Full video report from @yonibashan and myself in Tel Aviv earlier this month, when Iran fired almost 200 missiles - many ballistic - towards Israel. We were initially heading towards a mass shooting incident where nine people were killed by two Hamas terrorists when the missiles were launched by Iran. Read the full story here: l.taus.au/rI4

Thread: Heading towards one of the worst-hit areas in northern NSW, I spot a cop with a speed gun. Just 30 mins away, residents are trapped inside their communities. They say they’ve had no assistance from emergency services and are relying on helis and volunteers.

Pictured for the first time in 20 yrs is a property investor who stands accused of being at the centre of a mysterious and deadly poisoning that has enthralled millions in China for almost 30 years. And she’s living in a small NSW town. Full story here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

We track down the Melbourne doctor who praised terrorist group Hamas and its former leader after he resigned from a Melbourne hospital after being exposed for his horrific social media posts. You won't believe where he's working now. The full story: l.taus.au/hatedoctor

New unseen CCTV: A violent riot through the streets of Alice Springs on Tuesday has ramped up calls for a total federal government takeover of the town, with the mayor calling for the territory’s government to temporarily step aside. Full story: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

An urgent call for help for residents in small towns near Mullumbimby went viral on Thursday. “There are landslides, and regular people are trying to scale cliffs to rescue pregnant people, babies and families. “There’s no police here, no help, it’s just volunteers.”

As we speak to residents, an army of around 30 volunteers arrives. Some have driven from Queensland, some from Byron Bay. Many are on working-holiday visas from overseas. But they’ve come to help, carrying chainsaws, fuel and backpacks with food and necessities.

Video: Innocent or guilty it is a spectacular fall from grace for a man once regarded as the king of radio. Here is Alan Jones leaving Day Street police station just past 5pm after being charged with indecent assault and touching offences spanning more than two decades. There are in total 24 charges against eight alleged victims. Full story and video here: l.taus.au/FOC

Bruce Faber, a local of 33 years, was stunned. “At one moment I turned around, and there’s an army of faces I’ve never seen, and it’s quite emotional to see this help, and very organised with all the gear, and I was like ‘wow, humanity is good, people are wonderful’,” he said.

The cop drove off after realising a photo was being taken.

Chinese social media users are being banned over posts containing ‘illegal content’ after The Australian revealed the woman alleged to be at the centre of the poisoning of Zhu Ling, Jasmine Sun, is living in Port Stephens. Full story: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Ever since the deluge of rain on Monday – locals say more than 1000mm in 24 hours – they’ve been without power, communication, fuel and running water, and have resorted to using UHF radios to communicate. Five days in, no emergency services had arrived.

The road leading into one of the worst-hit areas at Main Arm and Wilsons Creek has been sealed off by a gigantic landslide. Hundreds of trees and mud cover the road. Residents are trapped.

It’s 4am in Alice Springs and a gang of young men in a stolen ute is attempting burnouts in the middle of town. Two of the occupants are hanging out of the rear windows with scarfs wrapped around their faces, one armed with a baseball bat. When they notice The Australian taking photographs, they start making gang signs and set off firecrackers. The baseball bat is a sign of an unwelcome but increasing trend in crime in the Territory. In the past five years, offences against the person have jumped by 37 per cent; property offences by 53 per cent. Police have been particular targets of the violence, says the NT Police Association, with an upsurge in offenders deliberately ramming police cars with stolen vehicles. The police station is just one block away but the cops are nowhere to be seen. Full story: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Jasmine Sun, who is at the centre of one of China's most intriguing unsolved poisoning cases has been pictured - while overseas on holiday - for the first time since it was revealed she had started a new life in Australia. Read what an onlooker saw: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Locals have been relying on helicopter drops. One pilot, Karl Mayne from Oceanview Helicopters on the Sunshine Coast, has flown over 15 hours in three days, dropping critical supplies.

But more help is required. Mr Faber says the real army needs to be called in with heavy machinery to clear the hundreds of trees blocking the one road back to civilisation. “We need to be able to get in and out, that’s our major concern. It’s devastating"

Local Robin says some residents have not been able to leave their homes and have not been accounted for. “It’s frustrating to think we are forgotten,” she said. As we arrive at a small intersection, a group of locals gather for a meeting. There’s a tarp with food and necessities

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher was defiant and all but silent as she flew into a Canberra firestorm over her knowledge of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations, as PM Albanese’s ministers prepare to “back her to the hilt” against a Coalition onslaught in parliament this week.

Locals care about road safety, but they urgently need more help. “It’s an appalling use of public resources in the middle of a crisis,” local Saul Fitton said. The cop drove off after realising a photo was being taken.

Volunteers after hiking for hours with food, medicine, chainsaws and fuel.

John Callanan (not pictured), a well known local and long-serving chairman of the Northern Rivers Community Foundation donated his Robinson R44 helicopter to deliver urgent supplies and pick up stranded residents.

Adam Bullock is at his mate’s place where he’d left two cars, one a ute with all his tools. “I put my cars way higher than I ever did in 30 years and it still got them.” The entire property is gone, just tiles and cement on the ground.

