The former PM criticised Christopher Luxon’s handling of the Govt’s response to the war.

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual assault.

An online group in which more than 65,000 images of child abuse material were shared has been shut down, resulting in the arrest of 26 Victorian men.

In an investigation lasting over two years, police allege the men were part of a group using encrypted messaging to share text and image-based material, as well as sourcing children to sexually abuse.

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In a statement released this morning, the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police claimed images and videos depicted the sexual abuse, torture and murder of infants and young children, as well as bestiality.

No newly generated material involving Australian children was identified during the investigation.

Several of the men have already been charged, convicted and imprisoned, while others remain before the courts.

However, police could only go public with the findings now as the investigation using a covert operation has concluded.

In addition to the tens of thousands of photos recovered, police also found over 300 hours of child abuse videos.

AFP Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason said the investigation uncovered a "sad reality" lurking in corners of the online world.

"Our society has many individuals who will exploit children for their own perverse desires," he said.

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"The contents of this chat group are among the worst of the worst. This investigation has stopped people sharing violent abuse material and disrupted an online market of misery. But there is a tidal wave of this material on the internet and constant demands for more."

The 26 men who were charged were located in Victoria, and most were not previously known to police.

A Melbourne man, 46, was charged with creating and administering a group on the encrypted messaging application for the sharing of child abuse material.

He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in September 2024.

A Central Victoria man was charged with more than 250 offences relating to transmitting, accessing, producing and soliciting child abuse material through various individuals he met in the group.

He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at the end of last year.

UPDATE: Two fishermen dead after being pulled from surf on NSW Central Coast

Detective Superintendent Tim McKinney from Victoria Police said some of the material was among the worst police had ever seen.

"Our investigators faced the distressing task of combing through 300+ hours of material," he said

"There were also written conversations where these participants expressed their desire to find children and infants in real life."

AFP Detective Acting Inspector Scott Amjah said he was stunned by the "volume and depravity" of the material his team uncovered during the investigation.

"[It] will stay with all of us," he said.

"I think members of the public would be absolutely horrified by the content of the material that is circulated online these days.

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

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HR assured him that naming his colleague wouldn’t affect their FireSuper. It did.

A taxi driver was killed when debris from an Iranian drone strike fell on him in Dubai.

In a statement on social media, Dubai's Media Office said falling debris hit a taxi and killed the male Pakistani driver after an aerial interception.

Meanwhile, videos circulating online also show thick smoke and flames rising from the upper floors of the 23 Marina Tower, one of the city's prominent skyscrapers at Dubai's Marina.

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It was hit by debris from an interception the authorities said.

The marina is close to many tourist attractions and city institutions, including the American University of Dubai and the Dubai Marina Mall.

https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/2030359919720083562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Many western expats also live in apartment complexes around it.

Nobody was hurt.

As the sound of interceptions reverberated through the city and evacuations began, residents of Dubai and Abu Dhabi received warnings of incoming missiles on their mobile phones.

https://twitter.com/DXBMediaOffice/status/2030341348554100790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The strikes came shortly after the president of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, made extremely rare public comments describing Iran as "the enemy."

Earlier yesterday, travellers sheltered in tunnels when an Iranian drone appeared to strike Dubai International Airport.

Footage on social media showed an explosion and smoke close to the terminal. A whirring sound is heard seconds before the blast in the video.

Blasts were heard in several parts of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, reports the Independent.

Travellers at the international airport, one of the world's busiest and a main travel hub through the Middle East, were ushered down into train tunnels after the alert sounded.

UAE airline Emirates later resumed operations after briefly suspending all flights to and from Dubai.

"Dubai Airports confirms partial resumption of operations from today, 7 March, with some flights operating out of Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central – Al Maktoum International (DWC)," a Dubai Airports spokesperson said.

The apparent Iranian attack came after the country's President apologised to neighbours in the region for striking them, declaring Iran would stop them and they had been caused by command chain miscommunications.

