Offender with decades-long history may face more jail time as additional crimes revealed.

A new report has painted a grim picture of life in Australia, revealing a nation where people are feeling lonelier than ever, pay more tax and are delaying their dreams.

The Melbourne Institute's annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, which has tracked the lives of thousands of Australians since 2001, released its 2025 report today.

It highlights how everything from rising living costs to the erosion of social networks is taking a toll on the nation's well-being.

We have fewer friends

The survey found that our social connections are weakening, a trend exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Australians are reporting fewer friends and less frequent socialising than at the turn of the century.

"Not only do we feel like we have fewer friends, but we're also socialising less frequently than in 2001," senior research fellow and report co-author Dr Inga Lass said.

The proportion of people meeting friends or relatives several times a week or more has dropped by over 12 percentage points, from about 32 per cent to just 20 per cent.

This decline in social connection has potential implications for our overall well-being.

The survey also found that a majority of Australians now report experiencing bodily pain, a trend that has worsened since 2001, even when accounting for the nation's ageing population.

People in lower-income households were also more likely to report experiencing pain, co-author Dr Ferdi Botha said.

"The less money you make, the more pain you're likely putting up with," Botha said.

The hidden tax of inflation

The survey revealed that Australians are paying the highest average income tax rate since the study began in 2001.

This is not due to a change in policy but rather to "bracket creep".

As wages have risen to keep pace with inflation, many workers have been pushed into higher tax brackets, effectively reducing their real purchasing power.

Professor Roger Wilkins explained that while wage growth is normally a good thing, a combination of bracket creep and rapidly rising prices has contributed to a decline in workers' living standards in recent years.

This phenomenon affects middle-income earners more significantly than high-income earners.

Wilkins also highlighted a reversal in household spending patterns.

Prior to 2021, Australians were spending less on necessities.

However, the recent cost-of-living crisis undid that progress, with the total proportion of income spent on necessities jumping by 4.5 per cent between 2021 and 2023.

Economic pressures reshape family and work

The report also sheds light on how economic pressures are influencing our biggest life decisions.

For the first time, the average number of children men want has fallen below two.

While having two children remained the most common wish, there's a notable increase in the number of people, both men and women, who now want only one child, or none at all.

Lass attributed this to potential parents growing "more concerned about their financial security and the costs of raising a child."

Finally, the notion of retiring in your early 60s is fast becoming a thing of the past.

The proportion of women aged 60-64 who are retired has plunged from 70 percent in 2003 to just 41 percent in 2023.

For men in the same age bracket, the retirement rate has fallen from 49 per cent to a low of 27 per cent.

While some are choosing to work longer, the survey points to a more unsettling trend for many.

The number of retirees living in private rentals has doubled in two decades, facing significant financial strain as average annual rent payments have surged by 37 per cent in real terms.

Report co-author Dr Kyle Peyton warned that "superannuation alone will not be enough to support the growing number of younger Australians locked out of homeownership."

An NRL player at the centre of a perjury case against a former police officer believes the sentence handed to the ex-cop should have been harsher.

Known as Officer A for legal reasons, he was today given a one-year intensive corrections order, similar to a suspended jail sentence.

The officer pleaded guilty to lying in evidence given during the high-profile rape trial of then-St George player Jack de Belin and co-accused Callan Sinclair in 2020.

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"It was obviously a little bit light, but it is what it is," de Belin said outside Wollongong District Court following the sentence.

"What's kept Cal and myself so strong throughout this is our innocence."

Officer A lied in the rape trial about what he found in text messages between de Belin and a contact saved as "Craig Lawyer" that were contained on a Nokia mobile phone.

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He falsely testified the texts only contained "Dragons business" despite knowing they likely contained privileged conversations between the player and his lawyer Craig Osborne.

First charged in December 2018, de Belin and Sinclair faced two trials before charges were dropped by prosecutors in mid-2021.

The case cruelled the forward's career despite his legal efforts to challenge the NRL's controversial no-fault stand-down rule that sidelined him for several years.

Despite the perjury offence being serious because of the ex-officer's senior position, Judge Christine Mendes found his significant mental health problems lessened the severity of the sentence required.

"He is a highly fragile, broken man," she said.

