As his 30th birthday loomed in Greece, Steve MinOn sent a letter to his parents in Australia. Then he waited. * Read more summer essentials While day-drinking ouzo in a spiderwebbed taverna on the Greek island of Paros, I decided to write a coming-out letter to my parents. I sealed it in a surface mail envelope, moistened a ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ (Hellenic Republic) stamp with my aniseed tongue and posted it. It was the 1990s and I had only just relocated from Australia to London with Nick, my boyfriend at the time, and Julie, a good mate. We had gone across to Greece for a holiday, island-hopping, catching ferries on a whim, knowing nothing about the places we were visiting except that backpacking there was cheap. Continue reading...

Abdel-Fattah accuses the board of ‘blatant and shameless’ anti-Palestinian racism and censorship, as other authors pull out in solidarity

Melbourne and Adelaide forecast to swelter through extreme heat with temperatures above 40C * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Large parts of South Australia and Victoria are expecting extreme fire conditions today as a dangerous heatwave moves east, pushing temperatures well into the 40s. By mid-morning on Wednesday the mercury had already hit 35C in Melbourne and 38C in Adelaide. Continue reading...

Either say you can’t make it well in advance or keep stumm, says writer Phineas Harper

Science tells us that foetuses develop in the uterus, rather than the placenta – but the US health secretary has a different take. Why are Republicans so clueless about women’s bodies, asks Arwa Mahda...

Returning to the humble Sydney suburban centre of her teens, Rafqa Touma discovers busy streets, market stalls and photo booth karaoke

The phenomenon is extremely rare in the southern hemisphere and most recently occurred in 2019 when it contributed to a worsening of the Black Summer bushfires * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A rare rise in stratospheric temperatures over Antarctica could influence weather into summer, with previous events driving hotter and drier conditions for south-east Australia. The phenomenon – called sudden stratospheric warming – is extremely unusual in the southern hemisphere. It only previously occurred in 2002 and 2019, the latter contributing to a worsening of the Black Summer bushfires. Continue reading...

Doxing, deplatforming, defunding, persecuting, firing, and sometimes killing—all are part of an escalating war over words. What happens next?

Guardian Australia test finds scrolling shortform videos while logged out of YouTube and TikTok quickly leads to gambling, violent and far-right content

Version of company’s Gemini 2.5 AI model solved complex real-world problem that stumped human programmers

After calling for a free Palestine in her Emmys acceptance speech, the Hacks star said ‘I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel’ * Full list of Emmy winners Television’s biggest stars have used this year’s Emmy awards to speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, either through fashion on the red carpet or fiery acceptance speeches. Hacks actor Hannah Einbinder, who won best supporting actress in a comedy, wore a red Artists4Ceasefire pin, as did White Lotus stars Aimee Lou Wall and Natasha Rothwell, Ruth Negga of Presumed Innocent and Chris Perfetti from Abbott Elementary. Continue reading...

Climate risk assessment find heat-related deaths would surge 450% in Sydney if global heating surpasses 3C

Feminism exposed the ubiquity of child abuse, rape, sexual harassment and domestic violence – and helped fight that culture

Latest net overseas migration figures are down 37% from recent peak, with experts pointing to misunderstanding of arrivals data

Senior politicians want taxpayer-funded support for former PM suspended, as watchdog opens investigation

Media sites are taking action on several fronts as traffic referrals dry up and AI companies plunder their content

Minns government to create one of the largest national parks in the state as forest advocates welcome ‘historic’ victory

We bemoan the injustice of being left on read. But perhaps missed connection is just a part of being a human on the internet.

Dozens of politicians are landlords, having also declared rental income from their investment properties

The March for Australia demonstrations were promoted by neo-Nazis, anti-lockdown figures and other fringe groups