There were attacks yesterday in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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- with CNN

Two men who died after being pulled from the sea on the NSW Central Coast yesterday were rock fishing without lifejackets, according to police.

At about 4.20pm yesterday, police, paramedics and NSW Marine Rescue volunteers were called to Little Beach, Bouddi, over reports of a body face down in the water.

A 47-year-old man was hauled from the water by surfers before being assessed by paramedics, but he died at the scene.

EXCLUSIVE: Why advocate Sherele Moody is giving away her investment property for a decade

Police were informed the man was most likely fishing with another man, and a search was commenced.

Some fishing gear was found on a platform of the beach, but there were no signs of anyone being with the equipment.

The Polair helicopter was used to help conduct the search due to challenging conditions.

Just before 8pm, the body of a second man, a 67-year-old, was found in the water.

He was pronounced dead when he was brought to shore.

The two men were from Beecroft in Sydney's north.

While their relationship hasn't been confirmed, Acting Inspector Richard Nicholson said the pair "were close" and had travelled from Sydney earlier that morning.

Nicholson confirmed the men were not wearing lifejackets when they were found, and said the conditions forced police to change their tactics during the search.

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"When we were searching the rock area, we had to make a decision ourselves that it was going to be safer to conduct a search off those rock platforms immediately," he said.

"The weather and the tide were going to become an issue for searching those areas."

He said the men had been fishing at the isolated beach earlier in the morning, but that the conditions had changed significantly.

Nicholson said rock fishing was a dangerous activity, and said the deaths were a tragic reminder on why precautions need to be taken.

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One of the most dangerous pastimes in the world, especially here on the east coast of Australia, we have some rough conditions," he said.

"Wear a life jacket… always keep an eye on the weather."

It is a legal requirement in NSW to wear a lifejacket while rock fishing, with a $100 on the spot fine imposed for those found not wearing the right equipment.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

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President Donald Trump said on Saturday that it was inconsequential if Russia has provided Iran with information to help Tehran target US military personnel and assets in the Middle East as the week-old war rages.

The president dismissed the import of such information-sharing after he attended the dignified transfer for six Army reservists who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait the day after the US and Israel launched a war on Iran that has unsettled the global economy.

Trump stopped short of confirming reports by The Associated Press and other news outlets that US intelligence officials believe Russia has provided Iran with such targeting information.

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But if Moscow is passing on such details, he said Iran was getting little out of it.

“If you take a look at what’s happened to Iran in the last week, if they’re getting information, it’s not helping them much,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew to Miami, where he's spending the rest of the weekend.

The president also waved off a question about how Russia assisting Iran in such a way might affect his view of the US-Russia relationship.

“They’d say we do it against them,” Trump responded. “Wouldn’t they say that we do it against them?”

Ukraine, in the four years since it was invaded by Russia, has received US intelligence to help defend against incoming missiles from Russia as well as to help Kyiv hit certain Russian targets.

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Downplaying the significance of Russia handing off battlespace intelligence to Iran came after the US Treasury Department announced earlier this week that it was temporarily allowing India to keep buying crude oil and petroleum products from Russia for a month, until April 4.

The administration decision to grant the world's most populous country a temporary exemption faced bipartisan blowback.

Critics charge that Trump was giving Russia a break that will provide Moscow with badly needed revenue as it looks to keep funding its war machine.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb, condemned the move, saying in a post on X that “weakness towards Russia is appalling."

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in his own X post directed at Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, also decried the administration's decision.

“Reverse your decision to lift oil sanctions on Russia. It is traitorous conduct for you to help Russia,” Lieu said. “Meanwhile, Russia is assisting Iran in targeting American troops.”

Trump has decided to give India leeway on oil purchases from Russia as global oil prices surge and investors across sectors worry about how long the Iran war will last.

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The waiver for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government followed Trump announcing weeks ago that he was cutting tariffs on India after their officials agreed to reduce its reliance on cheap Russian crude.

