Protests are planned in NSW, Victoria and Queensland on Saturday, as a new poll shows the rates of vaccine hesitancy have plunged to a record low.

An Australian robotics team from CSIRO have seen off challengers including NASA and the California Institute of Technology to take a podium spot in what is known as the Robot Olympics.

Both Queensland and Western Australia account for more than half Australia’s landmass, but only 30 per cent of the population. There are still other major factors at play in the effort to vaccinate.

The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by our picture editors.

Independent media or right-wing antagonist? Protest live-streamer Rukshan Fernando has grown his online following into the hundreds of thousands in the past fortnight.

Police swarm St Kilda on foot, by air and in the bay as a smaller protest near a St Kilda skate park results in a number of arrests.

Michell agreed to direct Daniel Craig as James Bond in Quantum of Solace, but then walked away over script concerns.

His departure from politics to spend more time with family opens the door to Sky News commentator Kirsty McSweeney to secure a nomination.

The figures come after crisis cabinet discussed ways of reopening the state, including a longer bar on Sydneysiders travelling to the regions.

Was serial killer Frederick Deeming Jack the Ripper? And was he mad or bad? There’s a new book out about the case.

Victoria recorded 847 new cases and one death from COVID-19 on Saturday morning, but the Surf Coast Shire can look forward to eased restrictions from Monday. 

In an interview after their release from quarantine, the parents of soccer prodigy Danny Hogdson described their gruelling ordeal to get to Australia from the UK and the emotional reunion with their son in hospital.

One of the families linked to the Sunnybank cluster will have to spend another 14 days in quarantine after a child tested positive on day 14 of isolation.

You don’t need a law degree to be an effective attorney-general. Courage to stand up for Victorians and the Westminster system is crucial.

Working from home is an opportunity to reimagine the modern city,

Religious groups are calling on the government to allow them to open up to their entire communities amid growing fears they will be forced to shut out those who have refused to be vaccinated.

The Police Association is concerned police command left officers dangerously exposed without riot equipment and in insufficient numbers to confront hundreds of demonstrators.

As a founding member of both AUKUS and the Quad, Australia is discrediting the prophets of permanent identity crisis and existential anguish.

The Prime Minister has addressed the world with his partisan domestic voice - and managed to upset not only France but the United States, too.

It took years to plan how to transport hundreds of animals from Sydney’s first zoo to the new Taronga Park facility in 1916.

Condemning this week’s violent protests in Melbourne is the easy bit. A more difficult task is understanding who these protesters are and what drove them to this point.

Trivia buffs: test your knowledge with today's interactive superquiz and target.

There are concerns Melbourne’s violent rallies may have been super-spreader events, international students are set to return to NSW by the end of the year and the Treasurer has backed calls to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

A number of police officers who worked at Wednesday’s anti-vaccination rally have been forced into isolation after coming into contact with a protester who was later hospitalised with COVID-19. 

One of the women who was allegedly assaulted, Jacquelyn, said she was devastated she and her friend’s 11-year-old daughters had to witness the scene.

Experts explain why Queensland can afford to ease it mask mandate further, and why it will almost certainly be tightened again before the end of the year.

The 2020-21 state finances annual report released late Friday reveals that WA’s operating surplus for that year hit $5.8 billion.

When year 9 students Jack, Darcy and Wesley set up CovidBaseAU earlier this year, they kept their ages secret because they wanted their site to be taken seriously.

Brisbane Festival has a new artistic director this year, who has put her own twist on the Riverfire fireworks bonanza.

The 15-year-old girl suffered serious head injuries when she was struck by the runabout’s propeller at Narrabeen Lakes.

The mother of George Lin, a 21-year-old student at the University of Sydney, visits his grave every day, she told a Sydney court. Lin was run over by a garbage truck in 2020.

Brett John Callaghan lured the girl from a playground at Thornleigh by offering to charge her phone. He assaulted her at a Dural home and in his car.

Michael Holt was jailed for more than four years in 2017 for weapons and child porn offences. Within a week of becoming eligible for parole, officers found disturbing hand-drawn pornographic imagery in his cell.

His comments come after a tumultuous week in Victoria, where protesters clashed with unions and police, rallying over mandatory jabs.

Like so many, I’m gutted not to be going to a grand final this year, but don’t begrudge supporters in other states their end-of-year spectacles - as long as it is temporary!

Australian universities have welcomed a plan to bring 500 students into Australia, but want the government to recognise Chinese-based coronavirus vaccines to attract Chinese students.

From the start, Peter Hood was ‘the driving force’ behind the band’s monstrous, pounding sound.

Officers discovered the bodies in a home about 8.15am on Friday after being alerted of an incident at the address.

Nine ambulances responded to the incident and police were questioning the car driver.

“The lungs become more inflamed, leading to breathing difficulties. Fatigue and high fevers are common. Everyone is absolutely miserable.”

Woodside wants $US3b from selling down Pluto LNG to ease the financial burden of its $US12b Scarborough investment, but environmental groups are mobilising to thwart the deal.

An airline pilot’s job requires extraordinary skill – but it’s also a labour of love: those grounded by the pandemic reflect on the thrill of being airborne.

The back-to-nature trend is leading to tricky terrain. How heavy are hiker footprints becoming in pristine wilderness areas – and who has the right to make them?

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 56.6 per cent of people aged 16 and over in the state had now been fully vaccinated against the virus.

From ancient salt lakes to thermal baths, art deco cinemas to killer biscotti, there’s plenty of wonder to rediscover when that 5K radius stretches.

Maaryasha wasn’t optimistic when Shaya turned up late for their second Skype date – until over the webcam, she heard an ambulance radio in the background.

The week in photos from the award winning Sydney Morning Herald and Financial review photographers.

Stirling MP Vince Connelly’s wife Peta said the better candidate lost the preselection battle and claimed a senior female member of the party impeded his campaign.

Queensland’s Deputy Premier has raised the spectre of more virus cases by Christmas if the state opens its borders before its vaccine rollout hits coverage levels.

Today on Please Explain, sports reporter Sam McClure joins Nathanael Cooper from Perth to look at Saturday’s historic AFL Grand Final.