A brave 13-year-old boy has spoken of his exhaustive efforts to alert authorities when his family was swept out to sea on WA's south-west coast.

Austin Appelbee and his family were paddleboarding and kayaking at Geographe Bay, near Quindalup, on Friday when rough conditions pushed them out to sea about 6pm AWST.

The teen began to head to shore to raise the alarm after his mum and two younger siblings became stranded.

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But he was forced to abandon his kayak when it began to take on water and instead swam more than four kilometres to shore.

"Two hours without a life jacket on and yeah, he made it. Superhuman effort," Marine Rescue commander Paul Bresland said.

Austin said he was thinking of his family to push him through the swim.

"I just said 'alright. Not today, not today, not today'," Austin said.

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"I did breaststroke, I did freestyle, I did survival backstroke.

"I hit the bottom of the beach and I just collapsed and then after that I had to sprint two kilometres to go get to the phone."

Austin's mum Joanne Appelbee and siblings, aged 12 and eight, were found by emergency services clinging to a paddleboard after spending nearly 10 hours in the water.

The trio were taken to Busselton Health Campus and have since recovered.

Joanne said all her children learned to swim at a young age and encouraged other families to do the same.

"There's no bigger word to describe him other than proud," she said.

"I'm speechless at his efforts, but at the same time, I knew he could do it. "

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NSW police say the visit of Israeli president Isaac Herzog is a factor behind the decision to extend the protest bans in some parts of Sydney by an additional two weeks.

Following laws passed by the NSW government in the wake of the Bondi terror attack the NSW Police Force Commissioner was granted power to temporarily declare public areas "restricted" from assemblies following a declared terrorist incident.

NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon announced that for the next 14 days, public assemblies will be restricted in Sydney's eastern suburbs and parts of Sydney's CBD, excluding Hyde Park.

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"The declaration is a balance between ensuring community safety and recognising the importance of free speech," Lanyon said.

"Overwhelmingly, we are pleased with the actions and behaviours of protesters, however, few continue to incite violence and cause fear and harm."

Lanyon said that the Israeli president's visit to Australia from February 9 to 12 was "a factor" in his decision to extend the restrictions. Protests have been planned against the visit.

The commissioner said that the Palestinian Action Group's proposed route planned for next Monday would not have been authorised under the previous declaration.

"I know that there is significant animosity about President Herzog's visit.

"Both on social media and in recent public assemblies, there has been significant animosity.

"To not do anything about that and to potentially put community safety at risk would be intolerable for me as the Commissioner."

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"I can say that over the period of the visit, we'll have over 3,000 police shifts operating to ensure [community] safety," Lanyon said.

Today's extension of the Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (PARD) is an extension of the declaration made on January 20.

During this time, Form 1 applications for the authorisation of public assemblies will not be granted in certain locations.

Individuals who attend in public assemblies at the specific locations during this time will not have the protection of the Summary Offences Act, with respect to obstructing traffic and pedestrians.

Police will also have authority to require removal, for identification purposes, of any face coverings worn by people suspected of committing offences.

The extension will remain in place for the next 14 days, unless changed or revoked. 

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The Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to hike the cash rate will have millions of mortgage holders frantically doing the math to see how their home loan repayments will change.

The official cash rate has been increased by 0.25 basis points to 3.85 per cent, meaning if your lender responds by raising its rate – which the big four Australian banks typically do – your mortgage repayments will rise too.

Homeowners on a variable interest rate for their home loan could see repayments surge by over $100 per month.

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For example, borrowers with a loan of $700,000 will see a monthly increase of $105, raising the monthly repayment to $4412.

Those with a $1 million mortgage would be paying an extra $150 per month, bringing the monthly repayment to $6303.

"This news will feel like a cold shower for homeowners after a brief reprieve," said Finder's head of consumer research Graham Cooke.

"Many who refinanced or entered the market during the 2025 easing cycle may feel blindsided, as the pivot from falling to rising rates in just 6 months has created significant whiplash."

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Today's decision comes just under six months since the RBA last cut the rate.

Cooke said last year's brief mortgage stress relief may have been "wiped away" following today's rate hike.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged the decision is "difficult news" for millions of Australians with a mortgage.

"We understand the pressure that this puts on Australian families and businesses," Chalmers said.

"While today's decision was widely expected, obviously that doesn't make it any easier."

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Not everyone with a mortgage will be worse off, though.

