Latest National news
Lives could be saved with access to clot-buster device: expert
Rania Spooner 3:33 PM It looks like a tiny chicken-wire cage and it's saving lives and improving quality of life for hundreds of stroke patients in Australia.
'1000 will have to go. It's that simple'
![Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/j/y/x/m/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gok0cy.png/1462165401381.jpg)
Henry Belot 3:03 PM Fear government's cyber security recruitment drive will lead to job cuts.
Shake up looms for Akta-Vite after family firm buys back Aussie icon
![Some of Alfred Nicholas' great-great-grandchildren in the Nicholas building on Swanston Street with tins of Akta-Vite.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/z/4/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goj42k.png/1462164637540.jpg)
Marc Moncrief 2:46 PM They sold it to American frozen-food empire Sara Lee in the 80s, but now the NIcholas family have retaken control of the ridgey-didge, 100% Aussie, chocolate milk.
Battle between tax office and union heats up again
![In 2014-15, 2364 people took a redundancy from the ATO, compared with 860 the year before.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/r/t/h/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goju5r.png/1462161573055.jpg)
Henry Belot 1:59 PM ATO and union trade accusations of dishonesty and scare campaigns as staff vote on revised pay deal.
Australian man arrested in Lebanon facing terror charges: reports
![Police are arresting more people, more of them are being convicted, and more offences are now attracting a prison sentence.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/x/d/u/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gojmxd.png/1462150949768.jpg)
11:02 AM An Australian man has been arrested in Tripoli and could face terrorism charges, according to Lebanese media.
School of Music 'poorly managed by the university at all levels'
![Former Public Service Commissioner Andrew Podger: People desperately want to put the past behind and to identify a clear ...](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/f/4/n/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gojkm2.png/1462150151944.jpg)
Emma Macdonald 10:49 AM Review has identified a benchmark of 200 undergraduate students in order for the school to become financially sustainable.
'It will definitely feel more like autumn'
![It's going to feel a lot more like autumn - during the nights at least.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/h/z/f/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gojn62.png/1462150972955.jpg)
Peter Hannam 10:21 AM Western Sydney had its coldest night since September as autumn-like conditions finally arrive in parts of the city.
Clock ticking for small Arrium creditors
![Acumat managing director Steve Donald has been forced to ask his own creditors for leniency.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/d/1/t/h/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goj6gf.png/1462143076633.jpg)
Tim Binsted 8:51 AM Complex administrations take time, but sadly for small Arrium creditors like Steve Donald, time is a luxury they may not have.
Aussies failing to ward off heart disease
![Australians are failing to take steps to ward off heart disease.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/r/4/h/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gojlu9.png/1462116499385.jpg)
1:28 AM The 1.4 million Australians at risk of heart attacks and strokes are failing to take steps to avoid the diseases.
Buffett Says Derivatives `Time Bomb' May Elude Auditors' Reviews
![Warren Buffett will meet investors in Omaha.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/m/b/4/k/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goj8ol.png/1462102812649.jpg)
Sonali Basak and Noah Buhayar 9:40 PM Warren Buffett said banks' holdings of derivatives make it unattractive to invest in most large financial firms and that the contracts still contain hidden risks.
RET in doubt amid $10b investment gap
![A rush of investment is needed to meet the 2020 renewable energy target, but lenders are wary, BIS Shrapnel says.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/n/z/h/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohsyo.png/1462102543523.jpg)
Angela Macdonald-Smith 12:00 AM A new analysis finds $10 billion of renewable investment is needed in a market plagued by changing regulations that are deterring lenders.
Australians at high risk of heart attack or stroke fail to take life-saving medicines
![some people at risk choose to avoid medications because they aren't sick, but it is highly recommended that people in ...](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/j/g/9/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohwyq.png/1462098432483.jpg)
Clare Colley 12:01 AM About one in five Australians aged 45 to 75 are at high risk of heart attack or stroke, but close to one million are failing to take the recommended life-saving medications, a new study has found.
'This makes little sense for young jobseekers'
![Former TAFE teacher Matthew McPherson](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/z/h/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohx18.png/1462095021745.jpg)
Anna Patty 12:15 AM TAFE NSW faces is under fire for slashing the number of teachers who deliver skills that are in high demand.
General anaesthetic found safe for babies
![Baby drinking a bottle](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/3/7/w/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gojeo1.png/1462090575969.jpg)
Rania Spooner 10:00 PM The largest study ever into the impact of general anaesthetic on babies has found it is no more damaging to their brains than local anaesthetic at two years old.
Tax office tackles 300 fraud claims as staff milk system
![Personal or family financial problems were the most commonly cited motivation for the tax office fraud.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/z/y/v/2/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gojauo.png/1462088563350.jpg)
Henry Belot 12:00 AM The Australian Tax Office dealt with almost 300 allegations of fraud, serious misconduct or criminal activity by its staff last financial year.