Inspecting the damage from the air on Friday, The Weekend Australian saw multiple homes that had been completely destroyed in landslides. The house in this photo used to be at the top of this hill..

Gang rampage: 'There's a war zone in Australia that no one knows about' An armed attack last week on a remote Northern Territory community that sent terrified residents fleeing from shotgun blasts and left homes torched has sparked fears of retaliation and an all-out war between rival family groups. The tiny community of Nauiyu on the Daly River, three hours south of Darwin, was attacked last week by up to 25 people armed with various weapons - including shotguns, axes and crossbows - who had driven into the community and set homes and vehicles alight, with locals describing the town, population 350, as a "war zone". One person allegedly fired the shotgun at a group of people, with video obtained by The Australian showing residents, including children, running for their lives as shots erupt behind them. A man can be heard yelling "gun, gun, gun" as smoke billows into the sky in the distance. "There's a war zone in Australia that no one knows about," said one local, too scared to be identified. It is a commonly used term in the NT, but it had greater resonance last week, with the community at breaking point. Read the story and watch the video here: l.taus.au/yzP

Residents of the usually tight-knit region of Port Stephens has been left in shock after it was revealed one of their neighbours Shiyan “Jasmine” Sun was accused of harbouring a dark secret. She’s accused of - with strong denials - being at the centre of the mysterious and deadly poisoning of Zhu Ling, that has enthralled millions in China. Friends and acquaintances have struggled to reconcile the social, affable neighbour with the case of the poisoning of Ling, who after the incident was confined to a wheelchair, almost blind, her parents forced to cut her food into tiny pieces and hand-feed her, their daughter so disabled she was described as having the mental age of a six-year-old for almost 30 years until she passed away in December. It’s fair to say the Port Stephens community is in shock. In this latest story in our series of reporting, @NC_Robinson and I spoke with doctors across the world involved in the diagnosis of Ling and the 2018 analysis of her hair which confirmed she was repeatedly poisoned. What does this mean for Ling? Will there be justice for her? Read our latest coverage of this baffling saga here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Later that afternoon, police finally arrived. They were spotted treading through the rubble of another house, presumably looking for bodies.

Video: A close encounter with youths armed with a baseball bat driving a stolen Toyota HiLux in Alice Springs at 4am.

Read the full story here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

‘She’s going to die, get off her’: young Indigenous woman viciously assaulted in Katherine A wave of violence has expanded across the Northern Territory amid calls for emergency measures for Alice Springs to be widened, with bystanders fearing an Indigenous woman would be killed when she was “pounded in the head with a rock”. The horrific footage, captured in Katherine, three hours south of Darwin, on Saturday reveals the escalating violence that has led federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour to declare on Sunday that emergency measures need to be widened across the Territory. It comes as Alice Springs is in the middle of a serious escalation of the crime crisis that has long gripped the NT, after a two-month-old baby was allegedly assaulted by home-invading teens last week who had collectively been charged with almost 300 other offences and bailed 35 times. A healthcare worker was also allegedly raped in her sleep last weekend. Full story and full video here: l.taus.au/Rsj

Exclusive: Australian actor Firass Dirani has claimed anyone supporting Israel is “supporting apartheid” in a social media post in which he expressed support for Palestinian militants who attacked the Jewish homeland.   The former Underbelly and Home and Away actor complained in the video that the designated terrorist organisation Hamas is being “propagated against as if they’re a terrorist militant group”. 
Full story and video here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Breaking: An "emergency situation" has been declared in Alice Springs, with the government implementing a curfew in the CBD for anyone under the age of 18, effective tonight, for 14 days.

A terrified nurse has spoken about how she feared she would be killed when a group of youths - some aged just 11 - tried to carjack her at knifepoint in Darwin on Wednesday. In the confronting footage mother-of-three Anu Chapagain can be seen fleeing her car as a young boy runs up to her pointing a knife and yelling ‘give me your car, give me your car, right now, right now’”. After the four kids were caught by police on Thursday, two were taken home to "responsible adults". WATCH the full video and read what Anu has to say here: l.taus.au/WdK

So just who is celebrity-obsessed selfie-seeker Beau Lamarre-Condon, the policeman accused of murdering Jesse Baird and his boyfriend Luke Davies?

