Hundreds of people, including many journalists, have gathered to mourn two Al Jazeera correspondents and other journalists killed in a targeted Israeli airstrike.

The Qatari network called the deaths of Anas al-Sharif, fellow Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Qreiqeh and four other reporters a "targeted assassination" and accused Israeli officials of incitement, connecting al-Sharif's death to the allegations that both the network and correspondent had denied.

"Anas and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices from within Gaza, providing the world with unfiltered, on-the-ground coverage of the devastating realities endured by its people," it said in a statement.

It was the first time during the 22-month war that Israel's military swiftly claimed responsibility after a journalist was killed in a strike. Observers have called this the deadliest conflict for journalists in modern times.

Al-Sharif reported a nearby bombardment minutes before his death. In a social media post that Al Jazeera said was written to be posted in case of his death, he bemoaned the devastation and destruction that war had wrought and bid farewell to his wife, son and daughter.

"I never hesitated for a single day to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or falsification," the 28-year-old wrote.

On Monday, the bodies lay wrapped in white sheets at the Shifa Hospital complex as mourners gathered.

Ahed Ferwana of the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate said reporters were being deliberately targeted and urged the international community to act.

Al-Sharif began reporting for Al Jazeera a few days after war broke out. He was known for reporting on Israel's bombardment in northern Gaza, and later for the starvation gripping much of the territory's population.

In a July broadcast, al-Sharif cried on air as a woman behind him collapsed from hunger.

"I am talking about slow death of those people," he said at the time.

'Smear campaign' after viral broadcast

Press advocates said an Israeli "smear campaign" stepped up after footage of the broadcast went viral.

Both Israel and hospital officials in Gaza City confirmed the deaths of al-Sharif and colleagues, which the Committee to Protect Journalists and others described as retribution against those documenting the war in Gaza. Israel's military asserted that al-Sharif had led a Hamas cell — an allegation that Al Jazeera and al-Sharif previously dismissed as baseless.

The strike also killed four other journalists and two other people, Shifa Hospital administrative director Rami Mohanna told The Associated Press. The strike damaged the entrance to the hospital complex's emergency building.

The airstrike came less than a year after Israeli army officials first accused al-Sharif and other Al Jazeera journalists of being members of the militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. In a July 24 video, Israel's army spokesperson Avichay Adraee attacked Al Jazeera and accused al-Sharif of being part of Hamas' military wing.

Qreiqeh, a 33-year-old Gaza City native, is survived by two children.

Both journalists were separated from their families for months earlier in the war. When they managed to reunite during the ceasefire earlier this year, their children appeared unable to recognise them, according to video footage they posted at the time.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday it was appalled by the airstrike.

"Israel's pattern of labeling journalists as militants without providing credible evidence raises serious questions about its intent and respect for press freedom," Sara Qudah, the group's regional director, said in a statement.

International media blocked from Gaza

Apart from rare invitations to observe Israeli military operations, international media have been barred from entering Gaza for the duration of the war. Al Jazeera is among the few outlets still fielding a big team of reporters inside the besieged strip, chronicling daily life amid airstrikes, hunger and the rubble of destroyed neighborhoods.

Al Jazeera is blocked in Israel and soldiers raided its offices in the occupied West Bank last year, ordering them closed.

The network has suffered heavy losses during the war, including 27-year-old correspondent Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi, killed last summer, and freelancer Hossam Shabat, killed in an Israeli airstrike in March.

Like al-Sharif, Shabat was among the six that Israel accused of being members of militant groups last October.

Al-Sharif's death comes weeks after a UN expert and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Israel had targeted him with a smear campaign.

Irene Khan, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, on July 31 said that the killings were "part of a deliberate strategy of Israel to suppress the truth, obstruct the documentation of international crimes and bury any possibility of future accountability".

The UN human rights office on Monday condemned Sunday's airstrike targeting the journalists' tent "in grave breach of international humanitarian law".

