Cyclone Alfred stalled off Australia’s east coast delaying landfall as officials shut airports, schools and public transport and residents stockpiled supplies and sandbagged homes against floodwaters expected when the category-two storm hits.

Two Australians are among 25 people arrested as part of a global operation targeting the alleged production and distribution of child abuse material generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

A tropical cyclone is bearing down on parts of the Australian coast last impacted by such a storm more than 50 years ago.

Hundreds of thousands of people are on high alert as tropical cyclone Alfred heads towards Australia, putting coastal communities in the firing line.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that his government would temporarily halt tax hikes on draught beer, amid sagging popularity for the governing Labor Party ahead of a general election due by May.

Thousands of households will endure a fourth night without power and communities are on the brink of isolation as a week of wild weather is declared a natural disaster.

Thousands are without power, communities are at the brink of isolation, and a tropical cyclone is looming as Australians battle a week of wild weather that has been declared a natural disaster.

Hospitals are planning to close several vital specialist mental health beds across a state as more than half of public psychiatrists prepare to resign.

A suspicious blaze has engulfed a Caulfield Racecourse grandstand, sparking a police investigation.

Australia’s southeast sweltered in a heat wave that raised the risk of bushfires and led authorities to issue fire bans for large parts of Victoria state.

Another year is ending and Australians are poised to ring in 2025 with typical style and fanfare.

Two men have been charged with drug trafficking at the first Victorian festival to trial pill testing, while one person has been treated for an overdose.