Tag Archives: Australia

The Star Observer reports: Victoria Police confirmed that 35 individuals—mostly males aged 13 to 20—have now been arrested in the past eight months. Police allege that the perpetrators used fake profiles on dating apps to lure men to locations where they were then assaulted, robbed, and subjected to homophobic abuse. In some cases, the attacks were filmed and shared online. …

Australia’s NewsCorp outlet reports: A cafe owner has closed his business just six weeks after opening in Sydney’s inner west, blaming “snowflakes” for the failure of his latest venture. Mark Da Costa opened Bueno Eatery in St Peters in March after closing down his Waterloo cafe Hale and Hearty in 2020 after being involved in a series of internet controversies, …

Reuters reports: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party was projected to win elections, broadcasters said on Saturday, in a comeback against once-resurgent conservatives powered by concerns about the influence of U.S. President Donald Trump. Supporters at Labor’s election party in Sydney cheered and hugged as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Sky News Australia announced Labor was likely to …

The Guardian reports: An Australian says he was detained and deported when returning from his sister’s memorial in March, despite holding a working visa still valid for more than a year. He has been living on the US east coast for the better part of a decade – where his American partner, apartment, work studio and clients remain. Jonathan, who …

The Guardian reports: A group of barren, uninhabited volcanic islands near Antarctica, covered in glaciers and home to penguins, have been swept up in Donald Trump’s trade war, as the US president hit them with a 10% tariff on goods. Heard Island and McDonald Islands, which form an external territory of Australia, are among the remotest places on earth, accessible …

ABC News Australia reports: Elizabeth Struhs lived and died suffering a deadly disease, but ultimately it was her parents’ dangerous views that ended her life. For days, as the eight-year-old lay dying, more than a dozen adults — her mother and father among them — prayed and sang songs instead of seeking life-saving medical treatment. In January 2022, she took …

Via press release from the city of Sydney: The event features one of the world’s largest, most technologically advanced displays of fireworks, lighting and projections. Sydney New Year’s Eve plays live to more than 1 million spectators along the Sydney Harbour foreshore, and reaches a global audience of more than 425 million. For the first time ever, fireworks will dazzle …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. conservative political commentor Candace Owens was refused a visa to enter New Zealand for a speaking engagement because she had been banned from another country, immigration officials said Thursday. News of the ruling came weeks after neighboring Australia also rejected her visa request, citing remarks in which she denied Nazi medical experimentation on Jews …

The New York Times reports: Australia has passed a law to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts on social media platforms. The bill, which the government calls a “world leading” move to protect young people online, was approved in the Senate on Thursday with support from both of the country’s major parties. The lower house of Parliament had passed …

Australia’s national broadcaster reports: Right-wing American commentator Candace Owens has been refused entry to Australia for her upcoming speaking tour. Immigration Minister Tony Burke confirmed the conservative online influencer would not be granted a visa, saying “Australia’s national interest is best served when Candace Owens is somewhere else”. “From downplaying the impact of the Holocaust with comments about [Nazi physician …

The Guardian reports: Victoria police have arrested 13 people as part of an investigation into a spate of “concerning attacks” on gay and bisexual men facilitated through dating apps such as Grindr. In response to queries from Guardian Australia, police confirmed several arrests have been made in Melbourne over the past couple of months over allegations that groups of offenders …

The Guardian reports: An “amorous couple in a stairwell” has been blamed for causing a flood in Melbourne’s city rail loop last week, which forced the evacuation of two stations and significant delays for people travelling home from an Olivia Rodrigo concert. Melbourne Central and Flagstaff stations had to be evacuated, causing delays across the metropolitan rail network. While it …

Australia’s ABC outlet reports: Two teenage boys have been accused of hate crimes as part of an alleged catfishing scheme using a dating app to lure gay men to meet face-to-face before attacking them. The two boys, aged 15 and 16, appeared in a Perth court on Thursday charged over the alleged assault of two men in their 30s yesterday …

Reuters reports: An Australian senator said on Wednesday that police feared Elon Musk’s decision to ignore a regulator order and leave footage on his social media platform X of a Sydney bishop being stabbed might encourage people to join terrorist groups. An Australian court has upheld a regulator order for the billionaire to take down posts containing footage of the …

The Insider reports: Monday’s Latam Airlines incident might have been caused by a flight attendant accidentally hitting a switch in the cockpit, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was flying from Sydney to Auckland when it suddenly dropped. 50 people were treated by paramedics, of whom 12 were sent to the hospital, the New Zealand Herald reported. …

The BBC reports: A 28-year-old police officer has been charged with murdering missing Australian TV personality Jesse Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies. Detectives launched a frantic search on Wednesday after the couple’s bloodied items were found in a bin near Sydney. Beaumont Lamarre-Condon, Baird’s ex-boyfriend, was being sought by police and handed himself in on Friday. Detectives say they …

The Associated Press reports: As the clock struck midnight in Australia, tons of explosives erupted in a 12-minute display that focused on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. More than 1 million people — a number equivalent to one in five of the city’s residents — watched from the shore and from boats in the harbor. “It’s total madness,” said German tourist …

The Guardian reports: Australia’s home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has called Donald Trump Jr “a big baby” after his tour of the country was postponed. Trump Jr’s promoter blamed “cancel culture”, even though he was granted a visa to travel to Australia. He was scheduled to speak in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, with the first of the events to be …

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: Donald Trump’s eldest son has cancelled a planned speaking tour of Australia just days before he was due to arrive in the country amid doubts over whether the Albanese government would grant him a visa. Donald Trump Jr was scheduled to make appearances in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne between July 9 and July 11, but …

The Independent reports: By Monday nearly 15,000 people had signed the Change.org petition protesting against the former president’s eldest son attending the “Turning Point Australia” event. The group is affiliated with right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk’s “Turning Point USA”, which aims to reach the next generation of conservatives. “Donald Trump Junior is a far-right agitator who spreads bigotry wherever he goes,” …