Social distancing rules will ‘kill cities’, experts warn – and the future of mass transit hangs in the balance

This is the second feature in our Life after lockdown series, which looks at how Covid-19 could change Australia for good

Before the pandemic struck, Sara Blazey made the same three-hour commute to work, three days a week, for the better part of 12 years. The 63-year-old family lawyer from the Blue Mountains works for a domestic violence legal advice hotline in Parramatta and it used to be that she would wake at 7am, drive seven minutes to Hazelbrook station and from there catch the 7.17am train to Parramatta before making the same one-and-a-half hour trip home in the evening.

With the pandemic, all that would change. Domestic violence support services such as the one Blazey worked for were declared “essential” services, meaning they could keep operating despite restrictions. To ensure they could do so safely, the organisation did what some commentators long thought impossible and began to transition its employees into working from home.

City leaders publish ‘statement of principles’ putting climate action at centre of recovery plans

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Mayors from many of the world’s leading cities have warned there can be no return to “business as usual” in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis if humanity is to escape catastrophic climate breakdown.

City leaders representing more than 750 million people have published a “statement of principles”, which commits them to putting greater equality and climate resilience at the heart of their recovery plans.

The 46-year-old actress is now revealing the agony she went through before receiving a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) last August."Ever since my son was born, I was in an MS flare-up and didn't know, and I was giving it everything to seem normal," Blair told Robin Roberts in an interview that aired Tuesday on "Good Morning America." "And I was self-medicating when he wasn't with me. Blair recalled that she would get so fatigued prior to her diagnosis that she would need to pull over to take a nap after dropping her son, now 7, off at his school one mile away from their home. During her interview with "GMA" at her Los Angeles home, Blair was in an "exacerbation" of MS, or an attack that causes new symptoms or the worsening of existing symptoms.

The Cyclone helicopter was participating in a NATO training exercise. A Nova Scotia native died, and two others from the province were missing.

President Trump on Thursday did not directly address reports that Attorney General William Barr’s assessment of special counsel Robert Mueller’s...

FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn is asymptomatic and tested negative for the virus on Friday, one senior administration official said.

Trump expects a sharp bounce-back in jobs. But as bankruptcies pile up, the labor market will need much of the next decade to replace the jobs gone for good.

UFC 249 has faced close scrutiny as the biggest sporting event to be held amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now UFC’s decision to proceed with the event raises further questions as one of the scheduled fighters, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, has been pulled from the card after testing positive for the virus, along with two members of […]

Chinese authorities will allow further leisure venues, including cinemas, to gradually re-open now that the coronavirus pandemic has largely been controlled in the country, the top administrative body said on Friday. This comes after movie theaters were shuttered nationwide in January, ultimately dealing a $2.5B+ loss to the box office in just the first quarter. […]

Terminally ill serial killer Ivan Milat is transferred from the medical wing of Long Bay Jail to Sydney's Prince of Wales Hospital to receive pain relief as his health takes a turn for the worse.

A Sydney man appears in a Gold Coast court on an upgraded charge after Brazilian national Ivan Susin dies in hospital as a result of a head injury he suffered in a Surfers Paradise scuffle.

An alleged cocaine drug ring spanning two states is uncovered by New South Wales and South Australian police, leading to the arrests of five people.

MORNING BRIEFING: The first non-stop commercial flight between New York and Sydney will depart shortly, and a man is charged over an alleged $170,000 diamond fraud committed in 2002.

Two Sydney brothers are acquitted of causing their bedridden mother's death by failing to get her medical help, after a judge agrees it had been her choice to sleep in a urine-soaked bed, surrounded by squalor.

An 81-year-old man is charged over the alleged sexual and indecent assault of two minors in northern NSW and police say there could be more victims who were drawn in over CB radio at the time.

MORNING BRIEFING: A proposal to bring NSW sexual consent laws in line with Victoria and Tasmania is introduced, while a man is rushed to hospital with multiple stab wounds after a two-vehicle crash.

The Qantas flight, which landed in Sydney on Sunday morning, is the first in a series of trials of "ultra" long-haul trips which could become reality by 2022.

Three men, including two sons of a prominent Melbourne barrister, are sentenced to jail for a drunken attack on two men near the MCG after an AFL game. But at least one of the men could still avoid prison after appealing his sentence and being granted bail.

