SYDNEY: Australian firefighters warned people on Monday to prepare for more bushfires in a &quot;high-risk&quot; summer, after blazes killed one person and incinerated more than 350 buildings in the southeast. Weather conditions have eased since strong winds and temperatures topping 40 &deg;C fueled dozens of wildfires in southeastern Australia&#39;s Victoria, which declared a state of disaster on Saturday. But officials said 12 major fires were still burning across the state. Country Fire Authority chief officer Jason Heffernan said another &quot;heating event&quot; was expected towards the end of January, though its intensity was uncertain. &quot;We are early in the high-risk weather season,&quot; Heffernan told a news conference. &quot;There&#39;s been a lot of fire in the landscape. Much work will be done between now and then to contain these fires,&quot; he said. &quot;Whilst we join with the community in the rebuilding and the relief and recovery of the fires that have been, we need to turn our minds to the fires that could be as the season continues.&quot; More than 350 structures, including over 65 homes, have been lost so far in the state, officials said, with the number likely to rise as fire damage is assessed. One person died in a fire near the town of Longwood, about two hours&#39; drive north of the state capital Melbourne, police say. Emergency Management Commissioner Tim Wiebusch said weather conditions had become more favourable for firefighters. &quot;But that doesn&#39;t mean that the risk is over,&quot; he said. &quot;Whilst the conditions are easing in some parts of the state, even the slightest of winds are still causing those fires to move around.&quot; High temperatures and dry winds combined last week to form some of the most dangerous bushfire conditions since the &quot;Black Summer&quot; blazes. The Black Summer bushfires raged across Australia&#39;s eastern seaboard from late 2019 to early 2020, razing millions of hectares, destroying thousands of homes, and blanketing cities in noxious smoke. Australia&#39;s climate has warmed by an average of 1.51 &deg;C since 1910, researchers have found, fuelling increasingly frequent extreme weather patterns over both land and sea.

This handout photo from the CFA Wandong Fire Brigade, posted on their Facebook page, taken on January 7, 2026, and released on January 8, shows a bushfire burning near the town of Longwood, northern Victoria. (AFP)

Wildlife

A high-risk summer is expected, as 12 major blazes burn in Victoria, where fires have killed one person, destroyed over 350 buildings, and followed extreme heat and strong winds last week.

Australian firefighters warn of 'high-risk' bushfire season

SYDNEY: Former Australian Test batsman Damien Martyn has been rushed to hospital in an induced coma after being diagnosed with meningitis, media reports said on Wednesday. The 54-year-old, who played 67 Tests between 1992 and 2006 and 208 one-day internationals, was admitted on Boxing Day last week after falling ill while lying down. Australian media said he was being treated for meningitis, which can be deadly. Meningitis is an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. &quot;He is getting the best of treatment,&quot; Test great and close friend Adam Gilchrist told The Australian newspaper. &quot;Amanda (his partner) and his family know that a lot of people are sending their prayers and best wishes.&quot; Former Australian coach Darren Lehmann, a long-time teammate of Martyn&#39;s, also sent support. &quot;Lots of love and prayers... keep strong and fighting, legend. Love to the family,&quot; he wrote on X. Known as one of the game&#39;s great strokemakers, Martyn became a key figure in Steve Waugh&#39;s all-powerful Australian side, hitting 13 centuries and averaging 46.37. He was also part of the Australian team that won the 2003 ODI World Cup, cracking 88 not out in the final against India in a match-winning partnership with Ricky Ponting. He retired in 2006 during the Ashes series and has kept a low profile since.

Cricket

54-year-old, who played 67 Tests between 1992 and 2006 and 208 one-day internationals, admitted on Boxing Day last week after falling ill while lying down; reports say he is being treated for meningitis, which can be deadly.

Australian cricket great Damien Martyn 'in induced coma'

