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Australia buys 25 million Moderna doses, negotiates onshore manufacturing
Moderna has struck an agreement with the Morrison government to supply 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this year and 15 million booster shots in 2022.
‘No time to waste’: Panel urges new outbreak powers for WHO
A new report has urged world governments to allow WHO infection experts immediate access to inspect outbreaks anywhere in the world in an effort to prevent future cover-ups and delays.
Rich countries must donate a billion vaccines this year or risk new variants
High-income countries must donate vaccines to 92 low and middle-income nations before new virus variants develop, the WHO warns.
Going viral: How a book on Amazon inspired the latest COVID conspiracy
The discredited theory that coronavirus is a bio-weapon created in a Wuhan lab is gaining new momentum. This is the conspiracy’s origin story.
Exclusive
Federal budget
Workers to carry tax bill burden from federal budget plans
Workers will soon account for 52 cents of every dollar in tax raised by the federal government as the budget heavy lifting hits taxpayers.
Trump takes aim at Cheney after she’s ousted from top post
Liz Cheney was removed after she rebuked Donald Trump for his false claims of election fraud, prompting the former president to say Cheney was a “bitter, horrible human being”.
Updated
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israel kills Hamas commanders as violence escalates
Israel also pounded three multi-storey towers as it hammered the Gaza Strip with airstrikes, and militants in the territory fired rocket barrages.
Is this two-metre-tall Scot the Socceroos’ next Premier League star?
Top-flight clubs are circling Stoke City’s Harry Souttar, the Aberdeen-born defender with an Aussie mum and a huge fan in Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.
Exclusive
Wallabies
Gold standard: First look at the new permanent Wallabies jersey
The highly anticipated Wallabies jersey for 2021 and beyond has arrived following a vote earlier in the year to find a permanent colour.
Alan Jones keeps barking questions at Rugby Australia. I’ve got the answers.
Alan Jones’ favourite used to be “the dogs bark, the caravan moves on”. Now he’s the one barking.
Ellen DeGeneres to quit TV talk show next year
DeGeneres, who has seen a ratings hit after allegations of running a toxic workplace, has decided her upcoming season will be the last.
Opinion
Streaming
Detective series Mare of Easttown is a hallelujah moment for TV
Kate Winslet investigates a murder in HBO’s deeply watchable seven-part series that upends cop show cliches.
Craig Mathieson
Film, music and TV critic
Migraine relief on the way for sufferers with new drug added to PBS
Emgality, a drug that could previously cost up to $6800 a year, will instead cost $41.30 a script.
FEDERAL BUDGET 2021
Tax breaks for home-grown patents to spur innovation
Income earned from Australian-developed and registered patents will be taxed at a concessional tax rate of 17 per cent from July next year.
Analysis
Coalition eager to prove it works for women too
The inclusion of a formal women’s budget statement in Tuesday’s pack of papers in itself speaks volumes about the pressure the government has come under over the treatment of women.
Sydney
Man dies after alleged assault at Rushcutters Bay apartments
Police arrived at the apartment block just before 2pm on Wednesday and found the man, believed to be aged 39, unresponsive in a basement.
Metro West station to be built on land owned by The Star casino
The NSW government has confirmed a station for its flagship Metro West rail line will be built on a Pyrmont site to be acquired from gambling giant The Star.
Public servant tells ICAC: I got caught up in a network of corrupt work
A former Roads and Maritime Services employee accused of rigging $41 million worth of NSW government contracts in return for lavish kickbacks said he got swept up in a network of corruption.
Service NSW employee spoke in made up language to disguise corrupt conduct: ICAC
Diana Benyamin used her job within the agency to engage in serious corrupt conduct over several incidents in 2019, including when she agreed to alter a friend car’s registration in exchange for $500, a commission heard.
Turnbull says ‘right wing craziness’ drives the government on climate
Malcolm Turnbull joins a chorus of clean energy supporters disappointed in the federal government, saying only the “implausible” threat of Labor will shift it.
Politics
Boosting mental health workforce is key with budget funding just the start
Tuesday’s budget had a $2.3 billion investment in mental health, but experts want to see more focus on the workforce.
Business
Inside Pictet, the secretive Swiss bank for the world’s richest people
Over more than two centuries, the Swiss institution has discretely tended to the assets of the very rich, led by a small crop of partners who form the most exclusive men-only club anywhere outside the Vatican.
World
Internal emails reveal WHO knew of sex abuse claims in Congo
Young women working on the Ebola outbreak in 2019 claim they were offered or appointed to jobs in return for sex.
Opinion
Coalition’s EV power plays amp up ahead of crucial vote
Alexandra Smith
State Political Editor
Pedalling delusion in the cycle of life
Frank O'Shea
Social housing, homeless left out in the cold
Michael Fotheringham
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Property bydomain
Burnt by the hot market: Aussie home-buyer sentiment dips
Rapidly rising prices and limited choice have begun to dampen buyer's spirits as their positivity about the market declines.
How first-home buyers can get a $10,000 tax break to buy property
Although it works better if you're on an average income and if you're not planning to buy just yet, it's free money from the taxpayer – here's how to claim it.
Life & Culture
Marred by controversy, the Philip Roth biography is a spectacular own goal
Allegations of sexual assault and impropriety against Blake Bailey make it hard to read his life of Philip Roth in the way biographer and subject may have originally intended.
Sport
Exclusive
Wallabies
Gold standard: First look at the new permanent Wallabies jersey
The Herald has obtained a photo of this year’s Wallabies jersey, which is the same colour as Australia’s famous 1991 strip.
Is this two-metre-tall Scot the Socceroos’ next Premier League star?
Top-flight clubs are circling Stoke City’s Harry Souttar, the Aberdeen-born defender with an Aussie mum and a huge fan in Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.
Reynolds set to sign three-year deal with Broncos
The South Sydney captain has told those close to him that he will be taking up a three-year deal at Brisbane next season.
Waratahs re-sign Wallabies World Cup hopefuls Gordon and Bell
Waratahs skipper Jake Gordon will remain in sky blue until the end of 2023, while another World Cup hopeful in Angus Bell has committed to Australian rugby.
‘Won’t last five rounds’: Swift Justis predicted in Gallen showdown
Paul Gallen’s fight with Justis Huni is scheduled for 10 rounds, but the budding Olympian’s camp doubts it will even reach the halfway point.
Alan Jones keeps barking questions at Rugby Australia. I’ve got the answers.
Alan Jones’ favourite used to be “the dogs bark, the caravan moves on”. Now he’s the one barking.
‘There is no pathway’: Call for boys to play netball in schools
Representatives from Men’s Netball NSW have been going out to local schools and sporting carnivals in an effort to get teachers on board with the men’s game.
Have Your Say
No winners in de Belin situation – but even so, stand-down rule must stay
The Dragons forward faces a third trial for the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman. Regardless, the NRL’s controversial no-fault stand-down rule must stay.
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer
