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COVID-19 CRISIS
Quarantine COVID cases jumped 46 per cent before India ban
But experts have questioned if the extraordinary action including fines and jail for those flouting the travel halt was proportionate to the risk.
Updated
Australian cricket
Postponement of IPL leaves Australian players stranded in India
The sensational development came after a member of David Warner’s team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, became the latest player to test positive to coronavirus.
Setback for Australian bubble hopes with Singapore on new virus alert
The business hub has tightened restrictions on its population and on incoming travellers as it confronts its first significant cluster of COVID-19 cases in months.
New climate service to help Australia bounce back from natural disasters
A new Australian Climate Service will be established to guide the national recovery agency as it looks at ways to make the country more resilient to future natural disasters.
Exclusive
Gig economy
Leong was expecting $9600 in bonuses. His Uber account’s at zero
The delivery giant alleges some people claimed payments they weren’t entitled to but drivers and their union say the rewards have been withdrawn without clear explanation.
Third council joins legal fight to stop West Gate Tunnel soil dumping
Hume is the latest council to pursue Planning Minister Richard Wynne in the Supreme Court over plans to dump 3 million tonnes of soil contaminated with potentially carcinogenic chemicals.
How a health check-up is helping women escape violence
Lawyers have been secretly embedded in Melbourne medical clinics to help victims of family violence get assistance without the knowledge of their abusive partners.
In the 1800s, women flocked to Australia. It wasn’t the dream they were promised
The hopes and horrors of single women’s voyages, detailed in historian Elizabeth Rushen’s book Single and Free, are the subject of a new musical.
Analysis
Science
You probably don’t need to worry about drinking more water
Population studies are yet to find long-term dehydration in anyone. It seems we drink as much as we need.
French far-right leader acquitted of breaching hate speech laws
Marine Le Pen has been acquitted of breaking hate speech laws several years ago when she posted images of Islamic State atrocities on Twitter.
Legal threat looms over Labor preselection ‘volcano waiting to erupt’
Major Victorian unions including the CFMEU and Australian Workers Union may attempt to block the party’s plan to install a candidate into a new federal seat.
Opinion
Federal budget
On budget night, here’s how we’ll know if Scott Morrison really cares about women
The Prime Minister has been lucky - but how will he choose to use his luck?
Ross Gittins
Economics Editor
The Googleplex of the future has privacy robots, meeting tents and your very own balloon wall
Google’s first office was a cluttered Silicon Valley garage crammed with desks resting on sawhorses. Its new work spaces are going to be something that looks like a combination of Ikea and Lego.
Opinion
Divorce
Bill and Melinda Gates are parting ways, but they’re not alone
The Gates’ split after 27 years of marriage makes them part of a statistical trend.
Kate Halfpenny
Opinion
Phones
Innovative LG’s departure leaves a void in the smartphone market
As Apple, Samsung and their many imitators continue their very careful paths forward, a true innovator has been forced out.
Krishan Sharma
Technology journalist
coronavirus crisis
Updated
‘Look in good faith’: PM considers Victorian quarantine proposal
Scott Morrison says his government will “look in good faith” at Victoria’s proposed 500-bed quarantine facility, but there is a question mark over how much money he will commit to it.
‘Blood on your hands’: PM denies Slater’s ‘absurd’ India comments
Scott Morrison has denied he has “blood on his hands” after cricket great Michael Slater said the India flight ban was a “disgrace”.
Local
RMIT, Swinburne, La Trobe post hefty deficits but not all unis in the red
The annual reports of Victoria’s public universities, published on Tuesday, show extreme cost-cutting has avoided deep deficits at many institutions.
‘Third World country’: Liberals attack government on ambulance wait times
The opposition questioned the government about whether better management of the health system could have helped avert the death of a 32-year-old who waited 6.5 hours for an ambulance.
‘Such a talented woman’: Rowena Orr appointed Victoria’s new Solicitor-General
Ms Orr will become the state’s most senior legal adviser and advocate after nearly 20 years as a barrister.