Inside the multi-million dollar Australian property empire of Jasmine Sun - the woman at centre of the historic Zhu Ling poisoning case in China theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Exclusive: Private emails of human rights activist @DrewPavlou hacked, with grave concerns for vulnerable Uighurs he has been in contact with. Breach discovered by cyber security consultant @rpotter_9 who laid a canary trap to track the flow of info. theaustralian.com.au/higher-…

CCTV footage has emerged of the moment two dark-clothed and hooded figures doused two cars in petrol and splattered red paint on the former home of a high-profile Jewish community leader on ­Friday. The vision shows a charcoal-coloured hatchback slowing down out the front of the former family home of Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin, before two figures emerge with a fuel container and what appears to be a paint spray gun. Full video here: l.taus.au/e60

WATCH as Alice Springs police officers are forced to pull their Tasers as violent youths allegedly barricade themselves inside a pizza shop with a large knife following a street brawl. More ⬇️

BREAKING: The 18-year-old arrested for allegedly stabbing to death Linford Feick, 71, in Darwin on Wednesday night was on bail for a long list of violent offences including aggravated assault and rape. Full story: l.taus.au/3F7

Bruce cuts loose as Lehrmann v Ten ends in disaster for rapist. Full coverage here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Exclusive: Captioning service Ai-Media ‘leaked’ Mike Amor and Rebecca Maddern's rant about Novak Djokovic, with staff interviews and IT audits underway at the ASX listed company. theaustralian.com.au/busines…

Exclusive: One day after being released on bail to attend rehab, police charged former Channel Seven star Andrew O’Keefe with possessing a highly addictive psychoactive stimulant street drug nicknamed “meow meow”.  theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Anthony Khallouf, the man who drove from Qld to Sydney to help organise tomorrow’s planned anti-lockdown protest, has just been sentenced to eight months jail with a non parole period of three months. Story to come @australian

Just now: Katie Hopkins has been escorted from her quarantine hotel to Sydney Airport by NSW Police. She is scheduled to be on a plane and out of the country by 3pm.

Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has accused the Northern Territory government of the “absolutely disgusting” denial that young Indigenous children are suffering rampant sexual abuse in Central Australia. w/ @sophieelsworth More ⬇️

After a rapturous reception from Labor’s female activists at a Perth conference and the firm backing of the Prime Minister over the weekend, Senator Gallagher had no patience for questions as she landed back in the national capital. Full story: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Hillsong Church back in court for sex assault “I still believe it’s never too late to take real accountability and change," says former Hillsong parishioner Anna Crenshaw, who is taking on the church. "At this point, regardless of a legal win or a loss, so many survivors of sexual assault or other abuse within Hillsong have found their voice, including myself, and that for me is a massive win.” The landmark civil case – believed to be the first time Hillsong Church itself will be on trial in Australia – will be heard before a justice next week for a five-day hearing following the assault of Ms Crenshaw in 2016, who was assaulted by a staffer of the church when she was just 18. Full story: l.taus.au/C8V

When Beau Lamarre quit his job at Big W after finishing high school, he kept one piece of memorabilia to take with him: his electric blue uniform. Why? Well, as he told his friends, he hoped to use it to “sneak in” to the head office when Khloe Kardashian was representing the brand in 2015. Such was the chutzpah of the young Lamarre. Celebrity-­obsessed and gossip-driven, with an apparent strong penchant for luxury hotel rooms, black credit cards, fancy cars, the Golden Globes and even private jets. This is an insight into the mind of Beau Lamarre-Condon, the man accused of murdering his former partner Jesse Baird and his ex’s new boyfriend, Luke Davies: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

WATCH as an Alice Springs school principal reveals the horrifying extent of the crisis engulfing Indigenous children in central Australia. He details one incident in which a 12-year-old and his mates led teachers on a wild pursuit through the town in a stolen minibus. 1/2

Scotty’s bakery job raising hopes for Indigenous youth in Alice Springs At five days old, Scotty Goodwin was found by Alice Springs’ Todd River, abandoned by his alcoholic mother. Now the 14-year-old is the centre of a landmark project, which has been briefed to Anthony Albanese, to get Indigenous youths in the Northern Territory in jobs, engaged with the community and, most importantly, out of trouble. It comes as Alice Springs is in the middle of a serious escalation of a crime crisis, heavily fuelled by youths, that has long gripped the NT, after a two-month-old baby was allegedly assaulted last week by home-invading teenagers who had collectively been charged with almost 300 other offences and bailed 35 times. Last weekend, a healthcare worker was allegedly raped by a 22-year-old. Alice Springs baker Darren Clark, who is behind the social media advocacy group Action for Alice that for years has been highlighting the serious escalation of violence in the town, is confident if the project is expanded, it will get young at-risk Aboriginal youth access to training, employment and mentoring to change the trajectory of their life. Full story: l.taus.au/2rr |

This is former TV presenter Andrew O'Keefe screaming and banging inside the back of a paddy wagon. He was charged with multiple offences after allegedly assaulting a woman on Tuesday. Full story: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

This guy drove his truck through flood waters after driving past other submerged vehicles and then had to be rescued by SES volunteers. He was fined by police. “I’m going to take it to court, it's not my fault,” he told The Australian. #sydneyfloods

