Avalon Airshow crash: aerobatic pilot critically injured after plane plummets to ground in front of shocked crowd

Pilot lost control during an aerobatics display and crashed into tarmac at Avalon airport in Victoria

A pilot is in a critical condition after losing control of their plane during an aerobatics display at the Avalon Airshow and crashing into the tarmac.

Victoria police said the incident occurred on Friday at about 5.15pm on the first day of the airshow which is the largest in the southern hemisphere.

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Russia’s Putin says it would be a ‘profound mistake’ to dismiss Trump’s push for Greenland – CNBC

  1. Russia's Putin says it would be a 'profound mistake' to dismiss Trump's push for Greenland  CNBC
  2. Putin says Greenland 'nothing to do with Russia' in nod to US  BBC.com
  3. As Vance heads for Greenland, Trump's land-grab hopes get Putin thumbs-up  NBC News
  4. Putin Sends a Clear Warning as Trump Tries to Take Over Greenland  Yahoo
  5. Putin says US push for Greenland rooted in history, vows to uphold Russian interest in the Arctic  The Associated Press
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The weekend weather forecast is in – and it’s wet and wild for much of Australia, including Sydney and Brisbane

Heavy rainfall expected to stretch from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to the Victorian border, with the potential for isolated falls of up to 100mm

A wet and wild weekend is on the way for much of Australia, as heavy rain in Queensland moves east and a tropical low off the coast of Western Australia threatens to develop into a cyclone.

Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra can all expect a washout on Saturday, with heavy rainfall expected to stretch from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast down to the Victorian border, including the potential for isolated falls of up to 100mm.

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WH Smith name to disappear from high street in agreed £76m sale to Modella

Under terms of deal with Hobbycraft owner, 233-year-old brand will become TGJones

WH Smith is to sell its 480 retail stores to the Hobbycraft owner, Modella Capital, in a deal worth £76m, and has confirmed that the 233-year-old brand will disappear from the high street after a “short transitional period”.

Under the terms of the deal, the high street business, which employs 5,000 staff, will be rebranded as TGJones. WH Smith is retaining its brand for its travel shops.

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Weather tracker: Heavy rain alerts in Queensland as floods cut off towns

Wettest March day for 15 years in some parts of northern Australian state, while storms and hail hit Mediterranean

More heavy rain has hit Queensland, Australia, just weeks after the devastation of Cyclone Alfred. Much of north and central Queensland was put under severe weather alert for heavy rainfall earlier this week, as six-hourly rainfall totals of 30-60mm were anticipated, with the risk of seeing up to 120mm locally in this period.

In the north-west of the state, this rain caused the Haughton River to rise rapidly, with water levels reaching 2.68 metres on Wednesday night, exceeding the 2.5-metre major flood level.

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Strong 7.7-magnitude earthquake strikes Myanmar, with tremors felt in neighbouring Thailand

Witnesses in Bangkok more than 1,000km away said people ran out onto the streets in panic

An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 has struck Myanmar, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said, causing hundreds of people to pour out of swaying buildings in Bangkok, the capital of neighbouring Thailand 1,400km away.

USGS said the quake on Friday was shallow, at a depth of just 10km (six miles) with the epicentre near the central city of Mandalay, about 50km (30 miles) east of the city of Monywa.

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Friday briefing: How Gaza is becoming the deadliest conflict zone for journalists

In today’s newsletter: Media workers in Gaza and the West Bank have faced relentless danger, and attacks on press freedom on the rise across the world

Good morning.

More than 170 journalists have been killed in Gaza since 2023, with some estimates putting the toll as high as 206. It is the deadliest conflict for media workers in recent history. In a sobering report, Thaslima Begum gathered some of their stories. And attacks on journalists worldwide are on the rise, with deaths occurring everywhere from the Middle East to Europe.

UK economy | Lower-income households are on track to become £500 a year poorer by the end of the decade as a result of the UK chancellor’s spring statement, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation.

Monarchy | King Charles required hospital observation on Thursday after experiencing “temporary side-effects” as part of his medical treatment for cancer, Buckingham Palace said.

Canada | Mark Carney, the Canadian prime minister, has said the era of deep ties with the US “is over” as governments from Tokyo to Berlin and Paris sharply criticised Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on car imports, with some threatening retaliatory action.

Asia-Pacific | Japan has for the first time released plans to evacuate more than 100,000 civilians from some of its remote islands near Taiwan in the event of conflict amid escalating tensions between Beijing and Taipei.

Environment | Supporters of the climate group Just Stop Oil have announced that after three years of disruptive protests they are ending their campaign of civil resistance. Hannah Hunt, whose speech on Valentine’s Day 2022 marked the beginning of the campaign, made the announcement outside Downing Street in London on Thursday.

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Pete Hegseth, dogged by scandal at home, pledges US support for Manila against China

Defence secretary’s Philippines visit, aimed at bolstering ties in Asia-Pacific, comes amid rising tensions with Beijing and calls for his resignation

The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has met with the Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos, in Manila saying the two countries must stand “shoulder to shoulder” in the face of the threat represented by China.

Hegseth’s meeting at the presidential palace comes as he opens a tour of Pacific allies that risks being overshadowed by a mounting scandal over leaked plans for military strikes.

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Former Australian police officer avoids prison after killing 95-year-old woman with a stun gun – The Associated Press

  1. Former Australian police officer avoids prison after killing 95-year-old woman with a stun gun  The Associated Press
  2. Officer spared jail over fatal Tasering of 95-year-old  BBC.com
  3. Former police officer spared jail over death of 95-year-old Tasered in a nursing home  CNN
  4. Former Australian officer who killed 95-year-old woman with Taser avoids prison  CBS News
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Why the weasel testicles? Cambridge show explains medieval medicine

Exhibition aims to help visitors get inside the minds that thought mercury and roasted apples would cure lice

Medieval treatments might make you question the sanity of the doctors of the day, but a new exhibition is set to take visitors inside the minds of such medics and reveal the method behind what can seem like madness.

Curious Cures, opening on Saturday at Cambridge University Library, is the culmination of a project to digitise and catalogue more than 180 manuscripts, mostly dating from the 14th or 15th centuries, that contain recipes for medical treatments, from compendiums of cures to alchemical texts and guides to healthy living.

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Houthis Weakened but Not Broken by First Round of Trump Strikes – The Wall Street Journal

  1. Houthis Weakened but Not Broken by First Round of Trump Strikes  The Wall Street Journal
  2. New US strikes against Houthi rebels kill at least 1 in Yemen  The Associated Press
  3. U.S. strikes home in on Houthi drone experts in Yemen  Axios
  4. Signal Leak Bared U.S. Aims in Yemen. But Defeating Houthis Won’t Be Easy.  The New York Times
  5. What we know — and don’t know — about the U.S. strikes in Yemen  PBS NewsHour
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