Welcome to Friday and for a change we'll start with The Canberra Times which - like most of the papers today - focuses on the proposed hate speech laws which appear to have become bogged down because the government can't secure the support of either The Greens or the Opposition, and each party/group have their own separate reasons there's no clear path forward, at least not today. The CT's front page story on that, and a clever enough headline ('Double jeopardy for PM'), is by Grace Crivellaro, Zac de Silva and Tess Ikonomou. But also on the Times's front page is a picture of bomb squad officers searching for pipe bombs, after both exploded and unexploded pipes have been found. One of the senior cops on the hunt says with with a good serve of understatement: "an explosive in a public place does raise a lot of concern for police". That story, 'Inside' says the Times, without giving a page number which can be a bit irritating. For

Happy Pongal, Sankranti, and Lohri to everyone celebrating 🌾✨ Since it’s a national holiday, Today’s Ten and Fourth Right are taking a brief pause today. We’ll be back tomorrow with a fresh, compelling mix of media stories worth your time. Until then, enjoy the festivities, the food, and the well-earned break.

From tonight until normal transmission resumes, WIN News Bendigo will be available to people in the Bendigo TV market as video on demand via 9Now. The Bendigo bulletin will be available each weekday from 6.30pm on 9Now ensuring the Bendigo community continues to receive trusted local news coverage at a time when accurate information is critical. The move follows catastrophic bushfire damage to the Mt Alexander transmission infrastructure, which has resulted in free-to-air television services being unavailable across large parts of the Bendigo market. Restoration of transmission services is expected to take time, with access and safety considerations continuing to impact repair efforts. This streaming solution ensures viewers in the impacted Bendigo area can remain informed about local news, weather and bushfire-related updates while transmission services are restored. WIN Corporation Chief Executive Officer Andrew Lancaster said the collaboration reflects a shared commitment to re

Morning and welcome to Thurdsday and there's a bit of a crime spree going on - at least in terms of stories about an alleged crime kingpin which features in The Australian, Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun and The Age this morning. It seems 'Crime boss Kazam 'Kaz' Hamad' has been the subject of a manhunt for some time and at The Oz that includes a quote from now AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett who said Hamad was "an alleged offshore offender who I called a national security threat to this country". It's very Underbelly, (which for younger readers is a reference to a series of hugely successful true-crime thrillers televised and set in Melbourne a couple of decades ago).   The gist of the story today is Hamad has been holed up in Iraq and apparently living a plush lifestyle and avoiding arrest until recently, but is now banged-up in an Iraqi jail and may face the death penalty. Australia wants him back here to face justice

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday granted interim relief to a law student–RTI activist and three journalists, staying further investigation in an FIR lodged against them over a social media post questioning the use of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official helicopter while he was abroad.  According to the source, Justice Vinod S. Bhardwaj issued notice to the Punjab government, with the matter listed for February 23, and stayed all proceedings in the case.  The petitioners — Manik Goyal and journalists Baljinder Singh alias Mintu Gurusaria, Maninderjeet Singh and Mandeep Singh Makkar — had sought quashing of FIR No. 67 of 2025 registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station, Ludhiana, under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.  The FIR stems from a December 9, 2025, post by Goyal citing publicly available data from FlightRadar24, which showed the Chief Minister’s helicopter maki

  The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain a defamation claim filed by a journalist over a social media post, observing that the comment in question was extremely mild and advised public figures to develop thicker skin if they choose to be active on platforms like X. According to News18, Justice Avneesh Jhingan was hearing a plea by journalist Rohan Dua, founder of the news platform The New Indian, who had objected to online criticism of his interview with double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker. The dispute traces back to a 2024 interview conducted after Bhaker won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics. During the interaction, Dua had asked her about photographs featuring her and fellow athlete Neeraj Chopra. A clip from the interview later went viral, drawing criticism from several social media users who accused the journalist of asking sexist questions and focusing on the athlete’s appearance rather than her sporting achievements. Dua approached the court seeking

Three journalists working with a vernacular news channel were arrested late Tuesday night for allegedly broadcasting defamatory content against a woman IAS officer, sparking a political row and fresh debate over press freedom in Telangana. Former minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao strongly condemned the arrests, accusing the Congress government of acting in a vindictive and undemocratic manner. He demanded the immediate release of the journalists and said the action reflected the government’s failure to tolerate criticism. In a statement, Rao said the government was harassing the media instead of addressing its governance shortcomings. He termed the arrests a direct assault on democratic values and the dignity of the media in the state. “Is this the people’s rule you promised? Is this your idea of restoring democracy?” he asked. Rao also criticised the use of special investigation teams and late-night raids, questioning why journalists were being treated like crim