A Melbourne obstetrician accused of making “racially motivated” comments towards a midwife married to a Jewish man has avoided punishment under the nation’s health regulator, with authorities saying she claimed she “never intentionally meant to cause harm”. Miranda Robinson was reported to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency last year by midwife Sharon Stoliar, after Dr Robinson accused Ms Stoliar of “almost certainly” being behind an anonymous Instagram account posting about anti-Semitism in healthcare and the conflict in the Middle East because she was a “POC” (person of colour) and married to a Jewish man. Dr Robinson also said Ms Stoliar had been “brainwashed” and that she would be “very worried” to be one of her patients, and also claimed in a private conversation her family were billionaires connected to the “Jewish mafia” and “dirty dirty money”. AHPRA backflipped on an earlier decision to impose conditions on Dr Robinson, and instead found she had “indicated that she never intentionally meant to cause harm to (Ms Stoliar) and appreciates that (she) may have found the comments to have been hurtful”. Full story: l.taus.au/MjZ

The change in Territory government did nothing to stop rogue youths in Alice Springs leaving locals fearing for their lives, with dozens of vehicles smashed, businesses ransacked and Aboriginal Police Liaison Officers outnumbered when weapons were brandished during a dispute at a community footy game over the weekend. Chief minister elect Lia Finocchiaro has vowed to tackle the issues of youth crime and ‘reset the agenda’ for law and order after meeting with the NT police commissioner on Sunday. The Australian has obtained dozens of photographs and video footage of the weekend carnage in the red centre, where roaming youth vandals damaged more than 60 cars, with many of the vehicles dedicated to helping improve the lives of young Indigenous Australians. Full story, pictures and video here: l.taus.au/QdT

A serving NSW police officer - whose mother has been a senior NSW police officer - is a person of interest in the dis­appearance of a former Ten Network presenter and his Qantas flight attendant partner. Beau Lamarre-Condon was spotted outside the house US celebrity Kourtney Kardashian was staying in Sydney’s Bellevue Hill last week, attempting to have a photograph taken with her. Constable Lamarre-Condon, was also spotted driving around Rose Bay in a Tesla SUV, telling associates he had started a swimsuit line and was going to commence training with the Protection Operations Unit – the unit responsible for the protection of politicians, diplomats and other public dignitaries. All the details here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Update: NSW police have executed a search warrant at the Balmain home of Constable Beau Lamarre-Condon's mother, where they seized "a number of items". This is a video captured in July 2018 of Lamarre-Condon at Surry Hills police station where he was stationed as a probationary police constable. He is not accused of any crime. Officers arrived at the home at around 11:30pm on Thursday evening. "No further information regarding items taken from the property is available at this time," police said in a statement. "Investigations into the matter are ongoing." The home was purchased by his mother and stepfather in 2018 for $1,580,000. The Grays Point home Lamarre-Condon grew up in was sold in June 2022 for $2,400,000.

Teen arrested for horrifying machete attack on elderly Darwin man was bailed three times, facing over 50 charges An elderly Darwin man was found lying in a pool of his own blood after two young boys – one with a long list of criminal charges – had allegedly hacked at him with a machete after breaking into his home, before stealing his car. Much-loved community volunteer Trevor Miller, 71, is still in intensive care under heavy sedation and remains intubated after he was found by his neighbour following a violent home invasion in which the 13 and 14-year-olds allegedly broke into his Woodroffe home last week, leaving him with critical injuries. The Australian can reveal that one of the teenagers was on bail – for the third time since mid-December – and has more than 50 active charges before the Northern Territory courts. Full story: l.taus.au/zkd

📍 Slovyansk, Ukraine: For the first time ever, an Australian has spoken in-depth, without the cloak of anonymity, about his experience on the frontline in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Read the full story in The Weekend Australian or here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

As Opposition Leader Peter Dutton walked down the main street of Alice Springs and through a small shopping centre on Wednesday afternoon, he was met by long-time locals who warned him the town could soon be hit with a “mini civil war”. theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Northern Territory government to review Sentencing Act following string of alleged DV murders It’s just past 2pm on Thursday in Alice Springs and a woman is lying on the grass in front of the Town Council Chambers. Standing over the woman, her partner – with a string of convictions and jail time for violent offending – is physically assaulting her. The all-too-familiar scene played out as the Northern Territory government announced it would review the Sentencing Act after The Australian revealed a string of murders in the Territory were allegedly committed by men with violent criminal histories who could have still been in custody had they received lengthier sentences. In the violent episode, captured on video last week, the man grabs his 44-year-old partner as she cowers in fear. Several witnesses ignore the woman’s plight, apparently desensitised to what they are seeing. No one comes to the woman’s aid until one passer-by steps in to confront the attacker. Full story and full video here: l.taus.au/4iS

Exclusive: Brian Houston's scandal-plagued Hillsong church is facing a fresh court battle as student who was indecently assaulted by a married employee sues theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Alice Springs is in crisis. Driver is just 12 and can barely see over the steering wheel. Devastating to see this happening.