India has taken advantage of reduced Russian oil prices as much of the world has sought to isolate Moscow for its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The price of oil has surged higher and shows no signs of halting a week into a war that the US and Israel launched and has widened through the Middle East as Tehran strikes back.

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Ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day are unable to safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf that is bordered on its north side by Iran.

The shipping disruption and damage to key Middle East oil and gas facilities has interrupted supplies from some of the world’s largest oil producers.

Asked whether he was willing to take other steps to ease oil prices, Trump said that “if there were some, I would do it, just to take a little of the pressure off.”

He appeared Saturday to wave off, at least for now, the possibility of tapping the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying the US has a “lot of oil.”

The reserve — a supply of oil that the US government can tap in case of emergencies — held more than 415 million barrels as of the end of last month, up from about 395 million barrels at this time in 2025. In total, when full, the SPR can hold more than 700 million barrels.

“We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”

Sherele Moody has spent years mapping the darkest corners of Australian society. 

As the founder of the Red Heart Movement, she has meticulously documented the names and faces of women lost to violence. 

Now, she is offering a different kind of map: a way out.

The veteran campaigner has just completed a $35,000 crowdfunded renovation of her very first home – a one-bedroom Melbourne apartment she purchased last September. 

But instead of moving in or listing it on the lucrative rental market, she is handing the keys over to victims of family violence for the next decade and renting elsewhere. 

Moody is calling on every landlord in the country to consider doing the same.

"I didn't want to be a landlord," Moody said. 

"I didn't want to Airbnb it. I didn't want to charge people exorbitant amounts of money to have a roof over their head. I wanted it to be contributing to the solution of violence against women instead of contributing to it."

A legacy born in violence

Moody has named the apartment Stacey's Sanctuary, in memory of nine-year-old Stacey-Ann Tracy, who was one of two children murdered by Moody's stepfather in 1990. 

The timing of the project is poignant; this year marks the 35th anniversary of Stacey's death. 

Moody vividly recalls the day of the murder when she was just 19 years old. 

She had returned home to see her family and was picked up from the bus stop by her stepfather just hours after he had killed the young girl.

Moody remembers him being strangely "hyped up" and eager to talk about the missing girl he claimed he was going to help search for. 

"When I looked back on it, after I found out about Stacey being killed, all of the pieces fell into place, his behaviour, and the coldness of that," she said.

Stacey's Sanctuary is designed to be the exact opposite of that final terror – a place of peace and welcome that tells Stacey's family her life still matters to the rest of the world.

Trauma-informed healing

The five-month renovation, finished this week, was funded entirely by donations and T-shirt sales and was designed with strict "trauma-informed" principles. 

Moody partnered with the charity You Matter to furnish the apartment and make sure it felt like a genuine home.

"I wanted the property to be somewhere that I would live. I don't think that going into transitional housing means that you have to live in substandard accommodation," Moody said.

Every detail was intentional, from the secure building access that prevents residents from having to walk on the street to their car to the specific furniture layouts inside.

In the bedroom, the designers chose to include only one bedside table to remove any psychological expectation that the woman living there must re-partner. 

By using calming colours and working with psychologists to reduce environmental triggers, the team aimed to provide a space where a woman could finally feel the "breathing room" necessary to save for permanent housing and recover from the impact of her experiences.

A challenge to landlords and government

Moody is currently finalising a partnership with a leading Aboriginal women's organisation to manage the property.

The property will remain in the ownership of Moody, it is her retirement nest egg, but she will hand over the keys to it to the organisation for up to a decade. 

It's a move Moody says other landlords should consider.

"If you're in a financial position to do this, if you have property, this is actually one way that we as individuals can help a woman leaving violence be safe," she said.

"I would also say that it's a really sad reflection on our policy makers and on our governments, on our premiers, on our prime minister, on the people who will hold the country's purse strings, that this is actually what we have to do. 

"Safe and affordable housing is a right for everyone. Women should not face having to sleep in their car or in caravan parks or couch surf in order to be safe, it's not good enough." 

Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at EM********@******om.au

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The parents of 10-year-old Matilda, the youngest victim of the Bondi shooting, have tied the knot in Sydney.

Valentyna Poltavchenko and Michael Britvan have announced on social media their wedding yesterday in a "semi secret" ceremony at Admiralty House on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour.

"The plan was a small, semi-secret ceremony at Admiralty House with a very limited group of family and close friends. Simple, quiet, low-key… the kind of plan that should have stayed nicely under the radar," Britvan posted on Instagaram.

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"And to be fair, it worked perfectly… for most of the ceremony — until my sister (who I love very much) discovered the Facebook livestream button."

Britvan's post went on to say "people probably assumed we had already been married for about 10 years anyway… so this was really just us finally making it official".

The announcement was greeted with congratulations.

"Matilda is smiling from above," one Instagram message said.

"Congratulations to a beautiful family," another said.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DVlT6hqD6hj/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp

Matilda, 10, was among 15 people killed on December 14 when two gunmen, alleged to be father and son Said and Naveed Akram, opened fire on the gathered crowd at the Chanukah by the Sea celebration.

Her parents emigrated to Australia from Ukraine but met in Sydney, and named her Matilda as she was their first child born down under.

In the wake of the Bondi shooting, they declared they did not want their daughter's death to become a political symbol and appealed for community unity.

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The families of the six US Army Reserve soldiers who were killed last week in Kuwait watched as their loved ones were brought home during a dignified transfer ceremony.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance joined top military officials at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday (Sunday AEDT) observing the solemn event.

As the transfer cases were taken from a C-17 aircraft across the tarmac the base, Trump saluted wearing a white ball cap with gold "USA" lettering.

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The military identified the six service members killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait on March 1 as Major Jeffrey O'Brien, Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan, Captain Cody Khork, Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens and Sergeant Declan Coady.

Marzan is believed to have been killed in the strike, but is still awaiting final positive identification by a medical examiner.

All six soldiers were assigned with the 103rd Sustainment Command, an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa.

"It's a very sad day," Trump said on Air Force One after the transfer.

He said that the parents of the service members "were so proud" and that such deaths are "always a very sad thing".

The president has previously said there will likely be more US casualties in the Iran war.

Asked on Saturday whether he thought he would have to attend more dignified transfers, Trump said, "I'm sure. I hate to … but it's a part of war."

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Trump also cast blame on Iran for the strike on a primary school in southern Iran that killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers, contradicting expert analysis that suggested the US military was likely responsible.

"Based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran," Trump said, and described Iranian munitions as "very inaccurate".

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also blamed Iran.

"The only side that targets civilians is Iran," he told reporters.

The White House has not previously ruled out that US military personnel carried out the strike.

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Parts of south-east Queensland and the interior of the state are preparing for flash flooding as heavy rain continues to batter the state.

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for large parts of the south coast, including the Sunshine Coast, as a tropical low continues to make its way over the state.

Maroochydore could see up to 130mm of rain today, with the BOM warning isolated falls could reach 150mm on the Sunshine Coast.

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The impacts could be serious and lead to flash flooding.

"There is some uncertainty where the heaviest rainfall will occur, particularly through the southeast of the state," the BOM warned, saying the worst of the weather could last into tomorrow morning.

Further inland, Toowoomba, Kingaroy and Roma are also facing the risk of floods from the heavy rainfall, with falls of up to 170mm possible in some areas in just 24 hours.

Further inland, heavy rains are also smashing the norther interior, with around 50mm falling in around six hours this morning.

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The danger zone is east of Mount Isa, with towns like Winton and Cloncurry all warned to brace for heavy rain and flooding conditions.

Sardine Creek, a small township in the region, recorded over 100mm of rain in just six hours overnight.

The BOM has issued several instructions to residents in impacted regions, urging them not to drive into floodwaters.

"Go inside a strong building now. Stay inside until the storm has passed," they said.

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