Centrelink 'auto-rejects' tens of thousands of claims
![Centrelink has a massive backlog of applications for Austudy and Youth Allowance.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/5/e/9/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goiarp.png/1462137050140.jpg)
Noel Towell 12:00 AM Tens of thousands of Student Payment claims "auto-rejected", government insiders allege.
Labor's missing renewables billion
![The outlook for Australia's support for renewable energy remains unclear.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/h/s/g/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goj775.png/1462092389359.jpg)
Peter Hannam 4:50 PM Labor faces 'a litmus test' of its support of renewable energy after it emerged that a Shorten government would book $1 billion of the savings cut from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency by the Coalition.
Barnaby Joyce faces horse flu backlash in New England
![Barnaby Joyce made headlines when he said Depp and Heard's dogs better "bugger off" back to the US or he'd have them put ...](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/5/d/8/o/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goj6lr.png/1462082247863.jpg)
Josh Gordon, State Political Editor Barnaby Joyce is facing a political backlash in his rural seat of New England from horse owners, breeders and stud farmers crippled by one of the worst quarantine failures in recent history.
'Bamboo ceiling' robbing best students
![University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor Michael Spence, with wife Jenny Ihn, wants baby Ted to have the same opportunities ...](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/s/l/s/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.go8w1u.png/1462166360739.jpg)
Eryk Bagshaw Despite students of Asian origin dominating the academic scale, few rise to the top in politics, business and academia, statistics show.
Weasel stops biggest scientific instrument in the world
![The Large Hadron Collider is used to smash fast-moving particles into one another.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/2/i/m/a/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goj45g.png/1462024414214.jpg)
Rachel Feltman The Large Hadron Collider - the world's biggest, most powerful particle accelerator - is going to be out of commission for a few days. Scientists are blaming a weasel.
Path clears for pill testing at music festivals - outside NSW
![Ecstasy tablets will come under the microscope at festivals this year.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/t/c/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goijkk.png/1462017964888.jpg)
Eamonn Duff Senior police and politicians are supporting a nationwide pill testing trial at music festivals - outside NSW
Manhunt for Bankstown killer moves interstate
![The dead man has been identified as Walid 'Wally' Ahmad.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/d/y/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goiy5g.png/1462119714991.jpg)
Eamonn Duff, Jim Gainsford A manhunt for the gunman wanted over the fatal shooting of convicted killer Walid Ahmad has shifted to Victoria following the discovery of an abandoned crashed car that may have been used in the escape.
Coles wage deal faces landmark challenge
![Pay and conditions for 77,000 staff at Coles are under review in a high-stakes legal case.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/q/j/e/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goiu60.png/1462023995576.jpg)
Ben Schneiders and Nick Toscano It's the greatest mismatch since Darryl Kerrigan in The Castle took on city hall to keep his family home … and won.
Bird baths a vital resource: new study finds
![A study has found that birds are claiming bird baths as trophies of war.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/t/f/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goixk7.png/1462023394260.jpg)
John Elder While home owners think of the back yard bird bath as life-filled ornaments, a new study finds that the birds are claiming them as trophies of war.
'Black people should be shot', Australia Post worker allegedly told
![Australia Post has allegedly taken months to deal with claims of racism in a Northern NSW depot.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/g/q/a/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohlo5.png/1461991841682.jpg)
Rory Callinan Australia Post has taken months to deal with racist allegations involving a senior employee allegedly telling an Aboriginal worker that "black people" should be "strung up and shot".
Men say no to dude fests at conferences
![Dr Adam Fraser is another speaker who is part of the boycott.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/h/8/r/b/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohb4k.png/1462089549400.jpg)
Julie Power Five of Australia's most booked male conference speakers will boycott panels that don't include women, criticising organisers for taking the lazy way out by opting for "dude fests".
Head transplants! We blame you, Mary Shelley
![Boris Karloff in the 1931 classic film Frankenstein.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/o/i/u/h/3/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.goigg0.png/1462023458379.jpg)
John Elder Valery Spiridonov dreams of escaping his wheelchair. Doctors say it's possible – but they have to cut off his head first. John Elder reports on the surgery that is driving the medical establishment out of its mind.
How our diet is changing
![Losing weight doesn't need to be so restrictive](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/o/6/1/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohys0.png/1462010189829.jpg)
Esther Han We're eating healthier than ever - but we are still making one enormous mistake.
Australia's 'perilous' water future
![Weathering BoM: Rob Vertessy steps down as chief executive of the Bureau of Meteorology.](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/x/7/s/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gohwu6.png/1462030963882.jpg)
Peter Hannam Drought and climate change have already had an impact, and worse is to come.
The dangers of polypharmacy: the ever-mounting pile of pills
![Photo: Louis Douvis](/web/20160502064328im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/w/0/k/z/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gof6f6.png/1461935680976.jpg)
Paula Span Some herbal supplements and vitamins can interact with prescription drugs in dangerous ways, research suggests.