PNG Prime Minister O'Neill tenders formal resignation

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has formally tendered his resignation to the Pacific country's Governor-General rather than face a parliamentary no-confidence motion. "At 9.35am this morning I delivered to his excellency … the Governor-General, my letter of resignation," he said in parliament at Port Moresby on Wednesday. O'Neill had promised to resign on…

Police charge 55 people in Sydney eastern suburbs drugs busts

An operation targeting the supply and distribution of cocaine and other illicit drugs in Sydney's eastern suburbs has led to 55 people being charged with drug supply and possession. Over the course of six nights this month, police from Strike Force Northrop allegedly seized more than 290 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of MDMA, 110…

One in a hundred success rate sparks small business sacking reform call

Small businesses are calling for reform in the wake of new research showing less than 1 per cent of unfair dismissal claims were backed by the industrial umpire. The Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association claims small businesses are incurring significant financial and time penalties contesting unfair dismissal claims at the Fair Work Commission that…

How Dungeons & Dragons inspires, and feeds off, the rise of geek culture

Fantasy and science fiction currently make up a disproportionate amount of the world's biggest mainstream films and TV shows, from Game of Thrones to The Avengers: Endgame. And while most can trace their inspirations back to legendarily geeky sources, like Lord of the Rings and Marvel Comics respectively, their popularity has also led to something…

More commuters than expected ride Sydney's new metro line in first test of peak-hour services

The integration of a $7.3 billion new metro line into Sydney's broader rail network passed its first test on Monday despite a greater number of commuters than expected riding on the driverless trains. A day after about 140,000 people hopped on board for the first time, attention turned to how the system would handle high…