AUSTRALIA

New South Wales firefighters said they finally had the upper hand in the fight against the vast Gospers Mountain fire in Sydney.

The search for the remains of great white shark attack victim, Gary Johnson, led to the discovery of the remains of a 21-year-old footballer who had been swept out to sea in Western Australia.

Thousands of camels and feral horses are being culled over a five-day period in drought-hit South Australia.

The WTA tournament is being run alongside the Brisbane leg of the men's new team tournament, which has taken over centre court at the Queensland Tennis Centre.

Expat from Melbourne has been charged with the murder of his wife in Singapore.

A search has been launched to recover the body of a diver who was reportedly fatally attacked by a great white shark off Cull Island, Australia.

The bushfires have now destroyed an area the size of Ireland.

The blazes have claimed 18 lives and forced mass evacuations.

The man who fatally shot newlywed Lindita Musai and her husband, before trying to kill himself, is reported to be the Lindita's father.

A farmer in New South Wales was left shattered when he had to euthanise some of his cattle after they were horribly burnt by the bushfire still raging in parts of Australia.

One of the world's biggest New Year festivals took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with an estimated three million revelers.

Australia's largest city usually puts on a dazzling display of pyrotechnics over the glittering harbour.

Zara and Mike Tindall are heading to Australia in January.

As part of the British Airways Magic campaign, the company flew a cancer survivor and her family to attend her uncle's wedding in Australia.

Tourism Australia said the Aus$15 million ($10 million) campaign was its largest investment in the British market for more than a decade.

Twelve people were treated for minor injuries, with five taken to hospital.

Fires are burning almost the entire length of Australia's east coast.

Bushfires have devastated koala habitats and breeding populations to the extent where researchers believe that the species can be termed as "functionally extinct".

A so-called "Koala Ark" would be built for recovering koalas.

Abandoned dog with a rough past is now a part of the animal rescue team looking for koalas and wallabies which have survived bushfires in Australia.

For the first time, Australia's largest city and the surrounding area faced the highest level of fire warning.