COVID has “supercharged” Australian anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theory communities online, digital experts warn, with fears a 300 per cent explosion in membership of such Facebook groups could derail the vaccine rollout. Even as social media giants crackdown on harmful misinformation, including deleting prominent pages and slapping on new warnings and fact-check labels, critics say dangerous conspiracy theories are still festering …

US President Joe Biden has expressed support for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers in a phone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Mr Biden is facing growing pressure from his own Democratic Party to play a more vocal role, but US officials say he and his team have opted for a quieter effort, talking directly with Israeli …

Peter Dutton has blocked a decision by Chief of Defence Angus Campbell to strip unit citations from special forces troops who served in Afghanistan. More than 3000 soldiers will no longer have their awards taken away. Instead, only those convicted of war crimes will lose their meritorious unit citations. Mr Dutton said while it was important to ensure people who’d …

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed to devotees to keep a key Hindu festival “symbolic” as the country reported more than 200,000 new COVID-19 infections for the third straight day. Criticism has mounted over the Indian government’s handling of the health crisis, as religious festivals and election rallies continue amid increasing reports of shortages of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders …

Hundreds of passengers have landed in Auckland on an international flight after the travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand opened. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, Australians can enjoy relatively unrestricted international travel and avoid hotel quarantine when they return home. And for New Zealanders stuck on this side of the Tasman, today marks the start …

Resetting Australia’s troubled COVID-19 vaccine rollout will be the focus of a National Cabinet meeting today, as the nation’s leaders gather to urgently get the program back on track. The federal government has blamed the sluggish rollout on vaccine supply issues overseas, with GPs complaining they have received as few as 40 doses to distribute a week. Some doctors say …

A leaked report has painted a damning picture of ongoing concerns around women and culture in the Liberal Party – indicating that some issues had been raised years earlier. Room For Movement: Women and Leadership in the Liberal Party, commissioned in 2015, was briefly covered in the media, but never released publicly. The Drum has obtained a copy of the document, which …

The federal government has asked the nation’s medical and vaccine regulators to urgently look into findings from the European Medicines Agency of a possible link between AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine and rare blood-clotting issues. Following the EMA’s findings, Britain’s vaccine advisory board has said all people under 30 will be offered alternative vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna. “The government has asked [the …

Employers could be forced to take more proactive action on workplace sexual harassment under reforms to shift the burden away from victims. The Morrison government’s long-awaited response to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Respect at Work report is imminent. The report was handed to then industrial relations minister Christian Porter in March 2020 and the government is yet to make …

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz has been accused of slut-shaming Brittany Higgins and saying she was “so disgustingly drunk” she “would sleep with anybody”. Senator Abetz has categorically denied making the alleged comments which were aired by Tasmanian Speaker Sue Hickey under Parliamentary Privilege today. Ms Hickey told State Parliament she spoke with Senator Abetz on March 1 at a Hobart …