Victoria's bushfire emergency continues today, as several life-threatening blazes rage. Meanwhile, a cyclone in the Coral Sea is expected to cross the Queensland coast today.
Tag Archives: oceania
Winning greyhound tests positive for methamphetamine but racing investigators can’t find the source
Neither the investigators nor the owner claims to know how the dog was contaminated.
Water deaths at beaches and rivers prompt urgent summer safety alert
Two people died in separate water incidents across New Zealand yesterday.
Millions of Instagram users sent ‘password reset’ emails amid data breach reports
Millions of Instagram users have been warned to be on the lookout for suspicious password reset emails following an unconfirmed data breach.
Users have reported receiving multiple password reset emails without requesting one.
The reset links appear to be sent from a legitimate Instagram email.
LIVE UPDATES: Trio of bushfires still burning as Queensland braces for cyclone landfall
READ MORE: FBI won't co-operate with state investigators in ICE shooting case
In the emails, users are told that Instagram has been sent a request to reset their password.
It provides two links: to either reset your password or to "let us know" if you did not request this.
"If you ignore this message, your password will not be changed," the message reads.
The vast majority of these emails may have been sent following a reported cyberbreach, according to cybersecurity firm Malwarebytes.
It is claimed Instagram data was stolen in late 2024, which allowed hackers to scrape user profile data from around 17.5 million profiles.
Malwarebytes reported that sensitive information, including usernames, addresses, phone numbers and emails, were scraped in the alleged breach.
Users have advised to ignore any unprompted password reset emails and to avoid clicking the links.
READ MORE: 'It was too late': Brigade commander loses home while defending neighbouring properties
Instagram states that password reset emails may not be a cause for alarm.
"Receiving a password reset email doesn't necessarily mean that your account has been hacked," Instagram said on its website.
"For example, when someone is trying to log into their account or reset their password, they may mistype or misremember their email address or username and enter yours by mistake.
"Only people who know your Instagram password or click the login link in this email can log in to your account."
The Meta-owned social media giant states that official correspondence only comes from @mail.instagram.com.
"If you do have additional security concerns, you may want to reset your password and enable two-factor authentication," Instagram states.
Meta has not confirmed if there has been a cybersecurity breach impacting Instagram.
Nine.com.au has contacted Meta for comment.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Man, 19, arrested after teen allegedly stabbed to death in Melbourne
A 19-year-old man is in custody after a teenager, also 19, was killed in an alleged stabbing in Melbourne this morning.
Two bouquets of flowers were left in the middle of King Street, metres from the crime scene, with the words: "Long Live Jojo, forever 19, you'll be missed."
Police had been called to an altercation outside Brown Alley nightclub at 2.40 am.
READ MORE: Body found in bushfire-hit area of Victoria
Evidence markers pinpoint the spot near Lonsdale Street where it began, with a trail of blood stretching about 50 metres to where the teenager's life ultimately ended after suffering multiple stab wounds.
Jojo had training in muay thai, with his Cheltenham boxing studio KO1 Muay Thai posting: "RIP Jojo. You will be sadly missed but always loved."
Police combed through a massive crime scene, cordoned off two city blocks and collected evidence for hours.
READ MORE: 'Significant rain' still expected as Ex-Tropical Cyclone Koji crosses Queensland
READ MORE: Homes razed, cattle killed as fires continue to burn
After the stabbing, the alleged offender fled on foot toward Marvel Stadium.
He was arrested a short time later on Aurora Lane.
Police believe the victim and his alleged killer knew each other.
The 19-year-old in custody was expected to be charged after a formal police interview.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Residents ‘shattered’ after losing family relics in bushfire
After the largest of the out-of-control bushfires currently burning in Victoria tore through a small township, residents returned to find relics of their family history completely lost.
The Longwood fire yesterday destroyed several properties, including homes and an almost 150-year-old school, in Ruffy.
Some residents were able to make it back into town to see what was left today, but the roads are still being affected by falling branches and smouldering trees.