A five-year-old boy has allegedly been raped in a remote Northern Territory community this week, triggering calls for greater public disclosure of child sexual abuse in the jurisdiction, as one advocate claims half of the 20 remote communities she visited in 2024 had children as young as five exhibiting "harmful sexual behaviour". Multiple sources confirmed to The Australian that a 19-year-old male was arrested and charged following the alleged rape, which occurred at a small community in the northern part of the Territory, near the Gulf of Carpentaria, on Tuesday. The 19-year-old will face Darwin Local Court on Monday charged with sexual intercourse of a child under 10, following his arrest on Wednesday. The case led child safety advocates to call for more information to be made public about serious sexual assaults on children to increase awareness of child abuse in the Territory. Full story: l.taus.au/mq6

Alleged killer Beau Lamarre-Condon: Understanding the mind of celebrity-obsessed NSW cop charged with murder, as police search for the bodies of NSW couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies (Podcast)

100 DV cases ignored by NT cops in two days Northern Territory Police failed to respond to more than 100 domestic violence cases called in over a two-day period earlier this week, as leading domestic violence advocates questioned why police failed to conduct a welfare check on an Aboriginal woman later ­ allegedly killed by her partner. Of about 180 outstanding jobs police had in the 48-hour period, 60 per cent were domestic-violence related, with some of the ­requests up to two days old. Senior police said on Friday that on any given night the force could receive between 60 to 100 such calls. The revelations paint a bleak picture of the limited resources and competing priorities front-line police face each day and comes after police were “too busy” to conduct a welfare check on an Aboriginal woman in Darwin nine hours before she was found allegedly murdered by her partner, Desmond Frankie Booth. The Australian revealed earlier this week that police did not perform the welfare check, which was requested by Territory Families at 3pm the day before her death, ­because of higher priority incidents. Booth had been banned from contacting the 43-year-old mother for two decades. Full story from the Weekend Australian here: l.taus.au/L9v

Inside story: Surrounded by his family on the porch of their tin home in Utopia, a four-hour drive from Alice Springs, Matthew Mulladad is not concerned about the voice. In fact, he’s never heard of it. The young father has more immediate concerns. theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

A Northern Territory judge considered keeping a rapist in prison to reflect on “how life might be different if he didn’t bash women” but ultimately decided to release him – less than two months before the man was allegedly stabbed to death by the girlfriend he had bashed. Maria Jimmy, 31, has been charged with the murder of her partner, Ethan Anzac, who had a violent history of crimes against women and was once branded a “bully and a coward” by a judge when he was being sentenced for raping a different woman. The Australian can reveal Mr Anzac was released from prison on January 18 for bashing Ms Jimmy over two days and had been given a dressing down by a Territory judge, during which he promised to follow the law, respect women and stay off the grog.  Full story: l.taus.au/l5P

2/2 The principal ­also details incidents where children are sometimes returned to school in handcuffs or wearing ankle bracelets. Or students not wanting to return home fearing sexual assault. Read the full extraordinary story only in the @australian: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

First photos of Alan Jones departing his harbourside apartment - under arrest - in an undercover police car. Full coverage throughout the day here: l.taus.au/FOC

Most of the kids are around 15, with some closer to 10 or 11. Three months on from our first reports revealing the extent of kids running wild in Alice Springs and it’s clear little has changed. Perhaps nothing. Read more: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Exc: Husband allegedly kills Alice Springs mother following hand sanitiser drinking session An Indigenous mother in the Northern Territory has allegedly been killed at the hands of her husband following a day of drinking hand sanitiser, marking the first domestic-violence related death in Australia for 2025. It follows a horrific year of domestic-violence related deaths involving alleged killers with lengthy criminal records in the Territory, with the latest death no exception – the accused is said to have a criminal record dating back to 1997 and a court-ordered good behaviour bond expiring in Nov­ember, which had been breached. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, drinking of hand sanitiser has become a silent epidemic in the NT, with authorities raising concerns only at the end of last year. Full story: l.taus.au/xFx

Respected Alice Springs elder Benedict Stevens ‘beat partner with Aboriginal tool’ A respected Alice Springs traditional owner and director of a community organisation tasked with stamping out domestic and youth violence in the crime-­ravaged outback city beat his long-term partner in an alcohol-fuelled assault earlier this year. Lhere Artepe Aboriginal Corporation chair and Tangentyere Council director Benedict Stevens was handed a six-month suspended sentence in June after pleading guilty to aggravated assault following a violent incident in which he struck his partner in the head with a traditional Aboriginal foraging tool and left a large gash. Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro met with Mr Stevens as part of a trip to Alice Springs last week following a huge escalation in violent crime that saw a baby left with a fractured skull after an alleged home invasion and a woman allegedly raped in her sleep. In the week leading up to pleading guilty, Mr Stevens performed a Welcome to Country for the televised Melbourne v Fremantle AFL game in Alice Springs. Full story with @EllieDudley_ : l.taus.au/gmO

The son of recently released convicted terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika has lost a court battle to keep details of a “major charge” brought against him secret. On Tuesday afternoon, Ibrahim Benbrika failed in his bid for a suppression order to stop media from reporting he allegedly brought a prohibited weapon into Melbourne airport. Here he is outside court. Full story here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

