Early research suggesting the Omicron variant is less deadly is giving hope to some countries, but others fear the sheer number of cases will put additional pressure not only on the health system, but all sectors of society.

Troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande's shares have been suspended from trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company did not give a reason for the halt.

Here's a quick wrap of what's happening in COVID news across Australia.

Scott Morrison continues to resist pressure to make free rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 widely available, as state testing regimes buckle and rapid tests remain scarce.

Northern Territory police believe a young boy from an Indigenous community in Central Australia who died on New Years Day was mauled to death by at least one dog.

People in Perth and Peel must continue to wear masks in all public indoor settings, while other restrictions on hospitality venues will be lifted tomorrow, as more COVID-19 cases are recorded.

The rapid surge in Omicron across the holiday season has pushed testing capacity in many parts of Australia to the limit — here's who can get a PCR test.

Gold Coast beaches remain closed as wild swell whipped up by ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth combines with king tides to make beach conditions treacherous. The system is also expected to bring storms to northern Queensland.

A 47-year-old woman has drowned at a beach on the New South Wales Mid North Coast amid hazardous surf conditions being driven by ex-tropical Cyclone Seth.

Former NRL premiership winner Blake Ferguson loses his contract with Japanese rugby club NEC Green Rockets after a drug-related arrest.

The cost of home and contents insurance in WA's Kimberley region ranges between $3,600-$20,000 and increasing 35 per cent a year despite no significant natural disasters since 2011.

New figures reveal ambulance ramping in Western Australia doubled last year, with paramedics spending the equivalent of six years waiting outside hospitals, as the state prepares to open its borders in one month. 

A fourth person is charged in relation to protests and a fire that was allegedly deliberately lit at Old Parliament House.

What makes someone more of a mozzie magnet than others? Scientists have been conducting some interesting experiments to find out. Here's what we know.

Instead of displaying its main news page, the website shows an illustration of a bullet-shaped object shooting out of a red ring worn on a finger, an apparent reference to a distinctive ring General Soleimani used to wear.

Alex Goad's work has been used in waters from Sydney to the Maldives and now the National Gallery of Victoria is giving people the chance to see them up close. 

A man drowns while trying to rescue a child who slipped into waterfall rapids at a popular south-east Queensland tourist waterfall.

A 48-year-old Moruya man is charged with manslaughter after he allegedly crashed into an oncoming vehicle and killed the driver, while he was being pursued by police.

The death of a Gold Coast man is being investigated as being related to a COVID-19 infection and Queenslanders are warned to assume "all of us are going to be exposed".

Liz thought her background in medicine would help her plan childbirth, but without a translator present at the hospital, she left traumatised.

Former cricketer Jamie Mitchell says he is "relieved" the under-19s 1985 cricket tour is being scrutinised, as Cricket Australia responds to abuse allegations.

Do you use your fingers for simple maths? Find timetables difficult to read? Use a digital clock? You might have dyscalculia.

Queenstown's main street is reminiscent of a bygone era — once the hub of a booming mining town but now with many buildings fallen into disrepair.

Twitter permanently suspends outspoken Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene's personal account over multiple posts that violated its COVID-19 misinformation policy.

At 19 years and 84 days, Australian Josh Giddey overtakes LaMelo Ball to become the youngest player to record a triple-double in NBA history.