The coronavirus testing sites were swamped on Christmas Day with queues hundreds of metres long at some sites.

Emergency services were called to Burraneer Bay on Christmas Eve at 7.30pm, when three men were jet skiing and were thrown into the water, police said.

WA has dodged the Omicron variant as a French backpacker who entered the state and tested positive to the virus during the week was confirmed to have the Delta variant.

The 52-year-old woman was rushed to Royal Hobart Hospital but could not be saved.

The 25-year-old woman has been charged with two counts of failing to comply with a direction under WA’s Emergency Management Act and her test results were still pending as of Saturday afternoon.

It is the nation’s highest number of active aged care outbreaks reported this year, and almost double the figure recorded last week.

Major surgery is needed for the tourists. The band-aid of picking the best available 11 would be a start.

It was the blue sky Christmas Day that Sydney needed, but about 35,000 in NSW spent it in the confines of home after testing positive to COVID-19 or being a close contact of someone who did.

Brad Newley is making the most of his move to Melbourne United but he admits it hasn’t been the easiest year with his family still back in Sydney.

An emergency department on Christmas Day can often be quiet. But not this year.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors

Renate Reinsve is luminous playing a privileged woman in her late 20s trying to figure what to study and which man she wants.

Nobel Prize winners inspired two productions, the Australian Ballet features in another, and then there’s a little show called Hamilton.

The massive fire engulfed the crowded river ferry in Bangladesh, leaving at least 39 people dead and 70 injured, officials said.

As an essayist, memoirist and literary celebrity, Joan Didion shone the brightest. But how I wish she’d written more about one subject.

While hundreds of Melburnians lined up outside COVID-19 testing stations on Saturday morning, other Christmas traditions went ahead – in a COVID-safe way.

A parent identified only as Jared intruded on a feel-good Christmas children’s gathering with the infamous coded insult.

Skin cancer advocates are urging people not to fall for common sun safety myths, despite La Nina bringing cooler conditions this season.

The idea of beach bars has been refloated after Queensland’s tourism sector suffered a $12 billion blow in 2020 during the pandemic.

Robinson’s match against the club he walked out on a year ago could go a long way to sealing his fate at under-performing Western Sydney.

Australia’s skipper has laughed off his initial frustration at missing the Adelaide Test due to COVID regulations as he prepares for the Boxing Day clash.

Deprived of the challenge of racing the best, rival crews have called for the nine-time line honours winner to contest the race next year.

Big Tech got bigger-er and stronger in 2021. The empires of technology also appeared more vulnerable than ever to the forces of regulation, competition, and perhaps hubris.

Willow is the first major boat to pull out of the race due to the PCR tests required to get into Tasmania, but other crews are still anxiously awaiting their results.

As a child, Cameron Green could not separate Ricky Ponting and Brett Lee as his heroes. So he tried to become both.

In a year in which Roger Federer won the ATP fan favourite award by playing a dozen or so matches and two teenage women came from the clouds to play the US Open final, the transitional nature of tennis revealed itself.

There will be 18 boats crewed by just two people in the inaugural shorthanded division, but they will not be eligible for the handicap prize, the Tattersall Cup.

At a demonstration, a woman asked the TV for chocolate before slurping the image.

From puppets to theatre, music and comedy at Speaker’s Corner, plus a melting iceberg suspended over Sydney Harbour, this year’s Sydney Festival is set to surprise.

From keeping cool to setting the mood, here are some tech ideas for your summer adventures.

More than 30,000 Victorians are spending Christmas Day in isolation because of COVID-19.

England’s coach and sole selector Chris Silverwood has cut a swath through the touring side’s line-up ahead of the Boxing Day Test.

Daniel De Silva could never live up to the hype after he signed with Italian giants Roma. But he is enjoying a career resurgence at A-League leaders Macarthur.

The Tax Office will use extra funding to target the shadow economy, people overestimating work-related tax deductions and investors hiding rental income.

A positive rapid antigen test on Christmas Eve is an unwanted early present.

Scott Boland’s MCG expertise has won him a place in Australia’s Boxing Day XI for the third Ashes Test.

The largest, most expensive and most sophisticated space telescope ever made is scheduled to lift off from the north coast of South America.

Hospitalisations in this highly vaccinated nation have come in - so far - on the very low end of what was projected, despite the surge in infections.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the virus had now spread everywhere and was expecting a spike in numbers to continue.

Watching COVID numbers rise throughout the country has not dredged up awful memories for Daniel Sams, who tested positive for the virus earlier this year.

Sir Ian Botham opens up about the passing of his great friend Dean Jones and his memories of a ground where he enjoyed so much success through the 1980s.

NSW has 388 patients in hospital with COVID-19 and ICU admissions have doubled in a week to 52 as the state records 6288 new cases.

A turbulent 12 months has united three royal households in adversity, but the divide between Prince Harry and the rest of his family is wider than ever.

Testing site wait times blew out again on Christmas morning, forcing several to close minutes after they opened, as some Victorians awoke to the prospect of spending the holidays in isolation.

There is nothing about this England team that is creating discomfort for Pat Cummins. To beat Australia in Australia, teams need to take the game to the hosts and be aggressive. You cannot defend your way to victory in this country.

The ‘great resignation’ we saw in the latter half of 2021 is expected to take a different shape in 2022, says Reejig chief executive Siobhan Savage.

As retailers gear up for Boxing Day sales, consumers are being warned to look out for these tactics to protect their bank balances.

The jigsaw community grew during lockdown and puzzling may be a habit that sticks after the pandemic ends.

I never wanted to arrive at a point where I had to admit lying to my children.

There are ways to recapture a small sense of joy in virtual catch-ups.