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The officer had been showing clear signs of undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder for several years leading up to giving the false evidence in February 2020, the judge found.

"Officer A did not seek professional treatment until Feb 2020 … he was clearly unwell and suffering," she said.

The judge rejected the prosecution argument the officer had a sophisticated and well-thought-out plan to commit perjury.

De Belin and Sinclair denied sexually assaulting a then-19-year-old woman in December 2018, arguing they had a consensual threesome.

The woman alleged she was attacked by de Belin in a North Wollongong unit and then cried as the men took turns assaulting her.

A Wollongong jury was discharged less than two days into its deliberations in November 2020, having told the court it could "absolutely not" reach a verdict on any charges.

A Sydney jury, hearing the case in mid-2021, spent more than a week before it too became stuck on nearly all charges.

It acquitted de Belin and Sinclair of one charge each, relating to an incident the NRL player testified was accidental, and prosecutors dropped the remaining charges.

Sinclair's father Terry Sinclair told reporters today he believed police had been motivated by a "blatant and concerted" effort to convict a high-profile footballer.

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Queensland has become the first Australian state to ban pill testing after the LNP government rushed amendments through the state's single-house parliament overnight.

The move follows through on the government's promise prior to the election to close drug checking sites, as part of a "zero tolerance approach to illicit drugs".

"The government's policy position, which it took to the election, is that there is no safe way to take drugs and that drug-checking services send the wrong message to Queenslanders," Health Minister Tim Nicholls said today.

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The government scrapped $1.5 million in funding for pill testing service CheQpoint, which operated two drug checking sites in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast last year.

The sites, operated by not-for-profit The Loop, had been slated to re-open with private funding but now cannot do so.

"It's true that there is no safe way to do drugs," Cameron Francis from The Loop told Today.

"In fact, the drugs are so dangerous that we need to test them and warn people about some of those dangerous contents that are out there."

The amendments to the Medicines and Poisons Act passed Queensland's single-house parliament last night.

They prevent the chief executive of Queensland Health from granting or renewing future substance authorities for the purpose of drug checking and discontinue current substance authorities issued for the purpose of drug checking services.

Nicholls said this "aligns Queensland with other states including WA, SA and Tasmania".

While governments in those states are opposed to pill testing, Queensland is the only state to have outlawed it with legislation.

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The vote coincided with the release of a previously suppressed report on drug checking by the University of Queensland that found "services provided valuable harm reduction through the provision of information about substances, drug interactions, drug policy, signs and responses to drug overdose and naloxone".

It found half of all clients intended to "change their substance use, most commonly via taking a smaller amount, spacing out doses or disposing of the substance".

"Follow-up surveys and interviews with clients found that many clients changed their actual behaviours: 2 in 5 clients reported not using the tested sample, 1 in 5 used less of the sample and 1 in 10 disposed of at least one tested sample," the report found.

It recommended the government consider expanding funding, resources, staffing and technology at drug checking services across more locations to benefit the broader Queensland community.

The Australian Medical Association Queensland has urged the government to reverse its decision.

President Dr Nick Yim said AMA Queensland was "disappointed" and "concerned these changes were made without appropriate consultation with stakeholders, or consideration of the evidence".

He said pill testing provided an "invaluable early warning system" about the kind of substances circulating in the community.

"We can only get that information through drug testing and it is vital because it educates the community about the risks of harm from drug use," Yim said.

"Testing clearly shows people that substances they have may not be what they think they are and could be far more dangerous.

"At a time when our public hospitals are under strain with ambulance ramping, measures that can reduce pressure on our emergency departments should be considered."

He said the report showed 54 per cent of people who attended drug checking services had never spoken to a health professional about their drug use before.

"That is essential to preventing harm and deaths from substances," he said.

"People at risk from drug use need health treatment and pill testing services put them in touch with the doctors and other health professionals they need."

National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline 1800 250 015

Family Drug Support Australia 24/7 Support Line – 1300 368 186

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The decision to yank Jimmy Kimmel's show off the air wasn't quite as rash as one might think.

The issue had been brewing all week throughout the executive ranks at Disney and ABC — ever since Kimmel made comments during his Monday night monologue about Charlie Kirk's suspected killer and, as he called Trump's supporters, the "MAGA gang".