READ MORE: 'It was too late': Brigade commander loses home while defending neighbouring properties
Jamie and Ann Laherty-Hunt's home of more than a decade was gone when the fire quickly approached the town.
"It was a freight train just coming at us from over there," Jamie said.
"When it came, it came. Everyone uses the word ferocious, and it really kind of is," Ann said.
The Laherty-Hunts are nurses as well as volunteer firefighters. They were on the frontline trying to save the town when they were forced to defend their own property.
"All of our family history, like from when my parents, I got all their stuff, it was all in there, and having to stand here and watch all of it go up. That was really hard," Ann said.
READ MORE: Hundreds of firefighters on standby as Sydney tops 40 degrees
"You feel numb like it's not us, it's happening to someone else. And then you're sad.
"And the sadness is going to be what comes over the next few days, I'm sure, you just realise how much we've lost."
"We're having waves of the emotion, but we haven't got time for it," Jamie said.
And they're not the only ones.
In Longwood East, Warrick O'Donnell faced similar heartbreak after he managed to save his home with sprinklers but lost sentimental items.
"Pretty shattered, because a lot of my father's tools and his father's tools," he said.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Hundreds of firefighters on standby as Sydney tops 40 degrees
New South Wales officials have said 600 firefighters remain on standby waiting to tackle any fires that may arise as temperatures across the state are forecast to reach up to 43 degrees today.
Authorities have warned that the intense heat, paired with strong winds are the recipe for extreme fire danger with total fire bans put in place across Greater Sydney to minimise fire risk.
The Saturday fire ban comes after NSW fire danger rated five districts as extreme risks, including in the Sydney area.
LIVE UPDATES: Towns under threat in Victoria; bushfires burning out of control
READ MORE: 'Like an atomic bomb': Small town unrecognisable as fire destroys homes
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin said that 600 firefighters are ready to be deployed across the state and "are prepared to respond to fires throughout the day".
"We have around 50 aircraft that are either currently deployed or that are ready to respond immediately right across the state," he said.
"That includes four heavy helicopters and three large air tankers. We have an additional 150 aircraft that we can employ if we need to across New South Wales today."
READ MORE: Fires to burn 'for days, if not weeks', emergency boss warns
The NSW Rural Fire Service is dealing with 44 fires, four of them uncontained.
That includes a grass fire at Range Road, Mummel, Goulburn at watch and act level.
Curtin said that communities need to remain alert to conditions across the state today and minimise travel where they can.
Temperatures hit 27 degrees in some parts of the city as early as 5.30am.
Sydney Airport peaked at around 42 degrees, with Penrith similar.
But the hottest was 43 degrees at Sydney Olympic Park in, Homebush, one degree short of an all time record.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has alerted people to stay vigilant as Sydney's heatwave comes to a head today.
READ MORE: Boy dies after drowning in pool on NSW mid north coast
"We do lose people on these incredibly hot days," Minns said.
"People die as a result of extreme heat in Australia and we need to make sure that people are taking the kind of precautions that will keep them alive during a very hot day like the one we're seeing."
The premier also said that he is "concerned" about the more than 30 music festivals taking place today.
"I want to make it very clear that it's the responsibility of the organisers of those music festivals to provide shade and water for participants and those who are attending the music festivals."
READ MORE: Man shot dead inside unit in Sydney's west
Minns also said Park Run events and cricket games were cancelled in some parts of the state as a result of the extreme heat.
A cooler change is set to come almost immediately, with temperatures of 26 degrees and rainy conditions forecast to roll in tomorrow.
Thunderstorms are also set to develop with wet conditions slated for the entirety of next week.
People heading to waterways to beat the heat are being urged to remain safe after a four-year-old boy died overnight after he was pulled unconscious from a pool on the NSW mid-north coast.
