I have never met Julian Assange, but he’s entitled to justice

Imagine a sliding door moment, and it was not Assange but you who was in court in Britain. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

NZ to create first smoke-free generation with lifetime tobacco ban

“People aged 14 when the law comes into effect will never be able to legally purchase tobacco.” | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

US confirms diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

White House press secretary Jen Psaki says US athletes will continue to compete and will “have our full support,” but added “we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the games”. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

The White House's ugly secret

The Executive Mansion was renamed the day after a controversial dinner, writes Simon Mann. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Social media” companies with 250k Aussie users must be sue-able

Offshore social media platforms with at least 250,000 Australian users would be required to set up a local company to handle defamation complaints under a plan to tackle anonymous trolls. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Australia to force platforms revealing user identity or pay fines, a Tor ban?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Sunday that under the new laws people who believe they have been defamed online will also be able to get court orders forcing social media giants to reveal who is responsible for the posts. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Dishwashers on $90 (AUD) an hour as staff shortages smash hospitality sector

Rockpool Bar & Grill executive chef Corey Costelloe said relatively inexperienced hospitality workers were commanding six-figure wages. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Top scientist referred to corruption watchdog over alleged research misconduct

One of Australia’s leading scientists has been referred to Queensland’s Crime and Corruption Commission by his research institute. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Australia has officially hit 90 per cent first-dose milestone: PM

NSW Parliament will today debate voluntary assisted dying legislation, Bert Newton’s state funeral is being held in Melbourne and international climate talks in Glasgow are drawing to a close. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Coronavirus boosters likely for years to come: Pharmacy Guild

Pharmacists and doctors are likely to play a key role in convincing the vaccine-hesitant to get the jab. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 2 years ago

Quantum computers to run Sydney’s transport network

The cutting-edge technology should help reduce delays across the public transport network. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Australian regulator demands face-scanning firm Clearview AI delete photos

An Australian privacy authority has ordered facial recognition company Clearview AI to stop scanning the faces of Australians and destroy the images and related data it has already collected. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Mike Cannon-Brookes pledges $1.5b to climate initiatives

As COP26 talks loom, Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brooks has pledged to invest and donate $1.5 billion to help keep warming to 1.5 degrees. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Twitter might hate Jonathan Franzen, but serious readers love him

Like every good novelist, he’s a complicater. He insists that we’re all made from crooked timber, and there are no easy answers in life. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Australian University investigates research misconduct in studies on ageing

If the allegations were upheld it would be a blow to the University of NSW and the field of anti-ageing research. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Rumours about a politicians daughter trigger push for Big Tech regulation in Oz

His daughter wounded by a “devastating lie” on social media, the Deputy Prime Minister struck back this week. Now the tech giants are worried. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

NSW Premier cops a spray of beer to the face

Victoria, NSW and Australia as a whole appear to be well on track to exceed the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination rate and push towards 90, and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says he is committed to avoiding any further lockdowns. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Spending on PCR tests in China soared months before Covid-19 cases revealed

A new study by an Australian cyber security firm concludes the COVID-19 “virus was highly likely to be spreading virulently in Wuhan, China as early as the summer of 2019”. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

After 100 years, Romanovs return to St Petersburg in golden-clad pomp

“The Romanovs are back,” a conservative Russian news outlet announced as the old Imperial capital welcomed a royal wedding that did not impress Vladimir Putin. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Sun Cable scales up plans for world’s biggest solar farm with Indonesian help

The energy company says the Powell Creek Solar Precinct planned for the Northern Territory to supply Darwin and Singapore will be 40 per cent bigger than originally announced. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Australian Energy Regulator sues Tesla Big Battery over power grid promises

Australia’s Tesla Big Battery is facing legal action amid allegations it failed to deliver on promised services to the power grid. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Australia’s China ‘strategy’ makes it less, not more, secure

The new defence pact with the US and Britain contains too many unanswered questions, writes the former prime minister. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Australia, the US and UK to announce landmark new defence pact

Sources confirmed the US would help Australia develop a nuclear submarine capability, which could result in Australia dumping its $90 billion submarine deal with France. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Media outlets lose High Court appeal over Facebook defamation ruling

The High Court has ruled that media outlets are legally responsible as publishers for third parties’ comments on their Facebook pages. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

