Australia

The 25-year-old man was on his parents' property in Sydney when he plunged into dense bushland late on Sunday night, sparking a complex rescue operation.

He was winched to safety almost five hours later and treated for shoulder and chest injuries, paramedics said. The man remains in a stable condition.

New South Police Sergeant Peter McMaugh said it was remarkable the man was alive.

Wells was sentenced on Thursday after being found guilty of the rape in a trial which revealed a dark off-field life involving drug and alcohol addictions mixed in with wild group sex romps. 

On Wells' 45th birthday in July, 2015, his sometimes sex partner, Theresa Anne Blair, plied a 14-year-old girl with alcohol and cannabis before raping her.

Blair had sat on the girl's chest so the victim wouldn't move as she was being sexually assaulted by Wells, Australian newspaper The Newcastle Herald said in their reporting of the trial.

In an article to be published in the PLOS (Public Library of Science) Magazine, modelling by the university's Centre for Public Health Policy concludes that taxing foods that are high in sugar, salt and saturated fats — as well as subsidising fruit and vegetables — would also save $3.4 billion in healthcare costs.

"The study suggests that taxes and subsidies on foods and beverages can potentially be combined to achieve substantial improvements in population health and cost savings to the health sector," the article reads.

The 45-year-old man's back was bruised, his lungs were full of diesel and hydraulic fluid, and he feared pneumonia was setting in.

He laughed, swore and thought to himself: "God, is this how I'm going to die, in a fricking pond?"

The father of two fought panic as he digested his predicament of being pinned beneath an excavator on his remote property.

He tried to dig his way out, but it didn't work - he descended further. The water was up past his chin.

Mr Bernardi confirmed his move in Australia's upper house on Tuesday, ending months of speculation.

The outspoken senator has repeatedly criticised PM Malcolm Turnbull's government for being too moderate.

Mr Bernardi's views on topics including same-sex marriage, climate change and abortion have polarised public opinion.

"This has been a very difficult decision for me," Mr Bernardi said. "Perhaps the most difficult one of my political life."

Valued at more than $675,000, the stone is the largest known high-grade opal in the world, according to the gem's new owners, the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, Australia.

"The Fire of Australia is around the size of a softball...and shows all the colors of the spectrum," museum director Brian Oldman told CNN, emphasizing the extreme rarity of the stone.

Ray Johnstone found casting lines off South Australia's Yorke Peninsula without company had turned his lifelong passion into a solitary affair.

His online ad on a popular Australian classifieds site, in which he jokingly described his condition as "used", was posted on 19 January.

"I'm a widowed pensioner who is looking for a fishing mate," Mr Johnstone wrote. "My previous mate is now deceased."

The ABC ended the service to the Pacific and remote parts of northern Australia yesterday.

It said the technology was outdated and it planned to beef up FM and online services.

Mr Xenophon said the ABC's management had completely underestimated the impact of the change which he described as incredibly stupid.

He said it would not only affect thousands of people in Australia's remote areas but perhaps hundreds of thousands of listeners throughout the region and he said Australia was shrinking away from its obligation as a good neighbour in the Pacific.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife said the bottlenose dolphin was spotted off Bunbury, 170km (106 miles) south of Perth, on Australia Day last week.

A member of the public took images of the animal before alerting authorities.

Australian laws prohibit people from interfering with dolphins or whales without approval.

The public has been urged to report any sightings.

The photos appear to show the dolphin "wrapped" with a shirt or singlet vest, the department said.

Just over $US11 million will be provided annually by Australia over the next 30 years to support the Forum Fisheries Agency in its management of the world's largest tuna fishery.

FFA director general James Movick said under the programme his agency will have access to surveillance aircraft pretty much all year round.

"With one or several aircraft that we will be able to utilise around the region," Mr Movick said.