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Authorities are warning of high fire danger in Victoria (file photo of Ballarat fire in February). Photo: Supplied/ Ballarat Fire Brigade CFA A heatwave is expected to send temperatures soaring across the state today, as fire crews gear up for a challenging day of fire danger. Some parts of the state are set to record their hottest day in years and have been issued extreme fire danger warnings. Melbourne is forecast to hit a top of 41 degrees Celsius - the city's hottest day this year and the hottest December day since 2019. Mildura in the north-west is expected to reach 46 degC, while 45 degC is forecast for Shepparton and Swan Hill. On Sunday afternoon, state authorities including from the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and the Country Fire Authority (CFA) held a press conference, declar...

By Edward-Isaac Dovere, CNN Vice President Kamala Harris pauses while speaking on stage as she concedes the election, at Howard University on 6 November 2024, in Washington, DC. Photo: Getty Images / Andrew Harnik Top aides and people close to Kamala Harris have divided over whether she should head home to run for California governor in 2026 - and it all comes down to whether they believe she could win the Democratic nomination for president in an expected competitive primary in 2028. Some believe a repeat run, after quickly improving her reputation and raising more than $1 billion over her surprise 100-day race, should be hers for the taking. Others worry that in a longer campaign, against some of the other major Democratic contenders who already sat out 2024 in deference first to J...

By Amanda Musa, CNN Mangione arrives at his extradition hearing. Photo: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images via CNN Newsource Content warning: This story discusses mental health and suicide. A list of helplines is available at the bottom of this page. A family man from Wisconsin. A spirited artist from Hawaii. An Ivy League graduate from Maryland. At face value, Ryan Borgwardt, Hannah Kobayashi and Luigi Mangione lead distinct lives and come from disparate backgrounds. Yet, they all took unexpected paths, disappearing from their jobs, routines, friends and family. Hundreds of thousands of adults are reported missing each year in the United States, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Some run away intentionally, according to former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe. "As ...

A Russian oil tanker carrying thousands of tonnes of oil products split apart during a heavy storm, spilling oil into the Kerch Strait, while another tanker was also in distress after sustaining damage, Russian officials said. The vessels were in the Kerch Strait between mainland Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, when they issued distress signals. Russian investigators opened two criminal cases to look into possible safety violations after at least one person was killed when the 136-metre Volgoneft 212 tanker, with 15 people on board, split in half with its bow sinking. Footage on state media showed waves washing over its deck. The Russian-flagged vessel, built in 1969, was damaged and had run aground, officials said. Unverified video posted on Telegram showed s...

By Ethan Rix, ABC Australian police are investigating what they described as "offensive graffiti" that appeared on each side of a railway underpass on Hector Street, in the western Sydney suburb of Sefton. Photo: ABC News - Thorsten Joses The premier of New South Wales has condemned Islamophobic graffiti seen in western Sydney. Australian police are investigating what they have described as "offensive graffiti" - found under a bridge in the suburb of Sefton, after they received reports on Sunday morning. Images published by The Guardian show the words "F**K ISLAM", tagged on each side of a railway underpass on Hector Street. In another image, the words "CANCEL ISLAM" can be seen partially covered with white paint on an advertising sign. In a statement provided to the ABC, Premier Chr...

By Ben Leahy of Blair Campbell's wife Tina Liu Campbell said at the time of his death that he was "the best husband and daddy we could've ever asked for". Photo: Supplied / NZME Taranaki couple Debbie and Carlyle "Buzz" Campbell's phone rang in the middle of the night in October 2022. It was their son Blair's wife Tina calling from the UK - but she could barely talk because Blair had died. "It was unbelievable" to get the call all parents dread Buzz said. "It felt like your heart was being ripped out." His 35-year-old landscaper son had been electrocuted while pruning a garden hedge, just south of Manchester in the UK. He had sliced into a wire running from an electrical substation. Airlifted to hospital, he died shortly after, leaving behind a young daughter and so...