READ MORE: 'Whether they like it or not': Donald Trump's threat to Greenland
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
ICE agent’s phone captures fatal confrontation in Minneapolis
Video captured by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross gives a raw, up-close perspective of the pivotal moments surrounding his fatal shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official confirmed the video, obtained by CNN, was recorded on the agent's cellphone camera; the video was originally obtained by the conservative Minnesota media outlet Alpha News.
Vice President JD Vance shared it, saying it shows the officer was endangered.
READ MORE: FBI won't co-operate with state investigators in ICE shooting case
"Watch this, as hard as it is. Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn't hit by a car, wasn't being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman. The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self-defence," Vance posted on X.
The video begins with Ross in front of the vehicle driven by Good, who had stopped her burgundy SUV perpendicular to the street, obstructing the flow of traffic. Ross does not say anything as he walks across the front of the car toward the driver's side of the car.
As he rounds the car, Good can be seen with her window down looking directly at the officer.
In the video, Good then talks to Ross.
"That's fine dude. I'm not mad at you," she says. Ross does not respond. In the car window a reflection can be seen of Ross, holding his phone up, as he continues to walk. You can also hear the victim's wife, Becca Good, say "show your face" to Ross.
The video shows Ross walking around to the back of the car. Becca Good, the passenger in the car, who had gotten out of the vehicle prior to the confrontation, tells Ross that, "We don't change our plates every morning, just so you know. This will be the same plate when you come talk to us later."
She holds a mobile phone up to Ross's face as she addresses Ross.
READ MORE: Video shows how Minnesota ICE shooting unfolded
"You wanna come at us? You wanna come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy," she says to Ross. She then tries to get back in the car, but the door is locked.
You then hear another officer tell Good, the driver, to "get out of the fucking car."
Good is then seen reversing the car and glancing forward as she turns the steering wheel to the right, away from where the officer is standing. The car moves forward, and Ross cries out "whoa" and then three gunshots are heard in rapid succession.
The video does not show if the SUV made contact with Ross, as the camera angle jerks up to the sky. An earlier video shot by a bystander shows that the SUV may have made contact with Ross as it lurches forward, and he moves to the side.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the newly released video backs up what the agency has said – that the ICE agent acted in self-defence.
READ MORE: US federal immigration agents shoot two people in car
"This footage corroborates what DHS has stated all along – that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponised her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement. The officer was in fear of his own life, the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defence. The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves," McLaughlin said in a statement on Friday.
The shooting itself is not visible, but three gunshots are heard as the phone in his hand jostles further and then is facing the house behind Ross.
The camera then captures the SUV as it barrels forward. Someone can be heard uttering "f—ing bitch".
The impact of the SUV crashing into a parked car can be heard as well as the camera pans down to the street.
READ MORE: Was an ICE officer allowed to open fire at a driver? The rules explained
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Manhunt underway after 44-year-old shot dead at Western Sydney home
Police are hunting for a man who shot a local dead inside his home in the early hours of this morning.
Friends say Bosko Josic from Merrylands in Sydney's west was a good person who had recently fallen in with a bad crowd.
Friend Adam Carbonaro said he had been his best man but hadn't seen him for a few years.
LIVE UPDATES: Mass evacuations in Victoria as Sydney hits 42 degrees
"I guess he had the wrong group of friends," he said.
"He had a hard life."
The 44-year-old was shot once in the chest inside his Newman Street unit, around 6.30am.
READ MORE: 'High' chance of cyclone as rain sweeps Queensland coast
A woman who found him called emergency services.
Detective Acting Superintendent Tim Calman said police worked with paramedics to try and save him but the victim "unfortunately passed away".
READ MORE: Hundreds of firefighters on standby as Sydney tops 40 degrees
Police are hunting for the gunman as they investigate why the man was shot and whether an argument neighbours heard in the hours before, is connected.
Police say the shooting doesn't appear to be linked to any gangland or high level drug activity but they say it was a targeted attack.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Water in bushfire-ravaged town ‘not safe to drink’, authorities warn
Residents in Harcourt have been told the water has been contaminated and boiling it will not help.