Australian Breaking News Headlines & World News Online | SMH.com.au

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement
Puzzled newsletter tile

Puzzled with David Astle newsletter

For subscribers: Tips and tricks from our puzzles guru, plus try our quizzes, crosswords and puzzles.

Trial by Water podcast

Trial by Water podcast

A new investigative podcast about one of Australia’s most controversial cases.

Where on Earth Logo

The Traveller Quiz

Are you an expert traveller? Test your knowledge with our weekly travel quiz.


Exclusive
Crime

Rapist involved in Balding murder back behind bars just days after his release

Wayne Wilmot, and Janine Balding, right.

Serial sex offender Wayne Wilmot who was part of the gang that abducted, raped and murdered bank teller Janine Balding, is accused of breaching his supervision order.

Navy pulls rank as repairs to defective warship add to Manly ferry woes

HMAS Sydney was officially commissioned

The return of one of Sydney’s largest ferries has been delayed by a year due to a Spanish-built warship jumping the queue for a dry docking at Garden Island.

Jobs on the line as media chiefs unite against Meta

The bosses of Nine, News Corp and Seven West Media have called for a potential ban on Facebook if parent company Meta fails to comply with local laws and values.

Rhyce Harding was killed in an alleged road rage incident in Blackett.

Man killed in alleged road rage incident identified as Sydney landscaper

Rhyce Harding was on his way to work – he had just started his own landscaping company – when police believe he and another driver became involved in an argument.

The Sydney beaches that lost 20 metres of sand as big swells return

A surfer riding a wave at Dead Man’s

A big swell this week has stolen much of the bonus sand deposited on the coastline during a relatively calm winter last year.

‘You’re only No.1 because Ash retired’: How Barty’s shock call changed tennis

Ash Barty became the first Australian woman in 41 years to win the Wimbledon title in 2021.

Ash Barty’s second – and almost certainly final – retirement two years ago not only broke Australian hearts but also unleashed a potential all-time great.

How focused are this Australia team? Pat Cummins forgot he’d taken a hat-trick

Pat Cummins celebrates his hattrick against Bangladesh

How laser focused is Australia’s World Cup campaign? Pat Cummins forgot he was on a hat-trick against Bangladesh

What makes Cameron Murray an instant Origin selection?

The Rabbitohs captain spent six weeks on the sidelines injured, but all NSW coach Michael Maguire needed was to watch his first game back last week to pick him for Origin II.

ians flee from the southern Gaza city of Rafah during an Israeli ground and air offensive in the city in May.

‘I had to do something’: When the only escape from war is to buy your way out

For many Palestinians, securing approval to exit the territory is possible only after raising thousands of dollars to pay middlemen or an Egyptian company.

Druids, selfies and weak flat whites: Ancient traditions mix with the new at Stonehenge

People gather in the centre of Stonehenge.

About 10,000 people have marked the summer solstice at Stonehenge, including a man called Larry who says he was a raven.

I mentored the next British PM. Here’s what Australians need to know about him

Keir Starmer does not have the charisma of Boris Johnson or Tony Blair, but charisma in politicians is much overrated.

Geoffrey Robertson
Geoffrey Robertson

Human rights barrister and author

Thank you, Mr Dutton. With Lithgow going nuclear, the Shamrocks dare to dream

Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan for Lithgow has elicited quite a reaction from the old Shamrocks.

The old Lithgow Shamrocks rugby league players are prepared, pro bono, to get involved. One has already googled “how to build a nuclear power plant”.

'Rampaging' Roy Slaven
'Rampaging' Roy Slaven

Retired sportsman, expert commentator

Why fans of the world’s biggest pop stars are mad at Taylor Swift

From left: Camila Cabello, Taylor Swift, and Charli XCX onstage before opening night of Swift’s 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour in May 2018 in Arizona.

Is Taylor Swift really “chart blocking” Charli XCX and Billie Eilish? And what does that even mean?

Analysis
Food & drink

The Aussie burrito-maker that makes Nvidia look dirt cheap

The Guzman y Gomez float was an astounding success, which makes justifying the jaw-dropping valuation on the stock much harder for investors.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance over the weekend.

Catherine gets it – being honest doesn’t always feel terrific, but gets the job done

The princess’s glossy My Fair Lady return was a masterclass in not just doing what you do best to keep the masses happy, but in controlling the narrative.

Kate Halfpenny
Kate Halfpenny

Regular columnist

Advertisement

NRL 2024

Big is best: NSW Blues players Stephen Crichton and Latrell Mitchell during a clinic with about 200 junior rugby league players from clubs across NSW.

‘Speed, size, power and aggression’: Why Maroons should fear Mitchell and Crichton

Gene Miles and Mal Meninga. Justin Hodges and Greg Inglis. Now NSW have rolled out their most physically imposing centre pairing yet.

Stephen Crichton’s personal handshake with Bulldogs prop Max King.

‘Dudes just follow him’: Inside Crichton’s trick to being a good leader

Stephen Crichton has cultivated dozens of individual handshakes with all his teammates as a way of establishing a better connection.

