Gas, not coal, was the fossil fuel that would take the traditional energy industry into the future, a national industry conference has been told. The annual Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) conference is being held in Brisbane this week, with the result of the recent federal election front of many delegate’s minds. APPEA…

Jerusalem: Israel's parliament on Monday passed a preliminary motion to dissolve itself. The move further pushed the country toward an unprecedented political impasse, less than two months after elections seemed to promise Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a new mandate. If the bill receives final passage in a vote scheduled on Wednesday, Israel would be forced…

Contentious laws such as council mergers or the greyhound ban would be put to community focus groups to stop "half-baked policies" being rushed through NSW Parliament under a "revolutionary proposal" to be considered on Tuesday. One Nation MP Mark Latham will move a motion to overhaul law-making in the upper house following lobbying from former…

David Pocock's Super Rugby career is over effective immediately, the world's best openside flanker declaring: "It's time to finish in Australia, this is it". Pocock will announce his Australian domestic rugby retirement on Tuesday morning after it was decided to rule him out for the rest of the Super Rugby season. The 31-year-old, however, still…

When Uncle Jack Charles talks people listen. In part that’s because it can be hard to get a word in edgeways once the self-confessed “loudmouth” is in full flow. But mostly it’s because of the credibility that comes not only from the veteran Indigenous actor’s successful stage and screen career but also from his many…

When Kevin Walters threw decades of Queensland Origin tradition out the window by forgoing underdog status in favour of a bullish, ''expect to win'' mentality, it was a startling change in tack from the Maroons coach. Now his motivations have become clearer: Walters has been working with Bradley Charles Stubbs, the famed 'Coach Whisperer' who…

Coral and algae species subjected to more acidic seawater showed no acclimatisation to the new conditions for over a year, a new study has found, suggesting that vulnerable reefs may not be able adapt fast enough to cope with climate change. With oceans absorbing about 22 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere a…

If the first two days are any guide, Sydney's travelling public has spoken – they want more frequent and reliable train services. A staggering 140,000 people travelled on a new 36-kilometre metro line between Chatswood and Rouse Hill in the city's north west on the opening day on Sunday, forcing the private operator to quickly…

Hong Kong's second-richest man, Lee Shau Kee, is stepping down as chairman of Henderson Land Development, joining the ranks of the city's aging tycoons handing the reins to the next generation. The 91-year-old billionaire announced his retirement from the top post before the developer's annual meeting Tuesday. While he remains as an executive director at…

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in opposing the proposed merger of Vodafone and TPG Telecom, has focused on the implications for competition if TPG doesn’t build the fourth mobile network. Perhaps it should have paid more attention on the implications for Vodafone if it did. As it happens, TPG, after the federal government banned…