The Workers Compensation Commission finds in favour of a former House Rules contestant who claimed she was now unemployable because of the negative way she was portrayed on the Channel Seven show.

Ashleigh Gardner has already suffered five concussions in her short cricket career, but the 22-year-old all-rounder hopes to use the experiences to make her a better player.

The current 5.25 per cent interest rate for reverse mortgages under the Government's Pension Loans Scheme has not fallen despite three official cash rate cuts this year.

There are growing calls for a royal commission into the racing industry after the ABC revealed emails proving Racing NSW was told more than a year ago about the unauthorised sale of thoroughbreds for slaughter at a livestock auction.

MORNING BRIEFING: Total fire bans are in place as temperatures are set to rise beyond the mid-30s on Friday, and a man in a wheelchair has fallen down 100 stairs at Macquarie Park Station.

A NSW Police officer accused of tasering a 16-year-old boy and repeatedly bashing him with a baton will continue to serve in the force, despite being charged over the alleged on-duty assault.

Pilots are still hungry for the thrill of flying a Grumman Tracker more than 30 years after they last launched it off the back of an aircraft carrier.

MORNING BRIEFING: More than 90 fire fighters work to stop a factory blaze from spreading in Sydney's inner city, while 700 weekly buses are being added to the Hills District.

A copied artwork featured in the lounge room of Ricky Gervais's character in the Netflix series After Life results in a payout to Aboriginal artist Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri.

MORNING BRIEFING: Eastern suburb residents are particularly at risk after smoke haze blankets Sydney, and a north-bound lane on M1 remains closed after four trucks caught fire after a collision

MORNING BRIEFING: The Metro network is experiencing significant delays after a train breakdown less than 24 hours after yesterday's mechanical problems, while health warnings for poor air quality are issued along the NSW coastline.

While the big aged care chains may have copped many of the torrid headlines, the Federal Government has been another target at this royal commission, writes Anne Connolly.

Sydney woman Susan Leslie O'Brien may be home before Christmas after being sentenced to three-and-a-half months in jail for hitting and killing a Balinese teenager with her car.

A father is dead and his son is fighting for life in hospital after both were stabbed at a construction site they owned in St Peters.

The neighborhood has a history of white supremacy..

The verbal altercation turned deadly.

Plus, more celebs rocking their natural hair!

Schools say it’s the best they can do in a pandemic.

Plus see more celebrity couples show love.

Over the last few years, social networks have instituted slightly stiffer policies against misinformation, but those systems are being pressed to their limit by a fast-spreading new video. The ‘Plandemic’ clip “spreads debunked conspiracy theories ab...

Scary stories about Zoombombing and privacy leaks may have you feeling tense about setting up a video call. But under current circumstances there aren’t a lot of other options available, so columnist Violet Blue has some advice on what you should (an...

The former Leafs forward commented on the physical appearances of Vancouver forward Tanner Pearson’s wife and Edmonton captain Connor McDavid’s girlfriend. He also called Capitals linemates Garnet Hathaway and Nick Dowd losers.

The game about survivors after a deadly virus gets a release date. Sony had delayed 'The Last Of Us Part 2' due to COVID-19. Then came a leak.

Summer Game Fest, spearheaded by Game Awards architect Geoff Keighley, already has Microsoft, Sony, Electronic Arts, Bethesda and Activision on board.

Doug Vince and Margaret Maxwell, both in their 90s, are celebrating the 75th anniversary of VE Day together after taking the plunge and moving in at the start of lockdown

June Bernicoff passed away on May 5 following a short illness, her husband, Leon died in December 2017 and June never appeared on the show again

Coronation Street showed an incredibly tender moment between Nina and Asha after Asha confided in Nina something very personal

The Britain's Got Talent judges come crashing into tonight's auditions when Simon can't work the breaks - leaving David to claim he has whiplash

SpaceX plans to make its satellites "generally invisible to the naked eye within a week of launch" following complaints about light pollution.

The production company behind the megahit Deadpool 2 has been fined nearly $290,000 for violating multiple safety rules leading to the death of a stuntwoman on a set in Vancouver in 2017.

Two years ago, Yaya Toure played his final game for Manchester City after a brilliant 316 appearances for the club.