Your afternoon Briefing: Hitman witness in Chris Dawson trial

Good afternoon, readers. Court told of hitman witness in Chris Dawson trial and Australia starts strongly in the Second Test.

Good afternoon, readers. Chris Dawson will stay in jail after a bail decision was adjourned until Monday and Australia starts strongly in the Second Test.

Chris Dawson is escorted by NSW Police detectives as he arrives at Sydney Police Centre at Surry Hills, in Sydney, Thursday, December 6, 2018. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING

Chris Dawson trial: hitman witness

Former rugby league star Chris Dawson’s lawyer offered a surety of $1.5 million during a hearing over the alleged 1982 murder of his wife.

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Australia's batsman Shaun Marsh hooks a ball away during training in Perth on December 13, 2018, ahead of the second cricket Test match against India. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) / --IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE--

Cricket live from Perth

The Australian openers brought up a century partnership before Aaron Finch fell on 50. Follow our live cricket blog for coverage.

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Property props up stadium play

A Melbourne paddock is set to be turned into a $150 million soccer stadium fringed by a commercial property precinct.

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(FILES) In this file photo taken on June 26, 2018, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones performs during a concert at The Velodrome Stadium in Marseille, as part of their 'No Filter' tour. - Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist whose name is synonymous with excess, says he has virtually given up drinking. "It was time to quit," the 74-year-old Richards told Rolling Stone magazine in an interview. "It's been about a year now," he said. "I pulled the plug on it. I got fed up with it." (Photo by Boris HORVAT / AFP)

End of world as we know it

It doesn’t bode well for 2019, writes Jack the Insider. Keith Richards ditching booze exposes a world where little other than Trump tweeting is certain.

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President Donald Trump touches the shoulder of Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they prepare to sign a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that is replacing the NAFTA trade deal, during a ceremony at a hotel before the start of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018.The USMCA, as Trump refers to it, must still be approved by lawmakers in all three countries. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)

Canada feeling out in the cold

Caught between superpowers US and China, Justin Trudeau’s Canada is all alone and wishing more of its allies, like Australia, would speak up for it.