Kimmel's remarks on Monday attracted ire from the critics on the right, which put it on Disney's radar.

READ MORE: Jimmy Kimmel spotted at lawyer's office as Trump calls for more cancellations

On Tuesday's show, Kimmel doubled down, saying, "Many in MAGA-land are working very hard to capitalise on the murder of Charlie Kirk."

But it wasn't until Wednesday afternoon, after FCC chair Brendan Carr went onto a conservative podcast and threatened to pull ABC affiliate broadcast licenses, that the matter really escalated.

Then Nexstar — the station group which airs "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in approximately two dozen markets — announced they would not air the show.

Carr publicly stating that Disney was at risk of losing its local broadcast licenses was a "real, serious threat" for all of ABC, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

"This isn't just about 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.' It's about all of ABC and all of the shows and all employees," another source privy to ongoing conversations at the company said.

A veteran television news producer — who is not employed by ABC — told CNN, "There is no more terrifying circumstance for a broadcast entity than the threat of an FCC fine, or worse, that the agency could move to revoke the stations' broadcast licenses."

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According to one of the individuals familiar with the situation, Kimmel was prepared to deliver his monologue on his show on Wednesday night and planned to address the right-wing backlash to his remarks made earlier in the week regarding the politicisation of Kirk's killing.

This individual describes Kimmel's planned monologue as "very hot", taking aim at the MAGA base.

It was then that Disney executives had conversations with Kimmel about "taking down the temperature" of his monologue, according to the individual.

Nexstar announced its plan to pull Kimmel's show at the same time.

That's when Disney CEO Bob Iger and Disney Entertainment Co-chairman Dana Walden made the decision to preempt the show indefinitely — in hopes of protecting Kimmel and the Disney brand from escalating the controversy.

Walden called Kimmel to have a conversation about how to move forward, one source said.

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Walden and Kimmel have a longstanding, positive relationship, and Kimmel has always been incredibly well-regarded within ABC, according to numerous sources.

"Everyone deeply values him and wants him to come back," one source familiar said.

"But he has to take down the temperature."

The source notes that Kimmel has always been free to speak his mind about Trump and has never been censored on his show.

But with serious FCC threats, the company had to make a business decision.

Several of the individuals who spoke to CNN said that Disney employees and staff members on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" began to receive death threats following Carr's remarks on Wednesday, with their email addresses and phone numbers being doxed and blasted across social media.

For Disney, the issue under consideration was bigger than Kimmel: It became a safety issue for employees and the show's advertisers.

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While no decision has been made on how to move forward, the source said Disney is "hopeful" there is path to bring Kimmel's show back.

His contract is up at the end of his current season, taking him through May 2026.

For years, Kimmel — who has also hosted the Oscars for ABC and just won an Emmy for hosting the network's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" — has contended with whether to continue his show, most recently debating whether to renew his contract in 2022.

"After two decades at ABC, I am now looking forward to three years of what they call 'quiet quitting,'" Kimmel joked in a statement at the time his most recent contract extension was announced.

Kimmel has not yet spoken publicly about his show being suspended.

CNN has reached out to Kimmel's representatives for comment.

ABC did not respond to CNN's request for comment regarding the future of the show.

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Perth has recorded a four-month soaking, the first time this has happened in the spring-winter period for 18 years.

The WA capital reached its September average of 79.3mm during light showers on Tuesday and Wednesday, reports Weatherzone.

When more rain fell during the 24 hours to yesterday morning, this month's total in Perth hit the 93mm mark.

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It came after the winter months all recorded above average falls, with August totalling 203mm, July 174mm and June 129mm.

The rainy winter weather was also accompanied by storms and lightning strikes over much of WA.

The last time Perth had a run of similar wet conditions was in 2007.

The soaking has been a welcome break in a long stretch of below-average falls, stretching from last November to May.

Weather forecasters say the state's south-west, including Perth, has recorded ongoing rainfall shortfalls, beginning from September 2021 and ending only last month.

It explains why water storage in Perth currently sits at only 48 per cent of capacity.

Looking ahead, the city is forecast to have dry weather over the next week, with maximum temperatures next Wednesday shaping to hit 30 degrees. 

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Jimmy Kimmel has been spotted at what appears to be a lawyer's office 24 hours after ABC canned his late-night show over comments made about Charlie Kirk's death.

