Coronavirus newsletter
An update on the most crucial developments related to the pandemic.
Listen to News with the Herald
Daily briefings on your smart speakers and wherever you get your podcasts.
Daily puzzles
Challenge yourself with today’s puzzles.
‘Puppeteer’ behind foreign interference plot named
Labor senator Kimberley Kitching has used parliamentary privilege to name the alleged puppeteer behind a foreign interference plot to get political candidates elected here.
‘I absolutely apologise’: Zali Steggall addresses ‘rookie’ accounting error
The independent MP has apologised for accepting $100,000 from the family of coal millionaire John Kinghorn in the leadup to the last election.
Exclusive
Religious freedom
‘This is what defines me’: Why a first-term Liberal MP crossed the floor
During the early hours of Thursday morning last week, Fiona Martin made what could ultimately prove the most consequential decision of her political career.
Woollahra councillors push to remove ‘virtue signalling’ anti-racism signs
Craig Foster, a driving force behind the #RacismNOTWelcome campaign, said he was disappointed by the backlash to the signs.
Exclusive
Education
Sydney schools built just two years ago are already overcrowded
Northbourne Public School in the city’s north-west opened last year. It was built for 1000 students; this year, there are 1190 enrolled.
Exclusive
Information security
COVID data breach exposes half a million sensitive addresses
The addresses of more than 500,000 organisations, including defence sites and domestic violence shelters, were inadvertently made public.
New airline Bonza reveals 25 routes but Sydney misses out
Bonza chief executive Tim Jordan says fares will be similar to Jetstar’s and around half the price of full-service airlines.
After soaring so high, Australian medal chances crash out of final
It started so promisingly, but ended on the backsides of Laura Peel and Danielle Scott, who could not convert their stunning early aerial form into a medal in Beijing.
Analysis
Roberts-Smith case
The words that brought Roberts-Smith’s estranged wife to tears in the stand
Emma Roberts told the judge about the disintegration of her relationship with the war veteran, and the day the woman he was having an affair with turned up at the marital home.
Two-way charge on Harbour Bridge, cap on tolls considered
A NSW Treasury official has revealed the full extent of the long-awaited review into Sydney’s tolling structure.
Bali bombings memorial park rebooted with $4.5m land deal
Eight months before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, there is new hope for those who have long sought to build a spiritual garden on the site of the former Sari Club.
US evacuates embassy, destroys computer equipment
The State Department ordered the destruction of computer equipment at the Kyiv embassy, according to reports, as US officials warned Moscow could launch an attack on Ukraine any day.
Opinion
Political leadership
If Putin invades Ukraine, here’s what Australians need from Morrison and Albanese
Australia, like the US and NATO, will not defend Ukraine militarily if Russia invades. The impact here, however, will be great - and mainly economic.
Peter Hartcher
Political and international editor
Six health habits to implement in your 60s for a longer life
From eating like a Mediterranean to reducing naps, there are things you can in your 60s to slow the ageing process and add years to your life.
‘I returned with demons’: Japanese POW reflects on war 80 years on
Eighty years on from the fall of Singapore, former prisoner of war Norman Dillon remembers the trauma of being held captive.
Opinion
Men's style
The Super Bowl halftime show was a lesson in dad dressing
While sole female performer Mary J Blige was serving sparkle, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Dr Dre, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg ditched glamour for cool father fashion choices.
Damien Woolnough
Acting National Fashion Editor
WINTER OLYMPICS 2022
Updated
‘Never count an Aussie out’: Walker records Australia’s best Olympic bobsled result
Monobob racer Bree Walker has piloted Australia to its best Olympic bobsled result, coming fifth in the singles on the sliding track in Yanqing
Russian figure skater Valieva cleared to compete
Kamila Valieva will be allowed to compete in the women’s single at the Beijing Olympics after a decision on Monday by sport’s top court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Sydney
Thousands of nurses to push ahead with mass walk out
Nurses and midwives will strike for 24 hours on Tuesday, defying orders from the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to halt.
Hayne to apply for bail after sex assault convictions quashed, retrial ordered
Former footballer Jarryd Hayne is facing the prospect of a third trial after an appeal court quashed his convictions on Monday.
