37+ min ago (208+ words) International travellers experienced widespread delays across the country on Sunday after a nationwide passport system outage forced the Australian Border Force to manually process passengers " but the issue has now been resolved. A Melbourne Airport spokesperson told the ABC earlier that the ABF was grappling with a system-wide failure affecting all inbound and outbound travellers, prompting officers to switch to manual checks and prioritise flights to manage surging queues. "(The) ABF is processing passengers manually," the spokesperson said at the time. "We are currently prioritising flights to manage passenger flows. "We appreciate passengers" patience as ABF works to resolve this issue." Long lines formed at terminals across multiple airports as staff worked through passengers one by one, with travellers warned to expect significant delays. In an updated statement, the Australian Border Force confirmed it had been "working to restore a…...

49+ min ago (152+ words) A pilot has died after a light plane crashed in Sydney's southwest on Sunday following a mid-air collision. Emergency services were called about 12.15pm after reports of two light aircraft having collided in the vicinity of Napperfield Airfield in Wedderburn, near Appin. Police were told the planes had touched mid-air before one crashed into nearby bushland. Responding crews located the body of the pilot, who is believed to have been the sole occupant of the aircraft. The second plane was able to land safely at the airfield and its pilot was uninjured. Officers from Campbelltown City Police Area Command have established two crime scenes and remain at the location as inquiries continue. Members of the public have been urged to avoid the area. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the cause of the crash. Break point: Albanese leaves Parliament on…...

5+ hour, 39+ min ago (314+ words) A woman who vanished into a remote cave system in WA's Goldfields has been rescued after spending the night trapped underground, sparking a major multi-agency operation in one of the State's most isolated regions. The 60-year-old had been hiking with her partner near Lake Wells, roughly 1200km northeast of Perth, when she plunged about eight metres into a cavern on Friday afternoon. With no phone reception and nightfall closing in, her partner scrambled to alert authorities around 5pm. What followed was an all-night effort as emergency crews raced specialised vertical-rescue equipment to the remote site. After more than 12 hours underground, the woman was finally lifted to the surface just after 5.30am on Saturday. She was transported to Laverton Hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Laverton Police Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Brendan Grogan said the woman's partner played a crucial role…...

1+ day, 5+ hour ago (459+ words) Airbus has issued an urgent global warning that could leave thousands of passenger jets temporarily grounded, with the aircraft manufacturer advising operators to take immediate action following a serious mid-air incident last month. The company said around 6,000 A320-family aircraft currently in service will require software upgrades, a move it warned will cause widespread travel disruption as airlines race to comply. In Australia, Jetstar has already confirmed its operations will be hit. "Due to an issue affecting Airbus A320 operators globally, some of Jetstar's Airbus-operated flights are unable to depart at this stage," a Jetstar spokesperson said. In a fuller statement provided to The Nightly, Jetstar confirmed it has begun cancelling flights as a direct result of Airbus's precautionary directive: "Jetstar is impacted by an Airbus fleet software issue that's affecting all A320 family operators globally. "Safety is our number one priority. To…...

2+ day, 7+ min ago (471+ words) The mother of a teenage boy who died on a camping trip on the NSW Central Coast has revealed a new theory behind his sudden death. Jeremy Webb was 16 when he collapsed after eating beef sausages during a trip with friends at MacMasters Beach in June 2022. The group had cooked the sausages over a campfire, but by 11pm Jeremy began struggling to breathe and collapsed while trying to reach an adult in a nearby caravan. His friends performed CPR, but the teenager was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later at Gosford Hospital. His death was initially attributed to asthma, but a coronial inquest is now examining whether the sausages played a role after he was posthumously diagnosed with mammalian meat allergy, a potentially life-threatening reaction triggered by tick bites. The condition, also known as alpha-gal syndrome, causes allergic reactions to meats such…...

2+ day, 7+ min ago (471+ words) The mother of a teenage boy who died on a camping trip on the NSW Central Coast has revealed a new theory behind his sudden death. Jeremy Webb was 16 when he collapsed after eating beef sausages during a trip with friends at MacMasters Beach in June 2022. The group had cooked the sausages over a campfire, but by 11pm Jeremy began struggling to breathe and collapsed while trying to reach an adult in a nearby caravan. His friends performed CPR, but the teenager was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later at Gosford Hospital. His death was initially attributed to asthma, but a coronial inquest is now examining whether the sausages played a role after he was posthumously diagnosed with mammalian meat allergy, a potentially life-threatening reaction triggered by tick bites. The condition, also known as alpha-gal syndrome, causes allergic reactions to meats such…...

2+ day, 2+ hour ago (477+ words) Pat Cummins will miss the second Ashes Test at the Gabba after selectors opted to take a cautious approach with Australia's captain. Selectors on Friday named an unchanged squad for the day-night Test against England, with Usman Khawaja holding his spot in the 14-man group. A call on the final XI won't be made until closer to Thursday, when the series resumes in Brisbane, with questions around Khawaja's form and fitness likely to linger over the coming days. But any hope Cummins had of playing in the second Test is now over, despite Australia's best bowler showing promising signs with his back. Cummins spent a little over an hour bowling with a pink ball to Steve Smith in the SCG nets on Friday morning, boosting hopes of a return. He will travel to Brisbane with squad, but now won't play…...

2+ day, 3+ hour ago (460+ words) One of the two US National Guard members shot in an "ambush-style" attack streets away from the White House has died, US President Donald Trump has confirmed. "Sarah Beckstrom of West Virginia, one of the guardsmen that we're talking about, highly respected, young, magnificent person, started service in June of 2023 outstanding in every way. She's just passed away," Mr Trump said during a Thanksgiving address. "She's no longer with us. She's looking down at us right now," he added. "This just happened. She was savagely attacked, she's dead now." Ms Beckstrom had been listed in critical condition after being shot in the head and the chest. The other victim of Wednesday's shooting, Andrew Wolfe, is still fighting for his life. "As you know, the other young man is fighting for his life. He's in very bad shape. He's fighting for…...

2+ day, 4+ hour ago (893+ words) Australia and New Zealand are poised to tip around $65 million into a special NATO program that buys American-made weapons for Ukraine. Sources in Brussels, Canberra and Wellington confirmed to The Nightly that the two countries would become the first non-NATO nations to contribute to the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) scheme. While Australia is not a member of NATO, the trans-Atlantic defence alliance, it is part of a grouping called the Indo-Pacific 4 (IP4) whose leaders are regularly invited to attend annual leaders" meetings. Both countries are also non-NATO participants of the Coalition of the Willing, the peacekeeping force led by France and the UK, that could be deployed to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire. Sources said Australia is expected to contribute around $50 million, and New Zealand is likely to add a further $15 million. The funds could be pooled with…...

2+ day, 21+ hour ago (750+ words) First, a word on opinion polls at this point of the electoral cycle. That word is "rubbish. Two and a half years from the next Federal election, they are about as useful as a screen door on a nuclear-powered submarine. Second, an observation. There seem to be many people in politics and the media " as in life generally " who have the memory of a goldfish. The published polls leading up to the 2016 US presidential election told us emphatically that Hilary Clinton was going to romp it in. She didn't. Donald Trump did. And here just late last year the polls told us that Peter Dutton was going to win easily in the Federal election. He didn't. In fact, he suffered an historic defeat. He became the first leader since John Howard in 2007 to lose an election and his own seat. Pollsters…...