Obama's counsel worth heeding

BARACK Obama should not have got the Nobel peace prize. The award was premature, too wishful, too lacking in awareness, too much of a hostage to fortune. It told you at least as much about the committee as about the man who received it in Oslo this week.

There's room for McDonald and Watson in Australia's Test side

THE Australian selectors will meet this week to select the squad for the first Test against the West Indies in Brisbane and a few interesting questions need to be answered. Will Phillip Hughes return to open the batting? If so, what number does Shane Watson bat? Does Michael Clarke walk straight back into the team with no cricket under his belt after such a long lay-off? Does Michael Hussey retain his position in the middle order? Is Brett Lee worthy of a recall? Have Brad Haddin's brittle fingers recovered sufficiently to justify immediate reinstatement?

HIS OWN WORST ENEMY

A new biopic reveals the former heavyweight champion has always lived in trouble's shadow, writes GAYNOR FLYNN.

Handling a dragon that has fried its own foot

THE Chinese Government has revealed its charges against the Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu, but the information does not add a great deal to the enigma that his arrest and those of other members of his team have created.

Fighting Williams Pushed All The Way

SERENA WILLIAMS does not walk around a tennis court. She prowls. She does not defeat the majority of her opponents. She beats them to a bloodied pulp.

Move Logging Into Plantations

IN THE wake of evidence exposing the shame of Victoria's emissions woes (The Age, 12/1), tragically, the news is much worse. The Government has also let go of the leash on its forestry agency, VicForests, which does virtually what it likes, logging more than 6000 hectares of native and old-growth forests each year. The annual emissions are staggering - anywhere between 7million and 10million tonnes.

Till Dusting Do Us Part: The Mother Of All Chore Wars

He says he does his fair share. She says she does more. He says she's a martyr. She says he's a sloth.

Munro Selects Team On Best Fit

IT does not matter which way you look at it, four does not go into three.

Any Questions? Gillian O'mara

Does the gender of a chief executive really matter?

Where Does Water Go?

WHERE does the water go when it runs down cracks in the forest floor?

Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall

4/5 Rufus Does Judy At Carnegie Hall Rufus Wainwright, Geffen/Universal