National News

An earthquake that struck a remote mountainous area of Afghanistan this week has killed 1036 people and the toll is expected to rise, Mohamed Ayoya, UNICEF Representative to Afghanistan, says.

Thousands of Qantas staff could be given bonuses to share in an expected return to profit, but the airline has flagged fare increases to cover rising costs.

Aid has begun arriving in a remote part of Afghanistan where an earthquake killed 1000 people but poor communications and roads are hampering relief efforts in a country already grappling with a humanitarian crisis.

Unions say the NSW government is trying to intimidate workers as the premier says those organising illegal strikes should face the "hardest fines possible".

Australia's national energy market will return to normal in a staged process after the market operator said it had growing confidence there was enough ongoing capacity for households and businesses.

The Texas primary school where a teenage gunman killed 19 children and two teachers last month is to be demolished.

More than 2000 hardy souls have bared all for a midwinter dip in Hobart, marking the shortest day of the year.

Queensland's budget is back in the black amid surging coal prices and a property boom, but taxes will be hiked on big businesses to prop up the bottom line.

Health Minister Mark Butler has sought urgent advice on ways to boost the uptake of fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in aged-care facilities amid a rising number of deaths in the sector.

The "R-word" has rattled global financial markets in recent weeks as central banks try to curb inflation, but the risk of a recession in Australia is not on Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe's horizon.