The Booklist
A weekly newsletter for book lovers from books editor Jason Steger.
Daily Crosswords
Challenge yourself with today's quick and cryptic puzzles.
Please Explain podcast
Expert daily insight into the stories that drive the nation.
‘Make demands public’: Australia Post fires back at Holgate
The legal stoush between Christine Holgate and Australia Post has escalated ahead of a looming 5pm deadline for the parties to mediate.
Updated
Crime
‘Shocking’: Former Test cricketer allegedly kidnapped at gunpoint
Former Australian cricketer Stuart MacGill was allegedly kidnapped from Sydney’s lower north shore and threatened with a gun during an hour-long ordeal earlier last month.
COVID-19 CRISIS
Infection control manager stood down amid damning hotel quarantine reports
A Victorian public servant in charge of infection control in hotel quarantine has been stood down after reports of breached protocols. There are also claims a swab in a corridor, not a nebuliser, was responsible for an outbreak this year.
Australia’s quarantine hotel rooms empty as India flight ban continues
Many of Australia’s quarantine facilities for returned overseas travellers are far from full as the Indian flight ban continues to leave thousands stranded.
Opinion
Big four
For ANZ and its peers it’s like the pandemic never happened
ANZ’s interim results show few pandemic scars, leaving it apparently overcapitalised and able to contemplate big returns to shareholders. But it’s too early to declare victory.
Stephen Bartholomeusz
Senior business columnist
The time-poor, compromise-driven marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates
Melinda Gates never pretended that marriage to the driven tech titan was easy - and there are clues to the divorce in their own words.
‘Being hit would have been easier’: The toll of partner sexual violence
One in 10 women experiences intimate partner sexual violence, a rarely-discussed form of family violence. Most are convinced they are the source of the problem.
Breaking
Catholic church
Australian paedophile priest faces extradition to US on fresh charges
Defrocked Catholic priest Paul David Ryan has been indicted by a Virginia’s Attorney-General over a fresh sexual abuse allegations.
A Chinese Communist Party watcher in Parliament tweeted 42,000 times. He’s been told to stop
An article published on a little-known blog about a prolific tweeter has raised questions about Chinese Communist Party influence, free speech and Australia’s defamation regime.
Biden’s shore thing: American windfarms finally take off
After languishing for decades, America’s offshore wind industry gets a jumpstart, boosted by Biden’s green ambitions. But locals have a different view.
Shooting death of ‘devoted father’ may be case of mistaken identity
A father shot dead outside a west-suburban pool hall may have been the innocent victim in a bikie feud.
From slow start to TV sensation: What’s behind the success of Line of Duty?
This edge-of-the-seat police show is smashing viewing records in Britain. The timely masterstroke? Making the cops both heroes and villains.
The pub with no beer (or any alcohol) is finally here
Brunswick Aces serves more than 100 drinks, and only one of them contains any alcohol. Is this the way of the future?
Dees secure Petracca on massive new deal until 2029
Melbourne have secured the services of superstar Christian Petracca on an enormous seven-year deal.
coronavirus crisis
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.
Experts warn of ‘horrible’ weeks ahead as India’s crisis deepens
One public health expert was left bewildered when Indian policymakers told him the situation would improve within days.
Local
Push to turn off gas to help reach state’s climate goal
Gas appliances including heaters, hot water services and cooktops would be phased out under a proposed moratorium on new gas connections to households.
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.
RMIT, Swinburne, La Trobe post hefty deficits but not all unis in the red
The annual reports of Victoria’s public universities show extreme cost-cutting has avoided deep deficits at many institutions.
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.
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.
Politics
Exclusive
Myanmar coup
Home Affairs probes relatives of Myanmar military in Australia
The department has launched investigations into relatives of Myanmar’s military government living in Australia, amid concerns they are either harbouring assets or receiving financial support.
Business
Breaking
Regulation
Westpac hit with insider trading allegations
Westpac has been accused by the corporate watchdog of insider trading and unconscionable conduct during AustralianSuper and IFM’s purchase of NSW energy company Ausgrid five years ago.
World
Netanyahu missed midnight deadline to form Israel’s government
After the fourth election in two years, Israel’s Prime Minister could be pushed into opposition for the first time in 12 years.
Opinion
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Property bydomain
![The unenviable outlook for home buyers as property investors return](http://web.archive.org./web/20210505030711im_/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/20210505030711im_/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
★★★
Review
Hilary Swank brings touch of class to Fatal Attraction knock-off
The Oscar winner plays a hardboiled cop turned villain in this cheap thriller that confuses a high body count with a coherent plot.
Sport
Analysis
IPL
IPL shambles a result of putting greed above common sense
India’s passion for cricket is a blessing that provides colour, excitement and wealth to the game, but the downside is the demigods this creates and the power they wield.
Dees secure Petracca on massive new deal until 2029
Melbourne have secured the services of superstar Christian Petracca on an enormous seven-year deal.
Updated
Crime
MacGill allegedly kidnapped and threatened at gunpoint
Four men have been arrested over the ordeal that began when MacGill was allegedly abducted on Sydney’s lower north shore and driven to the city’s south-west last month.
Updated
Coronavirus pandemic
Michael Hussey tests positive for COVID-19 in India
Hussey’s manager has confirmed the former Australian cricketer and IPL batting coach has tested positive to the 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.”
Mahrez double fires Man City into Champions League final
City beat PSG 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium and will face the winner of the other semi-final between Chelsea and Real Madrid.
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.
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.