It’s 8pm and the dust is settling across the ranges of Alice Springs when inside the town’s industrial area a group of kids arrive at the Pickles Auctions car yard. They’re about to steal a car and lead police on a dangerous chase – an all-too-familiar scene here, where children as young as 10 are caught behind the wheel and ­immediately returned to a ­“responsible adult” – only to continue to reoffend. Dozens of cars in the yard are protected by a 2m-high fence topped with razor wire, but the kids have their eyes on one in particular. It’s a Toyota they’ve stolen once before. The first time ended badly – the car smashed up and ultimately hauled into the car yard, where it was written off by the insurance company. But the car is drivable – and the kids still have the keys. Jumping the razor wire fence, they climb into the SUV and drive it headlong into the heavy metal gate. It takes seven attempts to get through. Soon the car is heading ­towards the centre of town. Read the full story and watch the extraordinary video here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

‘This situation is a travesty’: justice not served in this territory Last month, 79-year-old Mick Liddle drove to the Alice Springs courthouse every day for almost two weeks in the hope his grandson, Anthony Kenny, would be able to face a judge for a bail application on a drink-driving and breach of bail charge. Liddle would arrive by 9am and sit in the waiting area wearing his fedora and collared shirt, his ­walking stick by his side, for the whole day. Every night when he got home, Liddle would study the Northern Territory bail legislation, writing meticulous notes by hand, in case he was required to stand up before the judge and speak on behalf of his grandson. In almost any other jurisdiction, Kenny would have been granted bail within a day or two. But it took 11 days for the 32-year-old, a full-time employee of Territory Housing, to have his bail application heard in the NT’s overwhelmed and under-resourced justice system. That meant 11 days locked in a packed cell in the Alice Springs watch-house, with no fresh air, faulty air conditioners and the lights permanently on. When Kenny was finally brought up from the cells, his grandfather let out a sigh of relief. Kenny looked up and let out a small smile when he saw his father and grandfather sitting at the back of the courtroom. “I could see on his face he was very happy to see us,” Liddle said. Liddle clutched his notes tightly; at one point it appeared he might have to rise to his feet to make his submissions to the judge. Aboriginal people accused of crimes in Alice Springs have increasingly been forced to represent themselves in court following a mass exodus of staff from the country’s largest Indigenous legal service, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. The departures have sparked renewed calls for more transparency around federal government funding for the embattled organisation. But on Kenny’s 11th day in custody, a lawyer from NAAJA was able to represent him. “It was unbelievable, I couldn’t understand why it was all done,” Liddle told The Australian. “I doubt it very much this would happen to a whitefella – the Aboriginal people don’t really have a chance to say anything, because nobody really listens. They’ve got no opportunity to complain about it because they don’t have the necessary education to complain, but someone like myself can complain or say something." Liddle said: “I felt relieved but I couldn’t understand why it took 11 days for him to be released from custody.” The exasperated judge who finally heard Kenny’s bail application – and approved it – agreed. “The situation is a travesty and a human rights issue of significant proportion,” judge Carly Ingles said. “At the moment, ours is not a criminal justice system you want to be getting yourself involved in, the situation is dire.” Kenny’s long wait for bail provides a glimpse of the shocking state of the court system in the Territory, and especially Alice Springs. The Australian spent three weeks observing various courtrooms in the town. You can read the full report and our observations here: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Exclusive: NSW Police have launched an investigation into Sacha Baron Cohen, Natalie Portman and her husband following an ocean getaway earlier this week @australian theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Anthony Khallouf wiped away tears as he learned he would spend the next three months behind bars. “Mr Khallouf has had a hard time in custody... and it has served as a wakeup call for him,” his lawyer said. @australian theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Exclusive: More than 20 of the UAP’s 173 candidates have faced court in the past, or face ongoing matters, raising questions about the internal vetting process used to select them. theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Darwin 6pm, Tuesday: another example of the everyday violence locals are accustomed to in the Northern Territory. A man is pushed over during an argument and almost falls on a small girl, who could have been seriously injured. Watch:

A man alleged to have committed an arson and vandalism attack in which anti-Semitic slurs were graffitied on vehicles and restaurants in a prominent Jewish neighbourhood in Sydney had less to say when released on bail on Thursday. Thomas Stojanovski, 20, appeared to smirk when asked questions about his alleged involvement in the "racially motivated" attack where a large number of cars at Woollahra, in Sydney's east, were spray-painted with the words "fuk Israel" and "PKK is coming", causing an estimated $100,000 worth of damage. Full story and video: l.taus.au/zKz

It’s 11.20pm on Thursday in Alice Springs, and the group of a dozen or so Indigenous children and early teens heads on towards the main drag of town. “I’m drunk, f..k you,” a girl who looks about 14 says. “We’ll beat you, we’ll smash your car.” WATCH ⬇️