Web Desk

MELBOURNE: England completed a dramatic four-wicket win over Australia in the fourth Test of the Ashes at Melbourne on Saturday after a low-scoring contest dominated by fast bowlers. Set a target of 175, England were bowled out for 110 in their first innings before recovering in the second to reach 178 for six, sealing victory late on day two. Australia were dismissed for 152 and 132 across their two innings.&nbsp;The match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw collapses from both sides.&nbsp; Australia&rsquo;s first innings was undone by Josh Tongue, who claimed five wickets, while Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse provided strong support.&nbsp;Michael Neser was Australia&rsquo;s top scorer with 35.&nbsp;England&rsquo;s reply faltered early as Mitchell Starc and Neser tore through the top order, leaving them reeling at 16 for four. A counter-attacking 41 from Harry Brook steadied the innings briefly before they were bowled out for 110.&nbsp;In Australia&rsquo;s second innings, Travis Head scored a fighting 46 but the hosts were again bundled out cheaply, with Carse and Ben Stokes sharing key wickets.&nbsp; Chasing 175, England lost early wickets but held their nerve, finishing the job with four wickets in hand. Jacob Bethell contributed 40 and Zak Crawley 37. &quot;A good feeling, a tough tour up to now,&quot; said England skipper Ben Stokes. &quot;After the build-up to the Test, a lot thrown our way, to put in a performance on the back of all that, and beat a very good Australian team, a lot of credit has to go to players, staff and management for keeping the focus on cricket. &quot;Very proud. We showed bravery and were courageous.&quot; England crashed in the first three Tests and came to Melbourne under enormous pressure amid questions about their limited preparations and allegations of excessive drinking during a mid-series beach break. But they finally came good and will head to Sydney for the fifth and final Test brimming with confidence. England had not won a Test in Australia since January 2011 at Sydney, losing 16 and drawing two since, and openers Crawley and Ben Duckett had a clear objective to snap the streak -- play ultra-aggressive &quot;Bazball&quot; style. Duckett hit a boundary off Mitchell Starc in his first over while Crawley slammed Michael Neser for a six and a four in successive balls. They brought up a whirlwind fifty opening partnership but next ball Duckett was bowled by a Starc yorker for 34. Fast bowler Brydon Carse then strode to the middle as a surprise number three in place of Bethell. But England&#39;s pinch-hitting experiment failed as Carse lasted only eight balls before skying Jhye Richardson to Cameron Green. Crawley fell lbw to Scott Boland after a gritty knock and Bethell was caught by Usman Khawaja from the same bowler. Richardson trapped Joe Root lbw for 15 and Starc accounted for Ben Stokes for two, but by then only 10 runs were needed and Brook and Smith completed the job. &quot;It was a tricky one, a quick game,&quot; said Australia captain Steve Smith. &quot;If we had got 50-60 more in both innings then things might have been different. The wicket played as expected, but once the ball softened, it didn&#39;t quite behave the way I&#39;d hoped. &quot;When you see 36 wickets fall in two days, that probably tells you it did a bit more than intended,&quot; he added of the MCG pitch.

Australia still lead the five-match series 3-1.

England beat Australia in fourth Ashes Test by 4 wickets

ADELAIDE: A dominant Australia collected the last four wickets they needed Sunday, to win the third Test and retain the Ashes in just 11 days of cricket, crushing the dreams of an England side who finally showed some fight.&nbsp;England&#39;s dogged resistance on day five at Adelaide Oval lasted into the second session before Scott Boland removed Josh Tongue for an 82-run victory to ensure the famous urn remains in Australian hands.&nbsp;The tourists needed a win to keep the five-match series alive after being crushed by eight wickets at Perth and Brisbane, with two more Tests still to play at Melbourne and Sydney.&nbsp;But despite showing more grit, they were again outplayed by an Australian team who suffered a setback with spin wizard Nathan Lyon hurting his hamstring and hobbling off.&nbsp;Chasing 435 was always going to be a huge challenge, with no side ever reeling in more than 418 to win in Test history, but England at least gave it a crack as they scored 352 all out.&nbsp;Their demise in just 11 days is the joint second quickest in more than a century since the 1921 series was completed in eight days, with their &quot;Bazball&quot; style of ultra-attacking cricket exposed.&nbsp;England&#39;s capitulation over three Tests is a far cry from the pre-Ashes hype where they were touted as having their best chance in a generation to win a series in Australia.&nbsp;And it made a mockery of former fast bowler Stuart Broad&#39;s claim that the hosts had their weakest side in 15 years, written off by others as a &quot;Dad&#39;s Army.&quot;&nbsp;The reality for Ben Stokes&#39;s men is that England have now gone 18 Tests since winning in Australia, dating back to their last series victory there in 2010-11.&nbsp;Their last three trips yielded one-sided scorelines of 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0, with more of the same on the cards unless there is a dramatic shift in their fortunes.&nbsp;&#39;Livin&#39; on a Prayer&#39;They resumed on 207-6 with Will Jacks on 11 and Jamie Smith two.&nbsp;Smith showed early intent by slog-sweeping Lyon over deep midwicket for six then banged another off Cameron Green as the Barmy Army fans broke into Bon Jovi&#39;s &quot;Livin&#39; on a Prayer.&quot;&nbsp;After four days of searing heat and sunshine, the lights were on with dark clouds looming and after 40 minutes the players went off as fine rain returned.&nbsp;It was a passing shower and they were back out 40 minutes later with lunch pushed back by half an hour.&nbsp;Lyon limped off soon after the restart after pulling a hamstring in sliding to save a boundary.&nbsp;He was sent for scans and ruled out of the rest of the Test, later seen on crutches with rest of the series for him in peril.&nbsp;When Mitchell Starc took the new ball, Smith began hitting out, crunching two fours in a row, and it proved his downfall when he skied to Pat Cummins at midwicket.&nbsp;Will Jacks produced his highest Test score of 47 and steered England&#39;s chase below 100.&nbsp;But he fell to another spectacular catch from Marnus Labuschange, diving to his left in front of wicketkeeper Alex Carey after an edge off Starc.&nbsp;Starc struck again to send Jofra Archer packing before Boland took out Tongue, sparking huge celebrations.&nbsp;England took six wickets before lunch on Saturday to wrap up Australia&#39;s second innings for 349 with Travis Head slamming 170.&nbsp;They then survived for two sessions, but the wheels came off courtesy of Lyon.&nbsp;He bowled Harry Brook and Ben Stokes before tempting Zak Crawley down the wicket to be stumped by Alex Carey for 85, with Cummins accounting for danger man Joe Root on 39.&nbsp;It was left to Smith and Jacks to ensure it would go to a fifth day.

