The Arctic's sea ice is shrinking at an alarming rate, with scientists fearful of the impact on wildlife and global weather patterns.  The Herald's Environment Editor, Marian Wilkinson, has just returned from a trip to the Arctic on a Canadian icebreaker. She reports on what scientists found.

Multimedia: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says 'sorry' to the stolen generations in Parliament.

In April 1947 the SS Misr and its un-British migrants sparked an unprecendented controversy. See how its arrival changed a nation.

The United States has a new South Pole base: the $174 million Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. It's a far cry from the canvas and bamboo tent raised when it was first visited in 1911. The first US science base at the South Pole was built in 1956, when newspaper reporter Geoffrey Lee Martin accompanied Sir Edmund Hillary on his journey. Here is the story of what he saw when he witnessed history.

A collection of Impressionist's paintings were on display at the Art Gallery of NSW until January 26, 2009, however you can still get a close-up look at some of their works, including Monet here.

Barack Obama was elected partly because of his uplifting and inspiring political oratory.  On January 20, 2009, he delivered his inaugural presidential address.  Take a closer look at some of the great US presidential addresses, and explore the narrative gifts of Barack Obama here.

200 years ago Australia was rocked by its first and only military coup. The event, which has become known as the Rum Rebellion, was the most dramatic incident in early white Australia history.

Interactive: Australians in action, the Iraqi side of the war, and the graphic photos and images which tell the story.
*contains graphic images