A zebra that escaped from a trailer east of Seattle last weekend remained on the run on Friday, as authorities closed off trailheads at a nature area in hopes of keeping people away and easing her capture.

The zebra was one of four that escaped as they were being transported from Washington to Montana last Sunday.

The driver had taken the Interstate 90 exit for North Bend, in the Cascade mountain foothills about 48 kilometres east of Seattle, to secure the trailer, when the zebras got loose, surprising residents and drivers as they galloped into a rural neighborhood.

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Three were quickly captured after being corralled in a pasture.

But the fourth — a mare called "Z" — hopped a fence and has proved more elusive, spawning popular social media memes that have placed the animal everywhere from riding a ferry across Puget Sound to rounding the bases at T-Mobile Park, home of the Seattle Mariners.

There have been several more realistic sightings, most recently on Thursday, according to Regional Animal Services of King County.

On Friday, King County officials closed off trail access points along the Snoqualmie Valley Trail in the Boxley Creek Natural Area, where the zebra seems to be frequenting.

People trying to come out to see the zebra may be spooking it and making it harder to recapture the animal, they said.

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"We're hoping that by closing the trail and getting people out of that area, maybe that will help us do a successful capture," said animal services spokesman Cameron Satterfield.

The zebra has been seen grazing and has been spotted on residents' trail cameras. There are dangers: The cameras have also recently captured cougars in the area.

On her Facebook page, King County Council Member Sarah Perry urged people to keep their distance.

"She is in an area where there are feeding zones to coax her out for a rescue, but every time a well-intended walker, bicycle or unleashed 'search dog' comes near her it makes rescuing her so much more difficult," Perry wrote Thursday.

"She is in good hands, and a rescue seems imminent, as long as we work together to give them room to achieve our goal."

China launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side.

It is the latest advance in China’s increasingly sophisticated space exploration program, which is now competing with the US, still the leader in space.

China already landed a rover on the moon’s far side in 2019, the first country to do so.

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And it returned samples from the near side of the moon in 2020, the first time anyone has done so since the 1970s.

Analysis of the samples found they contained water in tiny beads embedded in lunar dirt.

China also has a three-member crew on its own orbiting space station and aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030.

Three Chinese lunar probe missions are planned over the next four years.

The rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 lunar probe lifted off on Friday from the Wenchang launch centre on the island province of Hainan.

After orbiting the moon to reduce speed, the lander will separate from the returner.

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Free from exposure to Earth and other interference, the moon's somewhat mysterious far side is ideal for radio astronomy and other scientific work.

Because the far side never faces Earth, a relay satellite is needed to maintain communications.

The Chang’e lunar exploration probe is named after the Chinese mythical moon goddess.

Huge numbers of people crowded Hainan's beaches to view the launch, which comes in the middle of China’s five-day May Day holiday.

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After orbiting the moon to reduce speed, the lander will separate from the spacecraft and begin scooping up samples almost as soon as it sets down.

It will then reconnect with the returner for the trip back to Earth.

The entire mission is set to last 53 days.

China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station (ISS), largely because of US concerns over the Chinese military’s total control of the space program amid a sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals.

US law bars almost all cooperation between the US and Chinese space programs without explicit congressional approval.

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China’s ambitious space program aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the same year and launch three lunar probe missions over the next four years.

The next is schedule for 2027.

Longer-term plans call for a permanent crewed base on the lunar surface, although those appear to remain in the conceptual phase.

China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming the third country after the former Soviet Union and the US to put a person into space using its own resources.

The three-module Tiangong, much smaller than the ISS, was launched in 2021 and completed 18 months later.

It can accommodate up to six astronauts at a time and is mainly dedicated to scientific research.

The crew will also install space debris protection equipment, carry out payload experiments, and beam science classes to students on Earth.

China has also said that it eventually plans to offer access to its space station to foreign astronauts and space tourists.

With the ISS nearing the end of its useful life, China could eventually be the only country or corporation to maintain a crewed station in orbit.

The US space program is believed to still hold a significant edge over China’s due to its spending, supply chains and capabilities.

The US aims to put a crew back on the lunar surface by the end of 2025 as part of a renewed commitment to crewed missions, aided by private sector players such as SpaceX and Blue Origin.

They plan to land on the moon's south pole where permanently shadowed craters are believed to be packed with frozen water.

A father from Adelaide's northern suburbs fears someone will be killed after yet another out-of-control car went crashing into his property. 

Peter Virgin's front fence has been wiped out five times but he says authorities have refused to acknowledge the risk. 

"Someone is going to get killed," he said.

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The latest crash involved a 29-year-old allegedly disqualified driver who was attempting to evade police when he crashed into the homemade concrete barricade Virgin erected to protect his property.

He says if it wasn't there last night, the car would have ploughed into his daughter's bedroom.

Virgin's neighbour, Mustafa Ipekdal, criticised the lack of action from the City of Salisbury, highlighting the absence of proper curbing and the potential danger to children in the area. 

"He's doing it himself, he's preparing the place himself," he said.

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"The council has never done anything. There's no curbing here. It's not safe for the kids."

The council however, claims the road falls under the responsibility of the state government's Department of Transport.

In response to the recent crashes, it acknowledged the safety concerns and said it is willing to discuss potential safety measures.

