised, but we Africans are more civilised than him. We think before we speak."

• EXCLUSIVE

The bill for the government's search to find the source of leaks about its transport projects has climbed to $234,000, as the investigation by both the NSW Police and the main transport agency continues more than six months after it began.

A selection of photographs from around the world by Fairfax picture editors.

Sunny skies across the city were overtaken by heavy rains and mild temperatures, with thunderstorm warnings for state's east.

• FAITH

One night a man went to visit his friend who was blind. When he arrived at her house all was in darkness inside and out.

The parks spokesman stressed people shouldn't rely on their phones, but be prepared and "tell someone who cares" before heading out.

The ACT government says it is on track to have an Office of Mental Health running by July

Mental health practitioners have welcomed an increase in mental health services for new mums

Financial supporters of a Canberra cat cafe proposal are seeking answers three years after donating to the project.

A Canberra-region farm is selling eggs to help sick girl Matilda Kobier.

Australian Trucking Association calls for major overhaul after deaths in NSW soar 86 per cent in one year.

Brisbane exceeded its forecast maximum of 35 degrees on Saturday and was bracing for a top of 38 on Sunday.

Matt Pridham was left with a serious brain injury after being assaulted in downtown Canberra in 2013; his family had prepared for the worst.

The Wall Street Journal reported the transaction, via Trump's then lawyer, involved a six-figure payment.

Sperm donor anonymity, experimentation on eggs and embryos, and surrogacy laws are all under the microscope.

Federal Labor MP Michael Danby has refused to explain how and why he used Commonwealth limousines on personal holidays to Queensland.

A man with a gunshot wound has been dumped outside a hospital emergency department in Melbourne's south-east on Saturday.

Amazon chief Jeff Bezos has announced he is donating $US33 million ($42 million) to a scholarship fund for young "dreamers," immigrants brought to the US illegally as children.

• COMMENT

What is it about the African gang crisis that's so disturbingly familiar?

It took no more than 20 minutes for the three-metre carpet python to engulf its prey, with witnesses watching the lump move down the reptile's body.

TJ Peabody, owner of five restaurants and a catering business, has announced his company will fold and make 21 staff redundant in the latest closures.

Community spirit: that's the reason why residents of Melbourne's most-tightly held areas say they stay in their chosen suburb.

Former Canberra Raiders flyer Kato Ottio knew this could be his only chance to represent his people in a World Cup in front of his people.

The 31-year-old is in intensive care at Royal Perth Hospital with head injuries.

A man has broken into a south east Queensland home and stabbed a woman in the back in an alleged domestic violence attack.

The bodies of a woman and a man have been found inside a unit in Newtown, police say.

Trump didn't undergo a psychiatric exam as part of the physical.

Los Angeles: California fish and wildlife agents have seized Chris Brown's pet monkey from his Los Angeles home.