The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host, 57, was photographed driving from his Los Angeles home to a building complex that is home to multiple legal offices.

Kimmel is reportedly also set to meet with Disney executives to discuss the future of his show, according to Bloomberg News.

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Meanwhile, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr has made it clear that this isn't over.

"I don't think this is the last shoe to drop," he said in an interview with Fox News.

"This is a massive shift that's taking place in the media ecosystem the consequences will continue to flow."

Carr added that complaints from ABC-affiliate local news stations in Utah and Pennsylvania played a key role in Kimmel's cancellation and suggested that it could happen again.

"We're going to back to that era when local TV stations, judging the public interest, get to decide what the American people think," he said.

Top Democrats have called for Carr's resignation, but he appears to have the wholehearted support of US President Donald Trump.

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Yesterday, Trump called Carr "outstanding", "a patriot," and "a tough guy" while speaking with reporters on Air Force One.

He also floated the idea of revoking the licenses of TV networks that air programs "against" him, a decision he said will be "up to" Carr.

"They give me only bad publicity, press. I mean, they're getting a license … I would think maybe their license should be taken away," Trump said.

US TV networks do not have to be licensed by the government to operate.

He also claimed that licensed TV networks are "not allowed" to "hit Trump", calling those "against" him "an arm of the Democrat party".

Trump also publicly celebrated Kimmel's axing and called for "losers" Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon to face the same fate.

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But a growing number of TV personalities, critics and even a former US president have thrown their support behind Kimmel in the face of his politically charged cancellation.

Former US President Barack Obama wrote on social media: "After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn't like.

"This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it."

Former Vice President Kamala Harris called Kimmel's cancellation an "outright abuse of power".

"This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats," she wrote on social media.

"We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech."

USA Today's TV Critic Kelly Lawler questioned what Kimmel's axing could mean for the future of late-night TV in the US.

"How did we get to a place where the president of the United States is potentially influencing who gets to crack what jokes at 11:35 p.m. on weeknights?" she wrote.

"And what does it mean for the ability of comedians and entertainers to exercise their right to free speech and to speak truth to power?"

Kimmel's show was "indefinitely preempted" by ABC and its affiliates, including Sinclair Broadcast Group, over his comments about Kirk's death earlier this week.

Now Sinclair has issued a list of "demands" Kimmel must meet if he wants the suspension on his long-running show lifted.

One of the demands is that Kimmel "issue a direct apology to the Kirk family".

Another would require him to make a "meaningful personal donation to the Kirk Family and Turning Point USA," Kirk's nonprofit that advocates conservative politics at schools across the US.

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Astronomers might be close to confirming the presence of an Earth-like atmosphere on an exoplanet for the first time, if more detailed analyses verify preliminary observations from the James Webb Space Telescope.

The planet is part of a planetary system about 40 light-years away from Earth called TRAPPIST-1, which five Belgian astronomers discovered in 2016 and named after their favourite beer. The system has been heavily studied ever since.

"As a planetary system, it's as alien as it gets," said Néstor Espinoza, an astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

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"The star is very, very small – the size of Jupiter – and it has at least seven rocky planets orbiting around it. Three of those are in what we call the habitable zone, which means they are close enough to the star that if they had an atmosphere, they could sustain liquid water."

Espinoza and his colleagues focused on TRAPPIST-1 e, the fourth planet from the star in the system, in a study published last week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Four observations performed in 2023 with the Webb telescope were unable to rule out the presence of an atmosphere, prompting optimism.

"Based on the first four observations, we cannot tell that (this planet) doesn't have an atmosphere, so the dream is still alive – it could still have an atmosphere, and that's super exciting, because we do have a follow-up program of 15 more observations," Espinoza said.

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The Webb telescope has only been able to rule out any atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 b, the innermost planet, but the jury is still out on the other six, Espinoza said, with TRAPPIST-1 e seen as one of the best candidates for liquid surface water.

"Three years ago, before the launch of James Webb, these kinds of studies were science fiction," Espinoza said about the possibility of detecting atmospheres on faraway planets.

"Now I'm pretty confident we'll be able to see what kind of atmosphere TRAPPIST-1 e could have – and if it has an Earth-like atmosphere, we'll be able to tell."

