The heroic actions of a young girl have been outlined in a Melbourne court, which heard the 10-year-old desperately tried to stop a man stabbing her mother to death.

The plan's opponents range from scientists who question the reasoning behind the government's actions to local fishermen who fear renewed damage to their industry's reputation.

NASA's six-wheeled, car-sized astrobiology probe travelled a total of 6.5 metres during a half-hour test spin within Jezero Crater, the site of an ancient, long-vanished lakebed and river delta on the Red Planet.

The Sydney to Brisbane rail line has been cut by a fire in a historic coal loader that lit up the night sky over a northern NSW town. See the video.

ABC journalists Donna Field and John Taylor were enjoying a cruise, anticipating a magical holiday taking in all that New Zealand has to offer. Then a volcano erupted.