Police have told parents to keep track of their children after finding a girl, 14, having allegedly drug-fuelled sex near a beach overnight.

Amidst the joy, celebration and festivities of Christmas and the New Year period lies the hidden horror of the holiday season, as the rates of domestic violence, alcohol abuse and road fatalities increase.

A major scandal threatens to engulf the Royal Australian Navy.

A 21-year-old has suffered a brain haemorrhage after taking two tablets of a legal party pill.

A South American drug syndicate appears to be targeting New Zealand, with the amount of seized cocaine this year increasing more than 10-fold on two years ago, says Customs.

Two trainee officers at Linton Army Camp were caught with a haul of 210 ecstasy tablets.

Cocaine has become the trendy drug of choice and the the number of smugglers from South America caught at the border is rising.

A crucial parliamentary confidence vote is coming up in Italy.