The search engine for love

It's easy to play Cupid when both parties are motivated to find love, writes Nicky Phillips.

Primary colours of Nobel scientist

Deborah Smith PRIMARY school teachers are the key to improving the performance of Australian students in science, according to the country's newest Nobel laureate, Brian Schmidt, who has put his money where his mouth is.

Tough week for a Sydney success story

Matt Wade Mixed fortunes in the jobs market have hit the city's financial sector, writes Matt Wade.

Supporters dismiss claim of red carpet for refugees

Kirsty Needham CHURCH leaders, health and charity groups have joined the federal government in condemning claims that conditions for asylum seekers living in flats and houses as part of community detention are ''luxurious''.

Darwin uses battleship chic to remember its darkest days

Leesha McKenny THE day Japanese bombers first darkened Darwin's skies, Jack Mulholland of the 14th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery recalls being so under-prepared he and his mates did not know what their own guns sounded like when fired.

Sowing seeds of romance in a sylvan setting

Rachel Wells Tess Hutton has tried online dating, speed dating and has even appeared on a reality TV dating show, but her preferred method of finding love these days is speed planting.

Web leak shows trail of climate sceptic funding

Ben Cubby THE paper trail connecting the climate change sceptic movement in Australia and the conservative US expert panel the Heartland Institute goes back at least to 2009, documents released on the internet this week show.

Police spy on web, phone usage with no warrants

Philip Dorling LAW enforcement and government departments are accessing vast quantities of phone and internet usage data without warrants, prompting warnings from the Greens of a growing ''surveillance state'' and calls by privacy groups for tighter controls.

Labor won't be rushed on school funding

PHILLIP COOREY A LANDMARK review into the funding formula for schools will be only the start of the process to develop a final policy as the Gillard government seeks to limit conflict in the education sector and protect its plans to return the federal budget to surplus.

Students in limbo as unis debate how to spend fees

Jen Rosenberg WITH the academic year about to begin, millions of dollars in funding has yet to be released to student organisations to plan their budgets.

The old boy who learnt to love that tough old school

TONY WRIGHT IF TIME salves all wounds, it appears to have performed a miraculous healing in the personal story of Kevin Rudd, a man in a hurry for political redemption.

You've never had it so good, says Treasury

LENORE TAYLOR AUSTRALIANS should shake off their ''boom with gloom'' mentality because the nation has economic opportunities ''like we have never seen before'', says the Treasury head, Martin Parkinson.

Airline's wobbly route meant end of the line was a matter of time

Matt O'Sullivan IN AN industry known for big names, big costs and big egos, Michael James was a no-name with big dreams.

Big blue sparked by doubt over Whiteley paintings

Wendy Frew LIFE was good for Andrew Pridham in late 2007. Known as a "rainmaker" at JP Morgan Australia where he was the chairman of investment banking, Pridham had long been one of Australian banking's pre-eminent deal makers.

Hunt for the truth behind diet pill

Mark Metherell IT'S a super-size eater's dream. Munch a Big Mac and fries then toss back five pills to rid your body of the fatty consequences.

Just popping by to phone in some window shopping

Alexandra Smith FIRST they sprang up in empty stores, providing cash-strapped designers with the chance to break into the retail world.

Losing sleep over a diagnosis

Amy Corderoy EVERY night at 7.30 the battle begins. That's when Rachael Allen starts trying to get her daughter Mya, 3, into bed.

War looms as PM's loyalists turn on Rudd

Peter Hartcher, Phillip Coorey SOME cabinet ministers have begun lobbying for caucus votes in support of the Prime Minister, criticising Kevin Rudd and betraying anxiety that he is gaining support.

The day that changed Australia

Malcolm Brown The bombing of Darwin, 70 years ago tomorrow, surprised an outpost ill-prepared for attack, writes Malcolm Brown.

Darwin bombings inspire a woven lesson in history

Janice Breen Burns One of the most spectacular gowns in Darwin designer Matilda Alegria's latest fashion collection features huge billowing crinoline skirts layered with bands of filmy blue silk that ripple and slap about like white caps in the wind.

Dispute over Whiteley painting going to court

Wendy Frew Life was good for Andrew Pridham in late 2007. Known as a ''rainmaker'' at JP Morgan, where he was the chairman of investment banking, Mr Pridham had long been one of Australian banking's pre-eminent deal makers.

Google bypassed Apple privacy settings

Google and other online advertisers have bypassed the privacy settings of an Apple web browser on iPhones and computers to survey millions of users, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Devil genome mapped for first time

5:17pm The Tasmanian devil genome has been mapped for the first time, a breakthrough scientists believe could lead to a better understanding of cancer in human beings.

Get public servants out of Canberra: Rinehart

Markus Mannheim 8:48pm Australia's wealthiest person wants to shift federal bureaucrats out of Canberra and base them in the bush and the country's north.

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No way home as stranded passengers wait on news

Georgia Wilkins 11:39am Stranded passengers trying to fly home on failed airline Air Australia waited at the departure gate for hours last night before they were eventually moved on by Thai authorities to make way for the next flight.

Former MP attacked after child porn sentence

Loretta Johnston 7:25am Former politician Terry Martin was attacked as he left the Supreme Court in Hobart yesterday after being sentenced on a child pornography charge.