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A man attacked by a shark off Western Australia’s coast yesterday died of his ​injuries, police said, in ‌what is the second ‌fatal shark ‌attack in Australia ‌so far this year. The 38-year-old victim, yet to be identified, was bitten on Saturday morning at Horseshoe Reef near Rottnest Island, about 31 km (19.2 miles) west of state capital Perth, ​police said in a statement. The man was taken to shore but could ‌not be revived, police said, adding ​that a report would ​be prepared for the coroner. State authorities advised people to take extra caution in the water at Rottnest Island, a popular tourist destination. Aerial footage from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation showed a police boat, ‌police officers, and ‌a rescue helicopter with a stretcher at the scene. Most shark attacks occur along the east and southeast seaboard of Australia. 

Six passengers who sailed on a hantavirus-affected cruise will fly to Australia from the Netherlands Thursday while dressed in full protective gear, the Australian government said.The six — four Australians, a Briton who lives in Australia, and a New Zealander — were in "good health", showed no symptoms, and recently tested negative for the virus, Health Minister Mark Butler told a news conference in Canberra.The Australian government has secured a plane and crew, due to leave the Netherlands at 0730 GMT Thursday, with all aboard required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE).The plane is expected to arrive today at an air force base in the Western Australian capital, Perth, located next to a 500-bed quarantine facility where the six will be required to stay for at least three weeks, Butler said."This is one of the strongest quarantine arrangements in response to this hantavirus outbreak you will find anywhere in the world," Butler said."They will be subject to testing when they arrive in Australia, and they will be in full PPE during the duration of the flight, so there is no risk of transmission."He did not provide further details about the passengers or say where the plane would refuel — a question that had reportedly complicated flight arrangements.The government has yet to determine how to handle the passengers' isolation after the initial three-week quarantine, given the virus' potential incubation period of 42 days, the minister said. 

There was “no meaningful shift” away from big tech platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the immediate wake of Australia’s world-leading teen social media ban, government documents obtained by AFP show.Australia in December banned under 16s from a raft of popular social media platforms, launching a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and “predatory algorithms”. There is strong global interest in whether Australia’s laws could provide a blueprint for how to rein-in increasingly powerful tech giants.Government documents obtained by AFP using freedom of information laws give an early glimpse into how the restrictions are working. They showed that platforms such as Instagram and TikTok were still “dominating app store rankings and downloads” one month on from the ban.Data compiled throughout January showed “no meaningful shift away” from these platforms, noted an internal briefing from Australia’s eSafety Commission. Users dabbled with other apps not covered by the ban but “largely returned to major, established platforms”, officials wrote in the briefing dated February 2. A separate document cautioned it was hard to draw firm conclusions from app download data so soon after the ban.“Limitations of this data are that it does not reflect usage of an app or the age of the user, however it gives early indicators if an app is rising in popularity.” One of the chief concerns driving Australia’s social media ban was the desire to stamp out cyberbullying.Complaints of cyberbullying on banned social media platforms increased 26 % when comparing January 2026 with January 2025, the documents said. Complaints had largely stemmed from TikTok. A spokeswoman for the eSafety Commission — Australia’s online watchdog — said the documents only covered a short period of time as the laws were bedding down.“Continued analysis as more data becomes available will support more robust, evidence-based conclusions regarding longer-term trends, reporting behaviours and impacts of (a minimum age for social media),” the commission told AFP in a statement. TikTok was approached for comment.A raft of nations are now reportedly mulling a similar social media crackdown. The documents showed that Israel, the United Kingdom, Norway and New Zealand met with Australian officials after expressing an “interest” in the ban. “eSafety has experienced significant global interest in the world’s first social media minimum age legislation, including implementation and compliance,” the commission said.“The internet doesn’t stop at the border and nor should our efforts to minimise harm, especially to children.” Australia in March accused big tech companies of “failing to obey” their obligations under the new laws.The eSafety Commission found a “substantial proportion of Australian children” were still scrolling banned platforms. “Australia’s world-leading social media laws are not failing. But big tech is failing to obey the laws,” Communications Minister Anika Wells told reporters at the time.“Australia will not let the social media giants take us for mugs.”Tech companies face fines of up to $33.9mn (Aus$49.5mn) under the laws.More than 5mn accounts belonging to underage Australian users have been removed since the laws came into effect, according to government figures. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney landed Tuesday in Australia, kicking off a trip aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a fellow "middle power" partner.Carney landed around midday (0100 GMT) in Sydney, where he will address today a meeting of the Lowy Institute think-tank.He is then expected to meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and address the nation's parliament in the capital of Canberra.The trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the US — a hedge against what Carney has described as a fading US-led global order.His arrival in Australia comes just days after a US-Israeli strike on Iran killed the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and plunged the Middle East into war.Both Canada and Australia have backed those strikes.Albanese's office has framed Carney as a like-minded leader and said his trip will focus on economic security and critical minerals — of which Australia has vast reserves — as well as defence."As our countries face new challenges and opportunities, we must deepen our cooperation with partners to promote our national interests," the Australian prime minister said last week. 