Sydney

‘Always on my mind’: Officer who stopped Bondi Junction attacker pays tribute to victims

‘Always on my mind’: Officer who stopped Bondi Junction attacker pays tribute to victims

Inspector Amy Scott, who received a bravery award on Friday, says the six stabbing victims and other first responders should be at the forefront of our thinking.

The housing crisis has split Sydney. This is where the voters have landed

The Minns government’s push to increase housing density around train stations has divided the opposition in parliament and the Liberal Party’s supporters.

The Minns government’s push to increase housing density around train stations has divided the opposition in parliament and the Liberal Party’s supporters. 

How Ornella’s ‘very expensive education’ in Sydney pushed her to build a school across the Timor Sea

Ornella Byak, entrepreneur, charity CEO, volunteer extraordinaire, outside the Rag & Famish Hotel, opposite her alma mater, Monty.

At the age of 14, Ornella Byak had an encounter that shaped the course of her life.

Mariam spent four hours trying to find antibiotics. She’s one of the lucky ones

Dr Mariam Chaalan with her son, Zach, who has mycoplasma pneumonia.

GPs have been urged to cut back on prescribing antibiotics to children as NSW experiences a surge in respiratory viruses.

Bankrupt former Sydney council worker ‘too busy’ to declare $253,000 payments

Bankrupt former Sydney council worker ‘too busy’ to declare $253,000 payments

The ex-Canterbury-Bankstown employee has denied to the ICAC that he accepted money from a friend in return for help winning valuable local government work.

From our partners

Loading 3rd party ad content
Loading 3rd party ad content
Loading 3rd party ad content
Loading 3rd party ad content
Loading 3rd party ad content
Loading 3rd party ad content

SEE & DO

Emmanuelle Devos’ extraordinary performance in A Silence captures a desperate sense of losing control.

His crime shocked France. This film reveals why his wife stayed silent

A Silence unpacks the complicity that allowed a celebrated lawyer to commit horrific acts. For its director, it was also a reckoning.

Jurassic Park, starring Laura Dern and Sam Neill, at one point held the record for the highest-grossing film of all time.

The late Jurassic Park author’s final book gets a roaring release

Our reviewers cast their eyes over new fiction and non-fiction releases including the late Michael Crichton’s Eruption, completed by thriller writer James Patterson and a memoir of hidden sexuality in Victorian-era regional Australia.

Politics

Business

World

Advertisement

Opinion

Explore

Got a news tip?

Share information with our journalists securely and confidentially. Learn more

Advertisement

Property

Newcastle’s property market was becoming unaffordable to locals.

The regional property markets tipped to hit fresh records

The COVID-era tree- and sea-change boom is over, but some states can expect to see their regional house price markets improve in the next year.

The Australian cities that are tipped to crack house price records next year

Despite higher rates, property prices are tipped to grow to new highs, but not all capitals will keep up.

Good Food

Lifestyle

Culture

Traveller

Sport

Big is best: NSW Blues players Stephen Crichton and Latrell Mitchell during a clinic with about 200 junior rugby league players from clubs across NSW.

‘Speed, size, power and aggression’: Why Maroons should fear Mitchell and Crichton

Gene Miles and Mal Meninga. Justin Hodges and Greg Inglis. Now NSW have rolled out their most physically imposing centre pairing yet.

Errol Gulden was best on ground in the last derby.
Analysis
AFL 2024

Five burning questions ahead of the second Sydney derby of the AFL season

The Swans are flying without a care in the world, while the Giants would love another win to help get their season back on track. We take a closer look at Saturday’s huge clash.

Cameron Murray in Origin game three last year.

What makes Cameron Murray an instant Origin selection?

The Rabbitohs captain spent six weeks on the sidelines injured, but all NSW coach Michael Maguire needed was to watch his first game back last week to pick him for Origin II.

Royce Hunt, Spencer Leniu and Connor Watson.

Is Connor Watson, pound-for-pound, the NRL’s most valuable player?

Salary cap management is all about value. So what price do you put on players who can change a game in 20 minutes?

Josh Giddey playing for the Boomers against Venezuela in Melbourne last year.
Opinion
Paris 2024

‘I was going to throw red wine in his face’: Boomers coach Goorjian’s staunch defence of Giddey

The national men’s basketball coach insists the point-guard has come out the other side of the scandal that has shadowed him this NBA season.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster

Chief Sports Writer

Pat Cummins celebrates his hattrick against Bangladesh

Pat-trick: Australia’s engine humming after Cummins’ purple patch

How laser focused is Australia’s World Cup campaign? Pat Cummins forgot he was on a hat-trick against Bangladesh

Kurtley Beale on the attack for the Force.
Updated
Wallabies

Beale and 13 new faces in Wallabies squad – but no NRL-bound stars

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has named his first national squad for Tests against Wales and Georgia. There is no shortage of talking points.

Racing

Advertisement

Most Viewed today

Loading