NZ’s biggest yacht race attracted over 140 yachts for the Auckland to Russell course.

A fire has torn through a gym in Melbourne's north linked to former Mongols bikie Sam Abdulrahim.

Arson detectives arrived at the Power Gymnasium on Holmes Street in Brunswick after the blaze started at 5am.

Crews were faced with thick black smoke and ferocious flames billowing from the window and roof. 

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Thirty firefighters brought the fire under control in half an hour.

"The dangers of going into an uncontrolled environment is you're not really sure whether the fire is going to extend and get you trapped in there but we have good procedures to cover us for that," Fire Rescue Commander Matthew Blandford said.

When crews managed to extinguish the flames, firefighters used breathing apparatus to enter the building but found no one inside.

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The fire destroyed about $250,000 worth of property and equipment.

"It's mainly constricted to the front part of the building, however the entire building is damaged by the fire, heat and smoke," Blandford said.

The business is a popular boxing gym, with former Mongols bikie Abdulrahim posting several videos to social media of himself training inside.

Fire Rescue Victoria and Victoria Police are not treating the incident as suspicious but investigators will be on scene for the rest of the day to determine how the blaze started.

Two highways were closed after the fatal crashes.

Three people have been arrested following a pro-Palestine march last Monday, as police prepare for another march this weekend.

Police made the arrests following an investigation after flares had been set off during the protest outside the Opera House. An Israeli flag was also set on fire, and antisemitic chants were heard.

Eight others were charged over different incidents that took place since the rally.

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Between 800-850 police will attend tomorrow's protest at Sydney Town Hall after working with march organisers to ensure a peaceful event.

"We expect good behaviour from participants, but if there is anyone that thinks that they can… cause trouble, police will be there to arrest [them]," NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said today.

"We have no tolerance for hate speech. No tolerance for intimidation during the protest activity [or] from anyone else who happens to be in the CBD tomorrow," Webb said. 

Police confirmed a form 1 had been submitted on time by the organisers and discussions had been made about the route of the march.

The Sydney Opera House rally had not been approved by police.

Officers are expecting up to 17 protests and gatherings related to the Hamas-Israel conflict over the next seven days in the Sydney Metropolitan and regional areas.

"We greatly respect the right of people to be able to voice their opinions in public assembly is something that is lawful," Metropolitan Field Operations Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said.

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"But it is something that we ask that people do peacefully… should people commit crimes, they can expect that they will be arrested and put before a court.

"We know that there is heightened tension within the community at the moment arising from the conflict from overseas.

"We will work with the community as we have done regularly."

The Onehunga man claims police told him his ploy was legal.

A former warehouse worker with "grandiose" ideas to bolster his image fleeced his employer out of almost $190,000 in a bid to put on T20 cricket tournaments featuring star international players.

Navishta Desilva, 36, dreamt of becoming a professional cricketer and played for Australia at under-15s level before he "hit a ceiling" and joined the workforce, the County Court of Victoria was told.

Having permanently relocated from his home of Sri Lanka to Australia at the age of 20, Desilva tried his hand at a number of jobs, including service station attendee, door-to-door salesman, Harvey Norman sales assistant, Deloitte auditor and part-time DJ.

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The first of the T20 matches Desilva organised featured West Indies' veteran batsman Chris Gayle.

He developed a passion for events and went on to work at Live Nation as a hit-and-miss promoter, before he later decided he could promote cricket events through his own business called Global Talent Entertainment, the court was told.

Prosecutors said the business hosted an international Twilight T20 cricket series at Dandenong in Melbourne's south-east, and managed several high-profile cricket players at Endeavour Hills Cricket Club.

Desilva's lawyer Sam Norton said funding didn't come through for some events, prompting his client to steal from his then-employer, Omnivision, where he worked as a warehouse assistant.

Endeavour Hills Cricket Club cancelled the second day of a Twilight T20 Carnival in 2022 after its dealings with Global Talent Entertainment went sour when Desilva was charged.

The first of the carnival's matches went ahead in November 2022 and featured Gayle.

"Having gotten to this position where he's overcommitted, he feels as though he will let people down and he will lose any position of importance that he may have obtained by the calling off of these tournaments," Norton told the court on Friday.

