Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks has revealed that he and wife Rita Wilson have tested positive for the new coronavirus in Australia. Hanks and Wilson, both 63, sought medical advice after experiencing symptoms of a cold in Queensland, the actor wrote on Instagram. They will now spend time in isolation, he added. The US couple had […]

Perhaps the worst doomsday scenario is this: being stuck on the toilet and finding you’re down to the last square. At least that appears to be the nightmare prospect scaring many Australians right now, who have become the latest group to respond to coronavirus fears by buying toilet paper en masse. This is despite authorities […]

Australia’s summers have become twice as long as its winters amid increasing temperatures driven by climate change, according to new weather data analysis. The Australia Institute found that summer across most of the country over the past 20 years was about a month longer than in the mid-20th century, while winters had become shorter. Between […]

A BP refinery worker in Australia has successfully won back his job after being sacked for parodying the company in a well-known Hitler meme. Scott Tracey used the popular meme, from the 2004 film Downfall, to portray scenes from company wage negotiations, posting it on a closed Facebook group. He later lost an unfair dismissal […]

An Australian police detective investigating the murders of Hannah Clarke and her children has been stood down from the case over comments that were seen as “victim shaming”. Clarke and her children died when her estranged husband Rowan Baxter set their car on fire. He also died. In comments to the media on Thursday, Det […]

Three people, including children, have died after a car was allegedly set alight in the Australian city of Brisbane, authorities say. Queensland’s Police Minister Mark Ryan told parliament the “horrific incident” occurred in the city’s east. “Three people have died, including children, in a horrific incident at Camp Hill this morning,” he said. Queensland Police […]

More than 200 Australians have been flown back home after 14 days in quarantine on remote Christmas Island amid coronavirus fears. They were evacuated from China’s Hubei province – the epicentre of the deadly outbreak – on 3 February. With no cases reported during the minimum required time, they were taken to six cities across […]

Australia’s national broadcaster has lost its legal challenge to controversial police raids on its Sydney newsroom last year. In June, police searched the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and the home of a newspaper journalist over articles which relied on leaks from government whistleblowers. The raids sparked public outrage and protests across the nation’s media. However, […]

Senior Australian MPs have cancelled a planned trip to the UK as tensions heighten over the role of Huawei in building Britain’s 5G network. Lawmakers from the intelligence and security committee had been expected to travel to the UK next month. But the trip has been postponed amid reports of a diplomatic rift. The decision […]

Heavy rains in New South Wales in recent days have led to hopes that all the bushfires in the Australian state could be out by the end of the week. Since Friday, parts of the fire-ravaged Australian state have experienced their heaviest rainfall in years. The rain caused widespread flooding – hundreds of people had […]