Babysitter who seriously injured boy pleads for jail release to bond with her daughter
A couple had an unwell friend’s son stay with them in May 2019, but the stint ended with the boy suffering a serious head injury that will affect the rest of his life.
‘Wouldn’t have been able to afford it’: Private schools axe staff discounts
Some schools now offer no discounts for new staff while maintaining generous reductions for longer-serving employees.
Politics
Woman, on her knees, begs PM to stop violence in Cameroon
Cameroon, which is divided between a French-speaking majority and English-speaking minority, has been gripped by violence since 2016
Business
ME Bank redraw breaches ‘serious and systemic’
ME Bank has been named and shamed by an industry body over last year’s bungled changes to redraw accounts.
World
Biden backtracks on refugees, raises six-month limit to 62,500
The action comes two weeks after Biden announced he was leaving Trump’s limit of 15,000 refugees in place contrary to his campaign promise.
Opinion
What does this draconian decision say about Australia’s character?
Bevan Shields
Europe correspondent
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Property bydomain
![The unenviable outlook for home buyers as property investors return](http://web.archive.org./web/20210504191818im_/https://res.akamaized.net/domain/image/upload/t_web/c_fill,w_1024/c_fill,w_640,h_360/v1620110381/210504_Redfern_jemtbp.jpg)
The unenviable outlook for home buyers as property investors return
Either house prices keep rising as the RBA lets the market run, or regulators worry about investors and make it harder to get a loan. It's not much of a choice.
![The Block's Jimmy and Tam reveal what will happen to their prize money](http://web.archive.org./web/20210504191818im_/https://res.akamaized.net/domain/image/upload/t_web/c_crop,h_588,w_872,x_152,y_94/c_fill,w_640,h_360/v1606024041/The_Block_2020_Auction_046_rl34j8.jpg)
The Block's Jimmy and Tam reveal what will happen to their prize money
The Queensland couple won more than a million dollars and last year's season before the buyer of their house failed to settle.
Life & Culture
How these six authors got their books published – in the hardest of times
Six authors tell of their journey to publication. Before it all fell flat due to the pandemic. Their fairy godmother moment: a debutante ball at the Sydney Writers’ Festival.
Opinion
Body image
Billie Eilish posed in lingerie for Vogue – does it matter what we think?
Jenna Guillaume
Sport
Updated
Australian cricket
Postponement of IPL leaves Australian players stranded in India
The sensational development came after a member of David Warner’s team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, became the latest player to test positive to coronavirus.
Shaw’s view from coach’s box: Buckley is not the issue
Magpies icon Tony Shaw, who sat in the Collingwood coach’s box for the first time since his last game at the helm, said of Nathan Buckley: “I think the bloke can coach.”
Updated
Gymnastics
Coaches must be held accountable: gymnastics whistleblowers speak out
Former gymnasts Livia Giles and Mary-Anne Monckton have spoken up about the Australian Human Rights Commission’s damning report of abuse in the sport.
‘More agitated than normal’: McCartin rubbed out for five matches despite blood sugar claim
Claiming that he had been unusually agitated because of low blood sugar levels was not enough to save Paddy McCartin from a five-match suspension at the VFL tribunal.
McDonald off to a flyer at ’Bool, as RV breathes sigh of relief
Racing was back in its purest form on Tuesday, as thousands of punters clamoured into Warrnambool racecourse before cleaning up the bookies in the Brierly.
Updated
AFL 2021
Umpires coach Kennedy leaves AFL suddenly
AFL umpires coach Hayden Kennedy - in the role since 2013 - has resigned with the decision to take effect after round 10.
Games streak ends: Miers to miss grand final rematch
The consecutive games run of Geelong’s Gryan Miers, which started with his debut in 2019, has finished after he suffered a small hairline fracture of the fibula against the Swans last Saturday night.
Have Your Say
He had one of the toughest jobs in footy but the AFL forgot to invite him to the Brownlow
Hayden Kennedy umpired just shy of 500 AFL games and will soon leave the role of umpiring head coach. Wayne Campbell explains just what made Kennedy so well-suited to one of the toughest jobs in footy.