Sam Nichols

5 days ago | abc.net.au | Sam Nichols

Over the last three decades, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have quietly but steadily climbed in Australia, with bacterial diseases like chlamydia, gonorrhoea, and syphilis spreading across the country. In 2004, just over 35,724new cases of chlamydia were recorded in Australia, according to federal government data. By 2024, that figure had roughly tripled to more than 102,000 notifications, with infections spread roughly evenly across men and women.

2 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Sam Nichols |Jean Kennedy

Thousands of doctors across NSW public hospitals are walking off the job for three days from Tuesday over pay and conditions. The union says their members are working in unsafe conditions and have been pushed to "breaking point". The government has urged the union to call off the strike, saying patient safety would be adversely affected. Thousands of doctors in the New South Wales public hospital system are set to begin three days of strikes from today.

3 weeks ago | abc.net.au | Sam Nichols

It's a familiar feeling. The scratch in the throat, the slight congestion, aches in your joints. Maybe you're just tired, you think to yourself. Maybe it's allergies. Or, maybe, a it's virus or maybe you've caught the flu. A relatively new response to those symptoms might be to reach for an at-home rapid antigen tests (RATs) for influenza, COVID-19 and other respiratory infections. But is it worth taking a test in the hope of finding out exactly what virus you have?

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Sam Nichols

NSW Premier Chris Minns has condemned an online threat made towards a Sydney mosque, announcing that police have launched an urgent investigation. On Thursday afternoon, Lakemba Mosque posted on Facebook calling for stronger action action Islamophobia after receiving a comment on its TikTok that referenced the 2019 Christchurch massacre, a terrorist attack that resulted in 51 deaths. "Places of worship and education should be safe spaces.

1 month ago | abc.net.au | Eden Gillespie |Sam Nichols |Janelle Miles

Rapid creek rises and dangerous flash flooding are impacting parts of south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales as the effects of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred linger over the east coast. Dozens of people were rescued overnight in Queensland as the State Emergency Service (SES) fielded 3,600 calls, a record. Heavy rainfall has also cut the Warrego Highway, a major road connecting Brisbane and Toowoomba.