Not all borrowers decreased their repayments when rates fell last year.

According to Canstar, about 80 per cent of NAB variable rate customers and the "vast majority" of CBA's didn't reduce their repayments, giving them some welcome wiggle room now.

If you are on a fixed rate, your repayments will stay the same until the fixed term ends.

There's a silver lining: the rate hike means those with a savings account or term deposit will enjoy a greater return on their money.

When rates are higher, savings products will generally pay more interest.

When the cash rate is lowered, interest returns will generally fall.

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A US man having an affair with the family's Brazilian au pair has been found guilty of murdering his wife and another man that prosecutors say was lured to the house as a fall guy.

Virginian man Brendan Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer, told police he came across Joseph Ryan attacking his wife, Christine Banfield, with a knife on the morning of February 24, 2023.

He shot Ryan and then Juliana Magalhães, the au pair, shot him, too.

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But officials argued in court that the story was too good to be true, telling jurors that Banfield set Ryan up in a scheme to get rid of his wife.

It later came out that Brendan Banfield and Magalhães had been having an affair.

The verdict comes after the gruesome and complicated double homicide was catapulted into mainstream media in Brazil, the US and elsewhere in the world.

"The details of this case attracted national attention – because it involved an affair, a fetish website and a premeditated plot," Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano said following the verdict.

"But beyond the spectacle, we are here today because of the tragic deaths of two of our community members, Christine Banfield and Joseph Ryan."

Prosecutors argued that Banfield and Magalhães impersonated Christine Banfield, a pediatric intensive care nurse, on a website for sexual fetishes.

Officials said they used the site to lure Ryan to the house for a sexual encounter involving a knife, left the front door open and staged the scene to look as though they had shot an intruder who was attacking the wife.

Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2024 and testified against her former lover at trial, corroborating prosecutors' theory.

Defence attorney John Carroll argued that Magalhães' testimony could not be trusted because she was cooperating with prosecutors to try to avoid a long prison sentence.

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In his own testimony, Banfield said that the testimony was " absolutely crazy".

Carroll also introduced evidence showing that there was dissent within the police department over the theory that Magalhães and Brendan Banfield impersonated Christine Banfield on social media in a "catfishing" scheme.

An officer who concluded from digital evidence that Christine Banfield was behind the social media account was later transferred in what Carroll said was punishment for disagreeing with a theory favored by the department's higher-ups.

But prosecutor Jenna Sands pushed back on the notion that Banfield was unfamiliar with social media platforms for people interested in fetishes and couldn't be capable of such catfishing.

"You had multiple affairs, correct?" Sands asked the defendant, followed by, "And one of those affairs was with a woman named Danielle, who you met on a fetish site searching for 'sugar babies.' Is that correct?"

Banfield replied: "I would not call it a fetish site."

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When pressed as to how he would describe the website, Banfield testified that he had an arranged relationship with someone who knew he was married.

In closing arguments, Sands told the jury they did not have to rely solely on Magalhães' testimony, pointing to what she called a "plethora of evidence".

That included expert testimony that blood stains on Ryan's hands suggested Christine Banfield's blood had been dripped onto him from above.

Banfield was also convicted of child endangerment.

Banfield's daughter, four years old at the time, was in the home's basement on the day of the killings, though physically unharmed.

The jury deliberated for nearly nine hours across two days before reaching a verdict.

Banfield faces the possibility of life in prison at his sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for May 8.

Magalhães was scheduled to be sentenced after Banfield's trial.

Attorneys have said she could be allowed to walk free if she is sentenced to time served and return to her home in Brazil.

Bill and Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify before US Congress about their connections to Jeffrey Epstein, a decision that will spare the couple from possible prison time.

The former president and first lady said they would appear for depositions after previously refusing to testify.

The House of Representatives was scheduled to hold a vote charging the two with contempt of Congress tomorrow.

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But their agreement to testify should avert the charges, which historically has resulted in prison time for those found guilty.

The Clintons had previously offered to sit for an interview with representatives from the House Oversight Committee in New York behind closed doors.

The pair said they have already shared what they knew about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

"They did so proactively and voluntarily, and despite the fact that the subpoenas are invalid and legally unenforceable, untethered to a valid legislative purpose, unwarranted because they do not seek pertinent information, and an unprecedented infringement on the separation of powers," the Clintons' lawyers said.

