A prominent jewellery chain has been hit again in a smash-and-grab at a northwest Auckland mall.Robbers reportedly walked into the Michael Hill store at the Westgate Mall and smashed up cabinets and took off with items.The stolen…

Loud gasps and high-pitched yelling alerted a nearby resident to a tragic crash leaving two pedestrians dead in Bethlehem on State Highway 2 on Friday night.”I heard these awful noises, I thought kids had been fighting and got hurt….

Australia has launched its biggest biosecurity response in history to stop foot and mouth disease which is circulating in Indonesia from wiping out the nation's livestock industry.

From Saturday, all returning travellers from Indonesia must clean their shoes and walk over sanitation mats to prevent an outbreak that would decimate Australia's livestock.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt announced late on Friday the new biosecurity powers that "compel" travellers to sanitise their shoes when arriving at airports across Australia.

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"I had been concerned about some rare reports that some return travellers were not doing the right thing when returning from Indonesia," Watt said in a statement.

"These zones strengthen and widen the powers of biosecurity officers to direct passengers to use foot mats and other biosecurity control measures such as the cleaning of shoes."

The creation of "biosecurity response zones" means biosecurity officers are now empowered to direct entire planeloads of people to undergo the sanitation measures.

The new powers came into effect from midnight without criticism from travellers.

"Obviously indicated I'd arrived from Indonesia and then went through, declared my footwear and they were taken, sterilised, returned to me and I was able to go on my way," one traveller said.

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While Australia remains virus-free, concerns are heightened after virus fragments were detected in pork in Melbourne and beef seized at Adelaide airport.

The federal government is facing growing pressure to slam the border shut to Indonesia to prevent the spread of foot and mouth disease which could cost the economy up to $80 billion if there were to be an outbreak.

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews is among those calling for the borders to be closed.

"This is not something that Labor can take a softly-softly, gently-gently approach," Andrews said.

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But the National Farmers' Federation CEO Tony Mahar said an unnecessary border closure could hurt an important trade relationship despite concerns over the disease decimating the nation's livestock sector.

"We don't want to do anything that would unnecessarily damage the relationship with them," he said.

Israeli police said on Friday they had placed a couple under house arrest, a day after a man attending a party at their villa died after being sucked into a sinkhole that formed at the bottom of their swimming pool.

The man and woman, both in their sixties, are suspected of causing death by negligence, police said.

They were arrested on Thursday night and a court decided to release them on Friday under "restrictive conditions of house arrest" for five days.

The incident happened during a private party the couple hosted at their house in the town of Karmi Yosef, 40 kilometres southeast of the city of Tel Aviv.

Mobile phone video from the scene shows floaties and water being sucked to the bottom, at the centre of the pool, as people sitting by the poolside shout in Hebrew.

A man is seen approaching the sinkhole, slips and is almost pulled in before he backs away.

The police said the deceased 30-year-old was found following a search mission in which Israeli police, emergency crews and the army took part.

Israeli media cited witnesses as saying the party was attended by nearly 50 people, of whom six were in the pool, and also reported that the homeowner had built the pool without proper licensing.

Federal police say they have busted an international drug syndicate importing and manufacturing hundreds of kilograms into Australia.

The AFP said the criminal network was acting under the direction of an organised crime syndicate from the South American nation of Colombia.

Nine people were arrested overnight in a sting that stretched across NSW, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

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Some of those arrested are facing charges that carry potential life sentences.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Eastern Command Kirsty Schofield described the case as "extremely complex".

"The global syndicate identified in this operation was ruthless and well-resourced, building a custom-made laboratory to extract and produce cocaine for distribution to multiple organised crime groups in Australia," she said.

"This investigation has stopped a production line of cocaine from hitting Australian streets, and prevented millions of dollars of drug profit flowing back into the syndicate to fund their next criminal venture."

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A multi-state AFP operation tracked the syndicate allegedly couriering the cocaine, which was suspended in another substance inside plastic buckets, from Sydney to a purpose-built extraction shed on a rural property at Durong, which is about 300km north-west of Brisbane.

