Australia has the third-lowest adoption rate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) – but why? The OECD has 34 member countries, including the UK, US, Canada, France and Germany, as well as developing nations like Chile, Turkey and Mexico. Advocates say there are several reasons for this. 1. The system is haphazard […]

Inter-country adoption is a complicated issue – here are some facts and figures about Australian international adoptions. In 2010, 197 children from overseas were adopted by Australian families, down from 434 in 2004-05. At the end of the year, a total Australian 963 applications were waiting at overseas placement agencies . Of the 197 placements […]

Deborra-Lee Furness raises two adopted children with her husband Hugh Jackman. Here, she talks about why adoption is important. I was asked to write a short piece about why I think adoption is important. I can’t think of anything more important than ensuring that every child in this world has at least one person who […]

Shane Warne completed his metrosexual makeover last night, donning a black tuxedo to attend Elton John’s annual White Tie and Tiara ball with his girlfriend Elizabeth Hurley. The former cricketer has slimmed down in recent weeks, and showed off his new physique in a slim-fitting suit. Elizabeth looked her usual glamorous self in a one-shoulder […]

The Weekly’s Executive Editor Juliet Rieden recalls working under a boss so demanding she made Meryl Streep’s The Devil Wears Prada character look warm and friendly. Breeding the competitive spirit into a mean fighting machine was the ruling dogma at one of the most challenging workplaces I have experienced, a British newspaper office, and in […]

Princess Beatrice showed off the results of her dramatic weight loss yesterday, three years after an unflattering photo of her was published. What made you decide to slim down?

Princess Beatrice showed off the results of her dramatic weight loss yesterday, three years after an unflattering photo of her was published. What made you decide to slim down?

There is every chance the toddlers of today will grow up never having pressed a button on a phone. For them, pressing buttons — a much-loved pursuit of many children — has been replaced with brushing their finger along an iPad or iPhone screen. They will never know a time when information isn’t instantaneous, and […]

Polo matches are generally very formal affairs, but Prince Harry put on a show for onlookers yesterday, pretending to shoot his cousin’s fiancé before wrestling with him on the grass. Harry, an experienced polo player, competed in the Bernard Weatherill Charity Cup at Beaufort Polo Ground at Tetbury, Gloucestershire, yesterday. His cousin Zara Phillips showed […]

Tom Cruise turns 49 next month, but he is looking better than ever. The actor had fans swooning over the weekend when he released a sexy shirtless photo of him from his new film Rock of Ages. Tom plays fictional 1980s singer Stacee Jaxx in the movie and the picture shows him rocking out with […]