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Exclusive
Smoking & vaping
Border Force can’t stop flow of black market vapes, former officer says
The import ban on disposable vapes in Australia won’t stop a blossoming black market as Border Force will struggle to enforce it, a former federal officer warns.
Updated
Tsunami
Japan issues tsunami warnings following powerful earthquake
Japanese public broadcaster NHK TV warned torrents of water could reach as high as five metres in some areas and urged people to flee to higher ground as quickly as possible.
Exclusive
Australian cricket
Revealed: The full text of Khawaja submission that sparked emergency Cricket Australia meeting
Usman Khawaja’s submission to the International Cricket Council to wear a dove and olive branch on his bat during the Tests against Pakistan and West Indies invoked the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was approved by the Cricket Australia board.
Opinion
Life in the ’burbs
Pyjamas as outerwear? Nobody takes any notice in this inner-west wonderland
Footscray is a place layered with lore. It’s a multifarious wonderland where the Anglo heteronormative presence is a side dish to what’s really going on.
Lily Chan
Review
Streaming
It’s highly offensive, but that’s not the problem with Ricky Gervais’ Armageddon
The comic’s latest stand-up special is the most popular show on Netflix in Australia this week, as he continues to court controversy.
Opinion
Summer reads
In my mind, the job was colossal, I was esteemed and rich. But no one seemed to notice
It was this huge, prestigious company, whose ads I’d watched my whole life. Was I an icon now, by association? Not just Waleed Aly. But Waleed from Telstra.
Waleed Aly
Columnist, co-host of Ten's The Project and academic
The long road to finding a life after logging
A truckie lives on the road chasing work and a boss lays off 15 workers, including his wife as Victoria’s logging ban officially comes into effect.
Fifteen people injured, man severely burnt in Mill Park backyard fire
An explosion was caused in Mill Park after chemicals were poured on a fire, a flare set a home alight on the Mornington Peninsula and an illegal firework exploded in a woman’s face in Altona on New Year’s Eve.
First cats took over this prison. Then they stole its prisoners’ hearts
Chilean prison officials realised, after decades ignoring them, that the feline residents were not only good for the rat problem: they were also good for the inmates.
Denmark’s ‘smoking Queen’ who ruled the longest of anyone in its 1200-year history
Queen Margrethe II, after undergoing surgery in 2023, quit a heavy smoking habit that had lasted 66 years and often was subject of debate.
Updated
Road cycling
Cyclist Rohan Dennis drove ute that killed Olympian wife Melissa Hoskins
The two-time Olympian and former world champion died after she was struck by a ute in Adelaide.
World’s richest begin 2024 $2.2 trillion better off
Tech billionaires’ wealth is up $966 billion and media mogul Rupert Murdoch starts the new year with an extra $13 billion from the start of 2023.
Opinion
Dating
Geminis swipe left: How star signs and astrological dating became mainstream
In the space of a few years, looking to the heavens to find love has moved from the fringes of woo-woo relationship theory and become the new normal.
Madison Griffiths
Author
This dish won’t win any Michelin stars, but its simple flavours shine
This Spanish stew is rustic, rural cuisine, a low-cost stomach-filler for people with ready access to its basic ingredients.
Five simple diet changes that will make a big difference to your health
Making some small changes and substitutions every day can be all it takes to make you feel better – minus the guilt, diets and deprivation.
Exclusive
Naked City
Teeth marks, a stolen satchel and the High Country’s Button Man: A camper’s midnight fright
An experienced camper’s ‘extremely scary’ midnight encounter and rescue from remote Victorian wilderness has revived whispers of mountain mysteries.
‘Watching Federer play has moved me more than Djokovic’: Latest chapter in Novak and Rafa’s simmering GOAT feud
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal says in his “memory of tennis”, Roger Federer, not Novak Djokovic, is the player who has impressed him and entertained him the most.
The ‘once-only’ opportunity to expand Australia’s size by almost 50 per cent
Cabinet documents reveal the Howard government moved quickly to lock in a claim over huge areas of the seabed across the Pacific, Indian and Southern oceans.
Behind the headlines
Special series
We gave a celeb a ‘halo’ on this magazine cover. Then came a social media pile-on
As journalists, we dish it out and we take it. We can’t – and shouldn’t – complain. But I’d be lying if I said this story didn’t shake me.
Special series
I’ve written more than 5 million words on crime. But one story taught me good can trump evil
The case against Peter Dupas was strong, but not strong enough for charges to be laid – then one of the fresh investigators made a phone call more in hope than expectation.
Victoria
Surf, swells and a cuppa: 60 years on, they’re still making waves together
Founded during the 1960s surfing craze, members still meet. When the waves are decent, they’ll grab their surfboards and head out as they always have.