Sri Lanka's Pathum Nissanka scored the first century of the 2026 T20 World Cup Monday to put his side into the Super Eights and leave Australia on the brink of elimination.Nissanka scored 100 not out off 52 balls with five sixes and 10 fours as Sri Lanka, chasing Australia's 181, reached 184-2 with two overs to spare in Kandy to win by eight wickets. A victory by Zimbabwe over Ireland in Group B on Tuesday, or against Sri Lanka on Thursday, will eliminate the 2021 champions.If Zimbabwe lose both, Australia will need to beat Oman in their final match on Friday by a big margin to get through on net run rate. "We're in the lap of the Gods now I think," said Australia captain Mitchell Marsh. "Lot of emotions in the room right now. Haven't been at our best. Disappointed bunch at the moment. We shouldn't have lost to Zimbabwe with all due respect to them and then we were under pressure. We will be watching the Ireland-Zimbabwe game. However, things are out of our control at the moment."Nissanka was involved in a 97-run stand off 66 balls with Kusal Mendis for the second wicket with the wicketkeeper-batsman posting his third fifty in the competition. Nissanka became the first Sri Lankan to score two hundreds in T20 internationals.After Mendis's dismissal, Nissanka and Pavan Rathnayake put on 76 off 34 balls to see Sri Lanka to victory. Nissanka played some glorious cover drives off the spinners and played some elegant flicks against the quicks."Very happy to score a hundred in a World Cup. It had been one of my dreams to be honest," Nissanka told reporters. "Our fielding was outstanding today. We spoke about how being sharp on the field is important on a flat wicket like this. We knew they were 20 runs short. Here the par score is 200. The instruction was for me bat long even though the run rate kept climbing. We knew bad balls would come and it was important to cash in when they came along."Sri Lanka came into the World Cup after a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of England, but have gained momentum and have won all three games so far. "Happy to go through to the Super Eights,"said Nissanka. "We had put in a lot of hard work but we didn't have much momentum leading up to the World Cup. Glad things are falling in line. Still, it's a long tournament and we need to keep fighting."Australia's campaign has been plagued by injuries, with pace spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood out with injury. Their captain Marsh, who missed the first two games, returned and gave them a rollicking start by scoring 54.Marsh and Travis Head (56) scored 104 runs off 51 balls for the first wicket. With Australia eyeing a total in excess of 200, Sri Lanka's slow bowlers kept them to 181 with leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha picking up 3-37. But in going for quick runs Australia collapsed, losing their last six wickets for 21 in 24 balls. Brief ScoresAustralia 181 all out in 20 overs (Travis Head 56, Mitchell Marsh 54, Dushan Hemantha 3-37, Dushmantha Chameera 2-36) lost to Sri Lanka 184/2 in 18 overs (Pathum Nissanka 100*, Kusal Mendis 51, Marcus Stoinis 2-46) by 8 wickets 

Saim Ayub and Babar Azam hit half-centuries and Mohammad Nawaz took five wickets as Pakistan thrashed Australia by 111 runs to sweep the T20 series 3-0 Sunday.Ayub hit 56 off 37 balls at the top of the order and Azam added an unbeaten 50 as Pakistan posted 207-6 before spinner Nawaz’s career-best 5-18 helped skittle Australia for 96 in Lahore. The series gives Pakistan another T20 whitewash of Australia, following a 2-0 victory in 2010 and a 3-0 sweep in 2018, providing a timely boost ahead of next week’s T20 World Cup. The tournament, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, begins on February 7. Australia, who lost the first match by 22 runs and the second by 90, were jolted early when skipper Mitchell Marsh was bowled by Shaheen Shah Afridi for one. Nawaz removed the other opener Matthew Short cheaply and also accounted for Cameron Green (22) and Marcus Stoinis (23). Shaheen, who took 2-16, bowled Matt Renshaw as Australia slumped to 63-5. Nawaz then dismissed Josh Philippe for 14 and Cooper Connolly without scoring to improve on his previous best T20I figures of 5-19 