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PM's Spelling Bee: How to help yourself by helping your child. A new Monash University study shows that spelling activities like crosswords may help more than socialising in avoiding dementia. Picture: iStock

Support loved ones with dementia

This Dementia Action Week (15-21 Sept), we’re looking at ways to support our older loved ones living with the condition as well as what can be done to avoid it – but what exactly is dementia?

VIDEOExplainers

TOPSHOT - This screengrab from handout surveillance camera footage taken and released by New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) on September 10, 2025 shows a tornado over the countryside near Young in New South Wales. An Australian fire surveillance camera captured dramatic video images September 10 of a tornado towering over a thunderstorm-struck stretch of countryside. (Photo by Handout / NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) / AFP) / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT

Rare tornadoes strike Australia

Two tornadoes tore through country NSW as severe storms and record rain caused havoc in Sydney. But just how common are tornadoes here in Australia and what causes them to form?

Portraits of the late Blessed Carlo Acutis, an adolescent who spends his life spreading his faith online and earns the moniker ''God's Influencer,'' and the late Italian Pier Giorgio Frassati, a mountaineering enthusiast known for his social and spiritual commitment who dies in 1925, are displayed on the Saint Peter's Basilica during a Jubilee audience at the Saint Peter's Square in The Vatican on September 6, 2025. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati are raised to sainthood by Pope Leo XIV in a solemn ceremony in St Peter's Square at the Vatican on September 7, 2025. (Photo by Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Gen Alpha gets its first teen saint

Teenager Carlos Acutis has become the first ever millennial saint following his canonisation at St Peter’s Square by Pope Leo XIV. Find out how the self-taught coder received the holy honour

POLLScience and Technology

Portrait of serious teenage girl ling on bed and using smartphone. technology, internet, communication and people concept. Photo of pensive Caucasian Teenage Girl Sending Text Message Whilst Lying In Bed during the day

‘Monumental’ step to protect kids

Australia’s incoming social media age limit will help keep the nation’s kids from serious harms and other countries should do the same, say leading global child safety experts. Do you agree?

Mark Knight cartoon on Dan Andrews in China

Citizen Dan in curious company

Former Vic Premier Daniel Andrews’ surprise appearance with Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin inspired Mark Knight to resurrect his ‘Dictator Dan’ caricature in Communist crowd

Mark Knight cartoon on the long tentacles of Iranian terrorism

Slippery tentacles of terror snipped

Australia’s security agency ASIO prefers operating under the radar but this week’s big reveal that Iran’s reach extends to our shores put Mark Knight in mind of one many-tentacled creature

Scientists described the ichthyosaur as a reptile version of a dolphin. Dearcmhara shawcrossi. Artist: Todd Marshall/ PA

Ancient sea monster found in Qld

Australia’s most complete ichthyosaur fossil has been unearthed in outback Queensland, with the seven-metre long skeleton set to reveal new secrets about the ancient marine predators

FILE PHOTO: UN launches initiative: 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation KANGERLUSSUAQ, GREENLAND - JULY 11: In this aerial view rivulets of meltwater snake across the surface of the melting Isunnguata Sermia glacier of the Greenland Ice Sheet on July 11, 2024 near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. A team of scientists has observed that increasing amounts of meltwater on the surface of the glacier making their way to the glacial flows underneath are leading to a rising output of methane from Isunnguata Sermia. Earlier this year other scientists published a study in which they concluded that GreenlandÃ¢â¬â¢s glaciers, which all stem from the Greenland Ice Sheet, have retreated about 20% more than previously estimated. Of the 200 glaciers included in the study, only one has grown since 1985. Overall, the amount of glacial ice melting globally has increased markedly over the past 30 years as global warming continues to intensify. According to the European Space Agency, the Earth lost 28 trillion tons of ice between 1994 and 2017, enough to cover the entire United Kingdom with an ice sheet 100 meters thick. Since 2017 the rate of ice loss has increased to 1.3 trillion tons annually, up from 0.8 trillion tons in the 1990s. According to the Programme for Monitoring of the Greenland Ice Sheet (PROMICE), the Greenland Ice Sheet has been losing mass continuously since 1996, with an accumulated loss since 1986 approaching 6,000 metric gigatons, or six trillion tons. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Arctic ice loss slows dramatically

New research shows the loss of Arctic sea ice over the past 20 years has significantly slowed despite global warming. So why do some experts say the data doesn’t mean things have improved?

Mark Knight toon August 17

Putin rides away from Alaska talks

Cartoonist Mark Knight had a lot more fun than Trump with the much-hyped Alaska summit with President Putin – but days later it was the sharp suit on Ukraine’s President Zelensky for the win

Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, close up, at Guadalupe Island, Mexico, East Pacific Ocean...GroÃÅ¸er WeiÃÅ¸er Hai, Carcharodon carcharias, in Nahdistanz, Guadalupe Island, Mexiko, Ost Pazifischer Ozean.