The incredible logistics behind Melbourne Aquarium’s epic makeover
Millions of litres of water, 72 tonnes of salt and sharks trucked interstate were just part of the logistics in cleaning our biggest fish tank.
Updated
Vale
Journalist and filmmaker John Pilger dies aged 84
Pilger’s family announced in posts on the famed human rights advocate’s official social media channels that he had died in England on December 30.
How homes can use a loophole to avoid Victoria’s new gas ban
New homes and granny flats will have to go all electric as new laws come into effect, but about 33,400 small residential lots are able to slip through the net.
Baby Frankie brings joy early as his parents wish for peace in 2024
Courtney Wheeler wasn’t expecting to welcome in the new year holding her precious baby boy. She is one of 6500 mums this year to give birth at Australia’s largest public maternity hospital.
Politics
Ex-ASIO boss called in after secret Iraq War files go missing
The misplacement of highly sensitive documents containing advice from spy agencies used by John Howard’s government to go to war in Iraq in 2003 has prompted a high-level inquiry.
Business
Australians will finally see how men and women are paid in the workplace
The country will take a huge step forward for women’s equality when it begins publishing the gender pay gap for large businesses next month.
World
Xi says China will ‘surely be reunified’ with self-ruled Taiwan in New Year’s address
China has described Taiwan’s January 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between war and peace.
Opinion
He told me, ‘Go back to your country.’ But that’s right here, Australia
Ramia Abdo-Sultan
Australian-Palestinian advocate
Around the world in 40 elections: Welcome to the year of the voter
George Brandis
Former high commissioner to the UK and federal attorney-general
Explore
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Property
Five dream beach homes that you could own, if you have the cash. But you can look for free
These are five of Australia’s most breathtaking beach houses – but they might be out of reach unless you have very deep pockets.
The coastal spots near Melbourne where property is picking up
Holiday home buyers and sea-changers who were priced out during the boom a couple of years ago are taking another look.
Good Food
Lifestyle
Dry January too daunting? A ‘damp’ one is still worthwhile
If going cold turkey for a month isn’t for you, the new year is still a good opportunity for anyone to re-evaluate their relationship with alcohol.
Opinion
New Year
I’m no longer a COVID virgin, but I’m trying to stay positive
Jo Stubbings
Writer and reviewer
![Mackenzie Arnold: “After losing those two games [at the end of the FIFA World Cup], I’ve never seen so much support from a country for its team.”](http://web.archive.org./web/20240101173051im_/https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.1262314242778427%2C$multiply_0.7063%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_62%2Cf_auto/5e3aa151aa689aab0e92275046b70cb0e3f131e9)
Culture
Welcome to the New Year’s Eve we all missed: NYE TV wrap
The ABC asked its New Year’s Eve viewers to put on their party shoes, leave their grumpy hats in the cupboard, keep their minds open – and let the music take over.
Traveller
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From Our Partners
Sport
Exclusive
Australian cricket
Revealed: The full text of Khawaja submission that sparked emergency CA meeting
Usman Khawaja’s submission to the International Cricket Council to wear a dove and olive branch on his bat during the Tests against Pakistan and West Indies invoked the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and was approved by the Cricket Australia board.
‘Watching Federer play has moved me more than Djokovic’: Latest chapter in Novak and Rafa’s simmering GOAT feud
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal says in his “memory of tennis”, Roger Federer, not Novak Djokovic, is the player who has impressed him and entertained him the most.
Updated
Australian cricket
‘It’s now a fairytale ending’: The special touch in Warner’s farewell Test
The veteran opener, who also announced his retirement from ODIs on Monday, will play his final Test at his home ground alongside a teammate who has been with him since the beginning.
A big call to make: Your club’s free agents for 2024
Hugh McCluggage, Jack Martin, Andrew McGrath, Tim English and Dustin Martin. What do they have in common? They are all part of the AFL’s 2024 free agency class.
The story behind Fraser-McGurk’s bond with Maxwell … and that monkey incident
Young star Jake Fraser-McGurk opens up on his relationship with Glenn Maxwell, his baggy green aspirations, and his misadventure with a monkey.
Updated
WTA Tour
Osaka vows to return ‘as much love as I was given’ after triumphant comeback
Even as the heavens opened, Naomi Osaka’s comeback at the Brisbane International could not be dampened as she closed out a 6-3, 7-6 (11-9) win against Tamara Korpatsch.
‘Just wishing each other a happy new year’: Ange in heated sideline spat during Spurs win
Two more players have been added to Tottenham’s injury list after a 3-1 victory over Bournemouth kept them hot on the heels of fourth-placed Arsenal, who blew a chance to go top.
Have Your Say
On the street, in an apartment building, and even on a tennis court: Why ‘there is nothing we can do to stop snakes’
A professional snake catcher has warned “there is nothing we can do to stop snakes” after an eastern brown snake interrupted a world-class tennis tournament in Brisbane.
