Nine

Shock jock Ray Hadley and Radio 2GB have been hit with a defamation lawsuit by NSW greyhound racing chief commissioner Alan Brown over radio segments that accused him of lying about alleged workplace bullying of a senior employee.

A communications device was planted on an unarmed Afghan villager who was allegedly murdered by former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, a court overseeing the accused war criminal's defamation trial has heard.

Canberra has been floated as a potential new venue for the trial in former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case as Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak worsens, but a judge has said moving the hearing created “real difficulties”.

An appeals court  has thrown out an appeal by a Sydney man who sought greater damages for being incorrectly named in media reports as the driver in a fatal hit-and-run.

Media company Nine, which is facing defamation claims from Ben Roberts-Smith over articles accusing him of war crimes, has asked the court to set aside two subpoenas from the decorated veteran related to a woman who has accused him of domestic violence, arguing the subpoenas act as a substitute for discovery.

Four witnesses who allegedly saw Ben Roberts-Smith kick a handcuffed man off a cliff in Afghanistan will give evidence next week in the war veteran’s defamation trial, which has been disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions in NSW.

Trial in the defamation case by war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith against Nine may face additional delays or be transferred out of Sydney after the NSW Government extended the city's COVID-19 restrictions by two weeks.

Media companies seeking access to the ABC’s unredacted defence in a now-settled defamation case brought by Christian Porter told a judge the principle of open justice required that the pleading be made public, while the former attorney-general argued there was no “superior” public interest in airing the document.

Media giant Nine has paid more than $150,000 in fines and will repay subscribers and advertisers $450,000 for allegedly slapping them with excessive payment surcharges on credit card transactions.

Trial in the defamation case by accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith has been adjourned for three weeks after COVID-19 restrictions prevented witnesses from travelling to Sydney and national security concerns were raised regarding Afghani witnesses set to give evidence.