against Afghanistan in Sharjah last year.Skipper Salman Agha praised his team’s performance in the series. “We have been excellent in all departments; I can’t find any mistakes,” said Agha. “We dominated them. I am in a great frame of mind right now. “I know how to handle the captaincy when I go out to bat and I really want to do that in the World Cup as well.” Marsh admitted his team had not been good enough. “Pakistan certainly outplayed us throughout the whole series. “As I said yesterday, there are learnings for us in this series,” said Marsh. Pakistan, who won the toss and batted for the third time in a row, were led by Ayub and Azam. Once opener Fakhar Zaman went for 10 and Agha for five, Ayub and Azam steadied the innings during their third-wicket stand of 69 off 45 balls. Ayub smashed two sixes and six fours in his sixth T20I fifty while Azam’s knock included a six and three fours. Shadab Khan ignited the innings with a blistering 46 off just 19 balls, hammering five sixes and two fours as he added 57 from 28 deliveries with Azam. Pakistan piled on 70 runs in the final five overs to surge to a commanding total. BRIEF SCORESPakistan 207 for 6 (Ayub 56, Babar 50*, Shadab 46, Dwarshuis 2-39) beat Australia 96 (Stoinis 23, Green 22, Nawaz 5-18, Shaheen 2-16) by 111 runs 

LuLu Group, Qatar’s leading retail destination, has launched “Explore Australia”, a special in-store campaign inviting shoppers to discover the diversity, quality, and freshness of Australian products across its hypermarkets at attractive promotional prices.The campaign was officially inaugurated at LuLu Hypermarket, Giardino – The Pearl-Qatar, by Shane Flanagan, the ambassador of Australia to Qatar and his wife, in the presence of Australian football legend Tim Cahill, representatives from the Australia–Qatar Business Forum, global director of LuLu Group Dr Mohamed Althaf, and senior LuLu management.**media[408745]**The promotion will run until January 28 across all LuLu Hypermarket outlets in the region.Speaking at the launch, Flanagan highlighted Australia’s long-standing role in supporting Qatar’s food security and praised LuLu’s growing partnership with Australian producers.“It is a thrill to see so many Australian producers who have travelled to join us today,” the envoy said. “This initiative allows us to reconnect and continue the discussions we’ve had through previous engagements, including trade events and LuLu’s visits to Australia over the years.”**media[408746]**He noted the strong reputation of Australian food products for quality and safety, particularly organic offerings.“We take great pride in the exceptional standards of Australian food, from lamb and beef to fruits, vegetables, and a wide range of everyday essentials,” Flanagan said. “Shoppers will be surprised to discover how many products on LuLu shelves originate from Australia.”The ambassador added that the timing of the campaign aligns well with Australia Day on January 26, making the celebration even more meaningful in Qatar.“This ‘Explore Australia’ event comes at a perfect time, and we are grateful to LuLu for its continued commitment,” he said. “Each year, the selection grows stronger, supported by LuLu’s purchasing and distribution centre in Melbourne, which continues to gain momentum.”The “Explore Australia” campaign features a comprehensive range of products directly imported from Australia, including fresh meat, organic foods, muesli bars, plant-based milk, sauces, cake mixes, honey, grocery items, and fresh fruits and vegetables.**media[408747]**Recent industry reports point to a steady increase in Australia’s exports of livestock, fresh produce, and processed food products to Qatar.LuLu Group’s sourcing office in Australia plays a key role in ensuring a consistent supply of premium Australian products, enabling the retailer to offer high-quality imports at competitive and affordable prices across its stores.The launch event was enhanced by a live musical performance by children from King’s College, adding colour and vibrancy to the occasion.Shoppers can also enjoy chef-led live cooking demonstrations, tasting sessions, and interactive sampling counters throughout the campaign, creating an engaging and immersive retail experience. 

