The English town made famous by spoof rapper Ali G has been accused of being pretentious for changing its name.

Robin Gibb, singer with the legendary disco-era band the Bee Gees, has died aged 62 after a battle against cancer.

Police are looking for a man who pulled a gun on them in a busy restaurant at Niddrie, in Melbourne's north.

More than two months after devastating floods swept through the Riverina, in southern New South Wales, some farmers and residents are still suffering.

The death of the only person ever convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing has sparked mixed reactions from victims' relatives.

Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans have given their team a heroes' welcome as they made an open-top bus parade through their west London home after their Champions League win over Bayern Munich.

Victoria Police will not confirm whether former drug squad detective Paul Dale has been cleared over the death of underworld figure Carl Williams.

A bulk carrier that was drifting in the Coral Sea off far north Queensland is being towed to port in Townsville.

Powerful aftershocks have struck in northern Italy, sparking fresh panic after an earthquake killed six people and reduced historic buildings to rubble.

Australia pledged $300m for Afghan security as more than 50 world leaders gathered in Chicago for a series of high-level talks aimed at mapping out a strategy for ending the war in Afghanistan.

Officials say an attack which killed a teenage girl at a school in Italy was probably carried out by a lone bomb-maker, not a Mafia hitman.

Pakistan blocked access to Twitter for 12 hours on Sunday, saying the website had refused to remove posts promoting a Facebook competition involving caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

A maintenance worker has plunged to his death in a ship's hold in Newcastle.

A border protection patrol has intercepted what appears to be the biggest boat of asylum seekers in more than two years.

Craig Thomson will today make his long-awaited statement to Federal Parliament and is expected to again deny he misused union money.

The former Libyan intelligence officer convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people has died, his brother said on Sunday. He was 59.

Burma is planning to restore a stretch of the infamous Thai-Burma rail line, known as the Death Railway, which was initially built by Japanese-held prisoners of war during World War II.

The Queensland Government has announced it has removed funding from the HIV awareness group, Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC).

West Coast is back on top of the ladder after earning a five-goal victory over St Kilda at Subiaco Oval on Sunday afternoon.

Heavy rain caused Sunday's eagerly anticipated Rome Masters final between defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to be postponed until Monday.

The Brumbies will mount a vigorous judicial challenge to have linchpin flanker Michael Hooper available for Saturday night's high-stakes Super Rugby clash with a resurgent Queensland.

Kemar Roach stunned England with a dramatic late burst to give West Indies hope of an improbable victory in the first Test at Lord's on Sunday.

Russia's Maria Sharapova tuned up for the French Open with a successful defence of her Rome Masters title, beating China's Li Na in a dramatic three-set final.

Tens of thousands of Chelsea fans gave their team a heroes' welcome on Sunday as they made an open-top bus parade through their west London home after their Champions League win over Bayern Munich.

The West Coast Eagles are back on top of the ladder after earning a five-goal victory over St Kilda at Subiaco Oval.

New South Wales climbed back into the upper echelon of the trans-Tasman netball competition with a 52-47 win over West Coast Fever on Sunday afternoon.

A late Kurtley Beale penalty goal thwarted Western Force's 16-point comeback and helped the Melbourne Rebels to a 32-31 win in Perth.

Quade Cooper has given the Queensland Reds an important boost but Lions coach John Mitchell doubts they can defend their title without a top-two finish.

Carlton's decline from early season flag favouritism continued at a pace on Sunday with a 69-point loss to Adelaide, made worse by Marc Murphy suffering a shoulder injury.

Ford driver Will Davison has returned to the V8 Supercar championship summit with a Phillip Island victory over Holden's Craig Lowndes.

St George Illawarra fell by a field goal for the second time in a week as the Rabbitohs prevailed 19-18 in extra time at Kogarah Oval.

Manly overcame the early loss of Kieran Foran and the absence of four Origin stars to beat a physical Roosters side 18-10 at Brookvale Oval.

Kentucky Derby champion I'll Have Another won the $1 million Preakness Stakes on Saturday to remain on course for the Triple Crown, the greatest prize in US thoroughbred horse racing.

Daniel Merrett has had his critics this season, but the defender-turned forward silenced the doubters on Sunday, kicking seven goals in Brisbane's 92-point thumping of Greater Western Sydney.

Brad Thorn has always been a "big dreamer" but even he was struggling to grasp the enormity of his sporting career following Leinster's European Cup triumph.

Scans have confirmed North Queensland's Tariq Sims broke both bones in his left leg during the Cowboys' 30-28 win over Penrith.

Melbourne Victory coach Ange Postecoglou feels Archie Thompson is ready to play a big part in the Socceroos' final stage of World Cup qualifying.

Australia has won its third world sailing title in 10 days, with Mathew Belcher and Malcolm Page triumphing in the 470 championships in Spain.

Melbourne forward Liam Jurrah could be facing a lengthy stint on the sidelines after limping off the SCG with a suspected broken ankle.