An aurora australis graced New Zealand’s skies as far as Northland this morning.

Police were notified of the death at about 10am.

US-based agency busts Navy recruits who had the worst kinds of obscene material.

The Deputy Prime Minister says it is to “protect women’s spaces”.

‘Our control rooms are monitoring the event’ – grid operator.

Video showed masked teen co-defendants, who were half her age, lash out with hammers.

Mackara Patrick Chourb told police he didn’t realise he’d taken so much money out.

‘I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,’ says his mum.

A South Australian father facing serious drug charges in Bali has apologised for his actions, his lawyer says.

Troy Smith from Port Lincoln was holidaying with his wife, Tracey, in the tourist hotspot last week when police raided his room at a resort in Legian near Kuta.

He was allegedly caught with methamphetamine.

READ MORE: Lehrmann to pay Ten's costs for doomed defamation case

Troy Smith's lawyer has told 9News he is depressed and stressed by the lengthy potential jail term hanging over him.

"He's crying, he's crying. He's a man but he is crying," his lawyer said in Bali.

"He's very sorry and he's not meaning to do this, he regret."

Smith has been locked up in Bali for 10 days and is facing allegations of drug possession, a charge that carries a maximum 12-year prison sentence in Indonesia.

He and his wife were both arrested after officers allegedly uncovered 3.19 grams of crystal meth in an envelope mailed from Cairns.

READ MORE: 'Autopilot' hit-run driver sentenced to nine months after Melbourne crash

The envelope was allegedly addressed to Smith, with the sender writing that private paperwork, photos and lubricant were also included. 

A bong was also allegedly found in the villa. 

His lawyer earlier in the week told 9News Smith confessed to possessing the meth, which was stashed inside a toothpaste tube.

His wife has been released without charge.

The Australian government is providing consular assistance.

9News reached out to Queensland police to see if they were investigating who sent the drugs and if any arrests had been made but they could not provide an update.

An Adelaide mother and son have narrowly escaped a catastrophic house fire that erupted in the middle of the night.

The incident unfolded when Bec Woolhouse was in the bathroom as flames engulfed the bedroom of her Blair Athol home. 

A smoke alarm jolted her sleeping son, Nic, awake, prompting a frantic escape from the fire.

READ MORE: Lehrmann to pay most of Ten's costs for doomed defamation case

"I really thought I was going to die," Nic told 9News.

Bec was grateful she wasn't sleeping when the blaze erupted.

"A house you can rebuild but life you can't, so I'm pretty lucky in that aspect that I wasn't asleep," she said.

But she's been left without a home and with a $50,000 damage bill.

"Everything just went up really quick, I lost photos of my family and my kids and stuff that were up on the wall," she said.

READ MORE: Pensioners earmarked for boost in budget

The fire that ripped through the front of the house drew the attention of neighbours who were awakened by the commotion just after 2am. 

"(I saw) the flames shooting out and just jumped straight onto the phone to ring the fire brigade," witness Malcolm said.

The Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) suspects the fire was likely started by a faulty phone charger that overheated. 

Firefighters issued a warning to always use a charger that comes with a device or one that's been certified by a manufacturer.

"Otherwise it could lead to catastrophic structure fires like the one that we had last night," an MFS spokesperson said.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.