England fall 82 runs short of 435-run target in Adelaide.

Australia beat England in third Test to retain Ashes

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Wednesday demanded public apologies and corrections from international media outlets that published unverified claims linking Pakistan to the Bondi Beach shooting incident in Australia, calling the reporting a &#39;vicious disinformation campaign.&#39; Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar presented video clips and timelines to show how several outlets circulated claims that one of the attackers was Pakistani without verification. &nbsp;&ldquo;A false and deliberate misinformation campaign was launched from hostile countries to malign Pakistan,&rdquo;&nbsp;Tarar said. In the aftermath of the attack, several Indian and Israeli media outlets identified an individual named Naveed Akram as a &ldquo;Pakistani attacker.&rdquo; The assertion was later disproved after a Pakistani-Australian man sharing the same name publicly rejected any involvement in the incident. &ldquo;This is not me, and I have no connection whatsoever to that incident or to the person involved,&rdquo; Akram said, explaining that his personal photographs were taken from social media and wrongly attributed to the suspect. He said the false identification had serious personal consequences. &ldquo;I am stressed and scared and cannot even step outside safely,&rdquo; he said, describing the compounded trauma of witnessing the tragedy and then being misidentified online. Tarar said official clarifications later confirmed there was no Pakistani link to the incident.&nbsp; He cited a police statement from India identifying one of the attackers as a resident of Telangana, Hyderabad, holding an Indian passport issued by the Indian embassy in Sydney.&nbsp; The information minister added that Philippine authorities also verified the individual had traveled to the Philippines on an Indian passport. &ldquo;There was not a shred of evidence linking Pakistan to the incident,&rdquo; Tarar said, praising Australian authorities for waiting for verified facts before drawing conclusions. &ldquo;Now my question is, who&rsquo;s going to cover the damage that was caused to Pakistan through these fake posts and false information?&rdquo; The minister said the misinformation campaign coincided with Pakistan&rsquo;s commemoration of the December 16 APS Peshawar martyrs, calling the timing &ldquo;particularly painful.&rdquo; He reiterated Pakistan&rsquo;s long-standing position against terrorism. &ldquo;Pakistan has lost more than 90,000 lives to terrorism and has consistently condemned it in all forms and manifestations,&rdquo; Tarar said. He said Pakistan was not initiating legal action at this stage but expected corrections and apologies in line with journalistic norms. &ldquo;I think an apology would be nice,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It is part of journalistic norms to tender an apology on incorrect news posted and disseminated.&rdquo; Tarar confirmed that Pakistan&rsquo;s foreign missions have been provided verified information and video material to support expatriate communities affected by the false claims. &ldquo;All our embassies have been shared this video and the correct information, and they are available to our citizens for any assistance,&rdquo; he said. Pakistan&rsquo;s government condemned the Bondi Beach attack immediately after the incident and expressed solidarity with the Australian government and people. Tarar said both Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari issued strong condemnations from the outset.&nbsp;

Foreign Affairs

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar says international media spread false, unverified claims linking Pakistan to the Bondi attack and must issue public apologies and corrections.

