Tag Archives: oceania

Where thunderstorms are set to hit as heat lingers over Australia

Parts of Australia are likely to be hit by thunderstorms in the next few days, capping off a hot and humid start to the first week of summer.

Thunder and lightning could roll into north-east NSW and southern inland Queensland as soon as today, with meteorologists eyeing off severe thunderstorm warnings.

It is a different story in Victoria, where residents can expect a warm night with clear conditions.

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Parts of Australia are likely to be hit by thunderstorms in the next few days.

Temperatures will climb and conditions will become "hot and unsettled" tomorrow across the centre and the south-east of Australia.

Meteorologist Jonathan How said two main factors will influence the conditions, including a high pressure system in the Tasman Sea which will bring down the heat to the interior and a surface trough which will bring down humidity from the tropics.

"The heat and humidity will combine," How said.

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"By the afternoon we will see widespread rain, storms and showers across South Australia, Victoria and NSW.

"Broad areas could see severe thunderstorms."

Showers are expected for the east and the north, while windy conditions are likely across Western Australia as the next high pressure system moves in.

A few showers can be expected along the east coast of Queensland on Friday, mostly north of about Hervey Bay, while heavy falls in the Tropics including for Cairns.

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"We will also see thunderstorms for inland parts, although they won't be as widespread compared to the last few days," How said.

"Severe thunderstorms are possible for the southern Maranoa and Warrego.

"Heavy falls are possible about the Gulf Country."

Temperatures will be a little bit warmer than the last few days, with a partly cloudy and a top of 29 degrees expected for Brisbane tomorrow.

Meanwhile How said NSW will experience "hot and unsettled" conditions tomorrow.

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"It will be clear to start the morning, then into the afternoon showers and thunderstorms will become quite widespread across most of the state, except for the far north-east," he said.

How said Victoria will experience "hot, humid and unsettled" conditions tomorrow, with thunderstorms developing in the west into the afternoon.

A hot day is in store for Melbourne tomorrow, with the possibility of a late shower or storm.

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A warm day is in store for Tasmania with a few showers developing from the north into the afternoon.

How said there will be tropical conditions with heat and humidity starting to build and pour down from the north.

There will be cooler conditions on Western Australia's coast tomorrow, while heatwave conditions are likely for the inland Pilbara with temperatures climbing up into the mid-40s in some locations.

Across northern Australia, heatwave conditions continue across the western Kimberley tomorrow, while showers and storms are predicted for the Top End and up into Queensland.

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More mysterious black spheres wash up on a Sydney beach

More mysterious black spheres have washed up in Sydney, prompting a local council to start a clean-up operation.

A member of the public called Sutherland Shire Council about ball-shaped debris at the eastern end of Sliver Beach at Kurnell in the city's south on Tuesday.

The NSW Environmental Protection Authority (NSW EPA) officers collected samples for analysis which will be tested and compared to others found in the last two months.

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More mysterious black spheres have washed up in Sydney, prompting a local council to start a clean-up operation.

"The debris varies in size, shape and colour with some rounded and golf ball size while larger ones are more irregular in shape," a NSW EPA spokesperson said in a statement.

"They range in colour from whitish or pale through green, grey and black.

"This is a much smaller event than the incident in Sydney's eastern suburbs in October, with fewer balls over a smaller area."

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Authorities have inspected nearby beaches and have not found any further debris.

The NSW EPA said Sydney Water officers found a small number of balls across Botany Bay at Dolls Point Beach, which were immediately cleaned up.

"The EPA has finalised testing on ball-shaped debris that washed up on beaches in Sydney's Eastern suburbs in October, confirming earlier results that indicate their origin is likely a source that releases mixed waste," a spokesperson said.

"Experts could not determine where the balls originated from as no source samples were available for comparison.

"The EPA is awaiting results of testing on debris balls which washed up in Kiama in November."

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Killer Chris Dawson fights ‘unreasonable’ teen sex verdict

Notorious wife-killer Chris Dawson has challenged a guilty verdict for sexual activity with one of his teenage students after losing a bid to appeal his murder verdict.

The 76-year-old was convicted at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court in June 2023 of a historical charge of carnal knowledge as a teacher of a girl older than 10 and younger than 17.

His total sentence for the charge was mostly subsumed into his full 24-year sentence for murdering his wife Lynette Dawson in January 1982, merely adding one year to his non-parole period.

His first possible release date will be in August 2041, when he will be 93.

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Dawson's carnal knowledge challenge came briefly before the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Thursday and a two-hour hearing was scheduled for late-March.

Only the conviction would be challenged as the sentence was "really no issue", his Legal Aid lawyer Julian Stevens told the court.

"The verdict of guilty was unreasonable," the 76-year-old said in a notice of appeal.

Prominent barrister Stephen Odgers SC will represent Dawson in the appeal.

In handing down the verdict, Judge Sarah Huggett failed to take into account evidence of when precisely Dawson had sex with the teen student, the appeal documents said.

In the trial, the former PE teacher admitted having sexual intercourse with the girl but said he only did so after she reached her 17th birthday.

Judge Huggett erred by assuming questions asked in cross-examination of prosecution witnesses indicated the defence case and wrongly applied the burden of proof, the documents said.

The student, who cannot be legally named, was Dawson's motivation for murdering his wife and disposing of her body after he had become infatuated with the girl, the NSW Supreme Court found in August 2022 after a judge-alone murder trial.

His appeal of the murder conviction was thrown out in June.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Man found guilty of murder after father shot dead outside Sydney gym

A man who helped transport two men to a possible mistaken-identity killing has been convicted of murder after prosecutors successfully argued he knew about the deadly plan.

Taha Sabbagh, 40, was shot four times through the windshield and six times through the driver's side door of his black Mercedes Benz during the attack in March 2023.

He was parked outside the Elite Fight Force Gym at Sefton in Sydney's west at the time of the early morning shooting.

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Sefton shooting victim Taha Sabbagh.

Le Nghia "Andy" Pham, 27, was found guilty of murder by a NSW Supreme Court jury today despite not being the one who pulled the trigger.

Crown prosecutor Christopher Taylor convinced the jury Pham was part of a joint agreement to commit the murder by locating vehicles, transporting the shooter and another man, and waiting to pick up the two men after the killing.

Sabbagh did not have any criminal connections but drove a black Mercedes Benz that was the same colour and model, and had a similar number plate to the gym's owner, the court was told.

"It's possible that the shooter got the wrong bloke," Taylor said during the trial.

The 27-year-old admitted to helping the two unidentified men, who he said had left Australia for Vietnam, but claimed he did not know they were planning a shooting.

The murder occurred in front of a child, who witnessed a masked man in a hoodie get out of a nearby car, fire the gun and then flee in the same vehicle.

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Le Nghia "Andy" Pham

Sabbagh had driven to the gym and was waiting in the car park for the doors to open when the incident occurred.

Pham received $20,000 for his assistance, the court heard.

The 27-year-old was arrested at Sydney International Airport in April 2023 on his way to Vietnam after making an emergency application for a passport and destroying his phone.

He will face a sentence hearing on February 28, 2025.