“The fact that we are not looking at two dead police officers is miraculous.”

Sister Margaret Noone AM, a driving force behind Australia's first children's hospice, has died at the age of 91.

Noone was the first employee of the Victorian-based Very Special Kids, which provides palliative care for children and young people.

She retired in 2002 but continued her work with the organisation as a patron.

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The 91-year-old died peacefully today surrounded by loved ones and the Loreto community.

Noone was the driving force behind Australia's first children's hospice, a dream which became a reality in 1996.

"When I was first advocating for the children's hospice to be built, I felt like a voice crying out in the wilderness," she said at the time.

"It was the women who stood by my side, they helped make this possible.

"Collectively, we acknowledged a need and pushed until change happened."

Very Special Kids said Noone was "beloved by our staff, volunteers and the families we care for".

"Above all else, everything Margaret did was for the children and families," the charity said in a statement.

"She led Very Special Kids until her retirement in 2002 and remained very active in her role as patron until the end of her life.

"We will remember Margaret for her generosity, strength, determination, faith, warmth and wit.

"Her legacy will forever live on in the work of Very Special Kids.

"We will honour Sister Margaret's life at a public funeral service in the coming days, with details yet to be finalised.

"Our thoughts are with Margaret's family, friends and the countless people whose lives she touched."

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As of 3.45pm four fire trucks and 3 helicopters were on site.

Specialist search operators from across NSW have been deployed to the Kosciuszko National Park as the search for a missing hiker enters its eighth day.

Hadi Nazari, 23, was last seen by his friends about 2.30pm on Boxing Day when he was seen going down the Hannels Spur Trail at Geehi, between Khancoban and Thredbo.

His friends had expected to meet him at the Geehi Campground, but when he failed to arrive, his two friends began to search for him.

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Police were called about 8.45pm that day and started searching for the missing bushwaler with the help of the SES.

The search has expanded over recent days with NSW Parks and WIldlife Service, the SES, NSW Ambulance and Police Air called in to scour the challenging terrain.

On December 31, rubbish and hiking poles believed to belong to Nazari were found near the Kosciuszko River.

The area around the river remains searchers' focus.

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More operators with winching capabilities arrived today to allow rescuers to be lowered deeper into the bushland to search for longer periods.

Authorities have said the search will continue over the weekend.

"We are continuing the search for Hadi, this remains an active search and rescue and we are not giving up hope of finding him alive," Riverina Police District Acting Superintendent Jill Gibson said.

"Our search crews are focusing on the creek lines and water sources, where we believe Hadi may be."

She said more than 250 staff from different agencies were searching the difficult terrain.

"The location comprises of incredibly dense bushland and challenging conditions on the ground, with the bushland so dense that searchers – in some parts – can't see their feet," Gibson said. 

"We know Hadi is an experienced bushwalker, so we will continue through the weekend searching to try to locate him."

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Australian shoppers have been told to check their cash after a string of NSW businesses reported counterfeit $50 notes to police.

The fake cash was handed to businesses in Merimbula and Eden on the state's south coast on New Year's Day.

Employees suspected the notes were counterfeit due to a faulty transparent panel and handed the cash to police to investigate.

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People who suspect they are the victim of a counterfeit are urged to check the quality of the printing, including examining the clarity and sharpness of images and writing as well as the note’s thickness.

Plastic counterfeit currency is usually noticeably thicker than the real thing but police have also encountered poor quality, paper fakes.

The Christmas and New Year break is a key tourism period for the NSW South Coast, with an influx of visitors from across the state and country.

How to spot a fake $50 note:

• Feel the note – a genuine note is printed on special plastic polymer and is difficult to tear
• Hold the note to the light and look for the Australian Coat of Arms. This is generally located to the left of the clear window, or denomination numeral when looking at the front of the note.
• Feel for slightly raised printing on the main design of the note
• Look for the seven-pointed star inside a circle
• Compare the background printing – look for any distortions or less clearly defined patterns.
• Check that the note has a clear window and that it has a clear printed image: $50 has the Southern Cross and the $100 has the lyrebird.
• If possible, look under a UV light to locate the serial numbers.

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Biosecurity NZ says a single male insect was found in a backyard trap.

A man has been released without charge after a woman fell to her death from a seven-story apartment yesterday.

The man was arrested after the woman fell to her death from a Parramatta apartment complex in the early hours of Thursday morning.

He was questioned by an interpreter and released without charges today.

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Police received a triple-zero call from the Parramatta address two hours before the woman's fatal fall.

Detective Superintendent Barry Vincent said the initial triple-zero call was made at about 11.45pm on Wednesday but there was no communication from the caller, although "raised voices" were reported.

Triple zero attempted to return the call twice but did not make contact.

NSW Police called the same number at 11.47pm and spoke to a man who confirmed his name and address, Vincent said, and police told him they would attend the premises but did not give a time.

Police were attending other calls for assistance en route to the address when they received a call from somebody standing in the street on River Road in Parramatta who said they saw a woman hanging from the seventh-floor balcony of a high-rise unit block.

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That call took place at about 1.40am on Thursday and Vincent said police were on the scene by 1.41am, where they discovered a woman in the driveway of the unit block with critical injuries.

Witnesses said the man ran out to help the woman immediately after the fall and also reported hearing arguing before the woman fell. 

She was unable to be revived and died at the scene.

The woman, believed to be aged 39, is yet to be formally identified.

Police confirmed they had arrested a 40-year-old man they allege had been the woman's partner.

He has since been released from custody and no charges have been laid.

Vincent said police had confirmed the man they spoke to on the phone was the same man they had arrested.

The residence the woman had fallen from was his, while she was believed to reside elsewhere.

Vincent said police had previous interactions with the pair, though he did not know if they were in a current relationship.

He said the man had an AVO in place for his protection, but pending identification of the 39-year-old woman, it could not be confirmed if the same AVO involved her.

Anybody with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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‘They tried to bring him back and then get him on to the beach and resuscitate him.’

A huge red-hot object fell from the sky into a Kenyan village on Monday afternoon according to local residents cited by Kenya's National Broadcaster, prompting an immediate investigation by the country's national space agency.

The object has since been identified as a "fragment of a space object," Kenya's Space Agency (KSA) said in a statement Wednesday.

KSA said it has taken custody of the object that landed in the remote Mukuku Village, describing it as apparent space junk measuring 2.5 metres wide and weighing 500kg.

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"The Agency wishes to clarify that the object, a metallic ring measuring approximately 2.5 metres in diameter and weighing about 500kg is a fragment of a space object," KSA said.

Preliminary assessments suggest it is a separation ring from a rocket, KSA said, noting that space debris more typically falls into the ocean or burns up before entering the earth's atmosphere.

The fallen object is likely an isolated case and is still under investigation, KSA also said.

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Julius Rotich, Mbooni Sub County Police Commander, told Kenya's National Broadcaster that the object was still hot when officers arrived on Monday, and that residents had to be cordoned off from the area until it cooled down.

The broadcaster showed images of police tape wrapped around the ring that had fallen into some trees and brush, as residents gathered around.

KSA is analysing the object and working to confirm where exactly it came from, it said.

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