Looking for telltale signs

TRAPPIST-1 e is similar to Earth in size and orbits its star every six days – a much faster rate than Earth orbits the sun. That's because the star is much smaller than our sun, and all the planets are close to it.

"If you could magically bring the TRAPPIST-1 star to our solar system, all the planets and their orbits would fit within the orbit of Mercury," Espinoza said.

When looking for an atmosphere, astronomers wait for a planet to transit in front of its star and notice any minor changes in the starlight that filters through. They search for telltale signs of an atmosphere while learning about its chemical composition.

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With the four transits observed by the Webb telescope in 2023, astronomers were able to rule out the presence of a primary, hydrogen-based atmosphere on TRAPPIST-1 e, which was likely blown away by significant amounts of radiation emitted by its star.

Earth similarly lost its primordial, primary atmosphere early on but then built a secondary one; astronomers hope that TRAPPIST-1 e could have done the same.

This scenario is detailed in a second study, also published last week in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. It notes that the planet is unlikely to have an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide like those of Venus and Mars, and points toward a nitrogen-heavy one, more similar to Earth and Saturn's icy moon Titan.

"TRAPPIST-1e remains one of our most compelling habitable-zone planets, and these new results take us a step closer to knowing what kind of world it is," Sara Seager, a professor of planetary science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and coauthor of both studies, said in a statement.

"The evidence pointing away from Venus- and Mars-like atmospheres sharpens our focus on the scenarios still in play."

Espinoza said that his team plans to finish the new round of 15 observations by the end of the year, with two-thirds already completed. If the team finds irrefutable signs of an atmosphere, even more Webb telescope observations could be warranted in the hopes of detecting specific chemical signatures of gases such as methane, which is associated with life on Earth.

Confirmation of an atmosphere would be groundbreaking, Espinoza said.

"It would settle a huge debate going on right now on whether these red dwarf systems can sustain an atmosphere or not," he said.

"Red dwarfs are actually the majority of the stars in the universe. So, if it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. The possibilities for life just kind of multiply."

However, even if an atmosphere was ruled out, the result would still be exciting, he said, because it would make life on Earth even more special. It would also set the stage for future research to look at exoplanets orbiting around yellow dwarf stars such as the sun, using telescopes even more powerful than Webb that are still in the planning stages.

Exciting, incomplete results

These first James Webb results for TRAPPIST-1e are immensely exciting, said Michaël Gillon, research director of the Astrobiology Research Unit at Belgium's University of Liège. Gillon, who led the original discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system, was not part of the recent study.

"The data are not yet conclusive but they prove that JWST has the power to detect an Earth-like atmosphere if it exists. For the first time in history, we are truly within reach of discovering an atmosphere around a potentially habitable rocky exoplanet," he said in an email.

The planets in TRAPPIST-1 have a range of conditions similar to the terrestrial planets in our solar system.

These conditions make them potential hosts for surface liquid water, but they require an atmosphere to prevent the water from freezing on the surface or sublimating to space, said Eric Agol, a professor in the department of astronomy at the University of Washington. Agol was not involved with the study but is working on the new set of observations with Espinoza and his colleagues.

TRAPPIST-1 e is the most promising of the seven planets for hosting an Earth-like atmosphere, according to Agol.

"The results are interesting, but also incomplete," he added in an email.

"I am agnostic about whether TRAPPIST-1 e may have an Earth-like atmosphere or not, and the current study hasn't affected my opinion."

According to Howard Chen, an assistant professor of space sciences at the Florida Institute of Technology, TRAPPIST-1e sits right at a "tipping point" between opposite states, based on computer simulations that he detailed in a new study that published Wednesday in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Based on its history, the planet can emerge as either extremely dry or water-rich: "That means both 'bare rock' and 'atmosphere-bearing' scenarios remain physically plausible," he added in an email. Chen was not involved with the new research.

TRAPPIST-1e could have formed as a desert world, like its inner neighbours, or as a wet, ocean-covered planet, he concluded.

"JWST's current data can't distinguish between those scenarios yet, but that ambiguity is exactly what our simulations predict," Chen said.

"The fact that TRAPPIST-1e can plausibly be either very dry or very wet means the next few JWST (observations) could deliver a dramatic reveal."

