Flooding - Rain renews flood fears in Australia

Almost 30cm of rain in just a few hours renewed flood fears in Australia's already waterlogged Queensland state, sending a surging river over its banks and into another large town.

Officials said about only 20 buildings in Maryborough, where about 22,000 people live, were expected to be flooded after the river burst its banks in the overnight downpour. The water level is expected to peak today.

The new flooding was a reminder that the state has almost no capacity to absorb more heavy rain after weeks of drenching tropical weather submerged an area the size of Germany and France combined.

Ten people have died since late November and about 200,000 have been affected by the floods.

Murder - Portuguese man castrated and beaten

A 65-year-old man from Portugal who was found dead in his plush Manhattan hotel room had been castrated and beaten.

The body was discovered by staff after a worried friend went to check on the victim at the InterContinental New York Times Square hotel.

Police want to speak to the victim's acquaintance, identified as Renato Seabra, also from Portugal.

The two checked in to the hotel together on 29 December. The victim was discovered on Friday at around 7pm local time inside room 3416. Police say he suffered serious head injuries.

Nature - Two-headed calf born in Georgia

A cow in the former Soviet state of Georgia has given birth to a two-headed calf.

Farmer Irakli Dzhgarkava says the cow is refusing to allow her strange offspring to suckle, so they are giving it milk from a bottle. He says the calf eats with both heads.

People have been coming to the village of Martvili about 170 miles from the capital, Tbilisi, to see the greyish-brown calf since it was born on 2 January.