Five men and a woman were arrested last night in Queensland, including two men at the rural property, where they were allegedly extracting and manufacturing commercial quantities of cocaine.

One man, aged 35, was arrested at his Gold Coast home, while another, 31, was arrested at his Brisbane residence on charges related to organising and facilitating the venture, which police will allege could have produced 700kg of cocaine.

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The 31-year-old man allegedly helped organise the construction of the Durong extraction facility and used suspected criminal proceeds to pay for items the syndicate required to make it operational.

A western Sydney man, 38, was arrested north of Newcastle as he drove back to Sydney from Queensland.

When AFP officers searched his ute, they allegedly found about 11kg of cocaine hidden inside two small fridges.

The AFP also arrested a man, 33, in Brisbane who had allegedly collected drugs from the Durong property with the Brisbane man, 31, to provide to the courier travelling to Sydney.

A woman, 32, was arrested at her Brisbane home where police seized more than $1 million in cash that police will allege is the proceeds of crime.

One of the men arrested in Durong is a dual Spanish-Colombian national, 48, who allegedly flew to Australia and teamed up with a Colombian-born Sydney man, 38, as the chemical specialists responsible for extracting the cocaine from the substance it was hidden in.

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The investigation began with the Colombian-born Sydney man, who is known to law enforcement.

This man picked up the dual Spanish-Colombian dual national from Sydney Airport on May 18, and their subsequent activities led investigators to suspect they were involved in illegal activity.

These two men travelled to the Gold Coast in late May, meeting with the Gold Coast man who allegedly organised the construction of the facility at Durong.

After AFP officers arrested the Darwin man, 33, outside a gym on Thursday evening, they executed a search warrant at his home and seized thousands of dollars in cash detected by ABF Firearm and Currency Detector Dogs, electronic devices and steroids.

They also seized a 7.8-metre boat, suspected to be an instrument of crime.

The AFP is investigating if the vessel was acquired to collect illicit drugs dropped at sea hundreds of kilometres off the Northern Territory coast.

A Gold Coast man, 30, was also arrested in Darwin and charged over his alleged involvement in the manufacturing operation.

Police have not determined how and when the cocaine itself was imported into Australia.

The Morrison government "sabotaged the protocols" of Australia's border security for "political gain" by publicly announcing the interception of a people-smuggling vessel on election day, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has said.

Then-prime minister Scott Morrison pressured the Operation Sovereign Borders task force to announce the interception of SIEV (Suspected Illegal Entry Vessel) 915 on May 21, the day of the election, a report by Home Affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo found.

The task force was asked by the prime minister's office to issue a statement at 11.58am that day.

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After internal wrangling, the statement was published on its website at 1.09pm that day.

Morrison had been asked about the vessel at a press conference moments before the statement was published.

"I've been here to stop this boat," Morrison said. 

"But in order for me to be there to stop those that may come from here, you need to vote Liberal and Nationals today."

A text message from the Liberal Party was then sent out to voters two hours later, fashioned as a news alert.

READ MORE: PM astonished by Morrison's 'don't trust government' speech

"BREAKING – Aust Border Force has intercepted an illegal boat trying to reach Aus," the text message read.

"Keep our borders secure by voting Liberal today."

Pezzullo's report, released today, noted the Morrison government's actions were lawful, but pointed out it created difficulties during the operation.

"The detailed chronology of events indicates there was pressure placed on officials to release a public statement regarding the interception of SIEV 915 prior to the conclusion of the operational activity," the report read.

"The pressure was exacerbated by the direction to draft and publish the statement within 15 minutes."

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O'Neil issued a scathing statement today after the release of the report.

"The former government had a duty to protect Australia. Instead, they sabotaged the protocols that protect Operation Sovereign Borders for political gain," she said.

"Their actions undermined the integrity of this complex operation, making it more difficult and dangerous."

