All sporting events in Italy will take place without fans present for at least the next month due to the virus outbreak in the country, while Australian cycling team Mitchelton-Scott withdraws from a slew of races.

Police say it is "extremely lucky" nobody was killed when an improvised explosive device launched from a vacant block of land tore through the roof of a nearby home in south-east Melbourne.

At Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston a group of young netballers have set a new world record or the longest continuous game of netball. But they couldn't have done it without their support team.

The Victorian Government is set to announce that it will take over the running of the state's only privately run public hospital.

In March 1996, teenager Matthew De Gruchy bludgeoned his family to death in a "frenzied attack" in NSW. Twenty-three years later, he is set to be released from prison as a 41-year-old man.

A plan to shore up New South Wales's energy supply suffers a setback amid concerns about aircraft safety.

The International Transport Workers Federation says contacts on the ship told them there are six people in isolation on board due to COVID-19.

A Perth woman sustains burns to 30 per cent of her body and is taken to hospital in a critical condition after a man allegedly set her alight and then threw a firebomb into a house in Perth's east overnight.

The Victorian branch of the CFMEU threatens to immediately cease all financial support for the ALP if Labor leader Anthony Albanese's push to expel union leader John Setka goes ahead.

Sydney Swans forward Lance Franklin has kicked a bag of five goals against West Coast at the SCG to hand the Eagles a surprise 45-point loss.

The Opposition Leader says he will ask his party to expel the Victorian secretary of the CFMEU over comments about anti-violence figure Rosie Batty.

John Setka has denied he made disparaging remarks about Rosie Batty, saying the allegations were made as part of a political campaign against him and there was "no reason" for him to resign.

The former prime minister says the CMMFEU should consider the wider implications of the controversy.

Hawthorn captain Ben Stratton will come under fire for repeatedly pinching his Essendon opponent, Orazio Fantasia, throughout their match.

It's a challenging time for people addicted to poker machines shut down by COVID-19 and researchers are watching gamblers like Sam closely.

Scientists say it is likely a fragile little penguin colony skipped a breeding season due to crucial ocean occurrence — called the Bonney upwelling — running late.

Snowtown "bodies-in-the-barrels" serial killer Robert Joe Wagner loses his bid for a non-parole period to be set, confirming the original judgment that he should never be released.

The actor, who became an Australian household name through shows such as The Sullivans and Matlock Police, won five silver Logies and also helped set up Brisbane's first AFL team.

South Sydney misses its chance to jump into the top four, losing to the Bulldogs, after the Storm lost to the Raiders and the Knights broke their drought with a big win over North Queensland.

A man pleads guilty to burning another man alive after dousing him with petrol on a deserted road south of Newcastle last year.

Boutique dairies may be tiny, but there is nothing small about their thinking. Farms across New South Wales are choosing on-site processing in an effort to create more sustainable farming practices.

Honey from Australian native stingless bees is not technically honey and moves are buzzing around to change that.

Aboriginal followers of a Tongan-born preacher set fire to artefacts considered sacred by many local elders, and dismantle and burn a spiritual law ground.

A strong cold front is expected to bring damaging wind gusts, heavy rain, thunderstorms and possible flash flooding to south-west WA, with up to 40 millimetres of rainfall set to be dumped on Perth.

The owners of the mothballed Ravensthorpe nickel mine in WA's south-east, say they will move to re-open the site if surging demand for the metal continues.

The school holidays are about to get ugly with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting thunderstorms and some wild weather for Friday, the second last day of the Perth Royal Show.

The AFL industry rallies behind Eddie Betts, with the peak body for players set to "name and shame" the person behind a racist attack on the Adelaide Crows star made on social media.

The South Australian Government's attempt to reform land tax appears doomed to fail, despite an eleventh-hour bid to get the support of traditional Liberal Party allies.

A Bendigo woman is sentenced to 34 years in prison for killing her partner, who suffered burns to 95 per cent of his body after he was doused in paint thinner and set alight.

The only nursing home in Pyramid Hill will close by the end of November, leaving 30 locals out of work.

Talks between the union and justice department officials produce new "zero tolerance" rules on the behaviour of offenders and more powers for staff in violent situations, after alleged attacks on workers sent the centre into lockdown.

A judge indicates a woman who pleaded guilty to dangerous driving over the death of cyclist Jason Lowndes, who was killed when he was struck from behind while on a training run in 2017, is unlikely to go to jail.

The global energy giant ExxonMobil has announced it will sell all of its assets in the Gippsland Basin, off Victoria's south-east coast. The sale includes offshore oil and gas platforms, the Longford gas plants and the Long Island Point plant near Hastings.

In a breakthrough during week three of a nine week trial over Clive Palmer's ill-fated Queensland Nickel venture, a "resolution" is reached on Aurizon's $90 million claim, as talks continue with liquidators trying to claw back money owed to other creditors.

Resources magnate Clive Palmer settles the majority of the $200 million lawsuit over the collapse of Queensland Nickel, including striking a deal with government-funded liquidators chasing millions in unpaid entitlements for refinery workers.

After a sharp rise in complaints at a state-run nursing home facility in north Queensland, health officials move to overhaul the nursing home's management.

Legal group Slater and Gordon reaches an agreement with the former milk processing co-operative on behalf of 1,300 investors.

Despite being seriously injured during a rally event in Greece last year, Albury-based Andrew Houlihan is on track to compete in the Dakar Rally in 2021.

Victoria should brace itself for extreme weather over the next few days, with the bureau forecasting damaging winds, flooding rains and snow before conditions clear up for Melbourne Cup day.

Time is ticking for regional and remote Australians to have their say on a draft report into changes to remote tax concessions.

Resources giant Santos is strengthening its grip on the north Australian gas sector, as it moves to secure billions of dollars worth of exploration and production investments in the Top End.

The Supreme Court of Victoria dismisses a bid by union boss John Setka to stop a vote to have him expelled from the Australian Labor Party, with the court ruling it does not have the jurisdiction to decide the matter.

On the eve of their first finals campaign in three seasons, the Canberra Raiders have received a massive boost with coach Ricky Stuart extending his deal with the club for another three years.

The Centre Alliance Senator has referred a recording of Mr Setka to police, and today asked the Senate to refer the matter to the Privileges Committee.