A rescue mission involving volunteer helicopter crew and public donations ended in joy after Molly was located and brought home

A spot of furry black and white appears among the jagged rocks of New Zealand’s alpine backcountry. It is Molly the border collie, sitting near the foot of a waterfall where she had been separated from her owner one week earlier.

Molly was rescued on Tuesday after an avalanche of donations from the public funded a volunteer team made up of former helicopter pilots and crew to mount a search in the wilderness.

Liz Steel and Marc Taro Holmes live on opposite sides of the globe but connected through a sketching challenge. Now it’s a phenomenon

If you’re lucky, you may spot Liz Steel tucked into the corner of a sun-dappled Sydney cafe, water-soluble pencils and markers in hand. Half a world away, Marc Taro Holmes is led by his sketchbook on to the thawing streets of Montreal, “like a bear coming out of hibernation”.

The duo are co-founders of #OneWeek100People challenge, an informal global initiative that asks artists to sketch 100 people in seven days. The challenge, now in its 10th year, took place this week but Steel and Holmes stress it is entirely for enjoyment, and anyone can take it up and post with the hashtag at any time.

The 16-year-old Australian’s classmates and teachers are some of her biggest fans – and say she remains ‘really chill’

On the towering slopes of Livigno in Italy on Sunday, 16-year-old Australian Ally Hickman was a green and gold blur, securing herself a spot in the Olympic women’s snowboard slopestyle final.

She will compete for a medal in the finals on Tuesday – but thousands of kilometres away at her Sydney high school, the teenager is already a legend.

A sign for the northern beaches Hop, Skip and Jump bus says ‘clothing must be worn over swimwear’

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Sydney’s Northern Beaches council has banned bikini-clad and shirtless passengers from riding its free community bus service after receiving feedback from passengers.

The Hop, Skip and Jump is a daily 30-seat shuttle bus that services the coastal suburbs of Manly, Fairlight and Balgowlah and is frequented by beachgoers.

They offer independence, reduce emissions and congestion. But they are also endangering lives

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

After the Sydney Harbour Bridge was swarmed by 40 or so ebikes and e-motorcycles on Wednesday, the Australian government said the country faced a “real emergency”.

“[Illegal ebikes] are a total menace on the road,” the health minister, Mark Butler, said on Friday.

‘What have I done?’ thought Joanne Appelbee as she waited for rescue with her two other children in rough seas off Western Australia

Joanne Appelbee says asking her 13-year-old son Austin to swim four hours through dangerous waters to get help after her family was swept out to sea was “one of the hardest decisions” she has ever made.

“I knew he was the strongest and he could do it,” she told the ABC. “I would have never went because I wouldn’t have left the kids at sea, so I had to send somebody.”

The 13-year-old attempted to kayak back to shore to get help, but the vessel took on water, forcing him to swim 4km

A teenager has saved his mother and two younger siblings by swimming for four hours in fading light and rough conditions after they were swept out to sea in south-west Western Australia.

The family were holidaying in Quindalup, 200km south of Perth, when strong winds pushed their inflatable paddleboards and kayak offshore from Geographe Bay on Friday afternoon.

Family confirms boy has died almost a week after the attack, describing him as possessing the ‘most kind and generous spirit’

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

A 12-year-old boy has died in hospital after being mauled by a shark in Sydney Harbour last weekend, his family has confirmed.

The boy, named as Nico Antic in an online fundraiser, had been fighting for his life after being bitten on both legs on 18 January at a harbour beach in Vaucluse, in Sydney’s east.

I was surprised by the dormant ringlets springing to life as I hunched over the basin, squishing in conditioner to define each tendril

• Read more summer essentials

My housemate has a special phrase for some of my old photos: “Ima’s whiteface era” – hair seared straight down the middle with brassy blond highlights.

Where I grew up, in a regional coastal town, the gold standard was sandy blond beach babe.

Mini breaks and micro-stretches could help strengthen your neck and reduce pain and stress, say experts

• Read more summer essentials

If you’re reading this on your device, chin tucked into your chest, or leaning over your desk shaped like a question mark, pause for a moment. How’s your neck feeling?

The way we sit, scroll and work means we often hold static positions for too long, creating tension and stiffness that radiates through the upper body.

From not treating your rectum as a storage facility to lifting weights, experts offer advice on how to maintain a healthy pelvic floor for longer

Pelvic floor health has long been relegated to whispered conversations about pregnancy or aging, often reduced to vague instructions to “do your kegels”.

But according to experts, daily maintenance of the pelvic floor is important.

As we age, we naturally lose mobility. But there are some steps we can take to keep these joints healthy for longer

• Read more summer essentials

You’re clinging to the overhead strap on a packed bus during rush hour when the driver suddenly slams on the brakes. As the crowd surges, your arm jerks back and your shoulder takes the full force of the momentum. It’s times like these one is grateful for a strong and healthy shoulder.

“If you’ve got a strong and mobile shoulder, you have the control to reduce the risk of anything [bad] happening,” says Dr Josh Zadro, a physiotherapist and senior research fellow at the University of Sydney.

Arm circles: Large, controlled circles in front of your body.

The wall slide: Face a wall and slide your hands up as high as possible.

The overhead reach: Stretch your arms to the ceiling to counteract the forward hunch of computer work.