But the House Oversight Committee chair, James Comer, was unsatisfied with a final offer made today from the Clintons.

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"Their attorneys' latest letter makes clear they still expect special treatment because of their last name," Comer said in a statement.

"The Clintons do not get to dictate the terms of lawful subpoenas.

"I have rejected their latest offer."

Hours later, the couple agreed to testify.

Last month, the Oversight Committee voted on charging Bill and Hillary Clinton with contempt, the first step of a process that could see both facing prison time.

If it passed the House in a vote, a referral would go to the Justice Department.

That vote passed on bipartisan grounds, with nine Democrats voting with all the Republicans on the committee on Mr Clinton's charge.

Three Democrats voted in favour of charging Mrs Clinton.

The Clintons were friends with Epstein, though neither has been implicated in any of his crimes.

Epstein visited the White House 17 times during the Clinton presidency.

The former president flew on Epstein's plane about 27 times.

READ MORE: List of Trump allegations released in Epstein files

Another close friend of Epstein, President Donald Trump, has not been subpoenaed.

There is recent precedent of somebody being jailed for refusing to comply with a congressional subpoena.

Trump White House advisors Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were both jailed for four months in 2024 after defying a subpoena.

Only one former president has testified before Congress since leaving office.

Gerald Ford testified to discuss plans for the 1987 bicentennial celebrations.

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A popular brewery is set to shut its doors in Sydney's inner west in search of a tree change.

Wildflower Brewery and Blending in Marrickville will close on Sunday, May 31 with plans to relocate to a rural area.

Co-owner Topher Boehm said in a statement on the brewery's website that the decision to move the business was mainly driven by family reasons.

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"It's with a great deal of excitement, trepidation, sadness and thanksgiving that I share we have made the decision to relocate Wildflower towards a rural setting," Boehm said.

"While we are greatly looking forward to this next chapter and what it will bring for the beer and us personally, the manifest of this decision means that our Brompton St location will be closing its doors in late May 2026.

"This is not something that has come easily, nor something that has arrived suddenly.

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"It has been a long period of discernment, looping thoughts and revisited conversations."

Boehm said the team felt "overwhelmingly grateful" for the community's support over the last 10 years.

"But we're ready to begin a new chapter, with new focuses and new goals," Boehm said.

"I have come to believe that the work I want to do now: meaningful, patient, perhaps less externally popular, does not require being in Marrickville to achieve it.

"We hope that shifting Wildflower towards a rural setting will allow us to look back at this practice as something closer to a passion project once again, rather than carrying the full weight of the stresses that come with making a small business work in the city, with all its variety of opportunity and cost."

Boehm said the road ahead for the business was "not crystal clear" at this stage.

"We do not know yet where Wildflower will next be and what parts of our Marrickville-honed process will survive the hibernation period ahead and which parts will not," Boehm said.

"While that is indeed part of the excitement, getting the chance to reshape what the next edition of this place will be, it is also going to take some time and thought."

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The documentary about Melania Trump which cost Amazon more than a hundred million dollars has bombed at the Australian box office.

Melania debuted on its opening weekend at 31st at the box office, selling just $22,284 worth of tickets.

In its first three days in release, it sold just $675 per screen.

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The documentary appeared in the box office list two spots above Dune: Part Two, which was showing on a single screen two years after it was first released.

Topping the box office, horror film Iron Lung debuted to $1.153 million, making $4726 per screen.

Melania, which tells the story of the weeks leading up to the president's inauguration from the perspective of the First Lady, fared much better in the US.

The film debuted in third place with $10 million in takings.

This makes it the highest debut for a documentary in years.

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In the UK, the film sold $63,000 worth of tickets, debuting in eighth place. In New Zealand it debuted at 28th with $4647.

But Melania has a steep hill to climb if it intends to be profitable for the studio.

Amazon paid $57 million for the rights to the movie, much of which went into the First Lady's pocket.

It also reportedly spent a further $50 million on promoting the movie.

In order for the movie to be a financial success for Amazon, it would need to have a historic run following its opening weekend.

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Typically movies need to make more than double their budget in order to turn a profit, given the cinemas themselves take a substantial cut of the ticket sales.

Melania has also shown an enormous divide between critical reception and how general audiences responded.

Critics reviews gathered by Rotten Tomatoes showed just seven per cent of them liked the movie.