Desilva placed orders on Omnivision's behalf with a legitimate supplier, CCTV Masters, and sent doctored invoices to his employer with inflated prices and his own bank details on them.

He ultimately stole more than $240,000 from Omnivision but the business netted a total loss of $189,000 after some of their CCTV Masters orders were fulfilled.

Desilva used the stolen money to pay cricket players – including Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan and Lahiru Thirimanne – more than $70,000.

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He also transferred some of the money to Global Talent Entertainment and spent stolen funds at Louis Vuitton and Luxury Escapes, the court was told.

The judge ordered Desilva be assessed for a community corrections order ahead of his sentencing.

Judge David Brookes described Desilva's offending as devious, calculated and quite skilful.

"This type of offending is devious and prolonged. It's over 16 months and its quite … complicated," he said.

"It seems to stem from immaturity and grandiose ideas."

Prosecutors said Desilva was trying to establish himself as someone of importance by committing the offence.

He pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by deception on Friday and has paid Omnivision back the $189,000.

Desilva leaned on his family and friends to pay back the money and was now working two jobs six days a week to pay off his debts, Mr Norton said.

The judge ordered Desilva be assessed for a community corrections order ahead of his sentencing on October 30.

Norton noted media coverage of the case led to the breakdown of Desilva's engagement and caused him mental health issues.

Family lost nearly all of their belongings and didn’t have contents insurance.

A retiree who has been feeling down lately has received the news she has won $100,000 from last night's Lucky Lotteries draw.

The woman from Beresfield in the New South Wales Hunter region won first prize in the super jackpot draw 10803 on Thursday.

The woman told lottery officials she needed to "lie down and have a Panadol" after receiving the news.

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"Thankfully I wasn't driving when you called," she said.

"I'll be able to share the prize with my family and do some home renovations with what's left. Maybe in the garage or the kitchen."

The winning entry of one random number was purchased at Greenhills Newsagency at Greenhills in East Maitland.

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Newsagency owner Brendah Kavanagh said it is always exciting to sell the winning ticket.

"We sold a division one ticket in Saturday Lotto a couple of months ago," Kavanagh said

"All the best to our fortunate winner.

"We hope they enjoy celebrating with their newfound fortune."

There are many different ways to get help and information about gambling.

Call the National Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858; use online counselling; find information about help services in your state or territory; get information and support for family and friends; get information about how to talk with someone about their gambling; or contact Gamblers Anonymous.

All services are free, confidential and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Kinetic workers’ wages to be lifted to average rate of $30/hour, backdated to April 1.

Tasmania is bracing for a weekend of extremely dangerous weather, with heavy rain and powerful winds set to lash virtually all parts of the state.

Unusually for a significant Tasmanian weather event, the state capital Hobart is directly in line for some of the most severe weather, with double the city's average monthly rainfall likely over a 24-hour period.

You can see the areas expected to cop the most rain on the Weatherzone map below.

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With most Tasmanian weather systems, the west coast of the state sees the heaviest rain.

Indeed you might be interested to know that western Tasmania is the wettest part of Australia that's not in the tropics.

But this weekend, the heaviest rain will fall in the state's south-east, as a low pressure system moves over the state, then out into the southern Tasman sea, directing moist easterlies across Tasmania.

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Weatherzone's synoptic chart for 11am Sunday morning shows the position of the low almost directly over Tasmania.

This is when the heaviest rain is expected to be falling, and when winds will likely be at their most dangerous, with gale warnings already in place for the weekend, and winds expected to reach up to 100 km/h on the west coast as winds swirl clockwise around the low

Southern Victoria will also see some chilly weather on Sunday, and while rain won't be as heavy as in Tasmania, temperatures will still feel very wintry in Melbourne and nearby areas.

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But the national weather focus for the weekend will definitely be on Tasmania, where heavy rain, storms, destructive winds, and potential flooding are all on the cards.

October is actually Hobart's wettest month of the year, with 62.1mm of rainfall on average, so a decent drop at this time of year is hardly unexpected.

But if the BoM's forecast is accurate, the city could exceed that total in the period between Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.