Dyson Heydon’s victims reach financial settlement with Commonwealth
Rachael Patterson Collins, Chelsea Tabart and Alex Eggerking made the claim under the Sex Discrimination Act.
Roberts-Smith pressured me to lie, estranged wife tells court
Emma Roberts told the Federal Court she discovered her husband’s affair when his girlfriend turned up with a black eye.
Premier wants to see an end to cheap overseas transport fleets
Dominic Perrottet says he wants the state’s buses and trains to be made in Australia rather than overseas as he looks to boost the state’s economy.
Politics
Frydenberg says offset ‘not permanent’ amid inflation risk of tax cuts
The Treasurer says the tax offset is not a permanent feature of the system as concerns grow over its inflation impact on interest rate settings.
Opinion
Sketch
Love for the PM appeared in short supply on Valentine’s Day
Tony Wright
Associate editor and special writer
Business
Exclusive
Restaurants
How Pizza Hut chief plans to steal a slice of Domino’s market share
Pizza Hut Australia CEO Phil Reed is candid about his ongoing mission to take on Australia’s biggest pizza franchise.
World
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, tests positive for COVID-19
The duchess has tested positive for COVID-19 days after her husband, Prince Charles, was confirmed to have the virus for the second time.
Opinion
Stolen Generations survivors owe nobody their forgiveness, PM
Cameron Gooley
Indigenous affairs reporter
‘Grey corruption’ cuts our living standards, so it’s a shame they shelved the integrity commission
Danielle Wood
Chief executive of the Grattan Institute
Explore
Got a news tip?
Share information with our journalists securely and confidentially. Learn more
Property
Where you can buy a house for the cost of a Sydney deposit
Sydney house hunters now need to save $320,000 just for the deposit on a home at the city’s median house price. But what could that sizeable sum buy elsewhere?
Will city buyers regret moving to the regions post-pandemic?
Developments in the most popular country and coastal areas have prompted a buying bonanza.
Lifestyle
Just 22 luxury beauty products to treat yourself to today
Whether you’re coupled up or flying solo, show yourself some love with these decadent gifts-to-self this Valentine’s Day.
Culture
Kanye West doco Jeen-yuhs is intimate and distant at the same time
Twenty-one years in the making, the three-part series takes us deep inside the world of rapper, but still leaves us guessing.
Sport
Wallabies to be paid more for wins than losses, but players say deal a ‘one-off’
A new collective bargaining agreement will see Wallabies stars pocket more if they win than if they lose in 2022. But it is not a step toward win-only match payments, say the players.
‘It wore me down’: Postecoglou explains why he quit as Socceroos coach
Postecoglou thought winning the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil would be a “seminal moment” for the game in Australia - but he was left with a sinking feeling instead.
Pakistan tour cloud after Steve Smith left ‘spaced out’ by boundary concussion
The Australian star was still struggling on Monday after a spectacular fielding leap went wrong at the SCG on Sunday night.
Livin’ on an edge: How Dogs will tame Hetherington’s wild ways
Trent Barrett has given aggressive forward Jack Hetherington a great chance to tidy up his discipline woes.
Updated
Winter Olympics
‘Never count an Aussie out’: Walker records Australia’s best Olympic bobsled result
Monobob racer Bree Walker has piloted Australia to its best Olympic bobsled result, coming fifth in the singles on the sliding track in Yanqing
Moises set to return from wilderness to replace concussed Smith
Veteran all-rounder Moises Henriques is expected to reignite his stop-start 13-year international career.
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
LA Rams reign supreme in Super Bowl thriller
Today on Please Explain, The Sydney Morning Herald’s chief sports writer Andrew Webster joins Bianca Hall to talk about the worldwide phenomenon that is the Super Bowl.
Have Your Say
‘She’s a tough little nut’: How to succeed in a sport that doesn’t exist in Australia
Jaclyn Narracott won an Olympic silver medal in skeleton despite the fact there is not a single track to train on in Australia. It’s as if the Jamaicans from Cool Runnings actually got on the podium.
