In their first press conference since seizing control of the Afghan capital, the Taliban have assured women their rights would be respected “within the limits of Islam”. They said women will have a right to education and work, but exactly what life will look like under a new Taliban government is unclear. Many Afghan women are terrified of a return of the repressive laws that were imposed under …

A group of apartment buyers are pleading with the NSW government to help break their contracts after purchasing off-the-plan units in a Parramatta development where defects were recently discovered. NSW Fair Trading issued developer Hassall Developments with a Prohibition Order in early July, demanding the company rectify a number of defects in its Imperial Towers development in Hassall Street, Parramatta. Many buyers had …

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s former boyfriend could face criminal charges after a damning report by the state’s anti-corruption watchdog. The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption found former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire gave false or misleading evidence to the ICAC during an investigation into alleged corruption at Canterbury Council. ICAC handed down its report into Operation Dasha on Monday, recommending …

As a Masters student passionate about gender equality and diversity, Angelica Ojinnaka spends a lot of time on social media and she’s come to anticipate the worst. “Often when you’re someone like me who is a black woman, who is sharing things in the area that they are passionate about, the types of comments that can come through are about …

More than four decades since they were penned, the Palace letters — dubbed the missing link in Australia’s political history — have been released. And while they may reveal the Queen was unaware of then governor-general Sir John Kerr’s decision to sack the Whitlam government in 1975, they also provide an invaluable insight into some of the more eccentric discussions unfolding …

Australian Federal Police have released details of a major investigation into an alleged child sex abuse network that operated across three states. Police said 40 charges had been laid and nine men arrested in relation to child abuse that was filmed, photographed and shared online. The operation began in February after a tip-off from US authorities. At least 14 children …

Val Kilmer admits in his new book I’m Your Huckleberry that he had a crush on Angelina Jolie before they co-starred in the 2004 epic Alexander. And when they were on set together he ‘couldn’t wait to kiss her.’ The Top Gun went on to say that he also wanted to ‘buy her a Gulfstream jet and have V+J painted …

NSW Police Minister David Elliott has assured domestic violence victims they will still be able to access essential services during the coronavirus outbreak. There has been no recorded increase in domestic violence incidents so far, but authorities have concerns about potential victims being trapped in houses with their alleged abusers. “All the ingredients for a tinderbox situation are there. We’ve seen a …

It always pays to read the fine print. Last month’s report by the Australian National Audit Office into the now notorious sports grants scheme wasn’t happy reading for the Government. But there was one line the Prime Minister latched onto. It was a line in the opening “summary and recommendations” section, a mere nine pages in. “No applications assessed as …

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused a “toxic, climate-denying alliance of right-wing politics”, the Murdoch media and the coal industry of hijacking Australia’s climate debate. In a damning essay written for US publication Time magazine, Mr Turnbull said that while climate change was a simple matter of physics, Australian politics had made it a matter of ideology. “In Australia, as in the US, this …