5 h. ago Two dead at Melbourne beach as wild wind batters state, while parts of Sydney hit by record

Sydney’s Observatory Hill peaks at 37C on Wednesday – below the 39C forecast – as the mercury in other parts of the city neared 40CFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTwo men have died after being pulled from the water at a Victorian beach amid wild weather in the state.On Wednesday evening, Victoria police confirmed two men were found unresponsive in the water at Frankston Beach, on the Mornington Peninsula, just after 5pm. The men, who are yet to be identified, could not be revived. Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago Sydney temperatures soar 10C in 90 minutes as wild winds and weather batter Victoria

CBD temperatures surpass 36C as Bureau of Meteorology forecasts damaging wind gusts up to 130km/h along Victoria’s south-west coastFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastTemperatures across Sydney reached the mid-to-high 30s on Wednesday afternoon, as damaging winds with gusts above 100km/h whipped through Victoria.Sydney’s Observatory Hill recorded 36.6C at 3pm on Wednesday, with the temperature having climbed more than 10C in a period of 90 minutes, from 26.5C at 12:30 to 36.8C at 2pm. Continue reading...

Politics

8 h. ago Sydney set for ‘blistering’ weather as record heat shifts east and BoM warnings for winds to blast Melbourne and Victoria

Temperatures forecast by Bureau of Meteorology to reach 39C in the CBD as rain and damaging wind gusts up to 130km/h expected along Victoria’s south-west coastFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe weather bureau has forecast a “blistering day” for Sydney on Wednesday, with record-breaking heat shifting towards the east coast, while damaging winds whip through southern states.On Tuesday, both New South Wales and Queensland recorded their hottest-ever October temperatures, the highest since records began in 1910, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Continue reading...

Events

11 h. ago Australia news live: extreme weather warnings for NSW; Victoria police commissioner says ‘wrong decision’ to take helicopter to Hobart

BoM forecast top of 39C for Sydney would surpass 38.2C October record from 2004. Follow today’s news liveOctober heat records broken across Australia as Sydney braces for temperatures way above the normGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBrittany Higgins has dropped her appeal against the Western Australia supreme court decision that she defamed Linda Reynolds in a series of social media posts, according to reports.In August the state supreme court judge Paul Tottle ruled that the former defence minister’s reputation was damaged by a 2022 social media post from David Sharaz, which Higgins responded to, and an Instagram story published by Higgins in July 2023. Continue reading...

Events

12 h. ago Australia news live: extreme weather warnings as Sydney forecast to hit hottest ever October day; US company bids to buy Rex

BoM warning of 39C would surpass 38.2C October record from 2004. Follow today’s news liveOctober heat records broken across Australia as Sydney braces for temperatures way above the normGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastBrittany Higgins has dropped her appeal against the Western Australia supreme court decision that she defamed Linda Reynolds in a series of social media posts, according to reports.In August the state supreme court judge Paul Tottle ruled that the former defence minister’s reputation was damaged by a 2022 social media post from David Sharaz, which Higgins responded to, and an Instagram story published by Higgins in July 2023. Continue reading...

Events

8 d. ago ‘Saying yes puts you in their debt’: narco gangs profit from Argentinian austerity

Drug traffickers gaining influence by stepping in and offering donations after Milei’s sweeping social cutsIn a small colourful room tucked away in the south of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, four women are making bread and pizza bases, the bright spring sun shining strong outside the windows, which are covered in black metal mesh.Inside, the radio blast upbeat tunes, but the mood is grim: the neighbourhood has been shaken by the livestreamed torture and murder of two young women and a girl allegedly at the hands of a drug trafficker who lived just a few blocks away. Continue reading...

Economics

8 d. ago Drug traffickers gaining influence in Argentina amid Milei’s sweeping social cuts

Gang bosses support soup kitchens and offer jobs and loans in drive to expand control of poor neighbourhoodsIn a small colourful room tucked away in the south of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, four women are making bread and pizza bases, the bright spring sun shining strong outside the windows, which are covered in black metal mesh.Inside, the radio blast upbeat tunes, but the mood is grim: the neighbourhood has been shaken by the livestreamed torture and murder of two young women and a girl allegedly at the hands of a drug trafficker who lived just a few blocks away. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Prosecutors appeal for longer sentence for Erin Patterson in mushroom poisoning murders

Australian prosecutors have filed an appeal for a longer guaranteed prison term for poisonous mushroom cook Erin Patterson

Events

3 w. ago Australia's iconic beach boxes lack the comforts of home but can cost more than a house

The iconic, brightly painted coastal sheds around Melbourne, Australia, known as beach boxes offer stunning views but lack basic amenities like bedrooms and bathrooms

Society