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Veteran: Andrew Hastie served his country in Afghanistan A special forces veteran turned federal MP says 'humble' Australian soldiers need to be honoured and supported despite the 'great shame' of war crimes allegations. Andrew Hastie, who served in Afghanistan as a troop commander in 2013 before becoming Liberal MP for Canning in WA two years later, said ADF leaders are responsible for failing to stop the alleged murder of innocent Afghans  in the 'degrading cockpit of war'.  He said the reality of human nature is that 'people do bad things when they are left unaccountable' - and firm leadership was lacking from the 'very top of the command chain'.   He made the comments in an essay, first published in The Australian, reflecting on a four-year ADF inquiry which found evidence of 39 murders of civilians or prisoners by 25 Australians serving in Afghanistan from 2009 to 2016.  Mr Hastie, who is not under investigation, said he 'feels great sha

A dosing error by researchers on the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine trial led to a huge boost in the jab's success rate, the firm's vice president has revealed. Mene Pangalos, head of AstraZeneca's non-oncology research and development, said: 'The reason we had the half dose is serendipity.' Volunteers in Britain were expected to receive two full doses of the vaccine as it was trialed in the hope of funding a cure. Dr Pangalos says researches were perplexed when they noticed volunteers were reporting much milder side effects, such as fatigue, headaches and arm aches, than were originally predicted.   He said: 'So we went back and checked ... and we found out that they had underpredicted the dose of the vaccine by half.' Dr Mene Pangalos, from AstraZeneca, revealed a 'mistake,' led to one volunteer group receiving half of their first dose - but scientists later discovered that dosage was more effective than a full one He said the team nonethele

February 7, 2012 I started early with a walk across St James's Park to the Royal Academy and met Antonia Fraser, looking good in fur, Charles Saumarez Smith chief executive of the then letting us in early to the David Hockney exhibition.  It was a wonderful privilege to see it without anyone else there, room after room of happiness and joy, a sunshine quality with those radiant landscapes of East Yorkshire and the Dales. I went to the Abbey for the Dickens commemoration. The Prince of Wales appeared, with his usual smiling if slightly agonised look, along with Camilla, who told me how they'd been to the Dickens Museum and I ought to go.  He asked: 'How's the garden?' I said: 'Stunning, but you've never seen it.' The Prince of Wales appeared. He asked: 'How's the garden?' I said: 'Stunning, but you've never seen it.' The Prince of Wales appeared, with his usual smiling if slightly agonised look (Pictured: Sir Roy Strong in the Sil

Britain's most popular Christmas tree could be in short supply after imports from Denmark were halted by Covid-19 restrictions. The UK normally imports more than one million Nordmann Fir trees each year from what is Europe's largest festive tree producer.   However, exports to the UK and other countries have been severely hit by restrictions linked to a cull of mink, which became a reservoir for a mutant form of coronavirus.  Garden centres say that, historically, many stores and supermarkets rely on Danish trees for their festive stock.  Britain's most popular Christmas tree could be in short supply after imports from Denmark were halted by Covid-19 restrictions Some 10million trees are sold in Britain every year, around 3million of them imported.  The British Christmas Tree Growers Association said that, so far, retailers have been able to meet demand from domestic supplies.  Many families usually go and choose a tree from a garden centre, but they have not been able to d

The governor of Oregon has sparked outrage by saying that neighbors should call the police if they find another family celebrating Thanksgiving with a large gathering in their home, in what one local official said turned people into 'second-rate slaves' in their own homes. Kate Brown, the Democrat ruler of the state, announced on November 17 that new restrictions would be put in place the following day, with no more than six people allowed inside any one home. Critics said the 'freeze', as the restrictions were termed, was unconstitutional. Kate Brown, the governor of Oregon, introduced the two-week 'freeze' on November 17 Protesters in Oregon complained against the new restrictions in Salem on Saturday Demonstrators gathered outside Brown's residence on Saturday to call for her impeachment Tootie Smith, elected in November as chair of Clackamas County - which incorporates part of Portland - said that the ruling would make 'second-rate slaves' of peo

Queensland will open its borders to Greater Sydney on 1 December after the city recorded no mystery cases of Covid-19 for 28 days in a row. The Sunshine State, which is already open to the rest of NSW, will also re-open to Victoria on the same day if it records another day of zero new cases on Wednesday.  Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the news on Tuesday morning, saying: 'We know how tough this has been on families. This is a great day. It's exciting news. Best phone call I have had in ages. Pleased to hear from @AnnastaciaMP the Queensland/NSW border will come down on 1 December! — Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) November 24, 2020 Best phone call I have had in ages. Pleased to hear from @AnnastaciaMP the Queensland/NSW border will come down on 1 December! 'Now is the time, if you live in New South Wales, come to Queensland, start planning that holiday. We would love to have your business.  'It means jobs for Queenslanders. And as you know, Queensland, beautif

Commuters face significantly longer journeys to work in the new year as the train line crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge closes for 10 days for major track work. Buses will replace trains between North Sydney and Wynyard from January 1 to January 10 on the T1 North Shore and Western Line to allow crews to replace a timber deck along the bridge's rail line with a more durable concrete structure. The maintenance work will have a knock-on effect on all other Sydney train lines - most of which will run to a weekend schedule throughout the 10-day period. Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the works will affect almost every single rail customer in Australia's largest city. Scroll down for video  Commuters at Town Hall station in Sydney on November 10.  Commuters face longer journeys to work in the new year as the train line crossing the Sydney Harbour Bridge closes for 10 days Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said the works will affect almost e