Analysis: Joe Biden has cleared the decks to focus on China. But how imminent is the danger?It may have been an inelegantly, even ineptly, executed pivot, gratuitously alienating key allies, but by leaving Afghanistan and forming the Australian, US and…
Melbourne police break up anti-lockdown protest with non-lethal rounds and teargas
Third day of demonstrations ends in a standoff between officers and protesters at the city’s war memorialGet our free news app; get our morning email briefingPolice in Melbourne have again fired non-lethal rounds and teargas at anti-Covid lockdown prot…
Riot police end standoff at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance on third day of protests
More than 200 arrested as Daniel Andrews condemns ‘ugly scenes’ and describes actions of protesters as ‘insult to the vast majority of tradies’Follow our live blog for the latest updates on Covid and protestsPolice have shut down an almost three-hour s…
‘Everyone was nervous’: Victoria avoids serious damage after major earthquake rocks Melbourne
Seismologists believe 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit Mansfield Wednesday morning is ‘probably largest in 175 to 200 years’Victoria earthquake live blog – as it happenedFollow our Australia Covid live blog for the latest updatesGet our free news app;…
US has ‘no closer ally than Australia’, says Biden after Aukus pact
US president and Australian PM welcome new security ties after deal that has infuriated FranceJoe Biden and the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, have welcomed their new security ties after last week’s announcement that Washington would provid…
Melbourne descends into chaos as police arrest 44 and fire rubber pellets at anti-lockdown protesters
It started with construction workers opposing compulsory vaccinations but grew into a broader ‘freedom’ rally which shut down freeways and bridgesPolice have fired pepper balls and stinger grenades at violent anti-Covid lockdown protesters on the stree…
Boris Johnson’s military alliance in the Pacific is reckless post-imperial nostalgia | Simon Jenkins
The Aukus deal has enraged China and humiliated France, when British diplomacy should be concentrated on EuropeThe Aukus defence deal between Britain, the US and Australia grows murkier by the day. Essentially it is the outcome of an industrial dispute…
Victoria set to shut down construction for two weeks after anti-vaccination mandate protest
State government set to make announcement Monday night after Victoria police used pepper spray and rubber bullets to move crowd outside CFMEU officeFollow our Covid live blog for the latest updatesVic hotspots; Vic restrictions; border restrictionsCovi…
Witness feared alleged victims would sue if she testified against Malka Leifer, court hears
Former school counsellor told police in 2011 email she was ‘a bit suspect when someone is in something for a possible payoff’An ex-school counsellor did not want to make a statement against former ultra-Orthodox school principal Malka Leifer because sh…
How we met: ‘As the borders closed, I got the last seat on the last plane out, to be with her’
Damoon, 32, and Mengzhu, 33, met online at the end of 2019. They had a long distance relationship during lockdown, before moving in together at the end of 2020In 2019, Damoon was teaching at a school in Coonamble, a town in rural New South Wales. He wa…