The driver involved in the latest crash has now been arrested.

Meanwhile, Virgin says he'll keep the concrete blocks up to protect him and his family. 

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

A nearby business saw the man on their security cameras holding a large kitchen knife.

A teenager who murdered a woman during a home invasion could be sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment unless the judge finds the crime "particularly heinous".

The now 18-year-old and another teen were charged after Emma Lovell was fatally stabbed in her home north of Brisbane in 2022.

Police alleged the two boys, then 17 years old, broke into a North Lakes house north of Brisbane and attacked Lovell and her husband Lee at about 11.30pm on Boxing Day.

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The mother-of-two died after being stabbed in the chest while her husband was treated in hospital for a knife wound.

The teen faced Brisbane Supreme Court today for Justice Tom Sullivan to hear submissions from the prosecution and defence on what sentence he should impose.

The teen pleaded guilty in March to murder and break-in offences related to the home invasion.

Justice Sullivan said he would reserve his decision on the sentence until next week.

Crown prosecutor David Nardone said he was previously wrong to say the teen faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Justice Sullivan said previous cases demonstrated a lower sentence for juvenile offenders convicted of murder.

"It's 10 years unless it is found to be a particularly heinous offence, leading up to 14 years," Justice Sullivan said.

Mr Lovell and his children were present in court and watched as the prosecution played security camera footage of the home invasion.

Mr Lovell told the court he was trying the best he could to raise his children after losing his wife of 22 years.

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"I feel so lost without her … It was so difficult returning home. My daughter feared they would come back."

Mr Lovell said his family now faced a life sentence while the person who murdered his wife would not.

Nardone said the teen had engaged in premeditated offending and stabbed Ms Lovell with such force that the knife blade snapped.

"He has broken into premises or homes on 16 occasions… this was his first time entering a home armed and he knew the risks … he elevated the risk of harm," Nardone said.

Security camera footage was played showing the teen testing the front door and finding it unlocked before entering ahead of his accomplice.

The teen soon after engages in a physical altercation with Mr and Mrs Lovell while holding a knife.

Another camera showed the teens running down the street while the Lovells collapsed in their driveway.

The Lovell family left the court while graphic audio of the home invasion was played.

The couple's two teenage children were also sleeping in the house when the co-offenders broke in.

A barking dog alerted the couple and they tried to push the two intruders out of the house.

The teen stabbed Mrs Lovell in the heart and Mr Lovell in the back, before kicking him several times in the head.

The teen's defence barrister, Scott Lynch, is also due to make submissions today.

Dror Or, a 49-year-old held captive in Gaza, has died, the Hostages Families Forum said on Friday.

Or marks the 38th hostage killed, the forum said.

He and two of his children were abducted from Kibbutz Be’eri when Hamas attacked on October 7 and his wife, Yonat, was killed.

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His children, 17-year-old Noam and 13-year-old Alma, were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.

Israel says militants still hold around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others.

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Dozens of people demonstrated on Thursday night outside Israel’s military headquarters in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to release the hostages.

Meanwhile, Hamas said it would send a delegation to Cairo as soon as possible to keep working on cease-fire talks.

A leaked truce proposal hints at compromises by both sides after months of talks languishing in a stalemate.

Across the United States, tent encampments and demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war have spread across university campuses.

More than 2,000 protesters have been arrested over the past two weeks as students rally against the war’s death toll and call for universities to separate themselves from any companies that are advancing Israel’s military efforts in Gaza.

The Israel-Hamas war has driven around 80 per cent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes, caused vast destruction in several towns and cities, and pushed northern Gaza to the brink of famine.

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The death toll in Gaza has soared to more than 34,500 people, according to local health officials, and the territory's entire population has been driven into a humanitarian catastrophe.

An Israeli strike on the city of Rafah on the southern edge of the Gaza Strip killed seven people, including children, hospital officials said on Friday.

The overnight strike on the Chahine family home killed two adults and five kids whose ages ranged between seven and 16, according to a list of the names released by Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital.

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The strike came a day after the militant Palestinian group Hamas said it was sending a delegation to Egypt for further cease-fire talks — a new sign of progress in attempts by international mediators to hammer out an agreement between Israel and the militant group to end the war in Gaza.

Israel has regularly carried out airstrikes on Rafah since the start of the war seven months ago and has threatened to send in ground troops, saying Rafah is the last major Hamas stronghold in the coastal enclave.

Over 1 million Palestinians have sought refuge in the city on the Egyptian border.

The United States and others have urged Israel not to invade, fearing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Tuesday to launch an incursion into Rafah.

A police spokesperson said they were called following reports of people shouting.

Meet the 20 locals putting their best foot forward for Hospice.

Witness reports seeing a person lying on the supermarket floor bleeding.

Three people have been arrested after a stolen car chase caused traffic chaos on the M1 in Gold Coast's north in the middle of peak hour.

Tyre spikes were used to stop the black sedan near Upper Coomera on the Gold Coast, south of Brisbane this afternoon.

It was reported stolen about an hour earlier from an address at Pimpama.

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Witnesses have described seeing the car driving on its rims even after the tyre spikes were deployed.

Police said three people fled the vehicle and they arrested all of them.

One was found in the backyard of a nearby home, two were found in a park.

The M1 remains very congested into the evening.