OPINION: There is no excuse for getting angry at someone who is just doing their job.

A shark attacked and killed an American woman along a beach in St Croix in the US Virgin Islands, officials said on Friday.

Police identified the victim as 56-year-old Arlene Lillis of Minnesota.

A hometown wasn’t immediately available.

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Authorities said the attack occurred close to shore on western St. Croix on Thursday afternoon.

Police and other emergency crews responded to the beach, where crews worked “swiftly and professionally under very extreme and difficult circumstances” to treat Lillis, said Daryl Jaschen, director of the Virgin Islands’ emergency management agency.

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Lillis, who was a frequent visitor to the U S territory, was taken to a local hospital for further treatment but died from her injuries, according to Lt. Gov. Tregenza A. Roach.

Police said they were initially told there may have been a second victim, but a perimeter search by authorities did not discover any other victims.

Officials said they have not yet confirmed what type of shark was involved in the attack. They said that while shark sightings are common, attacks in the US Virgin Islands are unusual.

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“Encounters that result in a bite are very rare,” said Nicole Angeli of the US Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources at Friday’s news conference.

She said Thursday’s attack was the second such incident in a decade, and that there are plans to put up more signs and share more information at hotels and beaches on how to be safe around wildlife.

Jaschen, of the emergency management agency, said the investigation into the attack is ongoing, and that he could not immediately say what may have caused the shark to come so close to the shore.

Overall, at least 79 unprovoked shark attacks have been reported in the Caribbean since 1749, including four in the US Virgin Islands, according to the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.

READ MORE: Medical student, 21, dies a month after Sydney police pursuit crash

Ruthe had planned to attend the event to meet athletes, but instead took to the track.

The victim suffered an 8cm gash to his cheek, requiring seven stitches.

North Queensland is bracing for a potential tropical cyclone as the Bureau of Meteorology warns of a "high" chance of development.

Tropical Low 12U is bearing down on the state and currently has a 60 per cent chance to turn into a cyclone.

The Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore said while it was about a couple hundred kilometres north-east of Cairns, its effects were already felt.

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"We've seen the rain already pick up well south of that around the Mackay-Central Coast area where we're seeing widespread rain develop there," he told Today.

"And that rain will continue to develop to the north as we move through today and tonight, as that low gets closer."

The Bureau is forecasting "widespread rainfall" by tonight heading into tomorrow, with falls of 100mm to 200mm, and isolated totals of as much as 400mm.

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Winds are also expected to pick up, with gusts of 80km/hr to 100km/hr into tomorrow.

"The rain is of most concern because we still have a lot of flood warnings current between Cairns and around the Townsville area, and this additional rainfall is going to lead to further and widespread river level rises," Narramore said.

The current warning zone covers Port Douglas to Airlie Beach, including Cairns, Innisfail, Townsville, Bowen, and Proserpine.

Complicating management of the weather event is a serious connectivity issue affecting the Townsville area.

A thief cut a telecommunications line while trying to steal copper in Deeragun.

"My message to that lowlife is you have put at risk the lives of North Queenslanders in their hour of need and you can't get a lower act than that," Premier David Crisafulli said.

"And we intend to make sure that we throw the book at this individual when they are caught.

"Telecommunications are life and death."

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An innocent medical student has died a month after being seriously injured in a crash during a police pursuit

Lidija Faamau, 21, was studying a Bachelor of Medical Science at Western Sydney University.

She spent a month fighting for life after the crash on December 10.

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Police said a 17-year-old boy, who was on bail at the time, reached speeds of 140km/h during a pursuit before colliding with a car in Sydney's south-west at 11pm that night.

The stolen ute allegedly drove through a red light.

It smashed into Faamau and her two female friends as they drove down the Hume Highway in a BMW.

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Her friends have now been released from hospital.

The 17-year-old man has been charged with eight offences and remains before the courts, NSW Police said.

A report will be prepared for the Coroner.

The US needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future, President Donald Trump said.

"We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour," Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting with oil company executives.

Trump said the US must acquire Greenland, even though it already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement, because such deals are not enough to guarantee Greenland's defence.

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The island of 57,000 people is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

"You defend ownership. You don't defend leases. And we'll have to defend Greenland. If we don't do it, China or Russia will," Trump said.

Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under US control, including potential use of the US military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the US.

Leaders in Copenhagen and throughout Europe have reacted with disdain in recent days to comments by Trump and other White House officials asserting their right to Greenland. The US and Denmark are NATO allies bound by a mutual defence agreement.

On Tuesday, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark issued a joint statement, saying only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations.

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The amount of free campsites around Australia is shrinking after a local council introduced new fees at a range of popular spots.

Tasmania's Central Coast Council will ask campers to fork out a $15 nightly fee from the end of February 2026 at several council-managed freedom camping sites.

The impacted sites are Forth Recreation Ground, Midway Point in Sulphur Creek and Bannons Park in Gunns Plains in the state's north-west.

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A new permit system will also be enforced, including a maximum stay of three nights per site for self-contained vehicles such as campervans or RVs and a ban on fires and tents.

"The permit system is being introduced to help council better manage camping and RV visitation across the Central Coast," the council's Director of Corporate Services Samantha Searle told nine.com.au.

"The modest fee will be reinvested directly into maintaining and improving facilities, protecting the natural environment, and ensuring fair and equitable access to camping areas.

