Top Stories on ABC News

Exiled Honduras leader 'heading home'

The deposed president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, says he is going to return home within the next 24 hours. Speaking in a television interview broadcast in Venezuela, Mr Zelaya said he would be accom...

Aussies upbeat after draw with Lions

Australian coach Tim Nielsen says his side is in the best possible shape ahead of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff starting on Wednesday. The tourists drew their final warm-up match after the England ...

NSW swine flu cases top 1,200

The number of swine flu cases in New South Wales has jumped more than 25 per cent in four days. The New South Wales Health Department says there are now over 1,200 confirmed cases across the state, u...

Tragic accident in southern Tasmania

Police are urging parents to be vigilant after a six-year-old boy died in a backyard accident at New Norfolk yesterday. The boy put his trampoline under the clothes line, and appears to have hung him...

Third Comanchero faces court over airport brawl

A third alleged member of the Comanchero bikie gang has faced court over a fatal brawl at Sydney Airport in March. Farres Abounader, 28, was arrested on Friday and appeared at Parramatta Bail Court t...

News from NEWS.com.au

Another Ledger chasing film fame

WHEN you hear the name Ledger you immediately think of Heath, but another young Ledger - the late actor's cousin - is set to star in front of the cameras.

St John admits 'fatal mistakes'

ST John Ambulance has admitted that internal mistakes contributed to the recent deaths of three patients, including one case when a 000 call was completely deleted.

Fisheries can't enforce bans

Its 100 officers will have to oversee more than 600,000 recreational fishers and 50 commercial operations on over 12,500km of coastline under a licensing decree issued this week, according to principa...

Police won't ban psychics

This is despite the police force's communications director describing mediums as ``hocus-pocus'' and stating ``no reputable policing agencies use psychics''.

Police act on 'mobile bully'

The Education Department has described the decision by police to refer the 14-year-old girl to the Juvenile Justice Team as a landmark development.Determined to get a grip on the troubling trend of st...

About Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the mainland of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous other islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Timor, and Papua New Guinea to the north, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to the northeast, and New Zealand to the southeast. Australia is the only single country to occupy an entire continent.

The Australian mainland has been inhabited for more than 42,000 years by indigenous Australians. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the north and then European discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, the eastern half of Australia was later claimed by the British in 1770 and initially settled through penal transportation to the colony of New South Wales, commencing on 26 January 1788. As the population grew and new areas were explored, another five largely self-governing Crown Colonies were established during the 19th century.