Topics
View all topics

AFP officers readying to join MH17 security force

By political reporter Karen Barlow

Prime Minister Tony Abbott says 50 federal police officers are on standby to help secure the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash site.
Mr Abbott says the AFP officers are in London awaiting approval for an international force to secure the site of the crash, which killed 298 people including 37 Australian citizens and residents.
He says while the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine has improved, there is a long way to go to gain free and unfettered access to the crash site.
"On the site, it is still clear that nothing is happening without the approval of the armed rebels, who most likely brought the plane down in the first place," he said.

First MH17 victims arrive in the Netherlands

Passenger jet missing
Authorities have lost contact with an Air Algerie aircraft carrying passengers over Africa, according to reports.
Gillard 'offered to stand down'
Greg Combet says Julia Gillard offered to stand aside if he stood in the 2013 leadership spill against Kevin Rudd.
Suspects rise through ranks
A number of suspected sexual predators have risen to powerful positions in the Defence Force.
'Horrific' Great Ocean Road crash
A woman dies and six other people are injured after a bus veers off the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.
Serial litigant back in court
A man fights a NSW Government bid to block him from the courts by having him declared a "vexatious litigant".
232 teeth removed from teen
Indian doctors extract 232 teeth from the mouth of a 17-year-old boy during a seven-hour operation.
Mother acquitted over baby's death in hot car
Nitschke medical suspension 'no surprise'
'Grave concerns' for Christmas Island detainees
Botched execution leaves man dying for nearly two hours

Business

Housing overvalued if rates rise
A new report shows current Australian home prices are a gamble on interest rates staying near record lows.
RBNZ a year ahead of RBA?
The New Zealand Reserve Bank's fourth straight rate rise could be a sign of things to come for Australia.
Arms deals threaten sanctions
Arms deals with Russia are undercutting attempts by the European Union to impose economic sanctions.
Market hits six-year high
Finance stocks help the Australian share market rise modestly to hit a six-year high.
RET too costly: research
New research finds the renewable energy target will cost billions while overshooting its stated aim.

Analysis & Opinion from The Drum

Christmas Island shame
One teenager said the detention environment has "taken away my hope", writes Gillian Triggs.
Scripture in schools
It is wrong to say that religion is being woven into our public education system, writes Chris Ashton.
Stifling the debate
The Medical Board has gone against the rule of law and Australian democracy, writes Philip Nitschke.
Money tap turned off
America's great money tap is about to be turned off, leaving some countries high and dry, writes Alan Kohler.
Contrast to MH17
Where was Tony Abbott's heartfelt response when asylum seeker Reza Berati died? Jonathan Green writes.
Abbott's reinvention
Following the MH17 crisis, the PM has shifted from partisan chieftain to a national leader, writes Terry Barnes.
Situation normal
Voters agree that the current Senate circus is nothing unusual, write Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods.
Onlookers can suffer
It's been an awful news week, and it could be harming your mental health, writes Sarah Malik.

World

Asia Pacific

Jetstar staff lose pay battle
Jetstar staff recruited in Asia and paid less than their Australian colleagues lose their bid for thousands of dollars in back pay.
MH17 security force
Tony Abbott says 50 AFP officers are on standby to help secure the Malaysia Airlines crash site.
232 teeth removed from teen
Indian doctors extract 232 teeth from the mouth of a 17-year-old boy during a seven-hour operation.
Punitive Pacific laws undermine HIV efforts
Health advocates say laws banning homosexual acts are undermining efforts to prevent and treat HIV in the Pacific.
Cambodia at HIV 'cross roads'
Cambodia's reputation as a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS could be undermined by government policy.

Sport

NRL player insurance payouts set to double under proposed new scheme
The NRL has proposed a new player insurance scheme that will see payouts double in the case of career-ending injuries.
Brumbies name unchanged team for semi-final
The Brumbies have had the luxury of naming an unchanged team for heir Super Rugby semi-final against the Waratahs.

No Mo
Two-time Olympic champion Mo Farah has withdrawn from England's Commonwealth Games team.
Attacking Hawks
Sydney defender Nick Smith is wary of Hawthorn's forwards even without departed Lance Franklin and injured Cyril Rioli.
Games open
Forty-one furry bundles of joy stole the show as the 20th Commonwealth Games burst into life in Glasgow.
Eagles distracted
Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran has conceded player contractual issues are afflicting the Sea Eagles.

TV & Video

Video

The claims that won't die
Warren Truss, Catherine King and Joe Hockey have repeated debunked claims, all to do with money.
Video

Mining the moon
Catalyst's Graham Phillips discusses ways the moon could be mined to build bases or extract minerals that are valuable on Earth.
Video

Chasing whisky excellence
A world-first centre of whisky excellence is being established in Tasmania's Derwent Valley.

Video

What will it take to analyse MH17?
Australian police and forensic specialists have arrived in Ukraine and Holland to face the massive task of finding answers in one of the biggest and most complex crime scenes the world has ever seen.
Video

The human cost of loose lending standards
St George Bank is facing a potential class action over hundreds of "low doc" loans made before the global financial crisis.

Health

Helping children make sense of MH17
At times the media coverage of MH17 has been graphic and distressing. So how do you talk to children about traumatic news stories like this, and should you?
Stronger relationships
The federal government is offering couples a two hundred dollar subsidy to attend relationship counselling. The Minister for Social Services believes that this investment will reduce the social and economic cost of relationship breakdown.
Health care warning
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is warning the Federal Government against moving to a system where health insurers, rather than Medicare, pay for GP visits.

Why is watching TV so bad for you?

ABC Fact Check

Asylum seekers in High Court
ABC Fact Check explains why the fate of 153 Sri Lankan asylum seekers is now in the hands of the High Court.
Fact file: Crisis in Ukraine
Fact Check looks back at the history of conflict, political upheaval and changing borders in Ukraine.
Emissions trading schemes
The PM's claim that emissions trading schemes are being discarded around the world doesn't check out.
What's at the heart of ANZUS?
The Foreign Minister's claim that Australia and the US have a commitment to "come to one another's aid" is ambiguous.

Rural

Gas prices to hit agriculture
Rising gas prices could cost food manufacturing $10 billion over the next decade.
Container terminal opened
Can agricultural exports expand now that a third container loader has been finished at Port Botany which has doubled the capactiy? (audio)
Lamb ban message to Putin
A Victorian lamb processor suspends exports to Russia over Putin's response to the MH17 plane crash.

Outback art debuts in city

Did You Miss?

What makes a winner?
Fiona Lowry bucked the trend with her winning Archibald portrait. See how it compares to previous winners.
100 years of temperatures
Use our interactive map to explore 100 years of annual average temperatures across Australia.
Before and after
Use our X-ray tool to peer through the surface of these masterpieces and see what lies beneath.
Every Cup goal ever
Compare the goal-scoring fortunes of World Cup giants and underdogs using our interactive.