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A young New Zealand man has won a case to have a parking breach notice overturned, claiming he was in the car park for just eight seconds.

Christchurch man Bailey Smith, 22, returned from an extended work trip to find a number of notices from Parking Services Limited in his letterbox.

He had been issued a breach notice for NZ$95 ($84.53) for parking outside a Riccarton laundromat in March, and then charged late fees for failing to pay.

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He appealed to the company to waive the breach notice, but that was dismissed.

With the help of ChatGPT, he fought the decision at the Disputes Tribunal, and won.

Smith said he thought the charges were "obscene" and the company was being "predatory".

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"They tried to ping me for parking there for eight seconds," he said.

He said he fought the case because he had a feeling the company was in the wrong, but without the help of AI, he wouldn't have known what to do.

The tribunal ruling said Smith claimed he pulled into the Kauri St car park and then reversed out again within eight seconds.

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Parking Services Limited disputed that, saying a camera technician said he was on the property for more than five minutes, dropping off a friend to pick up another car parked nearby.

"The driver was trespassing on private property to use the car park to drop off a passenger, not to visit or use the business that owns the parks," a spokesperson told Stuff.

Parking Services Limited supplied two photos to the tribunal.

"The photos appear to support Mr Smith's position, that he reversed out of the car park very soon after entering it, presumably once he realised it was a private park with clear warning signs," the ruling said.

The tribunal found Smith had entered the car park, but had not parked there.

"Accordingly, he is entitled to a declaration that he is not liable for the breach fee or any other cost."

Smith shared his plight after reading Loren Phillips' similar story of pulling into the same car park for a total of 27 seconds – a case which also ended in the Disputes Tribunal ruling she did not have to pay a NZ$95 ticket or any associated late fees.

So, was the parking company in the wrong?

In both cases, the Disputes Tribunal decided that although their cars had been in the car park, they had not parked there.

Therefore, neither of them were liable to pay.

A Parking Services Limited spokesperson said signage in private car parks served as a clear set of terms and conditions.

"By choosing to enter, stop or wait on the property, a driver is agreeing to these rules. Failure to comply is considered a breach and often leads to a notice being issued," they said.

"This particular car park is in a high-traffic zone, and the business frequently faces issues with people using its private spaces to access neighbouring businesses. These actions directly impact our client's ability to operate, as their business relies on having vacant spaces available for paying customers."

The spokesperson sent Stuff four examples of Disputes Tribunal rulings it won over the past year, but none appeared to relate to cases in which the driver had been in the park for less than five minutes.

A NZ Parking Association spokesperson said its updated code of practice required subscribed operators to commit to giving drivers a "consideration period" to review terms and a reasonable grace period before taking enforcement action.

It said drivers needed time to decide whether to stay, and a reasonable chance to leave.

"These measures are designed to ensure fairness, particularly where a stay is very short, while still enabling operators to manage their sites effectively and consistently."

Parking Services Limited was not a member of the association, the spokesperson said.

The Parking Services Limited spokesperson said parking enforcement was about safeguarding the livelihood of local businesses, which relied on private car parks to serve customers.

"Many small businesses, from laundromats to mechanics to beauty salons, face a daily struggle with non-customers using their car parks for purposes other than visiting the business," they said.

"This includes using the lot as a shortcut, a U-turn point, or as a convenient place to drop off or pick up passengers.

"We urge drivers to take a moment to read and respect the signage on private property."

This article originally appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.

US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump safely boarded a support helicopter after the one they were travelling in experienced a hydraulic issue and was forced to land at a local airfield as they were leaving the UK.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it caused the Trumps a slight delay arriving at Stansted Airport, near London, where they boarded the Air Force One jet on Thursday for their return to the US.

"Due to a minor hydraulic issue, and out of an abundance of caution, the pilots landed at a local airfield before reaching Stansted Airport," she said.

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"The president and first lady safely boarded the support helicopter."

Leavitt said at no point was the president or first lady in danger.

No injuries were reported.

Earlier, Trump wrapped up his historic second state visit to the UK by signing what he called a historic agreement on science and technology with Britain.

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Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a roundtable with business leaders as they signed the deal.

They also had private meetings where the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and tariff rates the US may set on steel imported from Britain were expected to be discussed.

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