The Editorial Team

Melissa Iaria worked in suburban and regional journalism before joining the Australian Associated Press for a 13-year career, serving as Melbourne chief of staff and reporting on courts, politics, entertainment and everything in between. She loves breaking news, quirky stories and travel. Contact: melissa.iaria1@news.com.au

@Mel_Iaria

Melissa Iaria

Latest

VIC Courts & Law

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos APRIL 16, 2021: The trial continues at County Court for former Victorian Nationals MP Tim McCurdy, who is accused of real estate fraud by wrongly collecting $269,000 in commissions when he sold two dairy farms in 2009. Picture: NCA NewsWire / No Byline

‘I’d been compromised’, MP trial hears

An MP had ‘no permission at all’ to use a real estate agent’s name to sell two dairy farms in Victoria, a jury has heard.

VIC Crime

Generic image of police tape outside a crime scene on William Street in the Melbourne CBD on Wednesday, February 5, 2020. (AAP Image/James Ross) NO ARCHIVING

Arrests after woman bitten at shops: cops

Three teenage girls allegedly tried to carjack a woman, biting her and threatening her with a screwdriver, at a shopping centre in Melbourne’s south east.

NSW & ACT Crime

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos JANUARY, 19, 2021: Police officers seen on Sydney's North Shore on duty, in Sydney, Australia. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Rideshare driver knocked out in fight

A wrench has been taken for forensic examination after a rideshare driver was allegedly knocked out by a passenger in Sydney overnight.

VIC Crime

Six teens arrested after pursuit

When police tried to chase an allegedly stolen Mercedes in Melbourne’s south east overnight, the teenage offenders ran from the car.

VIC

NSW camper Christopher Fowell has gone missing in Victoria's East Gippsland. Source: Victoria Police

Barefoot camper missing for five days

The search has intensified for a camper last seen barefoot and wearing shorts who has been missing in Victoria’s bush since Saturday.

Animals

Stardust Circus lion. Picture: Troy Snook

Reason circus retired lions and monkeys

The show won’t go on for lions and monkeys performing as part of Australia’s last circus with exotic animals. This is why.

Kids

Chabad Glen Eira: The Melbourne childcare centre where multiple children had a reaction after they were believed to have accidentally drank cleaning fluid, says they are yet to discover the source.

Childcare ‘doesn’t know’ how kids poisoned

A childcare centre in Melbourne’s south east where a dozen children were involved in a poison scare says it doesn’t know what the kids ingested.

UpdatedMilitary

Australian Army soldier Corporal Benjamin Roberts-Smith, VC, MG, with the Special Operations Task Group, moves away from a United States UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during preparations for the Shah Wali Kot Offensive in southern Afghanistan. *** Local Caption *** In June 2010, Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) partnered with Australian special forces from the Special Operations Task Group to conduct a deliberate operation to clear a Taliban insurgent stronghold in the Shah Wali Kot region of northern Kandahar province. The Shah Wali Kot Offensive comprised synchronised and deliberate clearance operations involving Australian commandos combined with a number of surgical helicopter-born assaults from Special Air Service (SAS) troops on key targets. Removing Taliban insurgents from Afghan communities allows the Government of Afghanistan to establish a presence and gain the trust of the community to provide them with necessary infrastructure and security that was not provided by the insurgents. The Shah Wali Kot Offensive was part of Australiaâs contribution to Operation Hamkari, an ISAF operation to extend the Government of Afghanistanâs influence into Kandahar City in southern Afghanistan. Picture: Department of Defence

Roberts-Smith USB claims ‘did not happen’

Ben Roberts-Smith has denied all disturbing allegations made about him as the AFP launched a fresh investigation as a matter of ‘priority’.

UpdatedEnvironment

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos April 13, 2021: A general view of the city as a dust storm hits Adelaide. NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Warning as Aussie city turns orange

A warning has been issued for strong winds in South Australia after gusts stirred up dust and left many areas in an orange haze.

On the Road

A truck has veered of the M1 and erupted in flames north of Sydney. Pic: Nine News

Truck erupts in flames near busy motorway

A truck has veered off a motorway north of Sydney and erupted in flames early on Wednesday morning.

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