The Committee to Protect Journalists said on Sunday that at least 186 journalists had been killed in Gaza, and Brown University's Watson Institute in April said the war was "quite simply, the worst ever conflict for reporters".

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A man has been charged with the murder of a woman found dead at her home in Melbourne's outer east.

Zoe Walker, 38, was found dead at the house on Seaby Avenue in Upper Ferntree Gully after police were called to the address just before 8am on Sunday.

A 46-year-old Upper Ferntree Gully man was arrested at the scene.

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Victoria Police said tonight that the man had been charged with murder, appeared in Melbourne Magistrate's Court, and been remanded to appear again in December.

Police spent several hours at the home on Monday, with detectives searching cars parked in the driveway.

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Innocent Adelaide business owners have been left devastated after being caught up in a western suburbs arson attack, sparking a police investigation into potential links to the illegal tobacco trade. 

The arson attack about 3am in Findon saw flames engulf a store named Vapen before spreading to nearby businesses.

Security camera footage captured a bright glow emanating from the Findon Road store and a black sedan departing the scene shortly thereafter. 

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The blaze was so intense that more than 40 firefighters responded to the scene and eventually brought the fire under control. 

However, three stores sustained significant fire and smoke damage.

"I heard just a big noise… like a bomb explosion… it was a scary thing, I thought the whole thing was exploding," one resident said.

The owners of the nearby businesses caught up in the fire are now grappling with the aftermath. 

"All the ceiling and roof has been damaged, there's a lot of water damage in there," Sam Pokala, the owner of the local Domino's franchise, said.

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"It's a huge financial impact on me and my family." 

The owner of Jade Nail Spa indicated she had been building the business for two years and now faces the prospect of starting over.

"She works really hard, every time I go past she just works non-stop… I really feel for her, hopefully she can rebuild," Zoe Pledger from the neighbouring Fluff and Stuff Dog Style said 

Fire cause investigators and detectives spent today examining the scene. Police are investigating a possible connection to the illegal tobacco trade, with Operation Eclipse detectives involved in the inquiry.

Authorities are appealing to the public for any information related to the incident. 

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

Authorities are investigating a dangerous breach of marine safety after two jet-skiers were spotted perilously close to a pod of dolphins off a popular Adelaide beach.

The incident, which occurred yesterday afternoon near Seacliff and Brighton beaches, has sparked concern and prompted an investigation by the Department of Environment and Water.

Video evidence captured by onlookers, which is expected to play a crucial role in the investigation, appears to show a young man on a jet-ski barrelling through a pod of dolphins while another hovers close by.

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The Department of Environment and Water has described the incident as one of the most serious breaches in recent years.

"They were very close and interrupting where the dolphins were swimming and so that is in breach of the regulations," spokesperson Lisien Loan said.

The incident has raised concerns about the potential disruption to the dolphin pod, which has been attracting significant attention from beachgoers in recent weeks.

"It changed their behaviour, they sort of all became a bit erratic and started moving away from the main pod," local and dolphin behaviour expert Melissa Blewitt said.

Current regulations stipulate that jet-skis must maintain a distance of at least 300 metres from marine mammals, while riders who inadvertently find themselves within a pod must immediately switch off their engines.

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Blewitt said there is a need for increased public awareness about responsible behaviour around marine life. 

"Just the education around how to behave around marine mammals, whether it be the dolphins out here, we've spotted whales out here as well," she said. 

She also called for harsher penalties for those who violate marine safety regulations.

The Department of Environment and Water is working to identify the people involved, and has promised they will face the full force of the law once found. 

"So it's up to $100,000 fine or two years in prison for interfering with a marine mammal and breaching some of those distances," Loan said. 

The investigation is ongoing.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.

Children were struck by shrapnel and a man suffered burns to his leg when fireworks malfunctioned at a community fair south of Brisbane last night.

The mishap sent explosives rocketing into patrons at the Jimboomba Family Carnival.

The man who suffered burns to his leg received first aid before being taken to hospital.