She commended Border Force, Defence Force and public servants for acting with integrity and "the highest standards at all times".

"The profound compromise of a military-led operation is without precedent in Australia's history," she said.

"It was disgraceful, shameful, and characteristic of a national government which frequently pursued political interests above the national interest."

Three men have died in a suspected murder-suicide in a rural town in Victoria's south-west.

Police have spent the day investigating two crimes scenes, with two men shot by the roadside near Warrnambool before their alleged killer's body was found in a house sometime later.

Paramedics rushed to treat the two injured men by the side of Kirkstall-Koroit Road in Kirkstall after the shooting was called in about 10.20am.

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However, both men died from their injuries at the scene.

It is believed the pair were shot then mowed down by a vehicle, with one trying to run from the scene.

A witness who lives near where the two men were found has told 9News she heard at least two gunshots around the time of the incident and then a vehicle speeding off.

Shortly after the shooting was reported to police, officers received reports a man had been found dead at a property on nearby Chamberlain Street.

"Detectives are not looking for anyone else in connection with the matter," Victoria Police said in a statement.

Police believe the men were known to each other.

The town of Kirkstall has a population of just 400 people.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police.

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467

MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78

Multicultural Mental Health Australia

Robert Wilson was discussing plans to move in with a woman he met online just days before he locked her inside his home and held her prisoner.

Five days of horror followed for the woman, who in March 2019 was raped 18 times, humiliated and beaten until her face was so swollen she could no longer see.

Wilson told the woman if she tried to run away from his home, northwest of Melbourne, he would kill her, deport her or turn her into a "money-making machine" by inviting men around to have sex with her.

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Wilson's Darley property was surrounded by metal shutters and an electric fence, with security cameras tracking her every move. She could not leave his bedroom without a security alarm going off.

He beat her with a metal bar, held a speargun to her head, strangled her, forced her to engage in sex and asked her: "Do you want to die?"

He forced her to transfer him money and deleted her phone and Facebook contacts.

When friends noticed the woman was missing, he manipulated them and forced her to film videos to send to them.

After four days, he decided to drive his victim interstate. Along the way, he directed her in a chilling video that he would later send to her friends.

He told her to nod or shake her head in response to questions including if she felt safe with him, whether he had been hitting her and if she wanted to stay with him.

They made it to Adelaide and then drove back to his home, where he raped her again.

He released her after five days, on March 29. He drove her to her house and demanded incriminating Facebook posts by her friends be deleted and that she not tell anyone what had happened.

Wilson, 35, who appeared by video link, was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison by County Court Judge Fiona Todd on Friday.

He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, three counts of rape, theft and intentionally causing injury.

Wilson, who will be a registered sex offender for life, must serve at least 16 years before he is eligible for parole.

Wilson's offending was "grossly horrific", Judge Todd said.

She wanted to ensure his sentence reflected the gravity of the attacks and the seriousness of intimate partner violence.

"This was boundless cruelty," she said.

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"Rape is fundamentally an act of violence, which occurred in this case within a broader range of other violent and degrading acts.

"The episode of driving into the night in your car must have been particularly terrifying, and the return to your house on the Friday morning particularly devastating."

She said the offending had a catastrophic impact on the victim, who cannot contemplate ever being in another relationship with a man.

"She was paralysed with fear much of the time you harmed her, but her will to survive was strong," Judge Todd said, reading the victim impact statement.

"She said she feels different now, thinks that she will never be normal again."

It took two months for the woman's facial swelling to subside from the beatings and she still suffers nightmares from the ordeal.

Judge Todd praised the victim's "herculean" efforts in describing the attacks to her friends, police, the courts and for enduring days of cross-examination.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Panmure residents have heard gunshots believed to be linked to an incident that has left one person in hospital and armed police at the scene. A resident living a few houses down from where the incident unfolded said she heard gunshots…

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, Splendour In The Grass was meant to come back with a bang but wet weather and staff shortages have caused a nightmare for festival goers.