‘What do you think you’re doing?’: Sydneysiders stung for eating outside

James Adcock and his partner were standing in a corner of the Potts Point markets on Saturday, each eating noodle soup, when a suited man approached them. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Rescue dogs shot dead by NSW council due to Covid-19 restrictions

Several impounded dogs have been shot by a rural council under its interpretation of COVID-19 restrictions. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

‘How lucky do you feel?’: The awful risks buried in the IPCC report

The latest landmark climate science report goes much further than previous ones to provide estimates of how bad things might go as the planet heats up. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

US helicopters evacuate embassy as the Taliban advances on Kabul

The rapid shuttle runs by helicopters came on Sunday morning local time as wisps of smoke rose from the embassy’s roof. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Why women lose the dating game (2012)

Bettina Arndt listens to the other voices in this debate: the men. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Side project: Cost $20, helps 30k book vaccinations

Sydneysiders trying to follow health authorities’ calls to get vaccinated say they are spending hours on the online booking system. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Citi says buy now, pay later not a ‘fad’ as it joins the stampede

Global giant Citi says the rise of buy now, pay later products is a major shift, as it prepares to move into the local market. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Xi Jinping and his gold-meddling flunkies

Even as China tops the medal count at the Olympics, its diplomats cry foul to the world. They seem oblivious to how obnoxious their tactics appear, but the world is not their priority audience. They’re performing for Xi Jinping. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Square to acquire Afterpay in $39b deal

The deal is the largest corporate transaction in Australian history and will see Afterpay’s founders stay on at the company. Afterpay shares are up more than 20 per cent in early trade. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Prince Charles’ experimental city is proving critics wrong

Poundbury has attracted scathing reviews from the moment construction began but something big is happening here recently. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

‘If we don’t go, will we die?’: quarantine guests perish in hotel fire

Taiwan’s hotel quarantine safety is under review following the deaths of three guests who were told to stay in their rooms. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

A secret China trip crippled an Australian prime minister

Fifty years ago, a junior Australian diplomat learned about Henry Kissinger’s covert mission to Beijing. What happened next had real consequences in Canberra. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Will we ever teleport or travel the universe?

‘Beam me up, Scotty’ is one of the most popular lines in science fiction – but could it work in real life? | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

‘Dystopian nightmare’: The unlikely opponents of working from home

Not everyone is enthusiastic about working from home. Younger workers fear they are missing out on valuable learning experiences when locked out of the office. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Chinese company uses facial recognition to police teen gamers

“Children, put your phones away and go to sleep.” Tech company Tencent’s new feature locks out Chinese teens trying to breach the nation’s 10pm e-game curfew. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

NSW Health says it gave Pfizer jab to more than 160 students ‘in error’

NSW Health said it only meant to give Pfizer jabs to a handful of Indigenous students at St Joseph’s College but accidentally inoculated 163 HSC students. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Amazon after Bezos may soon be worth $US10T

It won’t have the same energy. The drive and vision will be gone. And so will the innovation. But Amazon’s breathtaking growth could explode after Jeff Bezos departs. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Russia rules only its bubbly can be ‘champagne’ in spat with French

Putin signs a new law forcing French producers to relabel hallowed brands as “sparkling wine”. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

The Southern is the world's fifth ocean

National Geographic announced this week it will recognise the body of water that encircles Antarctica and runs along Australia’s southern coast near Victoria, as the world’s fifth. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Covid lab leak “unlikely” say most virologists

COVID-19 originating from a lab leak in Wuhan is a fascinating theory, but that doesn’t mean we should believe it. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

The Olympics have run their race

Some want to cancel the Tokyo Olympics. But why not go one step further and, after 125 years, consign the whole modern Olympic movement to history? | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

The case for a leak of a virus engineered in a Wuhan lab

Many were scepitcal, but now the US President wants to know whether the original coronavirus was made in a Wuhan laboratory - then accidentally leaked. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Italian seaside residents hit with bygone feudal tax

Locals in San Felice Circeo, a picturesque town between Rome and Naples, have been told they owe thousands of euros as a result of a medieval levy long forgotten. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago

Deliveroo loses landmark case as sacked driver ruled an employee

The Fair Work Commission has lashed the ‘callous’ sacking of a driver in a ruling that puts the gig economy’s reliance on “independent contractors” at risk. | Continue reading


@smh.com.au | 3 years ago