Pakistan demands apologies over false Bondi attack reports, disinformation campaign

ISLAMABAD: Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old fruit seller, emerged as a central figure in Australia&rsquo;s deadliest mass shooting in years after confronting and disarming a gunman during a deadly attack on a Jewish gathering celebrating Hanukkah.&nbsp;Footage circulating on social media shows Ahmed rushing toward the armed attacker as shots are fired off-camera. He is seen grabbing the gunman, wrestling the weapon from his hands, and forcing the assailant to retreat at gunpoint.&nbsp;Australian broadcaster 7News identified Ahmed as the man in the video and reported that he sustained two gunshot wounds during the struggle. He is currently hospitalized.&nbsp;A relative, identified only as Mustapha, confirmed Ahmed&rsquo;s condition and praised his actions. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s in hospital and we don&rsquo;t know exactly what&rsquo;s going on inside,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We do hope he will be fine. He&rsquo;s a hero 100 percent.&rdquo;&nbsp;Authorities said the attack killed 16 people and wounded many others. Police described the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.&nbsp;Australian leaders publicly praised Ahmed&rsquo;s actions. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described him and others who intervened as &ldquo;heroes.&rdquo; New South Wales Premier Chris Minns echoed that sentiment during a late-night briefing.&nbsp;&ldquo;In all of this evil, in all of this sadness, there are still wonderful, brave Australians that are prepared to risk their lives to help a complete stranger,&rdquo; Minns said.&nbsp;Ahmed&rsquo;s actions also drew international attention. US President Donald Trump publicly commended him, saying his intervention prevented further bloodshed.&nbsp;&ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a very, very brave person, actually, who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters, and saved a lot of lives,&rdquo; Trump said, adding that Ahmed &ldquo;is right now in the hospital, pretty seriously wounded.&rdquo;&nbsp;As investigations continue, Ahmed al Ahmed is being widely recognized across Australia as a civilian who risked his life to stop a gunman and protect others.

Australasia

43-year-old Muslim man hailed as a hero after disarming a gunman during a deadly Sydney attack, sustaining gunshot wounds while saving lives

Who is Ahmed al Ahmed, man who disarmed Sydney gunman

ADELAIDE: Defiant England coach Brendon McCullum brushed off concerns Sunday that his job was on the line heading into the third Test against Australia, while admitting the team has been &quot;nowhere near&quot; their best. The tourists were crushed in the first two Ashes Tests in Perth and Brisbane by eight wickets, and only a win at Adelaide Oval this week will be enough to keep the five-match series alive. McCullum confirmed they would stick with the same top seven, keeping under-fire Ollie Pope at number three rather than bringing in Jacob Bethell. &quot;Knee-jerk reactions and chopping and changing settled batting line-ups is not really our way,&quot; he said. &quot;We know we haven&#39;t got enough runs so far in the series. But for us to go on and win the series, it&#39;s not about throwing out what&#39;s been successful for us over the past few years.&quot; England&#39;s lack of fight and questionable preparations have drawn scrutiny, while McCullum&#39;s claim that they &quot;trained too much&quot; before Brisbane was met with disbelief by former greats.&nbsp;A decision for the team to lounge on the beach in tourist playground Noosa this week before heading to Adelaide was also planned.&nbsp;But McCullum was unfazed, dismissing talk that another defeat could threaten his job.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t know, but it doesn&#39;t really bother me, to be honest,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I mean, professional sport, it&#39;s not easy, right? You do the job to the best of your ability. You have conviction in what you&#39;re doing, and whatever happens, happens.&quot;&nbsp;McCullum admitted England must improve to keep the series alive, but suggested they would not change their gung-ho approach.&nbsp;&quot;We knew when we came here that we had to win three Tests to win the series, and the fact we&#39;re 2-0 down has made it harder on ourselves, but it doesn&#39;t stop the belief that you have within the dressing room,&quot; he said.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t think we&#39;ve been anywhere near our best so far in these last two Tests ... but what&#39;s been has been. Now, it&#39;s focusing on the one that&#39;s coming.&nbsp;&quot;I firmly believe that if we play our best cricket, we&#39;re a massive chance in this Test match. We do that, and the narrative changes in the series,&quot; he added.&nbsp;McCullum defended the decision to take a beach break rather than train after two heavy defeats.&nbsp;&quot;Noosa for us was excellent. It was planned, obviously a year ago,&quot; he said, adding that it was about spending &quot;time away from the heat of the battle&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;And I think now the freshness with which we come into this Test match will hopefully pay off.&nbsp;&quot;There&#39;s no guarantee, but that&#39;s the plan, and I think the boys are excited to get back to training and look forward to the next few days.&quot;

Confirms they would stick with the same top seven, keeping under-fire Ollie Pope at number three rather than bringing in Jacob Bethell.