Oscar Piastri looked forward to watching Australia beat England at cricket and enjoying some home summer sun after a Formula One season of highs and lows ended in disappointment on Sunday.The Australian’s bid to become his country’s first Formula One champion in 45 years fizzled out with third place overall as teammate Lando Norris took the crown in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.“I’m going back to Australia for a little bit, see my family and friends, give my annual hellos and goodbyes,” he told reporters.“I’m looking forward to some time away from racing, to be honest.“It’s been a long, demanding season. As enjoyable as driving the fastest cars in the world is, a break now and again is always a nice thing. So, I’m just looking forward to not thinking about race cars and spending time with people around me.”Like most of his compatriots, he has been following Australia’s Ashes hammering of England - they lead the series 2-0 - and hoped to catch some of the action at the fourth test in his home town Melbourne after Christmas.“There’s part of me that kind of wants the series to still be alive by that point, and part of me that really doesn’t,” said Piastri.“So I’ll take whatever we can get,” he said.“It’s been enjoyable to watch for the last couple of weeks.”Piastri won seven races this season, the same number as Norris and one fewer than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen - whose four-year reign as champion ended. Next year sees the start of a new engine era and a major change in the rules, which could rearrange the paddock pecking order and has also brought forward pre-season testing and launches to January.The season starts in Australia on March 8.McLaren will begin as double champions, having clinched a second successive constructors’ title back in October, and Piastri will have his sights on his teammate’s crown.“Obviously, the new season is not far away so it’s going to be important to enjoy that time off and then come back refreshed with the new challenges for next year,” he said.“He (Norris) has obviously had a great season this year and is a deserving champion, but he’s still Lando Norris. It’s not like he’s become Superman.“So, I don’t think things will change with that. I’m expecting full fairness from the team and equality going forward. I don’t have any concerns that that will change at all.”Piastri said he also felt he had become a better driver thanks to the competition within the team, each driver pushing the other to the limit.“Sometimes that’s been uncomfortable for everyone, but ultimately, yeah, it’s been a good thing,” he said.“We’ve had a lot of discussions through the year and I’m sure we’ll have discussions in the off-season about anything we want to do slightly differently for next year.“But I think at the end of the day, they gave us both as good a chance as the team could have to fairly fight for a world championship, and that’s all you can ask for.” 

