Taliban targets Afghan family as Scott Morrison stalls
As Scott Morrison enlarges his powers, he becomes directly responsible for cases like Shaima’s.
News
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PM’s Literary Awards ignite fresh history wars
“Good history has to be based on evidence, scholarship and good writing. Hal Colebatch’s book fails on every one of those measures.”
Awarding a PM’s literary prize to a poorly sourced anti-union tome is an unsubtle attempt to rewrite history.
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David Morrison breaking the brass ceiling in the ADF
While David Morrison is making headway on women’s recruitment and promotion in the army, the ‘band of brothers’ culture persists.
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PNG PM dragged into corruption scandals
Papua New Guinea’s corruption scandals continue to dog its government, and threaten to envelop Prime Minister Peter O’Neill as he courts Australian investors.
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GMH auto workers Holden out for a miracle
There are still three years before General Motors pulls the pin on its South Australian operations, but plans to soften the blow remain stuck in first gear.
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Economists doubt Shinzō Abe’s reform plan
China defies Hague over sea dispute; CIA’s damning torture report; Disney, Skype on Luxembourg tax list.
Opinion
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James Brown
Aust government leaves Antarctic plans on ice
“Antarctic science is critical to our understanding of climate change … Yet in recent years Australia’s scientific program has contracted.”
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Paul Bongiorno
How the PM’s office is wrecking his government
“Just as stories of the Rudd office’s dysfunction began seeping into the media for months before he was brought down, persistent reports are beginning to appear about the Abbott office.”
Letters, Poem & Editorial
Culture
Artist Tracey Moffatt’s latest exhibition represents a homecoming for the one-time New York resident.
Benedict Andrews’ big screen A Streetcar Named Desire.
In Benedict Andrews’ A Streetcar Named Desire, filmed for cinema, Gillian Anderson delivers a lustrous Blanche DuBois.
Food
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Refreshing cucumber cocktail and whipped cod roe dip
Fancy a quick dip? And a delicious cocktail to go with it?
Life
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Cruising amid the dramatic extremes of Norway’s fjords
A cruise on the fjords around western Norway’s maritime centre Bergen provides a spectacular and moving experience.
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Ceridwen Dovey’s Butterfly Gorge
A new short story by Ceridwen Dovey, winner of the 2014 Queensland Literary Award for her collection Only the Animals.
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Breaking back: Casey Dellacqua, 29, tennis player
Last year marked an amazing turnaround in the fortunes of tennis journeyman Casey Dellacqua. Can she play even better in 2015?
Books
The Quiz
1. Which river flows through Christchurch, New Zealand?
2. Gene Hackman played “Popeye” Doyle in which Best Picture Oscar-winning film of the 1970s? (Bonus point for naming the other film Hackman won an acting Oscar for.)
3. True or false: tornadoes usually spin in different directions depending on whether they occur in the northern or southern hemisphere.
4. What are the given names of composer J. S. Bach?
5. In a car, what does a tachometer measure?
6. What does the acronym WYSIWYG stand for?
7. How many of the world’s top-15-ranked singles tennis players, male or female, are from the United States?
8. Was Arnhem Land named after: (a) a person; (b) a ship; (c) a place?
9. What colour ribbon is worn to promote breast cancer awareness?
10. What day of the week does New Year’s Day 2015 fall on?
Quotes
SPORT
“I really want to emphasise the fact that I didn’t intend to disrespect anybody and I definitely didn’t do it on the car.”
The rugby league player apologises for urinating beside a police car, admitting that it put a “dampener on our wedding weekend”.
MEDIA
“Beyond that, fuck him.”
The Age’s editor-in-chief writes to The Sydney Morning Herald’s editor-in-chief, expressing his esteem for Treasurer Joe Hockey. The text message was released as part of defamation proceedings brought against the papers by Hockey.
INTERNET
“I’m used to working every day, so this is a huge routine change. You don’t have to have a routine when you have to take pictures of the cat.”
The former waitress explains how life has changed in the past two years, making nearly $100 million taking pictures of her grumpy-looking cat. The cat is called Grumpy Cat.
DEATHS
“We mourn her passing and rededicate ourselves to her spirit.”
The former prime minister marks the death of disability advocate and comic Stella Young. She was 32.
HOLLYWOOD
“I’m not remotely interested in presiding over a $180m ego bath that we both know will be the career-defining debacle for us both.”
The film producer makes clear his lack of enthusiasm for working on Angelina Jolie’s Cleopatra.
TORTURE
“I was tortured for five-and-a-half years in Guantanamo Bay in the full knowledge of your party.”
The former detainee heckles Attorney-General George Brandis after a landmark US senate report into inhumane and ineffective torture techniques used against terror suspects. Brandis did not respond.