By contrast, 98 per cent of audience members on the site said they liked the movie.

The film was directed by Brett Ratner, the Hollywood filmmaker behind blockbuster hits like Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand and the Rush Hour franchise.

Melania is his first movie since six women accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017.

He is now working on Rush Hour 4 at the behest of Donald Trump.

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A tropical cyclone could potentially form off the coast of Western Australia later this week.

A low-pressure system currently sits over the Northern Territory, where it's bringing heavy rain totals.

Weatherzone reported 154.2mm in the 24 hours to 9am on Monday at Bradshaw, west of Katherine, as well as 126.6mm at Delamere and 122.6mm at Maingrida Airport.

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"The low is unlikely to become a tropical cyclone while it remains over land," Weatherzone's Ben Domensino wrote.

"However, forecast models indicate the system should move towards the west in the coming days and move off Western Australia's Kimberley coast later this week, most likely around Friday."

Over the warmer ocean waters off the northern WA coast, the system's likelihood of intensifying increases.

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The Bureau of Meteorology currently rates the tropical low – named system 21U – a "moderate" 25 per cent chance of reaching cyclone status between the coming Saturday and next Monday.

However, Weatherzone said other modelling, including from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, rated the change of a cyclone in the same time frame much higher, at 60 to 70 per cent.

The Bureau's forecasts can change rapidly depending on storm activity throughout the day.

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Whatever the system's status, it is likely to continue to bring heavy rain and flooding for the rest of the week across the northern pars of the NT and WA.

"Moisture associated with the low will also fuel daily rain and thunderstorm activity over large areas of northern and eastern Australia this week," Domensino wrote.

Multiple weather warnings have been issued, including flood warnings and a severe weather warning for rain in the NT.

One of the flood watch warnings is for the Tanami Desert, illustrating the range of the system's influence.

Early flood warnings have also been issued for the Kimberleys in WA, while multiple flood warnings in various states are in place across Queensland.

Stay in touch with updates on the BoM website.

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The ex-wife of disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sent emails to convicted sex trafficker and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein calling him a "legend" and “the brother I have always wished for".

Sarah Ferguson was named several times in the latest tranche of Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice last week.

The correspondence between Ferguson and Epstein, the mother of prominent royals Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, has also fuelled speculation that Epstein may have fathered a child.

READ MORE: US Justice Department says it's taken down Epstein-related files that may have had victim information

In an email sent in September 2011, Ferguson offers Epstein her "love, friendship and congratulations".

"Don't know if you're still on this bbm (BlackBerry Messenger) but have heard from The Duke that you have had a baby boy," it read.

"The Duke" she refers to is her ex-husband Andrew.

"Even though you never kept in touch, I am still here with love, friendship and congratulations on your baby boy."

In another chain of emails, Ferguson mentions that Epstein appears to have "disappeared" and wrote "I did not know you were having a baby".

The chain of emails comes years after Epstein was convicted of his crimes.

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It comes as pressure mounts on former prince Andrew to tell investigators what he knew about the New York financier and his network of rich and powerful friends.

Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents many of Epstein’s victims, said on Monday that Andrew had a duty to provide any evidence that could help investigators understand how Epstein was able to abuse so many women for so long, and who else might have been involved in his crimes.

But the last time Andrew tried to answer questions about his friendship with Epstein it ended in disaster.

It didn’t end well

After giving a trainwreck interview to Newsnight in 2019, where Andrew revealed his close ties with Epstein, he was pilloried for offering unbelievable explanations for his continued contact despite the financier’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, and for failing to show empathy for the victims.

Last fall, King Charles III stripped Andrew of his royal titles, including the right to be called a prince, as he tried to insulate the monarchy from the continuing revelations about his younger brother’s relationship with Epstein, which have tarnished the royal family for more than a decade. The former prince is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Andrew has also been ordered to vacate Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle that has been his home for more than a decade.

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Good luck with asking him to testify

Mountbatten-Windsor has little to lose by ignoring calls for him to testify, and U.S. authorities will find it hard to compel him to appear before Congress, said lawyer Mark Stephens, who handles international and complex cases at Howard Kennedy in London.

“There will be huge pressure and calls for him to (testify), but I don’t think that even if he gets there, even if he gives evidence, it’s going to reveal anything meaningful,” Stephens said.

“I would fully expect him to take the fifth, as Americans say, the privilege against self-incrimination. And so I don’t think, beyond his name, he’s going answer any of the questions either by turning up or not turning up.”

