NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she's personally uncomfortable with voluntary euthanasia and doesn't want parliament to debate the issue.

WORST WORDS AND PHRASES OF 2020VERTICAL CONSUMPTION* When South Australia announced it would allow people to drink in bars while standing up, the SA government described it as "vertical consumption".

Borussia Moenchengladbach forward Marcus Thuram was banned for six games after he spat in the face of Hoffenheim defender Stefan Posch.

The World Health Organisation has cautioned against major alarm over a new, highly infectious variant of the coronavirus that has emerged in Britain, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic's evolution.

Sydneysiders whose holiday plans have been dashed by Queensland's border closure are being told to urgently cancel their bookings so others can snap them up.

The blood bank needs 6800 additional blood donations between Christmas and New Year to avoid a national shortage over the festive season.

Extended Christmas gatherings in Sydney homes remain on hold despite the halving of newly-reported cases connected to the COVID-19 cluster on the city's northern beaches.

The federal government has authorised a rise in private health insurance premiums that will cost families an extra $126 a year on average.

Cars are crossing the NSW border into Victoria without being checked, according to a local mayor, after a state government request for additional Defence support received a limited response.

Australian Federal Police seized a record 32 tonnes of illicit drugs in 2020 as international crime syndicates took bigger risks to move contraband in bulk during global lockdowns.