The WA Government will ban students from using mobile phones, smart watches and tablets in all public schools from 2020 in a major push to reduce distraction and focus on learning.

School leavers celebrations have been canned on Western Australia's Rottnest Island this year, with thousands of graduates expected to flock to the state's South West instead.

Western Australia's second largest timber mill is stripped of a major native timber supply contract after being caught on-selling at least 165 tonnes of marri logs overseas.

Despite a blast of icy air delivering gusty showers and hail to south western parts of WA this week, the state just posted its second-warmest October on record and the driest in 40 years.

More than 900 days after being wiped out in the polls, the WA Liberal Party's rebuild is hitting a critical juncture, writes Jacob Kagi.

A former Perth rugby league coach who spent more than 14 years behind bars for "horrendous and abhorrent" child sex offences is jailed for another seven months for molesting a boy 25 years ago.

A team of WA Police officers will be deployed to Japan as part of a revived investigation into former trade commissioner Craig Peacock, accused of misusing his position to pocket $540,000 in taxpayer funds.

Identify the gifts in your struggles to help you lead through chaos: That's the message of Bobby Herrera, co-founder and CEO of Populus Group, one of the fastest growing HR Services companies in the US. No stranger to struggle, Bobby is one of 13 children and his family immigrated from Mexico to the US in the 60s with little to their name. He shares his powerful stories of struggle and how what he has learn has helped him lead his company through four recessions. And he also talks about the current struggle - including how he leads through VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). Then self-professed introvert and author of Quietly Powerful, Megumi Miki, turns the microphone on extreme extrovert, Lisa Leong to hear how she is coping with working in ISO. And it's not been pretty.

We go to the heart of the Coronavirus in the Middle East - the Iranian holy city of Qom, where not even the ayatollahs are safe. And, how Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jews are pushing back against social distancing. Also, what does the Coronavirus reveal about a nation’s values? Does the  communitarian nature of modern Germany account for its resilience in the face of pandemic?

We all know that certain diseases are contagious, but sometimes behaviour is contagious as well. We take a look at some historical examples—such as the Tanganyika laughter epidemic of 1962, and the 1518 case of uncontrollable dancing—and we consider what might drive copycat crimes. There's also the possibility of suicide contagion. Trigger warning: this episode touches on the subject of suicide, please take care while listening.

When some people take a deep breath they can hear air rushing into their lungs. As their lungs expand they can hear their ribs creaking… and their heart beating… and their blood moving. These things happen to people with Superior Canal Dehiscence Syndrome. It's so strange and rare that most doctors haven’t even heard of it, yet it can have a profound impact on a person’s life and mental health. We go into a hospital operating room to learn about this little-known condition. Warning: this episode contains a description of a surgical operation.

On the 17th March Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel will appear in court, charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. Despite the charges his party won the most seats in the recent election. So why is he so popular and what does it tell us about Israel politics?

Find out how match fixing works. It's ubiquitous and now recognised as the biggest threat to sport integrity.

Joe Biden has emerged as the Democratic nominee for the United States Presidential race in November. But he’s run twice before and both times been defeated soundly. Why did he win this time and how did he gain the support of African American voters?

Three hour, one man show? Fear not, it's awesome.

ABC North Coast resident arts reviewer, Jeanti St Clair - her thoughts on Cafe Rebetika.

If this one-man show at The Blue Room is anything to go by, it would be appalling behaviour indeed if the rest of the Blue Room Season "Close Up" was not well attended. I'm not one for one-man shows generally, or for that matter one-woman shows. They can often be hard to sustain especially when the subject matter is not comedic.

The ghost of Jandamarra has returned to the warrior's Kimberley heartland in a spectacular production, says 720's cultural reviewer Victoria Laurie.

The man who shaped and reformed Australian intelligence services receives an overdue biography.

Mike Ladd reads the Clive James poem, My Father Before Me

Space exploration has given us conveniences such as smartphone cameras, memory foam mattresses and satellite navigation, but it also boosts the economy.

Member for Geraldton Ian Blayney quits the Liberal Party and will sit as an independent while his application to join the Nationals is being considered.

Ian Blayney is a regional MP who decided to quit the WA Liberals and move to the Nationals. But everyone, especially his own former party leader, is being strangely nice about it, writes Jacob Kagi.

For many West Australians the beach forms the foundation of their lifestyle, but the oceanfront dream is under threat for many in Perth and towns up and down the coast.

Port Beach's Coast pub and surf life saving rooms should be moved and some Rottnest Island holiday bungalows should be pushed back from the beach in the long term, a report into WA coastal erosion hotspots says.

Australia's biggest grain handler and a global infrastructure giant reach agreement on the use of WA's rail freight network, but farmers' hopes this will lead to fewer trucks transporting grain may be dashed.

Producers describe plans for a new abattoir near Port Pirie as a "complete game changer" for pastoralists, saving them thousands in freight costs.

Steven Leslie Hainsworth, 44, is charged over the 2010 cold case murder of Adelaide grandmother Beverley Hanley.

A six-week suspension handed down to South Australian footballer Casey McElroy is proving deeply divisive, with a female sporting great, a former test cricketer and the state's Minister for Sport criticising it as excessive.

A 15-year-old girl dies and another teenage girl is rushed to hospital after being hit by a Lamborghini when the driver allegedly lost control outside a Chinese restaurant in Adelaide.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the cottage where Bob Hawke was born is a "significant part" of Australia's democratic history, and commits $750,000 to purchase and renovate the Bordertown property.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) launches a nationwide search for a missing Adelaide boy last seen by his father in October, believed to have been taken interstate by his mother.

A small town has become home to a major new mural but you might not notice it if you were walking past.

Trevor Ashby's property south of Mount Gambier looks like a typical dairy farm from the roadside, but hidden among the cows is a tiny portal into a world-class dive site.

South Australia's forestry industry says it's struggling to secure enough water licences to expand, warning that if growers plant forests interstate instead, jobs and investment will follow.

Brooke Littlewood was facing a two-month wait for a regional psychologist when she decided to create a series of beer coasters for others who may be struggling.

A senior Corrections executive and a plasterer appear in court following an ICAC investigation, with the pair accused of corruption offences relating to a planned $150 million upgrade of South Australia's biggest prison.