Albanese and Dutton urged to visit Alice Springs without prior police clean-up operation Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are being urged to visit crime-ridden Alice Springs during the election, but without the police being sent out to sweep the streets clean of mayhem and violence before their arrival. It’s been 783 days since the Prime Minister first jetted into Alice Springs amid a crime wave that gripped the desert capital. Since then, both he and the Opposition Leader have made multiple visits, including earlier this year. But the millions of dollars thrown at the problem has had little effect and the crimes that worry locals – assaults and sexual assaults – are on the rise. Pledges by the new Country Liberal Party Northern Territory government to be tough on crime haven’t put much of a dent in those crimes either. One man was forced to defend his home on Saturday evening with wasp spray and a fire poker. “This is how I have to live,” he said. Earlier in the day, and just a few hundred metres away, The Australian witnessed a woman outside Alice Springs Hospital attack a man for over an hour with a stick and rocks. Such occurrences are so common that locals drove past, as if nothing was happening. A week before, a young Indigenous child, aged around four, was found in a stranger’s backyard one night with the parents unable to be located for almost an hour. The local who found the child alleges the parents were drunk. Full story and crime stats: l.taus.au/gK0 |

Voice referendum: Rita Jingo asks Australians to think about what their vote means for her grandchildren She'd like Australians to hear her plea: that whatever the outcome of the voice ­referendum, something has to change if her grandchildren are to have any future. Thread 👇

Alice Springs woman freed for violent beating because of ‘disgusting and inhumane’ prison conditions An Alice Springs woman convicted of a savage assault, in which a 16-year-old girl was beaten with a rock and stripped naked in a park, successfully leveraged the “inhumane” conditions of the Alice Springs and Darwin watchhouses to escape a prison sentence. Dinela Woods pleaded guilty to beating the victim along with a gang of others, stamping her legs and back, pulling her hair and punching her face in the 3am attack that left the girl in hospital with a collapsed lung after the gang of 11 chased her down the street. While Woods beat the victim, others ripped her underwear, exposing her vagina and breasts. NT Justice Judith Kelly branded the attack “a very serious offence” that was “above the mid-range of seriousness”, but still freed Woods because of her upbringing and the conditions she endured during a 21-day stint in custody. This was despite the maximum penalty for the crime being 14 years in prison. Full story: l.taus.au/98z

📍 Santa Teresa, NT Graham Hoosan and his family are sitting in the red dirt around a camp fire cooking steak and kangaroo tail, a world away from the bitter aftermath of the voice referendum. ⬇️ below

A man with a “massive domestic violence history”, banned from contacting his partner after allegedly threatening to kill her, is in custody following the death of the woman in Darwin. In what is now the third alleged case Territory police are treating as a possible domestic violence homicide in 2025, a 39-year-old man was arrested following the “suspicious” death of a woman, 40, on Monday morning. At the time of the woman’s death the man in custody was on bail for seven charges, six of which involved alleged violent offending. Full story: l.taus.au/BWF

Exc: NAAJA officer allegedly caught in bed with fugitive convicted of manslaughter A senior officer at the nation's beleaguered Aboriginal legal service has been arrested after she was allegedly found in bed with one of her parole cases, who had recently been released from jail and gone missing. Samantha Alampi - who manages the paroles of serious offenders for the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency - was allegedly found in an Alice Springs hotel room with manslaughter offender Jefferson Woodie early on Sunday morning during a police raid. Police had been hunting Woodie, who is 20 years old and 16 years younger than Ms Alampi, after he had allegedly removed his electronic ankle bracelet and gone on the run, just months after getting out of jail. Full story: l.taus.au/nxG

A former senior Northern Territory police officer and MLA has returned his police service medal in protest at police chief Michael Murphy’s apology to Indigenous people at Garma festival l.taus.au/YY8

Alice Springs in turmoil: Shock history of teenagers in alleged baby assault and man who allegedly raped health-care worker The two teenage boys who allegedly broke into a home in Alice Springs and struck a woman with a detachable metal freezer handle so hard it rebounded, hitting a two-month-old baby and causing a brain bleed and fractured skull, had collectively been charged with almost 300 other offences and bailed 35 times – and were currently on bail. The Australian can reveal shocking new details of the latest spate of violent crime to hit the Territory, as NT police on Thursday called in extra officers to conduct an around-the-clock patrol of the besieged Outback city. In a serious escalation in the crime crisis that has long gripped the Northern Territory, police have also charged a man with breaking into a woman’s home and raping her while she slept, ­despite the man being on a good behaviour bond at the time. In another incident, police ­arrested two teenage boys for ­aggravated robbery on Thursday after they allegedly demanded ­alcohol from a 57-year-old man at his home, threatening him with a baseball bat and a tomahawk. One allegedly breached a suspended sentence in doing so, and the other was charged last month for exposing himself to a midwife. On Saturday night a 22-year-old man allegedly climbed into a woman’s bedroom through her window and sexually assaulted her while she was sleeping. It is understood he removed the woman’s pants and had non-consensual vaginal sex before performing oral sex on her. Sources said the woman – a healthcare worker – woke in the middle of the alleged assault and pushed him off her before screaming and alerting her housemates, and that he allegedly admitted to police to having sex with a “white woman”. Full story: l.taus.au/x1W