Australia’s Ashes match-winner Travis Head said he was wary of inciting England’s fast bowlers as he slogged his way to a stunning century in the first test in Perth. Head’s brilliant 83-ball 123 as a makeshift opener in the second innings helped Australia seal an eight-wicket win in two days and give the hosts a 1-0 lead. He told Australian radio station Triple M Thursday that he feared he might make the English bowlers angry with him too early in the five-Test series. “I’m also very realistic as well that they had two blokes bowling 150 clicks,” Head said. “I accidentally hit Jofra (Archer) back over his head for six at one point and calmly walked back and marked centre and was like, ‘Oh my god, why did I just do that?’” Head said he had to calm batting partner Marnus Labuschagne who got too excited with his shot-making. “Marnus came down and (he) was like, ‘I know you’re trying to act cool, but that’s unbelievable’. And he’s yelling and screaming, and he’s hoo-hah-ing. “And I’m like, ‘Mate, get back to the other end, at any moment they can put a hole through me, they bowl 150 clicks’.” Head said he was touched to get a congratulatory text message from former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist who scored the fastest Ashes century with a 57-ball century at the WACA in 2006.Head reached his hundred in 69 balls, the second fastest. “He messaged me and said, ‘Well done.’ He was very proud,” said Head. “I messaged him back and said, ‘How the hell did you do it quicker? In 50-odd balls?’. “He said he got a very tight attack on a very hot day in Perth.” England’s light preparations for the series have drawn criticism, as has their decision to not send any of their Perth 11 for practice in a two-day pink ball match against the Prime Minister’s XI side in Canberra. The second Test at the Gabba, which starts December 4, will be a day-night Test with the pink ball. Head said he could see why England had chosen not to bother with the Canberra match. “You can either ... change the script and say, ‘We’re going to train’, or you can double down and go, ‘Nup, we’ve had this planned out, we know exactly how we want to go for five tests’,” he said. “You’ve got to respect the fact they’ve been a bloody good team, and I reckon they’ve got their plans ... and they’re doubling down. “Credit to them, they’re going to live by the sword or die by the sword, and we’ll see where we’re at in Brisbane.” 

Rohit Sharma hit a century and Virat Kohli a bright 74 to drive India to a nine-wicket win in the third one day international Saturday, sending fans home happy after what are likely to be their final appearances in Australia in their country’s colours.Australia secured series honours with victories in the first two matches in Perth and Adelaide but India’s bowlers skittled the home side for 236 and the two former skippers got the tourists over the line with a partnership of 168 runs.“I’ve always loved coming here... and a nice way to finish getting that knock and getting that win as well,” said Rohit.“I don’t know if we’ll be coming back to Australia, but it was fun all these years that we played here. A lot of good memories, bad memories. But all in all, I’ll take the cricket that I played here.”Kohli, the second-highest run-scorer in ODIs behind Sachin Tendulkar, came out to join Sharma at the crease to a frenzied ovation from a big crowd that made the Sydney Cricket Ground feel more like it was located in New Delhi than New South Wales.Rohit had already combined with current skipper Shubman Gill (24) to cut 69 runs out of the chase but this was the “Ro-Ko” partnership the massed ranks of fans in blue shirts waving tricolour flags had come to see.The two thirtysomethings, who both now only play the 50-over game for India, duly delivered with assured shots and mature decision-making that frustrated then dispirited the Australian bowlers.Rohit smashed 13 fours and three sixes in his 33rd century in the format, reaching the milestone for the ninth time against Australia with a pushed drive down the ground for a single.Kohli, who had been dismissed for ducks in the previous two matches, brought up his 75th half-century to a huge roar with a single on one ball and Rohit locked in a 19th ODI century stand between the pair with another solitary run on the next delivery.“When we bat together ... even back in the day, we used to think, if we have a big partnership, the kind of strokes we can play, we can really take the game away from the opposition,” said Kohli.“The opposition also knew that if these guys are in for 20 overs together, any total is chaseable.”Rohit should have been caught on 108 after spooning a shot high into the night sky but was reprieved when Josh Hazlewood failed to get under it and finished 121 not out.Kohli got the winning runs by clipping a short ball off the face of his bat for a four down to third man.Earlier, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first at a venue where that decision had led to victory for the team concerned in the last nine ODIs.All of Australia’s top order got a start but only Matt Renshaw (56) managed to convert his innings into a half century, giving another boost to his hopes of reviving his long-stalled Test career in time for the Ashes.All-rounder Harshit Rana took 4-39 mopping up the Australian tail, curtailing the innings with the wickets of Cooper Connolly and Josh Hazlewood in the space of three balls.Kohli took the catch at long off to send back Connolly, having earlier whipped the crowd into another frenzy with a sharp hold at forward square to dismiss Matthew Short for 30 off the bowling of Washington Sundar.“We want to say thank you,” Kohli concluded.“We’ve loved coming to this country and playing in front of such big crowds. And we’ve played some of our best cricket here as well.”BRIEF SCORE:SIndia 237 for 1 (Rohit 121*, Kohli 74*) beat Australia 236 (Renshaw 56, Rana 4-39) by 9 wickets

