The Age

The posts multiplied hard and fast, as the same drawing of Floyd appeared on every second story, his final words "I can't breathe," the go-to caption. Soon, it seemed like the only thing anyone was posting was a single blank, black tile tagged with the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag.

We Can’t Say We Didn’t Know poses a direct challenge to any reader: do not stop reading, do not look away. TV journalist Sophie McNeill is blunt: our epoch is failing. Ubiquitous outrage will land on the latest celebrity gaffe while the great humanitarian disasters vanish into the bowels of our social media feed. McNeill demands more as she takes the reader through her work in the Middle East over the past decade. The result is not pretty but how could it be? We visit the pulverised rubble of E

Mr Young said that upon hearing he was inclined to go on breakfast TV to defend Prince Andrew, his wife said: “Are you (expletive) insane … It’s as if alienating 99 per cent of the country isn’t enough for you. You have to hunt down the last one percent and make sure you piss them off, too.” Um, yes Toby, she has a point. But can I politely suggest that you should have considered that advice before using your platform to pen a column blaming women, yet again, for men’s abuse.

While the world around us changes rapidly, some things remain steadfastly the same. The humble Bertie Beetle showbag, one such stalwart, is back at this year’s Royal Melbourne Show. Four Bertie Beetles and three Redskins will set showgoers back just $2. The delicious Bertie Beetle is made from the offcuts of Violet Crumble bars, which – along with its bargain price –might explain why it remains a crowd favourite year after year. That and its exclusivity – the chocolate was removed from general

Two carnival rides banned in South Australia over fears “a child could be ejected out of the side” have been installed at this year’s Royal Melbourne Show. The rides, known as The Beast and Extreme, were banned from the Royal Adelaide Show for not having an extra safety mechanism that is not a requirement in Victoria. The Beast is a pendulum ride that swings riders nearly 40 metres high and 47 metres wide. According to the Royal Melbourne Show website, it is the “largest transportable ride to

A woman has been injured with a box cutter during a confrontation with a masked intruder who stormed her home demanding money while her four-year-old daughter was in the next room. Police are investigating the incident, which occurred in Narre Warren on Monday. It comes after a young man was shot in the face and a mother of three was slashed, in two other terrifying home invasions on Sunday night and Monday. Police are not treating the three incidents as linked. The victim of the Narre Warren

Two women have been charged and a man is in hospital under police guard after a car was allegedly stolen from a petrol station, sparking a dramatic peak-hour police chase on the Princes Freeway. Two women, a 30-year-old from Dandenong and a 23-year-old from Mount Pleasant, were charged on Tuesday with the theft of a car, possessing a drug of dependence and weapons offences. A 24-year-old man from Sebastopol is in hospital under police guard and is yet to be interviewed. Police said they were

The leafy seadragon is a fine diner with an expensive eating habit. Six of these fussy eaters have arrived at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium where they’ve acquired their own personal dietitian and a combined monthly feeding bill of $3000. Exhibit manager Tereza Todd said the leafy seadragon's favourite food, live mysid shrimp and glass shrimp, are caught by a specialty diver, the only person in Australia who supplies them. “If they’re not getting the right nutrition, then they might not be able

Safety fences at tram stops designed to herd people onto pedestrian crossings are frustrating commuters who say the barriers are making it harder and more dangerous to get on and off trams. Pedestrian guard rails built by Stonnington Council nearly 20 years ago on footpaths near traffic light intersections in Prahran, Toorak and Malvern were designed to stop pedestrians from spilling out onto the roads. But Melbourne's surging population has led to more people using trams on Chapel Street, Hig

The Father's Day stall and gifts for Dad crafted by little hands are increasingly a thing of the past in some Melbourne schools and kindergartens. The growing diversity in the forms that families take, and a lack of interest in the occasion from kids themselves, have seen it pass without a mention in many classes this year. Some kids have two mums, some have no dad and some are from cultures where Father’s Day isn’t really a thing. Annie Dennis Children’s Centre in Northcote recognises the di

How do you move a pair of rhinos? Very carefully. Halls Gap Zoo and Werribee Open Range Zoos – 230 kilometres apart – planned to swap two male Southern White rhinoceroses as part of a joint effort to breed and raise awareness.

