7+ min ago (32+ words) Asian stocks have made a steady start as investors bet on a US rate cut this month and the Yen has perked up amid the likelihood of a rate hike in Japan....

22+ min ago (26+ words) The West Australian is a leading news source in Perth and WA. Breaking local and world news from sport and business to lifestyle and current affairs....

24+ min ago (510+ words) Barnaby Joyce has admitted the Coalition's prior failure to address ageing coal-fired power plants was a "mistake, after a new report that warned the closure of a major NSW plant could risk blackouts. The Australian Energy Market Operator has advised infrastructure needed to stabilise the energy grid will not be installed in time for the enormous Eraring coal power plant's scheduled closure in 2027. The "lack of system security means NSW could be at risk of blackouts if the plant is shut down before the grid is stabilised, according to the report. Grilled by Sunrise host Nat Barr on the previous Coalition government's lack of action on ageing coal plants, Mr Joyce " who has three times served as deputy prime minister " acknowledged a "mistake had been made. While defending coal power as the "cheapest form of energy, Mr Joyce was asked…...

25+ min ago (1161+ words) Anthony Albanese's weekend wedding was a masterclass in understatement, taste and dignity, and an important step forward for modern politics. The Prime Minister had spent much of his first term talking a little too much for his colleagues' liking about his second shot at love in his down-to-earth and thoroughly likeable now wife Jodie Haydon. Endless discussions about the role his supportive pet friend Toto would play in the wedding caused many to roll their eyes and wish for a change of subject. It was not that anyone begrudged the 62-year-old his happiness, far from it. It was just that fighting Toto for headline space was not the battle they felt they needed to be having during a cost-of-living crisis. The Prime Minister got the message. He stopped putting his marriage front and centre and only commented when asked, as…...

1+ hour ago (362+ words) The West Australian is a leading news source in Perth and WA. Breaking local and world news from sport and business to lifestyle and current affairs. A desperate search is underway for a seven-month-old boy from Ipswich The infant was last seen at a home on Warwick Rd in Ipswich about 12pm Wednesday, November 26 "Police have expressed concern for the infant's welfare due to his young age," a statement read The infant is believed to be travelling with a 26-year-old woman who is known to him The woman has been described as caucasian in appearance, approximately 160cm tall, with brown hair and a slim build Police believe she may be travelling between the Ipswich, Brisbane and Logan areas Anyone with information that could assist in locating the infant is urged to contact police. A desperate search is underway for a seven-month-old boy…...

1+ hour, 16+ min ago (26+ words) Donald Trump's unexpected involvement in the Honduras presidential race has cast a shadow as locals vote to elect a new leader in the Central American country....

1+ hour, 39+ min ago (1011+ words) Steve Smith is channeling West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul ahead of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane. Chanderpaul scored 11867 Test runs at an average of 51.37 and sits ninth on the all-time run-scorers leaderboard. Only Brian Lara has scored more red-ball runs than Chanderpaul for the West Indies. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Steve Smith uses anti-glare patches to contend with pink ball. And while the unconventional run-machine sits comfortably among the greats of the game, Chanderpaul is possibly best remembered for two things separate to his record: his extremely unorthodox batting stance, and the stickers he wore under his eyes. Smith has already got a unique stance of his own and a whole set of idiosyncratic mannerisms to go with it. But until now, he has never joined the exclusive eye-stickers club. The stand-in Aussie skipper was pictured wearing them in…...

1+ hour, 44+ min ago (23+ words) Retailers in focus as holiday season begins; Tech stocks recover, but Nasdaq ends with monthly losses; Data centre cooling issue disrupts futures trading....

2+ hour, 10+ min ago (370+ words) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is reportedly demanding a "six or seven bedroom" house, complete with staff, in exchange for vacating the lavish 31-bedroom Royal Lodge. The former Prince is said to be in negotiations about his future living arrangements after being asked to leave the Windsor estate in late October by King Charles III, following renewed scrutiny of his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A source revealed to the Daily Beast's royal expert, Tom Sykes, that the 65-year-old is pushing to move into a property on Charles' Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. "He is giving up the lease on one of England's finest houses and expects to be treated fairly," a friend of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's old Sykes. Insiders claim the former Duke of York is insisting on a full roster of staff, including a cook, gardener, housekeeper, driver and police security....

2+ hour, 20+ min ago (416+ words) The Opposition says Energy Minister Chris Bowen has "completely ended up with egg on his face" over the electricity transition after a fresh warning that the east coast grid isn't prepared for the retirement of the nation's largest coal-fired power station. An Australian Energy Market Operator report on the plan to transition while maintaining security of the power system warns that the proposal to replace the Eraring power station may not be ready before its scheduled retirement in December 2027. The NSW Government is helping Transgrid buy synchronous condensers, which are used to stabilise the power supplied by renewables into the grid. But AEMO head Daniel Westerman said there was a risk they wouldn't be ready fast enough, potentially meaning large blackouts in years to come. "These are big spinning machines on the grid that really keep a stable heartbeat, and…...