Australia captain Mitchell Marsh guided his side to a comfortable seven-wicket win against India in a rain-affected first one-day international in Perth Sunday.Chasing 131 for victory in a match that was reduced to 26 overs a side, Marsh scored 46 not out as the home side cruised to an easy win to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.Matt Renshaw was unbeaten on 21 alongside Marsh as Australia reached 131-3 with 29 balls remaining. Josh Philippe contributed 37, batting at number four.“Obviously the weather played its part today,” Marsh said. “But it’s nice to get a win.“The ball was swinging around for both teams out there so it was a little bit of a challenge to get through. I was proud of the way our young guys came out and got the job done.”Marsh, who was also named player of the match, won the toss and chose to field due to the inclement weather around the Western Australia city.It paid dividends as India’s innings was hampered by rain delays, which frustrated the visitors who struggled to build any momentum.A quickfire 38 off 31 balls from KL Rahul helped India to recover to 136-9, with Australia set 131 to win after the total was adjusted on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern system.Australia’s opening bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc troubled the Indian batsmen with a good line and movement.Hazlewood had Rohit Sharma caught at second slip for eight before Starc claimed Virat Kohli without scoring, leaving the visitors 21-2. India skipper Shubman Gill was caught by wicketkeeper Philippe off Nathan Ellis for 10 before the first rain delay, with India 23-3 after 8.5 overs.“When you lose three wickets in the powerplay you are always trying to play a catch-up game,” Gill said. “But there are a lot of learnings for us from this game and a lot of positives as well.”Hazlewood grabbed his second victim when Shreyas Iyer gloved a ball to Philippe before another long delay with India at 45-4. When they eventually resumed, the game was reduced to 26 overs.Rahul smashed two huge sixes but fell on the boundary going for a third. Nitish Reddy blasted 19 runs off the last two overs but the reduced total was never enough.The two teams meet again in Adelaide on Thursday before the final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday.BRIEF SCORES:Australia 131 for 3 (Marsh 46*) beat India 136 for 9 (Rahul 38) by seven wickets (DLS squad)

All eyes in Perth are on Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as the two India stalwarts prepare for the opening one-day international against Australia Sunday, marking the first national team outing for the pair since winning the Champions Trophy in March.India’s new ODI skipper, Shubman Gill, told journalists Saturday that he had had numerous conversations with his predecessors who had retired from the shortest and longest forms of the game, about how to take the team forward.“Definitely very exciting – big shoes for me to fill carrying over the legacy (Virat and Rohit) left for us,” the 26-year-old said.“These are the kind of players when I was a kid, I used to idolise them. The kind of game that they used to play, the kind of hunger that they had is something that inspired me. It’s a big honour to lead such legends of the game and learn from them.”Gill has already captained at T20I and Test level, but the upcoming three-match series will be the first time he has led in ODIs, where he averages nearly 60 with the bat.“I think in front of a difficult situation, I wouldn’t shy away from getting any suggestions or advice from them,” he said.“How they converse and what kind of communication or messaging they had with the players is something that helped me get the best out of myself. That’s the kind of captain I would want to be, where all my players feel very secure in the job they have to do.”Australia captain Mitch Marsh acknowledged that India’s two returning batsmen are partly responsible for an expected bumper crowd at the 60,000-seat Perth Stadium, which is nearing a sell-out despite a forecast of rain.“A lot of people are going to come and watch them. If it is their last time on Australian soil, I hope they enjoy it,” the 33-year-old said, before cheekily adding that he would prefer “not too much good cricket from them”.The Perth local, who struck two hundreds and averaged 70 across white-ball formats against South Africa and New Zealand in recent months, dead-batted any suggestion that continued goodform might prompt a Test recall ahead of the Ashes series this summer.“I’ve got tickets for day one and two, I haven’t asked the wife yet, but that’s about as much thought as I’ve given it.”