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"His trousers got a little bit singed and I think we're buying him a new pair of trousers, probably two," ACE Fireworks operator Robert Stevenson said.

"We're terribly sorry, it never should've happened."

Stevenson, who has been in the fireworks industry for 50 years, said the malfunction was a first.

"The fireworks exploded, obviously the item was faulty," he said.

"The fireworks went close to the fence and it scared everyone, I guess, including myself."

The carnival confirmed on social media that the fireworks show scheduled for tonight would not be going ahead.

Fair organiser Paul Watkins hosed down the drama and apologised for the ordeal.

"It's a misconception, because it was excitement and probably a little bit of scare, but there was no, there was nothing, we've got first aid right there," Watkins said.

"We can only say we're very sorry and hopefully it never happens again."

An investigation is under way by Resources Safety and Health Queensland.

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"I want to go home."

These were the last words spoken to a father by a young woman who died within hours of complications arising from elective weight loss surgery.

Brooke Tiddy was admitted to St George Private Hospital in Sydney on September 19, 2018 for bariatric surgery recommended by her doctor, who assessed her as "super super obese".

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But her hopes for a new lease on life were dashed when the 32-year-old died two days later.

An inquest into her death seeks to assess the effectiveness of the hospital's processes and prevent similar deaths.

On Monday, her parents and two sisters remembered the mental health support worker as "an energetic and enthusiastic soul who would do anything for anyone".

Tiddy had been "deeply motivated to improve her health" and was "nervous but excited" when she embarked on the journey "she would never have a chance to complete".

Her family said the passionate baker's life was cut tragically short by a failure to investigate her underlying health issues before her surgery.

"This oversight cost Brooke her life and shattered her family's and friends' trust in the health system," they said in a statement.

"We hope (this inquest) will lead to measures that ensure such preventable tragedies never happen again".

The inquest was told Tiddy lived with an "extremely rare" condition known as sponastrime dysplasia, which affects the muscles and skeletal system.

Her surgeon Dr Vytauras Kuzinkovas said he hadn't previously heard of the condition and didn't do any research about it until after Tiddy's death.

One of the associated features is a narrowing of the airways which was ultimately found to be Tiddy's cause of death, the inquest was told.

An autopsy found her airways had severely narrowed to the approximate diameter of a drinking straw, which almost certainly occurred before the surgery.

Kuzinkovas said Tiddy downplayed her asthma and depression and didn't reveal she had croup or narrow airways during an initial consultation.

An in-depth assessment of her medical history would have likely revealed such risk factors, he said, but he hadn't thought it was needed at the time.

With the benefit of hindsight, Kuzinkovas accepted Tiddy was a high-risk patient whom he would have referred to specialists before surgery.

Intensive care unit staff looking after Tiddy were not informed about her sponastrime dysplasia and its significance, the inquest was told.

If he had been aware of the link between her condition and narrowed airways, ICU doctor Michael O'Leary said he would have called in a specialist.

"This has been the worst experience I've had in my career. I felt very alone that night," he said.

"The only thing looking back on it I would do differently would be to get someone else to give me a hand."

O'Leary said he wasn't sure whether a pre-operative assessment would have prevented Tiddy's death because what they really needed was to access her full medical history.

"In a sense we were set up to fail in this case because there was all of this information that was kept from us," he said.

The inquest continues on Tuesday.

The sale of an extremely rare Mars rock has been slammed by a renowned paleontologist.

The 24-kilogram meteorite, which is the largest known piece of Mars on Earth, was sold for $US5.3 million ($8.1 million) last month to an anonymous bidder in New York.

Known as NWA 16788, the meteorite is massive compared with most Martian meteorites, which tend to be small fragments.

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NWA 16788 was discovered in November 2023 in the remote Agadez region of Niger, a poor African nation.

It has been described as a "monumental specimen" that is around 70% larger than the next biggest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.

However, Paul Sereno, paleontologist and founder of Niger Heritage, said the sale of the rock to an anonymous bidder was "brazen".

