Sydney

She was left stranded in Abu Dhabi after the 23-year-old Airbus A340-300 had repeated wing flap problems.

"This is beyond annoying," the minister wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Germany may enjoy a reputation for efficiency, but its government planes are notoriously unreliable.

In 2018 the same Airbus plane had a technical fault which forced the then Chancellor Angela Merkel to miss the opening of a G20 summit in Argentina.

The woman, who has not been identified, arrived in Sydney from Los Angeles and did not have a permit for the firearm, the Australian Border Force (ABF) said.

She could face up to 10 years in jail.

Photos released by the ABF showed an airport scan of the woman's luggage, revealing the firearm inside her bag. A second photo showed the handgun after the bag was opened.

In a statement, an ABF official said that sophisticated detection technology had helped stop a dangerous weapon from entering the country.

Valeli Tonga, 20, aka ‘Leli SK’, was arrested on March 14 after Peter Vuong, 26, was  rescued by dozens of heavily-armed tactical police from a derelict property in Belmore, in Sydney‘s southwest.

Police will allege Vuong was kidnapped from his influencer girlfriend’s Smithfield home six days earlier, and allegedly bound and tortured as his accused captors tried to extort her wealthy crypto trader relative for his safe return.

Tonga reopened its borders to international arrivals on August 1 after being shut since March 2020.

Qantas has been operating government-supported services to the Pacific nation since December 2020, as part of Australia's Pacific Flights Program. The flights have maintained critical passenger and freight links during border closures, however Thursday marks the first time in two years Qantas customers will be able to book direct flights from Australia to Tonga.

Sisters Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, were found dead on 7 June in separate beds at home in the suburb of Canterbury.

Police, who were called to the property for a welfare check, said the women are believed to have died in early May.

But despite "extensive inquiries", they still do not know how or why.

The sisters moved to Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017 and may have sought asylum, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Police refused to confirm this, saying they do not comment on residential status.

People have been advised to avoid non-essential travel and many have been working from home.

Some schools have closed early, or chosen not to open at all, while the extreme heat is putting pressure on the health service.

But countries where temperatures are usually higher have adapted their infrastructure and lifestyle to cope with the heat.

There is no extreme temperature threshold that forces Australian schools to shut. For some students, this knowledge can really melt your icy pole [ice lolly].

The vessel got into trouble after it lost power and risked being swept ashore to the nearby cliffs of Sydney.

The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter was dispatched and attempted to hoist the cargo ship's crew to safety but they were unable to do so.

Two tug boats have been able to help and have steered the ship back out to sea, where the rescue effort continues.

Roads have been cut off, with 18 evacuation orders in western Sydney alone and warnings of more to come.

"This is a life-threatening emergency situation," Stephanie Cooke, emergency services minister for the state of New South Wales, said.

The area was hit by flash flooding in March, killing 20 people.

"We are now facing dangers on multiple fronts - flash flooding, riverine flooding and coastal erosion," Ms Cooke told a media briefing.

The weather station on Observatory Hill in the CBD has recorded 822mm of rain so far this year.

That's about 70 percent of the amount that would normally fall in a year, or what would have accumulated by August.

The wet start has broken the previous record of 783mm up to 8 March, which was set in 1956.

The third wettest start to the year was recorded in 1990, when 754mm of rain fell.

Reprieve from the weather is forecast for Thursday as the east coast low moves offshore.

The laboratory's medical director professor Anthony Dodds blamed the mistake on the "large volume of tests" they were processing.

Those affected were notified of their result, for swabs taken from December 22 and December 23, last night at 8pm.

Professor Dodds said they had become aware of the mistake this morning.

"These people had tested positive to Covid," he said.

"As soon we became aware of the issue this morning, SydPath immediately commenced a process to contact impacted people.

"We sincerely apologise to all those impacted."