Victorian toddler’s drowning death in backyard pond prompts call for fencing law reform

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Ornamental ponds and water features are ‘undoubtedly attractive to a young child’ and therefore potentially dangerous, deputy state coroner says

A toddler’s drowning in a backyard fish pond has promoted calls from a coroner for Victorian building authorities to regulate fencing for residential ponds.

The 23-month-old boy drowned in a fish pond in his grandmother’s backyard in Victoria, in November 2022.

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Chalmers admits he sought advice about changing negative gearing but says it is not on Labor’s agenda

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Treasurer says it’s ‘not unusual’ for governments to get advice on ‘contentious issues’ but stresses changes to housing tax breaks are not in the works

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has conceded he did ask his department for information about possible changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions, but the government insists any reform to the controversial tax breaks are not yet on the agenda.

The Independent senator David Pocock said the government had multiple options to make the system more equitable through moderate changes while still protecting investments made by ordinary families.

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Labour urged to scrap UK road schemes such as £9bn Lower Thames Crossing

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Suggestion would allow government to divert money earmarked for new roads to rail and other public transport

Campaign groups have urged the government to cancel major road building schemes including the Lower Thames Crossing, amid growing speculation that ministers could divert money earmarked for new roads into rail and other public transport.

The transport secretary, Louise Haigh, is due to decide in a week whether to sign off a development consent order [DCO] for the £9bn road crossing linking Essex and Kent.

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Weather tracker: Flooding in Mexico and India as Europe prepares for cold spell

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Hurricane John is moving along Mexico’s north-east coast, while India experiences monsoon levels of rainfall

On Monday, Hurricane John hit the southern Pacific coast of Mexico, having intensified from a tropical storm to a category 3 hurricane in less than 24 hours.

John made landfall with sustained winds of 120mph, causing destructive storm surges. However, it quickly weakened back to a tropical storm, with sustained winds falling to 50mph by Tuesday morning. John moved relatively slowly, leading to more than 400mm of rainfall in a few days. This rain brought widespread flooding, leading to mudslides in which two people are reported to have died.

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Calls for regulation of gambling ads in football as number of promotions soars

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Premier League fans exposed to almost 30,000 messages in one weekend despite restrictions, research finds

Ministers have been urged to intervene to stop football clubs from setting their own rules on curbing gambling advertising, after research showed Premier League fans were bombarded with nearly 30,000 gambling messages on a single weekend.

Clubs in the top flight have so far avoided compulsory restrictions on gambling sponsorship, instead addressing public concern through voluntary measures such as a ban on front-of-shirt logos, starting in 2026.

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Mona’s Ladies Lounge wins appeal in bid to continue barring men from entry

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Tasmania’s supreme court handed down its decision in the discrimination case on Friday, sending it back to a tribunal

Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) has won an appeal in the state’s supreme court in a bid to continue barring men from entering an installation known as the Ladies Lounge.

The exhibit was closed in April after Tasmania’s civil and administrative tribunal ordered the museum to admit men to the female-only space, upholding a Sydney man’s complaint that the museum had discriminated against him on the basis of gender.

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‘Head of deckchairs on the Titanic’: Tory leadership hopefuls head to low-key conference

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Demoralised and in opposition, party delegates are showing little enthusiasm for the candidates – or the event itself

On Tuesday, from a conference stage in Birmingham, four candidates will make their pitches to lead the Conservative party. Their immediate challenge after the Tory rout this summer will be to reinvigorate a hugely demoralised set of MPs and members.

Starting on Sunday, the annual gathering of the Tory faithful – the first in 14 years to be held from opposition – is expected to be a low-key affair. The evening schedule, ordinarily packed with corporate receptions, is sparse.

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‘Trees of hope’: Sycamore Gap tree saplings to be planted around UK

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Project asks people to make ‘promises to nature’ after ‘rollercoaster’ year for the Northumberland landmark

Its illegal felling brought feelings of grief, distress and anger but after a “rollercoaster” 12 months custodians of the Sycamore Gap tree say they want its legacy to become one of hope.

The National Trust and Northumberland national park have announced an initiative inviting the public to request one of 49 saplings from the tree.