Breaking: The Northern Territory opposition has called for an immediate curfew on everyone in Alice Springs after a two-month-old baby was airlifted to Adelaide hospital with a serious head injury following a violent home invasion. The horrific incident comes less than a week after a 29-year-old woman was woken up by an intruder allegedly raping her insider her own home. The two alleged attacks on innocent civilians mark a serious escalation in the crime crisis plaguing the town, with the NT chief minister and police commissioner forced to rush to Alice Springs early Thursday. Calls for the curfew by NT opposition leader Selina Uibo are on top of previous curfews earlier in the year - when NT Labor was in government - following rioting and other violent behaviour and social disorder. Full report: l.taus.au/x1W

Breaking: Two children reported missing yesterday from a rural property near Mudgee in NSW have been found alive. The 14y.o boy and 12y.o girl were reported missing just before 6pm on Monday after failing to return from a walk. More to come @australian

Labor leader Anthony Albanese is currently walking the streets of Lismore. He’s received a warm welcome from locals while seeing the devastation that occurred in the flood hit town. Read more: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Alice Springs youth crime: Age 12 and stuck on a turnstile of crime William wants to be a police officer when he grows up. But for the past two years, the 12-year-old has been on the wrong side of the law. Last month he was caught by police behind the wheel of a stolen Toyota SUV (pictured) that he drove wildly and dangerously through the streets of Alice Springs. It’s the sixth time he’s been caught joy-riding in stolen cars – on each occasion returned by police to his extended family, only to reoffend. The Australian captured photographs of William (not his real name) and three mates last month as they drove through town, hanging out of the windows, yelling and taunting police. They mounted roundabouts, careened through red lights and performed doughnuts on council lawns and drove on the wrong side of the road until the car ran out of petrol and was abandoned. William was arrested, taken to the watch house and then returned to his home in a town camp where – not for the first time – officers lectured his grandfather. The boy lives with his aunt and extended family, who look after him because his parents “drink too much”. Full interview with William's aunt from Feb 21: theaustralian.com.au/nation/…

Exclusive: A last-minute bid to impose strict rules on a released terrorist who wanted to attack the AFP's headquarters nearly failed because Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’s legal officers did not have a case ready until 3 days before the Islamic extremist was set to go free.

Northern Territory police chased and hit by stolen vehicle in remote community of Palumpa 🚔 🚨 Anywhere else in the world, the police would be in hot pursuit of thieves in a stolen car – but in the upside down world of the Northern Territory, it’s the cops on the run from the crims. Last week, NT police were filmed being chased in their own vehicle by young men in a stolen Toyota flat-bed LandCruiser, the alleged thieves so cocky they rear-ended the fleeing police car. The extraordinary footage, filmed on Thursday in the remote community of Palumpa, 350km southwest of Darwin, shows the stolen LandCruiser being driven through the small community in pursuit of the police vehicle while performing wheel spins. Police say at one point the stolen vehicle “bumped” the police vehicle. The brazen antics of the alleged offenders has shocked even Territorians hardened to the daily catalogue of crime and the cycle of repeat offenders freed by the courts. Most police are powerless to bring the vehicles to a stop, because very few officers have the training to perform techniques such as “pit manoeuvres”, where a police car rams an offender’s in order to bring a pursuit to an end. Quite often officers permitted to perform the risky manoeuvre can be in Darwin, many, many hours away from a remote community, and the police association is calling for officers outside Darwin to be trained in such tactical moves. Full story and full video: l.taus.au/gTP

Breaking overnight: Police have arrested a Darwin teenager who allegedly stabbed to death an elderly supermarket owner on Wednesday night after being caught stealing items from the family-run store. The 18-year-old was allegedly confronted by Canadian-born Linford Feich, 71, in the Friendly Grocer Nightcliff Supermarket asking him to return the items before he was killed. Officers launched a manhunt for the teenager after he fled the scene on a bicycle, before he was arrested on Wednesday night. Full story: l.taus.au/3F7

BREAKING: Northern Territory police top brass say they do not believe a potentially “armed, violent and mentally ill” offender who escaped from custody on Tuesday night “poses a risk to the general public” despite police on the ground searching for the individual - who has a lengthy violent criminal record - warned he may be armed, violent and mentally ill. NT Police Media on Wednesday morning said Kevin Gurruwiwi, who also goes by the name of Kevin Yunupingu, absconded through a window from the Forensic Disability Cottages at Darwin Correctional Centre on Tuesday evening before cutting off his ankle monitoring bracelet. After failing to locate the 21-year-old overnight, NT police called upon the public to help locate the 21-year-old in a carefully worded press release, but have failed to publish the litany of violent offending which has resulted in over 150 charges - and multiple convictions - before the youth courts. The Australian is restricted under law from detailing the nature of the serious offences Yunupingu has been convicted of because he was convicted as a youth. The CEO of the Darwin correctional centre, Matthew Varley - who could not be reached for comment on Wednesday - is permitted under NT legislation to make an exemption if it will assist in apprehending the detainee or protecting the community, however, that has not yet been done. FULL STORY: l.taus.au/IAl

Words cannot describe this absolutely incredible choreographed drone show on Sydney Harbour:

It’s $4 for four weeks, a bargain! Cancel whenever. Support journalism.