McCullum admits England have been 'nowhere near' their best

SYDNEY: Australia banned young teenagers from social media on Wednesday, launching a world-first crackdown designed to unglue children from addictive scrolling on the likes of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.&nbsp;A raft of the world&#39;s most popular apps and websites face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.&nbsp;Australia becomes one of the first nations to so forcefully push back against tech titans wielding immense political power.&nbsp;The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from &quot;predatory algorithms&quot; filling phone screens with bullying, sex and violence.&nbsp;&quot;Too often, social media isn&#39;t social at all,&quot; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ahead of the ban.&nbsp;&quot;Instead, it&#39;s used as a weapon for bullies, a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators.&quot;&nbsp;The laws came into effect after midnight local time across Australia.&nbsp;Hundreds of thousands of teenagers will wake up to find themselves locked out of apps they once scrolled for hours each day.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t think the government really knows what they&#39;re doing and I don&#39;t think it&#39;s going to have any impact on children of Australia,&quot; said 15-year-old Layton Lewis ahead of the ban.&nbsp;BlacklistedFacebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit are forbidden from creating or keeping accounts belonging to users in Australia under 16.&nbsp;Streaming platforms Kick and Twitch are also on the government&#39;s blacklist, as are message boards Threads and X.&nbsp;The ban is a godsend for parents sick of seeing children stuck to their phones.&nbsp;Mia Bannister blamed social media for the suicide of her teenage son Ollie, who killed himself last year after he was bullied online.&nbsp;He was also being served endless dieting videos that fuelled an eating disorder, she said.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;m sick of the social media giants shirking responsibility,&quot; she told AFP in the lead up to the ban.&nbsp;&quot;The problem is we hand them a phone, and we hand them the greatest weapon we could hand them.&quot;&nbsp;A growing body of research suggests too much time online is taking a toll on teen wellbeing.&nbsp;But it is hard to draw firm conclusions that separate phone use from other lifestyle factors.&nbsp;Father-of-five Dany Elachi said the restrictions were a long-overdue &quot;line in the sand&quot;.&nbsp;&quot;We need to err on the side of caution before putting anything addictive in the hands of children,&quot; he told AFP.&nbsp;Really distractedTech-savvy teenagers the world over have already taken an interest in Australia&#39;s ban.&nbsp;&quot;Students nowadays, they are really distracted,&quot; said Nigerian high-schooler Mitchelle Okinedo, 15.&nbsp;&quot;Social media today is very important for expressing yourself, no matter how old you are,&quot; said Santiago Ramirez Rojas, 16, from Mexico City.&nbsp;Meta, YouTube and other social media giants have lined up to condemn the ban, which robs their platforms of masses of dedicated users.&nbsp;While most have begrudgingly agreed to comply, for now, legal challenges are in the wind.&nbsp;Online discussion site Reddit said Tuesday it could not confirm local media reports that said it would seek to overturn the ban in Australia&#39;s High Court.&nbsp;An Australian internet rights group has already launched its own bid to have teenagers re-instated to social media.

Artificial Intelligence

Australia has banned under-16s from using major social media platforms, enforcing strict age checks and heavy fines to protect children from harmful content. Tech giants object, while parents welcome the move and legal challenges are expected. 