Documents do not show wrongdoing by many of those named; their appearance in the files reflects Epstein’s extremely wide reach.

Not sharing what he knows

Mountbatten-Windsor has previously demonstrated caution about talking to US authorities.

After he stepped away from royal duties in 2019, Mountbatten-Windsor announced that he was willing to help “any appropriate law enforcement agency” with its investigation into Epstein.

But documents released last year showed how 10 months of negotiations between Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers and federal prosecutors failed to secure his testimony.

Attorneys for the king’s brother ultimately rejected proposals for their client to be directly interviewed by the prosecutors, either in person or by video. Instead, they proposed that he give his answers in writing, something they said was perfectly acceptable in British courts.

Finally, on September 23, 2020, the prosecutors gave up on the idea of securing a voluntary interview and said they planned to start the formal process of asking the British courts to compel Andrew’s testimony under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty between the two countries. There is no indication that interview ever took place.

Allred said the testimony was important for Epstein’s victims.

While Mountbatten-Windsor has said he doesn’t know anything about Epstein’s crimes, the documents released by the Justice Department show that he has at least some understanding of the parties Epstein hosted, and how he used young women to influence his network of wealthy, powerful friends, Allred told the BBC.

“He’s not the one who should decide whether he knows anything that could help in the investigation,” she said. “I am saying it’s not too late, and he does have information that he can share that may help them.”

The eldest son of Norway's crown princess has been arrested, just before his trial opens on charges including rape in a case that has been an embarrassment to the royal family, police say.

Marius Borg Høiby was arrested on Sunday evening and is accused of assault, threats with a knife and violation of a restraining order, police said in a statement on Monday ( early Tuesday AEDT).

They requested four week's detention on grounds of risk of reoffending.

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His lawyers couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

On Tuesday, he's due to go on trial at the Oslo district court.

The indictment includes 38 counts, including rape, abuse in a close relationship against one former partner, acts of violence against another and transporting 3.5 kilograms of marijuana. Other charges include making death threats and traffic violations.

Høiby has been under scrutiny since he was repeatedly arrested in 2024 on various allegations of wrongdoing. But he had been free pending trial until Sunday.

Høiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit from a previous relationship and stepson of the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Haakon. He has no royal title or official duties.

The indictment centres on four alleged rapes between 2018 and November 2024; alleged violence and threats against a former partner between the summer of 2022 and the autumn of 2023; and two alleged acts of violence against a subsequent partner, along with violations of a restraining order.

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Høiby's defence team has said that he "denies all charges of sexual abuse, as well as the majority of the charges regarding violence".

Haakon said last week that he and Mette-Marit don't plan to attend court and that the royal house doesn't intend to comment during the proceedings.

He emphasised that Høiby isn't part of the royal house and that, as a citizen of Norway, he has the same responsibilities and rights as all others. He said that he's confident that all concerned will make the trial as orderly, proper and fair as possible.

While the royals are generally popular in Norway, the Høiby case has cast a shadow on their image. And the trial is opening just as his mother faces renewed scrutiny over her contacts with Jeffrey Epstein.

Friday's release of the latest batch of documents from the Epstein files shone an unflattering spotlight on Mette-Marit. They contained several hundred mentions of the crown princess, who already said in 2019 that she regretted having had contact with Epstein, Norwegian media reported.

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The newly released documents, which include email exchanges with Epstein, showed that Mette-Marit borrowed a property of Epstein's in Palm Beach, Florida, for several days in early 2013, and the royal house confirmed that she did so through a mutual friend, broadcaster NRK reported.

In a statement emailed by the royal house, Mette-Marit said that she "must take responsibility for not having investigated Epstein's background more thoroughly, and for not realising sooner what kind of person he was".

"I deeply regret this, and it is a responsibility I must bear. I showed poor judgment and regret having had any contact with Epstein at all," she said.

"It is simply embarrassing."

She expressed her "deep sympathy and solidarity" with the victims of Epstein's abuse.

Mette-Marit's contacts with Epstein and the Høiby trial aren't the only source of negative publicity for Norway's royals. The business ventures of Haakon's sister, Princess Märtha Louise, have drawn repeated criticism.

In 2024, around the same time Høiby's case was making news, she married an American self-professed shaman, Durek Verrett.

More to come.

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