Your daily digest of the top headlines and must-reads from Australia and around the world, along with sport, culture, lifestyle, opinion and more
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Headlines
Australia kept quiet about early deployment of forces ahead of Iraq war, cabinet papers show
Defence  
Australia kept quiet about early deployment of forces ahead of Iraq war, cabinet papers show
The Howard government sent military personnel to the Middle East well before officially authorising Australia’s involvement
Business  
Woolworths to sell Australia Day holiday merchandise in reversal of 2024 policy
In pictures  
Australians ring in the New Year
Alcohol  
Great Guinness heist: thieves stole truck carrying 35,000 pints
Health  
Fears of GP shortage as figures reveal almost 10% now aged over 70
Americas  
Ecuador confirms incinerated bodies belong to missing ‘Guayaquil Four’ boys
Advertisement
The rural network
Territory – Australia’s answer to Yellowstone – runs counter to our positive self-image. Is that why farmers hate it?
Territory – Australia’s answer to Yellowstone – runs counter to our positive self-image. Is that why farmers hate it?
The patriarch in the Netflix drama has a pistol in a holster on his hip where Australians would carry a pocketknife … but there’s still truth in this gritty take on rural life
Full Story podcast
Full Story  
Xavier Mulenga on how to know when to quit alcohol – Full Story podcast
Xavier Mulenga on how to know when to quit alcohol – Full Story podcast
Sport
Tennis  
Kyrgios falls short in singles comeback against big-serving Mpetshi Perricard
Kyrgios falls short in singles comeback against big-serving Mpetshi Perricard
Football  
Liverpool reject Madrid approach to buy Alexander-Arnold
Air transport  
‘Stop, stop, stop!’: Jet carrying Gonzaga basketball team avoids collision at LAX
Culture
Film  
Spit, Magic Beach and a Crocodile Dundee redux: 10 Australian films to watch out for in 2025
Spit, Magic Beach and a Crocodile Dundee redux: 10 Australian films to watch out for in 2025
Culture  
Pouring champagne and ironing knickers: my day serving the matriarchy as a topless male waiter
Theatre  
‘A Model Murder’: the 1954 trial that gripped Sydney takes to the stage
Opinion
Sharp and curious, my 85-year-old neighbour wades into conversations with a joyful openness
Sharp and curious, my 85-year-old neighbour wades into conversations with a joyful openness
My new year resolution is to stop using one giant list in my Notes app for literally everything
If crypto is incorporated into Australia’s financial system, we will be lucky to avoid contagious collapse
Lifestyle
Taste test  
Australian protein bar taste test: the winner is ‘giving fitness, but not entirely unpleasant’
Australian protein bar taste test: the winner is ‘giving fitness, but not entirely unpleasant’
My phone was taken by the sea. I’d love to throw its replacement in there too
Technology
Cybercrime  
Beijing denies involvement in US treasury cyber-attack
Beijing denies involvement in US treasury cyber-attack
Science
Psychology  
Rise in talk about killing in films raises health concerns, researchers say
Rise in talk about killing in films raises health concerns, researchers say
Environment
Pacific islands  
‘Moving to the mountaintops’: rising seas displace tens of thousands in Papua New Guinea
‘Moving to the mountaintops’: rising seas displace tens of thousands in Papua New Guinea
Australian climate and environment in focus  
As the Grampians fires approached, 20 kangaroo joeys took shelter in a living room. Experts say others aren’t so lucky
Video
Woman shelters 20 orphaned joeys in her home from Grampians bushfire – video
Woman shelters 20 orphaned joeys in her home from Grampians bushfire – video
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A message from Lenore Taylor editor of Guardian Australia

I hope you appreciated this newsletter. Before you move on, I wonder if you would consider contributing to our end-of-year fundraiser as we prepare for a pivotal, uncertain year ahead.

The course of world history has taken a sharp and disturbing turn in 2024. Liberalism is under threat from populist authoritarianism. Americans have voted to install a president with no respect for democratic norms, nor the facts that once formed the guardrails of public debate.

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In this uncertain time, fair, fact-based journalism is more important than ever – to record and understand events, to scrutinise the powerful, to give context, and to counter rampant misinformation and falsehoods.

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Lenore Taylor
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