Australia bans under-16s from social media in world-first crackdown

BRISBANE: Australia cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win over England in the day-night second Ashes Test in Brisbane on Sunday for an ominous 2-0 lead in the series.&nbsp;The hosts chased down the paltry target of 65 in just 10 overs, captain Steve Smith pulling Gus Atkinson for a huge six over square leg for the winning runs.&nbsp;Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test in Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in Brisbane in every department.&nbsp;Their batting, apart from Joe Root and Zak Crawley in the first innings and captain Ben Stokes and Will Jacks in the second, was just as rash as in Perth.&nbsp;They gave their wickets away with poor strokes on the bouncy Gabba surface.&nbsp;They also bowled poorly, pitching too short on the Gabba wicket and wasting the new pink ball, in stark contrast to an Australian attack missing spearheads Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.&nbsp;To make matters worse England dropped five catches in the first innings, whereas Australia&#39;s fielders caught everything that came their way.&nbsp;Josh Inglis&#39;s brilliant run-out of Stokes in the first innings changed the course of the match.&nbsp;Australia now have a 2-0 lead in the five-Test series and are overwhelming favourites to retain the Ashes with matches in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney to follow.&nbsp;England were behind the game once they let Australia&#39;s tail help the home side post 511 on Saturday, an overall lead of 177.&nbsp;They then lost six second-innings wickets under lights to end the third day 134-6, still 43 runs behind the Australian total.&nbsp;While many expected England to surrender meekly on Sunday, Stokes and all-rounder Jacks led a fighting rearguard action to ensure Australia had to bat a second time.&nbsp;Stokes and Jacks defied the Australian pace attack on a fiercely hot day to edge their way past the initial deficit target and begin to set Australia something to chase.&nbsp;Flicker of resistanceEngland batting coach Marcus Trescothick said Saturday his batsmen would not change their aggressive approach, despite a clatter of wickets from poor shots.&nbsp;But Stokes and Jacks did the exact opposite during the first session Sunday.&nbsp;They left balls they didn&#39;t need to play and seemed happy to take their runs in singles rather than expansive boundary shots.&nbsp;They scored just 28 runs in the first hour and passed the 43-run deficit 96 minutes into the session, scoring only 59 runs in the two hours.&nbsp;The Australian bowlers, who ran rampant under lights on Saturday with the pink ball, were far more ineffective on Sunday, despite the wicket beginning to play some tricks.&nbsp;The English offered only one chance when Scott Boland squared up Stokes, who got a thick edge over the slips cordon.&nbsp;They continued to frustrate the Australians in the second session until just before the drinks break, Jacks got an edge to Michael Neser and Smith snared a breath-taking catch at slip, diving full length to his left and catching it low to the ground.&nbsp;Neser struck again in the next over when Stokes nibbled at a ball outside the off-stump and got a fine edge to keeper Alex Carey to leave England 227-8, a lead of exactly 50.&nbsp;Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Jofra Archer offered no real resistance as Neser recorded career-best figures of 5-42 and Smith equalled Rahul Dravid on 210 outfield catches, three behind current record-holder Root.&nbsp;Sixty-five was never going to be enough and although Australia lost Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne in the chase, Smith and Jake Weatherald guided the home side to an easy win in style.

Although not as humiliating as the two-day loss in the first Test in Perth, England were comprehensively outplayed in Brisbane in every department.

Australia crush England by eight wickets for 2-0 Ashes lead

SYDNEY: Two light planes reportedly collided mid-air during a formation flight over Sydney&#39;s outskirts on Sunday, sending one of them crashing to the ground and killing its solo pilot, authorities said.&nbsp;Responders found the pilot&#39;s body in bushland near the airport in Wedderburn, a southwestern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales state police said.&nbsp;&quot;Police were told two light planes had collided mid-air, before one of the planes crashed nearby in bushland,&quot; they said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;Responding emergency services located the body of the pilot, believed to be the sole occupant of the aircraft,&quot; police added.&nbsp;&quot;The other plane landed safely at the airfield, and the pilot was uninjured.&quot;&nbsp;The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said it was investigating a collision between two Van&#39;s RV-7 aircraft -- two-seater, single-engine homebuilt kit planes.&nbsp;&quot;As reported to the ATSB, the two aircraft had been involved in a formation flight of four aircraft that was returning to land at Wedderburn Airport when the collision occurred,&quot; it said in a statement.&nbsp;&quot;One of the aircraft involved in the collision landed safety but the other aircraft collided with terrain and its pilot was fatally injured.&quot;

Two light planes reportedly collided mid-air during a formation flight over Sydney's outskirts, causing one to crash in bushland and kill its solo pilot, while the other landed safely without injuries.

Articles tagged with "Australia,"

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Australia beat England in third Test to retain Ashes

Pakistan demands apologies over false Bondi attack reports, disinformation campaign

Who is Ahmed al Ahmed, man who disarmed Sydney gunman

McCullum admits England have been 'nowhere near' their best

Australia bans under-16s from social media in world-first crackdown

Australia crush England by eight wickets for 2-0 Ashes lead

Pilot killed after reported mid-air collision in Australia

Australian firefighters warn of 'high-risk' bushfire season