Australian footballer Hakeem al-Araibi will return to Australia within the next 24 hours, after an extradition case against him in Thailand was dropped. The director-general of international affairs for the Thai Government confirmed to the ABC that the Attorney-General requested the case for Mr al-Araibi’s extradition to Bahrain be dropped. About 9:00pm AEDT on Monday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed …

A Chinese billionaire who has been prevented from returning to Australia has asked political parties to return the millions of dollars in donations he’s made. Huang Xiangmo quickly rose to become a leading pro-China lobbyist, courting politicians and donating at least $2 million to Australian political parties directly and through his companies. But a decision from the Home Affairs Department to …

A crisis is unfolding in western Queensland where graziers are discovering the full scale of damage caused by floodwaters, with their losses expected to worsen. Floodwaters have killed up to 300,000 head of cattle in western Queensland, with losses so far put at a staggering $300 million. But the number is expected to rise as the floodwaters reach the big …

A New South Wales police officer and volunteer firefighter involved in a car crash in Sydney’s south last week has died in hospital. Timothy Proctor, 29, a probationary constable with the Liverpool Police Area Command, was driving on Heathcote Road at Lucas Heights, in Sydney’s south, about 2:00pm on Thursday when another car crossed to the wrong side of the …

A young couple who dubbed themselves an “Islamic Bonnie and Clyde” are eligible for parole after being sentenced in the NSW Supreme Court. In late 2015 and early 2016 Alo-Bridget Namoa and Sameh Bayda planned a street attack on non-Muslims. It was never carried out but in October last year the couple were found guilty of planning a terrorist act. …

The aged care worker who was secretly filmed abusing a grandfather on Sydney’s northern beaches has been sentenced to four months in jail. Prakash Paudyal, 35, pleaded guilty to assaulting David Nabulsi at a Bupa nursing home in Seaforth last year. Paudyal was caught on hidden camera repeatedly hitting the 82-year-old with a shoe. He was also observed pulling Mr …

More than a million cigarettes illegally imported into Australia under a layer of loose tea have been seized by border officials in Melbourne. Two men have been arrested after Australian Border Force officers stopped a rental truck in Tullamarine containing $10 million worth of illegal tobacco on Thursday. It’s alleged as well as the latest 1.1 million cigarette consignment the …

The NSW Government has ordered a “comprehensive investigation” into the structural integrity of Sydney’s Opal Tower after a severe crack in the 34-storey apartment building forced a mass evacuation on Christmas Eve. It comes as photos of the damage to the building have emerged, showing the destruction of the plaster inside and the cracking in walls that triggered the evacuation, …

There are no reports of survivors from a Lion Air passenger plane that has crashed into the ocean off Indonesia, carrying almost 200 people. Flight JT610 – which had 188 people on board – lost contact 13 minutes after take-off, and witnesses reported seeing it nosedive into the sea. Debris, including life jackets and body parts, has been found floating …

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has given a national apology to victims of child sexual abuse. Hundreds of people gathered in Canberra on Monday to hear Mr Morrison deliver the emotional address in parliament. It follows a five-year inquiry which found tens of thousands of children had suffered abuse in the nation’s institutions over decades. “Today, we finally acknowledge and …