"International law says you cannot simply take something that is important to the heritage of a country," he told the BBC.

"Be it a cultural item, a physical item, a natural item, an extraterrestrial item – out of the country. You know we've moved on from colonial times when all this was okay."

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The government of Niger also expressed concern about how the artefact got into the hands of Sotheby's, the famous auction house where it was sold.

In a statement on X, it "expressed doubts about the legality of its export, raising concerns about possible illicit international trafficking".

"As with everything we sell, all relevant documentation was in order at each stage of its journey, in accordance with best practice and the requirements of the countries involved," Sotheby's said in a statement.

However, it also acknowledged concerns raised by the Nigerien government and others, saying "we are reviewing the information available to us in light of the question raised".

Concerns have also been raised that the meteorite will not be able to be used for educational purposes if it ends up in private hands.

"It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch. It belongs in a museum, where it can be studied, and where it can be enjoyed by children and families and the public at large," Steve Brusatte, a professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the sale.

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A tech entrepreneur with a big dream and a nose for quietly lapsed trademarks has revealed how he revived a nostalgic airline brand.

Ansett Airlines was once the king of Australian skies but its sudden collapse in 2001 took with it thousands of jobs and countless holiday memories.

Constantine Frantzeskos, a Melbourne digital marketing and AI expert, told 9news.com.au his mission to bring Ansett back as The Ansett Travel Platform has already been fairly successful.

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"Over the last 12 to 14 years, I've compiled a whole series of great digital innovations and had the idea… wouldn't it be great to bring this back to life?" Frantzeskos said.

"Colloquially, we'd call it the 'Ansett File' and one day I thought, 'Well, has anyone done anything with it? Who still owns it?' and realised it had lapsed."

Frantzeskos said he isn't planning on bringing Ansett back as an airline – not just yet anyway.

Instead, he's transformed the brand into an artificial intelligence (AI) travel agent with the much-loved Ansett name.

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"The sky's the limit," Frantzeskos laughed when asked about potentially muscling up to the likes of Qantas and Jetstar.

"For the moment, I'm just really, really focused on delivering a really wonderful travel concierge experience for everyone.

"Who knows what the future holds, but you're not the first person who has suggested it or who might want it."

Frantzeskos is a keen AI user and found a niche in the travel industry with his new brand The Ansett Travel Platform.

Since its launch last month, Frantzeskos said there was a burst of users signing up for his $99 VIP experience.

"Interestingly enough, we've actually had a really high number of VIP sign-ups, a lot of VIP sign-ups that haven't yet bought anything," he said.

"That's the classic tourism journey, which is to dream, plan, book, travel, and then remember."

Ansett uses AI to create a traveller profile for users, which then creates ideal itineraries and scours the internet for the best deals.

It also offers flights at "wholesale prices".

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He said it's a way to truly personalise a trip without the need for a physical travel agent.

"Because I don't have gigantic overheads, because I don't have tens of thousands of staff in multiple branches all over the world,  I can pass on those savings to travellers," Frantzeskos added.

"It just works for you 24-7 without a complaint."

Frantzeskos' hunch that AI will shape the next frontier of travel is on the money.

Fresh data from the Adyen 2025 Hospitality and Travel Report noted a 73 per cent surge in AI usage among travellers in Australia in the past year.

And the revival of Ansett Airlines attracted a huge wave of nostalgia for former customers and staff.

He said some ex-Ansett employee said seeing the name brought "tears to their eyes".

Will Richards, the grandson of Ansett's founder Sir Reginald Ansett, also got in touch.

"He's got a helicopter business in Northern Territory, Ansett Aviation, and he said, 'Mate, I just loved seeing it'," Frantzeskos said.

The Ansett brand has lived on in some capacity as Richard's helicopter flying school Ansett Aviation since 2003.

Around 16,000 people lost their jobs and a 65-year legacy circled the drain when the axe fell on Ansett in September 2001.

It flew an estimated 10 million passengers and had a 69-plane fleet before it collapsed.