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South Korea to criminalize watching or possessing sexually explicit deepfakes – CNN

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  1. South Korea to criminalize watching or possessing sexually explicit deepfakes  CNN
  2. South Korea set to criminalize possessing or watching sexually explicit deepfake videos  CBS News
  3. 387 apprehended for deepfake sex crimes this year, 80% teenagers  koreatimes
  4. Minors go from exploited to exploiters as tech, misogyny power rise in digital sex crimes  The Korea JoongAng Daily
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Hurricane Helene makes landfall in Florida as powerful category 4 storm

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Surge could rise to as much as 20ft in some spots after huge storm strengthened as it careened across Gulf of Mexico

Hurricane Helene made landfall along the Florida coast on Thursday night as a powerful and potentially disastrous category 4 storm, bringing chaos to a wide swathe of the Gulf coast and threatening high winds, storm surges and drenching rainfall.

Helene was located about 70km east-southeast of Tallahassee, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 225 kph, the Miami-based UA National Hurricane Center said late on Thursday.

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IDF says it shot down missile from Yemen, after sirens sound across central Israel – The Times of Israel

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  1. IDF says it shot down missile from Yemen, after sirens sound across central Israel  The Times of Israel
  2. Yemen’s Houthis claim to have targeted Israel’s Tel Aviv and Ashkelon  Al Jazeera English
  3. Israel Shoots Down Missile Fired by Yemen’s Houthi Rebels  The Wall Street Journal
  4. IDF intercepts Houthi missile, Air Force ready for Lebanon operation  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Yemen's Houthis say they attacked Israel, US destroyers  Reuters
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Israel ‘needs to listen’ to international community, Albanese says as Wong calls for Lebanon and Gaza ceasefires

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‘War has rules – even when confronting terrorists,’ Australia’s foreign affairs minister tells UN security council

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged his Israeli counterpart to “listen to the international community” amid fears of an escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, also declared that the world “cannot allow any party to obstruct” peace in the Middle East as she pressed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

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Dozens of children drown in India during Hindu festival

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At least 46 people, most of them children, drowned in the eastern state of Bihar while bathing in rivers swollen by recent floods in observance of Jivitputrika Vrat.

At least 46 people have drowned, most of them children, while bathing in rivers and ponds swollen by recent floods, during the observance of a Hindu religious festival celebrated by millions in India.

The dead include 37 children and seven women who drowned in the eastern state of Bihar in scattered incidents across 15 districts, authorities said on Thursday.

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Hurricane Helene intensifies to category 4 storm as it approaches Florida

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Forecasters warn that storm, one of the most powerful to hit the US this year, could create a ‘nightmare’

Hurricane Helene strengthened to a catastrophic category 4 storm as it barreled toward Florida’s Gulf coast, making it one of the most powerful storms to hit the US this year.

The storm is expected to make landfall on Thursday night. Forecasters warn the enormous storm could create a “nightmare” scenario, with a potentially life-threatening storm surge that could reach 15-20ft (4.6-6.1 meters) in the Big Bend area of Florida’s Panhandle region.

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How CBS News tracked down Ghanaian romance scammers duping Americans into parting with huge sums of money – CBS News

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  1. How CBS News tracked down Ghanaian romance scammers duping Americans into parting with huge sums of money  CBS News
  2. Australian woman a person of interest in Ghanaian romance scam investigation  Cyber Daily
  3. Scammers hire models to fool Americans  cbs.com
  4. Inside an overseas romance scam targeting American men online (Video)  Social News XYZ
  5. Inside an overseas romance scam targeting American men online  CBS News
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US Catholic diocese agrees to pay $323m to child sexual abuse survivors

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Rockville Centre diocese in New York settles with more than 530 victims after proposed deal comes close to failure

A Roman Catholic diocese in Long Island, New York, announced a new bankruptcy settlement on Thursday that would pay more than $323m to about 530 sex abuse survivors who alleged they were abused by priests when they were children.

The diocese of Rockville Centre, which serves about 1.2 million Catholics in Nassau and Suffolk counties, said earlier this year that it did not think a bankruptcy settlement would be possible after abuse survivors rejected the diocese’s previous $200m settlement offer.

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