NSW Health is concerned about increased transmission in party settings, saying likely Omicron cases visited the Albion Hotel in Parramatta and Cult Nightclub in Potts Point.

Australia will be looking to continue their dominance over England in the opening Ashes Test after a brilliant day two hundred from Travis Head gave the home side a healthy first innings lead.

The Pfizer vaccine has been officially approved for 5- to 11-year-olds, former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to today confirm she won’t contest the next federal election and four suspected Omicron cases are under investigation in Victo...

Melbourne teammates and officials cannot recall Cameron Munster looking fresher as he faced his first official club function without alcohol on Friday night.

James Delinicolis and Angelo Dellosa met the 17-year-old at a bus stop and had sex with her in a hotel two days later. They have pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office.

If Real-time Snicko isn’t there to hear it, does Josh Hazlewood actually catch the edge?

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

Friday’s budget figures would normally be regarded as a horror show. But these are not normal times.

A milestone wicket eluded Nathan Lyon, while Josh Hazlewood didn’t bowl in the final session as Dawid Malan and Joe Root produced superb knocks for England to have them back in the contest.

The WA government has not received the letter, which went to Australia’s UN representative, as of Friday afternoon and intends to pass the controversial law on Tuesday.

On day three, Australia got a rude reminder of the gruelling nature of Test cricket. Now the first Ashes Test has a different complexion.

“Some people told me that my career was ruined because I couldn’t ‘shut my legs’,” a woman has told the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide.

From Santa hitting the slopes in Maine to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, these are the best photos from around the world in the past week, as chosen by The Age's photo editors.

Scientists analyse samples taken from the first handful of people infected with Omicron in Australia.

Vaccinations for those aged five to 11 will begin on January 10 after Pfizer’s vaccine for children received final approval.

Gerald Ryan always planned to have two runners in Saturday’s Villiers Stakes, but was surprised which one of them opened as favourite.

One million trips were made on the toll roads daily during the past financial year.

Hobart is expected to be formally announced as the venue for a day/night fifth Ashes Test inside the next 24 hours.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his British counterpart Boris Johnson have confirmed their countries will join a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Severe thunderstorms triggered flash flooding in Sydney on Friday, hours after a woman’s body was found after she was swept away by floods in regional NSW.

David Warner has been cleared of broken ribs, but the pain from the injury was severe enough to prevent the veteran from taking the field for England’s second innings.

The high-level meeting between half-a-dozen Chinese executives and their Australian counterparts is the first sign that Beijing is re-engaging with Australian firms.

King Of Swing can cap a perfect Inter Dominion campaign with victory in Saturday night’s final at Menangle.

The composer revolutionised puzzle writing as he did the musical. But how to connect in a Melbourne theatre foyer? “Hedonism”, I sang.

Claire Healy and Sean Cordeiro’s big ideas about technology have seen them mail a chopped-up Cessna to the US and back. And build Lego animals.

Introduced to the works of Ancient Greece through a cereal packet or a replica statue in Grandad’s garden? A major exhibition shows their continuing power.

The Queensland Ombudsman is assessing complaints about border travel, but will not confirm whether an investigation similar to other states is under way due to confidentiality.

Police are expecting lengthy delays at the southern road border for two days from 1am on Monday, as it opens to vaccinated travellers from southern hotspot states for the first time in months.

A victim of historical sexual abuse has confronted her abuser in court during a victim impact statement that was acclaimed by a judge.

Tennis superstars Naomi Osaka and Rafael Nadal were scarcely seen on court in the second half of this year.

Maybe the Randwick metric mile event isn’t elite, but it has always had considerable status due to being a great punting medium in the height of the festive season.

Everything you need to know to find a winner on Villiers Stakes day at headquarters.

Station Eleven takes place after a deadly flu has wiped out 99 percent of humanity - but this is no Mad Max-style dystopia.

Guy Rundle’s collected writings lament Australia’s shift away from a progressive, liberal and humane direction.

The rideshare driver had a theory, and pretty soon, I’d heard enough.

Les Sculptures Refusées at Manly’s Q Station, featuring works rejected by Sculpture by the Sea, might be in for the long haul on this city’s art circuit.

Where do Aussies abroad pine for? Six journalists dive into their memory banks.

Tax from iron ore miners and banks are buoying the budget, with figures also confirming no rivers of revenue from big technology companies.

They’re captains of industry and academic luminaries by day. By night, they’ve returned to what they loved before their careers got in the way: making music.

She may not hold the key to world peace, but a new puppy comes pretty close.

It took four days for the federal government agency meant to keep aged care residents safe to take any action, after it was told by St Basil’s nursing home that a staff member had tested positive for coronavirus last July.

While Joe Root is getting England back in the game with the bat, it was his decision at the toss that got them into this predicament in the first place.

School chaplains have defended their role as preventative mental health workers while backing calls for more school psychologists.

The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.

Despite concerted public health campaigns to highlight the many problems with sugary drinks, some people drink them by the gallons.

Emma Dunch has left the premier arts company, claiming she was subject to a “politically architected ‘hit job’ of the highest order”.

Across the commentary booths everyone with a microphone is roaring, chortling, exulting, doing air-punches of wonder and joy – bar one.

Pace, power, precision, determination and an incredible work ethic makes Sam Kerr one of the world’s best strikers.

Steve Laybutt had to live a lot of life before he could save one.

Four of the league’s strongest clubs - Collingwood, Richmond, Hawthorn and West Coast - will receive only the reduced minimum level of funding from the AFL.