First, the rhinos were trained to touch their snouts to a tennis ball attached to the end of a pole to get a food reward. “We trained the rhinos to enter on their own accord using food to get them feeling nice and comfortable,” Mr Traher said. “The main aim was to give the rhinos as much choice and control as possible, and to keep them calm. Werribee Zoo general manager of life sciences, Russel Traher, said the two massive beasts were trained to enter reinforced steel "rhino crates" which were

As we approach the second anniversary of #MeToo in October, some may ask what, if anything, has been achieved? Over the weekend, one of the most high profile alleged offenders to be snared in #MeToo’s net, the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, died by apparent suicide while in jail awaiting trial on charges he recruited dozens of underage victims – some of whom he trained to recruit others – as part of a sex trafficking ring he ran for at least five years in the early 2000s. What happens next

Hundreds of post-it notes fluttered over the graffiti on Hosier Lane in central Melbourne on Saturday in a message of support to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. The notes are part of an art installation – Lennon Wall for Hong Kong, by Chinese-Australian artist and political dissident Badiucao – depicting Chinese leader Xi Xingping and Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam. Extradition laws proposed by the Hong Kong government, which would allow someone in Hong Kong to be sent to mainland

Maxim Boon meets China's most famous musical son ahead of his latest Australian tour.

A drug-fuelled threesome turned deadly for a man whose body was dumped in a wheelie bin after he was strangled in a jealous rage by another member of the trio.

The late activist Audre Lorde wrote the now-famous quote, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” That is absolutely true – and wise words for the growing army of feminist activists who are taking to the streets in pursuit of equality with energy not seen since the height of second wave feminism. But beware the rise of corporate “feminist wellness”, selling you a soothing balm of tea and scented candles – a kind of faux femi

So called “political violence” or “violence against women in politics” is a specific thing. But before I give you the technical definition, let me just say that yesterday’s Sunshine Coast Daily front page featuring Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk in the crosshairs of a rifle with the headline, Anna, You’re Next, is a pretty classic example. From commonplace acts of harassment and sexual harassment, to misogynistic and sexist verbal attacks, much of it increasingly online, women in poli

A few years ago, my family benefited from the help of an excellent au pair from Germany. In the vein of Mary Poppins, she was practically perfect in every way, except for one minor fault: she had an annoying habit of musing out loud on the perceived inadequacies of Australia compared with her home country and frequently started sentences with, “In Germany ...” Cue meditation on German superiority. It happened so often that it become a kind of joke in our family, something my husband and I still

Lonely widower Elia Abdelmessih was 69 when he was found bludgeoned to death with a tin of mangoes and a statue of the Virgin Mary near his body. The identity of his killer remained a mystery for 13 years.

Two young Victorian men have been jailed for raping a woman in a caravan, where one of the attackers told his co-offender "she's all yours now".

Nur Islam couldn't explain to police why he turned himself into a human fireball at a Melbourne bank, other than to say he "felt angry at the time".

Students at a Catholic girls' school claim they were left with “inflamed, irritated and swollen eyes” after they were forced to pull out eyelash extensions and remove make-up with antibacterial wipes.

"For those prepared to make the journey, there are rich rewards to be found."

Irish visitor The Cliffsofmoher has been put down after a mishap passing the winning post the first time in the Melbourne Cup. The Caulfield Cup placegetter, trained by Aidan O'Brien, fractured a shoulder as he was approaching the turn out of the straight for the first time. Stablemate Yucatan was favourite and ran 11th in the race, which was won by Cross Counter, with Marmelo second and A Prince of Arran third. Jamie Stier, Racing Victoria's manager of integrity services, confirmed the news

Irish visitor The Cliffsofmoher has been put down after a mishap passing the winning post the first time in the Melbourne Cup. The Caulfield Cup placegetter, trained by Aidan O'Brien, fractured a shoulder as he was approaching the turn out of the straight for the first time. Stablemate Yucatan was favourite and ran 11th in the race, which was won by Cross Counter, with Marmelo second and A Prince of Arran third. Jamie Stier, Racing Victoria's manager of integrity services, confirmed the news

Melanie Young was looking to earn some extra money for her young family - all she had to do was download a smart phone app. Now, the catalogue distribution industry is facing allegations of exploitation, with features such as monitoring apps indicating a closer employment relationship between companies and contractors.

A new staged song-cycle, by Steve Vizard and Paul Grabowsky, wrestles with the innate agism faced by many women in opera, writes Maxim Boon.

Over the past two and a half years, Afterpay has emerged from nowhere to become a $4 billion juggernaut - one of Australia's biggest fintech successes. It has amassed an army of devoted users, many of them millennials, who love the product, and a crew of faithful shareholders who gush about its stunning growth. Afterpay's shares are up nearly 2000 per cent over the past 2 ½years. Its co-founder and chief executive Nick Molnar, who is not yet 30, has skyrocketed up the rich list - his stake in th

With every swipe and tap of your finger your smart phone, and its apps, are building a picture of just who is using it. That is a key finding in new research out of the CSIRO that warns consumers their distinctive finger gestures could be harvested by data-hungry app developers. The research from CSIRO’s Data61 division describes ‘touch based tracking’ which sees your device extracting data on how you tap, zoom, and swipe, including the velocity and acceleration of the movements.