News

Australian Cabinet papers from 2000, released today, reflect a relatively quiescent Australia where Islamic militancy and offshore detention were barely glimpses on the horizon, and climate science denialism was not a factor in cabinet considerations at all.

Throughout the world architects are designing green buildings, whether it’s in their sustainable construction, environmentally friendly operation or actually green by style.

Grants are intended to support the next steps in the region’s long-term economic recovery after last season’s bushfires.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast in the UK.

Although few overseas migrants arrived to boost the state’s population, less people left NSW to settle in other parts of Australia.

The recovery provides a rare opportunity to do things differently; to rebuild a better economy that can support living standards without irretrievably damaging the environment.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast for Australia.

The UK has become the first country to authorise the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for public use, with roll-out to start in the first week of 2021. This vaccine is the second to be authorised in the UK – following the Pfizer vaccine.

The year 2020 will no doubt go down in history for other reasons, but it is also on target to be one of the warmest on record. And as the climate warms, natural hazards will happen more frequently – and be ever more lethal.

It’s normal for emotions to resurface at times like this, as effects can be felt for years. Communities should support each other, say experts.

Malekula, the second-largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago, has a linguistic connection to Aotearoa. All of its many languages are distantly related to te reo Māori and the island is the site of a long-term project to document them.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast in the UK.

Bride and 20 of her guests will have to cough up $1,000 each for not adhering to lockdown regulations governing Sydney’s northern beaches.

Walking and cycling gained a higher profile than ever in 2020 as a result of the pandemic. Governments around the world encouraged individuals to go on foot or take their bikes where possible instead of using crowded public transport, and invested in widescale cycling infrastructure to help them do so.

Plenty of political spin has already been applied to the post-Brexit UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement. This not only glosses over much of the detail, but it can also be decidedly misleading. For example, Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, has claimed that “there will be no non-tariff barriers to...

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast for Australia.

So much remains unknown about what is now being called the Sunburst hack, the cyberattack against U.S. government agencies and corporations. U.S. officials widely believe that Russian state-sponsored hackers are responsible.

On December 10, it finally happened. Instead of demanding an interest payment from the government in return for lending it money, a group of investors offered to pay the government in order to lend it money.

The best player of the 1868 Aboriginal team, his induction is intended to represent the entire team and the place they have in cricket history.

While these are sometimes deliberate attempts to obfuscate, it is more frequently the well-intentioned who fall victim to these often appealing fallacies. The only antidote is a large dose of scepticism, mixed with some understanding of where our reasoning frequently goes wrong.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast in the UK.

Immigration minister says Home Affairs will work with NSW authorities to identify those involved in the illegal gathering and some may be deported.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought the global tourism industry to a screeching halt in 2020. With vaccines starting to be rolled out, there is hope international travel can resume soon, but exactly when — and how — is the million-dollar question.

Rock orchids, fairy orchids, butterfly orchids, leek orchids and even onion orchids all look more or less the same. But would you recognise a clump of grass-like roots clinging to a tree trunk as an orchid?

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast for Australia.

Objectively, time passes at a constant, linear rate. Subjectively, however, time waxes and wanes with our activities and emotions. Sometimes, it flies by, other times it drags so slowly that it almost stands still.

Features like Instagram’s Shop tab facilitate surveillance capitalism, so it’s important to look at their consequences. Many people use Instagram to share their lives with other people, but the redesign is shifting the nature of the social media platform toward online commerce. This shift opens people to highly targeted advertising...

Opposition asks why money is being spent on marketing in the UK and Germany at a time when foreign tourists cannot travel.

Scientists around the world frequently feel governments do not pay enough attention to scientific advice. That was the view of some half of the 25,307 researchers surveyed by Frontiers, a Swiss publisher of scientific journals, in May and June.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast in the UK.

Fighter jets can now be deployed on operations for the first time after they were officially signed off following two years of testing.

The final report of the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry, issued by former judge Jennifer Coate, outlines monumental errors made by the Victorian government and its public servants.

New Year’s Eve presents a higher risk, because it often involves different household groups gathering indoors, talking face-to-face for extended periods, without masks. These are the conditions the coronavirus likes best.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast for Australia.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of listening to the highly-influential legal scholar Cass Sunstein speak in the flesh. Cass wrote the best-selling book Nudge, along with his long-time collaborator Richard Thaler.

A year ago, who could have even imagined 2020 would turn out the way it did? A pandemic, closed borders, lockdowns, economic crisis, a delayed election … but here we are at the end of a year like no other.

Former Prime Minister’s boyhood home in Perth has been bought by the State Government and will now be considered for Heritage listing.

When, in the midst of the pandemic, the Economic Society of Australia invited 150 of Australia’s keenest young thinkers to come up with “brief, specific and actionable” proposals to improve the economy, amid scores of ideas about improving job matching, changing the tax system, providing non-repayable loans to businesses and...

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast in the UK.

NSW Premier says a decision on New Year’s Eve celebrations in Sydney will be made soon, based on expert medical advice.

These days almost everyone has either flown a drone or listened to the nasty whining sound they produce. Although small drones (up to 20kg) are about 40 decibels quieter than conventional civil aircraft, they produce a high pitched noise – which people tend to find very annoying.

The mass testing of asymptomatic people for COVID-19 in the UK was thrown into question by a recent study. In a pilot in Liverpool, over half the cases weren’t picked up, leading some to question whether using tests that perform poorly is the best use of resources.

Be prepared for any weather with our daily forecast for Australia.

The government is planning to change the law so that social media companies like Facebook and Twitter will have no choice but to take responsibility for the safety of their users.

The seeds of the 2020 UK recession were sown on March 23 when the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, put England into its first coronavirus lockdown. Over the following month, UK GDP fell by 19.5%. In comparison, during the last financial crisis GDP shrank by just over 6% between January...

As virus restrictions bite around the country, the pub industry is on track to serve 39-million fewer pints to thirsty Poms than usual.

Snow in summer (Melaleuca linariifolia) is an Australian paperbark, and is endemic to parts of Queensland and New South Wales. It has spikes of creamy white flowers that grow in dense clusters at the ends of branches and twigs. When in profusion, they look very much like snow-capped foliage.

Icy international relations are no barrier as China pitches in to help with tri-nation rescue of an ill Aussie in Antarctica.

Refusal of vaccines, climate change denial, the spread of coronavirus, dangerous drug use – all can be linked to the rapid spread of misinformation over the internet.

It’s a complete record of the administrative history of the park. Sequoia was the second-oldest national park in the U.S., established in 1890. So there are records related to its founding and through to the 20th century. In letters written by the park directors to the U.S. president and the...