TRANSCRIPT
- A cool change eases conditions for firefighters battling Grampians blaze
- Family and friends of a 15-year-old who went missing in the Central Coast express devastation for their loss
- LawConnect gains short-lived lead in Sydney to Hobart race
A cool change has eased conditions for firefighters tackling an out-of-control blaze in Victoria’s Grampians after the most severe bushfire weather since the 2019 Black Summer.
On Thursday, temperatures dropped as gusty westerly winds swept across the fires, which have burned for over a week and scorched more than 70,000 hectares of bushland.
Authorities issued urgent warnings to evacuate or seek shelter as the wind change fanned flames in unpredictable directions.
The cooler weather has since slowed the fire's spread, with falling temperatures, increased humidity, and light rain providing some relief, says Victoria State Control Centre spokesman Luke Hegarty.
Despite the improvement, six emergency warnings remained in place as of 3am Friday.
**
Family and friends of a 15-year-old boy who went missing off the Central Coast are paying tribute to their loved one.
The boy, who has been identified as Luca Bennett, went off to play with two of his friends at Avoca Beach on Christmas Eve.
They were all swept off the coast by strong waves, with the other two boys eventually making it back to shore and alerting the authorities about their friend's situation.
New South Wales Police conducted a two-day search for the boy, but have since scaled back after advice from experts.
The boy's family have expressed their devastation for their loss, describing their 15-year-old boy as the perfect son.
**
Japan Airlines has confirmed it has been hit by a cyberattack, causing delays to some domestic and international flights.
The attack began at around 7am on Thursday and affected the company's internal and external systems.
The carrier says it temporarily shut down a router that was causing system malfunctions and also suspended ticket sales for flights.
A spokesperson for ANA, Japan's other major air carrier, says the airline saw no signs of an attack on its systems.
It comes after US carrier American Airlines briefly grounded all its flights for over an hour, disrupting travel for thousands on Christmas Eve, due to a technical glitch involving its network hardware.
**
The World Health Organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, revealed that strikes on Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa, occurred near him as he prepared to board a flight yesterday.
He posted on X the details of how close the strikes were, just metres away.
"As we were about to board our flight from Sanaa, about two hours ago, the airport came under aerial bombardment. One of our plane’s crew members was injured. At least two people were reported killed at the airport. The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters from where we were — and the runway were damaged. We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave. My UN and WHO colleagues and I are safe. Our heartfelt condolences to the families whose loved ones lost their lives in the attack."
The Israeli military claimed responsibility for targeting Houthi infrastructure at Sanaa's international airport and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif, and Ras Qantib, as well as power stations.
It has not yet responded to Mr Ghebreyesus' remarks.
**
And in sailing,
Reigning line honours champion LawConnect has led the Sydney to Hobart fleet out of the Sydney Heads as the 79th running of the bluewater classic began on Boxing Day.
But a furling issue meant her lead was short-lived, with rival supermaxi Master Lock Comanche powering ahead and heading down the NSW coast in a blustery north-easterly.
The pair of 100-footers, the leading contenders for line honours, exited picturesque Sydney Harbour well ahead of the chasing pack around 1.15pm local time - 15 minutes after the starting gun on Boxing Day.
LawConnect recovered from her sail issue, having suffered a similar issue early in the race last year, but not before Comanche opened up a sizeable gap.
Earlier in the day, LawConnect commander Christian Beck had expressed concerns over the heavy winds and difficult sailing conditions of the area.
"Look it's definitely scary. I think I'm a bit nervous about it, as I think anyone should be because when you've got heavy downwind racing, there's a lot more to go wrong on jives and things like that. So it's pretty scary conditions. And obviously we're trying to do the best in those tough conditions. Trying to make Comanche, kind of push them hard and try and force a mistake wouldn't be a bad thing for us."