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A group of masked thieves stole about $US7000 ($10,000) worth of Labubu dolls from a Los Angeles-area store, authorities said.

The incident took place last Wednesday morning at a store in La Puente, a city about 29 km east of Los Angeles, the LA County Sheriff's Department said.

The department said the suspects used a stolen SUV in the incident, which was recovered shortly afterward.

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The agency said it was investigating the case and did not have additional information.

Labubu dolls, created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, have become a popular collectible item a decade after the toothy monsters were first introduced.

Toy vendor One Stop Sales said in an Instagram post that the thieves took all of the store's inventory and trashed the establishment.

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The store posted surveillance footage showing a group of people wearing hoodies and face coverings breaking in.

The suspects are seen shuffling through items and carrying boxes out of the shop.

"We are still in shock," the store said in its post, urging people to help find the thieves.

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Once a dramatic feature of the White House entryway, the official portrait of former President Barack Obama has been moved to a decidedly less prominent position, underscoring the years-long tensions between the 44th and 47th presidents.

Portraits of other recent predecessors with whom President Donald Trump has a contentious relationship, former President George W. Bush and his father, George H. W. Bush, have also been moved.

Trump directed staff to move the Obama portrait to the top of the Grand Staircase, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN, where it will now be out of view from thousands of visitors who tour the White House each day.

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One of the sources added that the portraits of both Bushes are also now in the staircase area.

Multiple sources have said that the president is directly involved with nearly everything that is done to the aesthetic of the White House, big or small.

CNN obtained a photo of the Obama portrait hanging at the top of the stairwell in a corner, at the landing of the entrance to the private residence.

That area is heavily restricted to members of the first family, US Secret Service agents, and a limited number of White House and executive residence staff.

It is firmly out of view for any visitor hoping to see the photorealistic Robert McCurdy painting of the former president, a source familiar with the matter confirmed.

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It's not the first time the Obama painting has been repositioned.

In April, the Obama portrait was moved across the Grand Foyer of the White House and replaced with a painting of an iconic scene of Trump surviving an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.

White House protocol and precedent calls for portraits of the most recent American presidents to be given the most prominent placement, in the entrance of the executive mansion, visible to guests during official events and visitors on tours.

A portrait of former President Joe Biden has not yet been completed.

The portrait maneuvers marks Trump's latest slight against a perceived political rival.

It comes as tensions between the Trump and Obama have escalated in recent months. Trump recently accused Obama and members of his administration of committing treason during the 2016 election, prompting a rare statement from his predecessor, whose office called the claims "outrageous," "bizarre," and "a weak attempt at distraction."

The president's attorney general, Pamela Bondi, subsequently ordered prosecutors to begin a grand jury probe into allegations that top Obama administration officials manufactured intelligence about Russia's interference in the 2016 election.

There have also been long-simmering tensions between Trump and the Bush family.

The elder Bush, who died in 2018, called Trump a "blowhard" in a biography and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.

George W. Bush, who Trump has attacked as a "failed and uninspiring" president, and former first lady Laura Bush, attended the president's 2025 inauguration but did not attend the post-ceremony luncheon.

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CNN has reached out to the White House and the White House Historical Association for comment. A spokesperson for Obama's office declined to comment.

During Trump's first term, he replaced portraits of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in the Grand Foyer, choosing instead to highlight William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

Privately funded by the nonprofit White House Historical Association, the formal tradition of the presidential portrait came to be in the early 1960s under first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, according to former White House curator Betty Monkman.

Prior to that, there had been a relatively "haphazard" policy, Monkman said in a 2017 podcast for the association, with the portraits being funded by Congress or commissioned by friends – or by the president himself.

In the modern era of White House portraits, presidents and first ladies have invited their predecessors, former staff and friends and family for unveiling ceremonies.

"It's a statement of generosity on the current president and first lady to invite all these people from an outgoing administration," Monkman said, recalling a ceremony during the Johnson administration for Eleanor Roosevelt's portrait unveiling.

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