Sydney and the Blue Mountains

After seven years on the run, Australia's most wanted man was finally behind bars today following a police raid prompted by a tip-off.

An Australian fugitive who eluded officials for seven years by hiding out in dense forests has been captured and charged with murder.

The Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday named a retired politician as her Foreign Minister in place of Kevin Rudd, who tried to oust her during a chaotic, short-lived rebellion in the ruling Labor Party.

Thirty-two years ago, Lindy Chamberlain ran from a tent screaming “The dingo’s got my baby”. On Friday, Australia’s longest and most notorious legal saga will come full circle when a coroner is asked to rule that a dingo really was responsible for the baby’s death.

Military helicopters evacuated stranded residents from flooded towns in eastern Australia yesterday as authorities warned of further flash flooding.

England fans could be forgiven for rubbing their eyes in disbelief when they noticed that Robinson and Broad were opening the batting for a Cricket Australia XI against the touring Indians in Canberra yesterday.

Julian of the opera

Australia's finance minister announced yesterday that she is expecting a child with her female partner, but although Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered her warmest congratulations, she refused to budge in her opposition to gay marriage.

The tale of the teenager who had a fake bomb strapped to her by a masked intruder in Sydney's leafy suburbs gets curiouser and curiouser. A note left at the scene demanded no money, it emerged yesterday, and was reportedly signed in the name of Dirk Struan, a ruthless businessman in James Clavell's 1966 novel, Tai-Pan.

A masked man broke into the home of a wealthy family, chained a fake bomb to a teenage girl's neck and left a note of demands behind as part of an elaborate extortion attempt, Australian police said today.

A young Australian woman was freed from a suspected bomb collared around her neck today after 10 hours of drama that lasted past midnight and captivated the nation with police saying they were still investigating the incident.