Breaking news, politics, business, economy, and current events from Australia.
The outback town of Winton is known for dinosaur fossils and as the location of the first performance of Waltzing Matilda, but has also become an important part of a growing international luxury trade. Uncut stones as well as jewellery can be found at the festival. (ABC Western Qld: Lachlan Ford) Western Queensland’s signature boulder…
An upstart mixed-martial arts association headed by a Singaporean rich-lister has lavished incredibly priced alcohol, including an $82,000 bottle of cognac, on Brisbane’s key Olympic decision-making body. The gifts are so exorbitant the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has not kept them, even handing into Customs another two bottles of…
Astronomers have detected signs of a type of sugar in gas clouds near the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Sugars provide energy and are key building blocks of life on Earth, such as DNA, but how they got here is a mystery. It’s not uncommon to find sugar in the cosmos — simple…
Video of an explosive fire in Thailand that killed 27 people and injured 64 appears to show a flashover “point of no return” could have made evacuation nearly impossible, a crowd safety expert says. Warning: This article contains images some readers may find distressing. About 63 people were injured, with 22 in critical condition, after…
Warning: This story contains details of alleged murders. When Lavanya Chappa was allegedly murdered by her husband, her two children, aged 13 and seven, were in the house. “The last thing the boy said [to his grandfather] was ‘please come and take me’… in our language,” family friend Sri Lakshmi Thukral said. “[The family] are…
Actor Sam Neill is being remembered by Hollywood greats and prominent figures as a “legend” and a “deeply soulful and beautiful man”, as tributes flow following the news of his sudden death yesterday at the age of 78. Neill, who is best known for his roles in hit blockbusters such as Jurassic Park and The…
It feels like an ordinary, legitimate online shopping experience. A typical e-commerce layout, health warnings and a wide variety of tobacco products are for sale, but the price and the form of payment reveal this website is a black-market business. Australia’s illicit tobacco market is now proliferating online, with dozens of websites promoting cheap tobacco…
Melinda Kee thought her financial ordeal was almost over. But more than 12 months since she lodged a financial complaint to try to recover nearly $400,000 of her retirement savings, she’s still fighting for compensation. In November 2023, Ms Kee was advised by a financial adviser to switch her super from a retail fund into…
A University of Melbourne professor says an “antisemitic” campus protest that saw participants invade his office left him intimidated and subject to tough new security measures. In 2024, protesters, some masked and wearing keffiyehs, entered physics professor Steven Prawer’s office as part of a demonstration against the war, refusing to leave until police were called….
Samir Raghbat says his oversized puffer jacket was all that stood between him and death when two men tried to “kill him” on his way to a mosque. Warning: This story contains images of injuries sustained during an assault and may distress some readers. The men allegedly attacked the 43-year-old on June 24, punching, kicking,…