Melbourne’s real estate market is staging a “decisive recovery”, according to property portal Domain, hitting a record for its median house price for the first time in four years. It comes as national house prices have risen for a 12th consecutive quarter, the real estate firm’s December Quarter House Report found, marking “the longest uninterrupted growth cycle since 2012-2015”. Domain …

The US will temporarily run Venezuela after American forces captured the country’s president and first lady in an extraordinary military strike, US President Donald Trump says. Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized at their home, flown out of the country and placed on a US-bound warship to face a criminal trial in New York, Mr Trump said. …

The US will temporarily “run” Venezuela after American forces “captured” the country’s now-deposed president Nicolás Maduro and first lady Cilia Flores in an extraordinary military strike. The move has garnered celebration and condemnation across the globe. Here’s how world leaders have reacted: Australia Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government was “monitoring developments”. “We urge all parties to support …

The United States’ military operation to kidnap Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro from his home in Caracas was stunningly successful in achieving its ambition, and generated new levels of hyperbole from US President Donald Trump. “This was one of the most stunning, effective, and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history”, he told a press conference at …

The families of those killed and injured in the Bondi Beach terror attack are demanding the prime minister urgently establish a national royal commission, saying they need “strong action” and “leadership now” to save many more lives from being lost. The powerfully worded plea is signed by seventeen families of the Bondi terror victims. It calls on Anthony Albanese to …

NSW Premier Chris Minns has vowed that a prayer hall where a controversial Islamic preacher held “racist, antisemitic” lectures will remain closed, while also warning Sydneysiders to expect heavily armed police on New Year’s Eve. The premier also revealed discussions were being held about potentially deploying the army to protect Jewish institutions and flagged the possibility of arming a community …

Bomb squad sweeps, police combing through CCTV footage and a city in a state of concern. You’d be forgiven for thinking this is a description of what’s taking place in Sydney following the deadliest alleged terror attack in Australian history. But it’s not. The long shadow of the Bondi shooting that killed 15 people has also darkened the coastal southern …

Summer has opened with extreme variability across Australia, with widespread hot conditions in Western Australia and extreme cold in the south-east of the country challenging early summer records across several states. In WA, Perth’s temperatures soared to 39 degrees Celsius on Monday, marking the city’s hottest start to summer on record, with temperatures still climbing. The city was one of …

Housing prices continue to climb across the country but the pace of growth is easing slightly as the Sydney and Melbourne markets lag the mid-sized capital cities. Cotality’s monthly Home Value Index increased 1 per cent nationally in November, the third month in a row of values rising by 1 per cent or more. However, it was a slight slowdown …

The two months preceding a wedding are notoriously hazardous. Many micro-disasters can cause distress. The bomboniere are unsatisfactory. The chair-hire guy turns out to be a scoundrel. The string quartet contains a drunkard. Numpty cousin X is actually planning to attend despite everyone’s assumption that she wouldn’t. Something unspeakable occurs at the stag do. These are the ordinary hiccups that …