Stay safe from sharks this season

It’s scary when there’s a shark attack on the news – but these are very rare. The best way to stay safe is arming yourself with the facts. Here are some top tips to reduce risk when ocean swimming

Society and Culture

Loreto students Ruby Baker,15,Phoebe Smith,17 and Ava Dennis,16, who all use their phones in a responsible way by keeping them in their pockets during school hours .Friday,July,25,2025.Picture Mark Brake

Phones out, real friendships in

Two years after phones were banned at public schools, young Australians admit handing over their device hasn’t been easy – but they also say it’s been very positive for this important reason

The new discovery could change everything. Picture: Supplied

Black hole find challenges history

Astronomers have discovered what is thought to be the largest black hole in the history of space and the ‘over-massive’ find could rewrite accepted theories of the origins of the universe

Science and Technology

AI Ethics. Picture: iStock

Would you use AI ‘study buddy’?

Thousands of students across the country are getting real time feedback on their work from an AI ‘study buddy’ and their teachers say it’s a positive – but not all experts are convinced

Images of the health of the Great Barrier Reef, coinciding with the release of the 2024 Reef Long-Term Monitoring Program. MUST CREDIT - Australian Institute of Marine Science,

Reef resilience tested amid decline

Nearly 30 per cent of coral cover between Proserpine and Cape York has vanished in a single year, but scientists remain buoyed by reef’s proven resilience as annual findings are released

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Legendary NASA astronaut dies

Space veteran and Apollo 13 legend Jim Lovell has passed away peacefully at the age of 97 – discover why his name will forever be written in the stars as a true hero of early space exploration

The truth about the best oils to use.

Which oil is the healthiest for you?

There may be lots of different cooking oils in your pantry, but did you know some are better for you than others? Find out which are the healthiest and which should be avoided

Monster rat found in home, locals disgusted

Rodent size goes rogue in the UK

French charm in the animated film Ratatouille helped lift the rat’s reputation but the heebies have hit hard after one giant creature was caught in the UK – but is widespread rat revulsion deserved?

The sheer intensity and energy exploding from this quake. 😳
8.7 mag earthquake in #Russia. Tsunami warnings and watches. Picture X @GEZUPA

What’s a tsunami warning system?

The world’s worst earthquake in 14 years off the coast of Russia set off tsunami alerts in multiple countries and waves hit the coast of Russia and Japan – so how does Australia stay alert and safe?

Society and Culture

Education, friendship, technology and children concept. Group of teenage girls is using gadgets. Kids with phones and tablets, with smartphones and headphones.

YouTube added to U16 social ban

The Australian Government has moved to ban young people under the age of 16 from having YouTube accounts as part of new social media reforms. Read how and when the new laws will start

Science and Technology

AI influencer Mia Zelu has racked up over 167k online followers, despite not even being real

Kids beware: rise of ‘AI influencer’

AI is here and it’s a global game-changer but what are the rules and who decides them? What’s real and what’s fake is suddenly hard to spot – what do you think of this non-existent influencer?

Gold Coast tennis player and leukaemia survivor Chase Hoogsteden. Picture: Supplied

Brave Chase wins state champs

Nine-year-old Chase Hoogsteden has been crowned QLD under-10 singles and doubles tennis champion just a couple of years after defeating leukaemia. Find out how tennis powered his recovery

A big cat expert has revealed the shocking truth after footage of a ‘panther’ lurking in Victoria went viral.

Aussie ‘panther’ questions remain

A big cat expert has weighed in after footage claiming to capture a ‘panther’ in Victorian bushland went viral, boosting hopes among folklore lovers that tall tales are true – what do you think?

KIDS NEWS: Paralysis Tick, Ixodes holocyclus, is found in Eastern Australia and is a parasite to native mammals, livestock, pets and people. Picture: iStock

Aussie bloodsucker series: ticks

Part 1: Ticks. They’re small, thirsty and sometimes hard to spot, but if you do find a tick on yourself or your pet, don’t ever rip it out. Here’s how to safely remove one to start our explainer series

Sugar Bag Bees on flowers

Sugarbag honey ‘the bee’s knees’

Honey from Australia’s stingless ‘sugarbag’ bee has been found to have amazing antimicrobial properties, meaning it could be used to heal infections. But what gives it its amazing power?

Mark Knight cartoon for Herald Sun, June 25, 2025

‘Peace in our time’ blast from past

The US President claiming a total ceasefire as hostilities continued in the Middle East recalled a cautionary quote nearly a century old that reminded Mark Knight of the fragility of peace in war

The sacrificial sword straddled the Christian-Viking divide.

Viking sword pulled from river

A 900-year-old sword with strange markings from both the Christian and Viking worlds has been discovered in a river in the Netherlands. But how did it get there? And what was it used for?

VIDEOFirst Nations News

KIDS NEWS. The Dargan Shelter has been identified as the oldest occupied Ice Age cave at high elevation in Australia. Picture: Dr Amy Way

Australia’s oldest Ice Age cave

A remarkable discovery has proved First Nations people were camping at much higher altitudes than previously thought during the last Ice Age about 20,000 years ago – where did they shelter?

VIDEOArts

Tourists wait outside the Louvre museum which failed to open on time Monday, June 16, 2025 in Paris. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Why the famed Louvre shut down

Arguably the world’s most famous museum and officially its most-visited, the Louvre – a global symbol of art, beauty, culture and lasting history – was shut down this week … but why?

We still don't know the true effect of microplastics.

Are microplastics really inside us?

Humanity’s plastic problem is polluting our planet’s oceans, but what about our own internal waterways – our bloodstream? Find out how plastic is getting inside humans and animals every day