"It also aligns with council's adopted RV and Camping Strategy and broader planning to enhance visitor experience, support tourism growth and deliver future infrastructure upgrades that will benefit both visitors and the local community."

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It follows a proposal by the NSW national parks service to standardise camping fees across the board following a rise in "ghost camping".

A consultation paper released last year, of which the submissions are yet to be released, outlined a "significant" change to the NSW Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the first since 2017.

The tiered system would see fees increased, particularly during the busy season.

For most campers, fees would increase in high season and be cheaper in low season, the NPWS said.

"For example, a family of four currently pays $68/night in a beachfront campground (tier 6), but with the proposed tiered system they would pay $89/night in high season or $54/night in low season," the consultation paper stated.

The fees would be introduced to encourage cancellations and discourage ghost camping or no-shows, where travellers book but don't ever arrive to claim their spot.

The NPWS said it had considered alternative approaches, including a "first-come, first-served" model, 100 per cent refunds for cancellations or fines for no-shows, but found it "difficult" to enforce.

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Around 23,000 people responded to the submission.

The NPWS is now in the process of reviewing the feedback.

Ghost camping is a nationwide issue that has prompted government responses in multiple states.

The practice surged after Victoria introduced free camping in every state forest and national park across the state in December 1, 2024.

The move wiped out $7.3 million in annual booking fees for campers but it's come at another high cost – campsites sitting empty.

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A police inspector has described the moment bystanders desperately tried to help a woman and her two young girls who became trapped in their car in a major crash on the Sunshine Coast yesterday.

The girls, aged one and three, remain in a fight for their life in Queensland Children's Hospital today after a dump truck collided into the back of their car, pinning it to a construction site in Banya just before midday yesterday.

Their mother, 37, is in a stable condition at Sunshine Coast University Hospital, along with several others who suffered minor injuries in the crash.

"It was definitely a confronting scene," Acting Inspector Matt Robertson said.

"It was a tragic set of circumstances and a tragic situation where all people involved, the witnesses, the people involved in the accident, the first responders being ambulance and police, it takes its toll on people.

"Anyone who attends these situations doesn't necessarily want to be confronted with it, but they do their job and get involved and it does affect us, it affects everybody.

"The people who witnessed that accident immediately jumped in to assist and assist all the people involved in it and nobody shied away from getting in, helping, providing assistance."

The dump truck first collided into the back of a car, sending it across the road, near the intersection of Banya Avenue and Bruny Street.

It then travelled another 400m before smashing into several cars that were stopped at the intersection and pinned the blue Haval station wagon with the young family inside.

The 52-year-old male truck driver suffered minor injuries.

Police have spoken to him as they investigate the cause of the crash.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or who has relevant CCTV or dashcam footage is urged to contact police.

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A family-of-three is missing and more than 20 homes are potentially lost as out-of-control bushfires continue to burn across Victoria.

The Longwood fire has burnt through more than 48,000 hectares and forced residents across dozens of towns to evacuate their homes.

Another major fire, the Walwa blaze, has burned through more than 17,000 hectares in the state's north-east.

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Authorities hold concerns for a man, woman and child who firefighters spoke with at a home in the Longwood East area yesterday morning.

Crews returned to find the property destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon.

"Those three people, we do not know at this point in time where they may be," Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said this morning.

"At this point in time, I'm not suggesting we've seen three people perish, all I'm saying is these three people are unaccounted for."

Emergency services are currently unable to investigate their disappearance as the area is still a danger zone but the trio remain unaccounted for this evening.

READ MORE: Small town of Ruffy unrecognisable as fire destroys homes

Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch confirmed "community and residential" properties have been destroyed in the Longwood fire.

Many of these losses have been in and around the Ruffy area.

Wiebusch said the number of properties destroyed could not yet be confirmed, but that the Ruffy community centre and telephone exchange had been destroyed, along with multiple homes.

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Wiebusch said firefighters would face "challenging and difficult" conditions across the state.

"Victoria is in the midst of a severe to extreme intensity heatwave, which is now being matched with damaging winds and storms today, that will result in our state seeing catastrophic and extreme fire danger," Wiebusch said.

"That means that any fires that are in our landscape already or those that start will be uncontrollable, unpredictable and will be very fast-moving."

CFA Captain George Noye, who was visibly emotional this afternoon, told 9News the fire has cleared homes, buildings and livestock.

"There's not much left. It's just ash," Noye said.

"If we go away to a lot of fires and we see this happen with communities, it's devastating."

Earlier this morning, Noye said the damage in Ruffy looked like "an atomic bomb has gone off".

"We've lost the old school, the old Ruffy produce store is gone, three houses on the main street, we've lost countless homes across the area," he told ABC.

"Ten of my firefighters that I know of have lost homes."

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There are fears the potential impact zone of the Longwood fire could creep towards Melbourne's fringes due to a potential wind change expected at about 8pm tonight.

Approximately 1200 to 1600 hectares of a pine plantation have been destroyed by the Walwa fire, though no property there has be lost as yet.

A total fire ban has been declared across the whole of Victoria for tomorrow.

Temperatures are expected to cool across most of the state tomorrow, but the mercury is expected to nudge 40 in some areas including Geelong and Mildura.

A high of 26 degrees is forecast for Melbourne tomorrow.

Residents should visit the VicEmergency website for the latest updates and advice on fires in their area.

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