Australia has emerged as the unexpected winner in the global beef trade, with surging meat exports tipped to grow the national economy.

Oxford Economics forecasts Australia’s economic growth to rise to 2.1 per cent in 2026, up from 1.7 per cent this year.

Oxford Economics Australia lead economist Ben Udy said the gradual gain in momentum for the national economy would be led by the beef industry.

“Australia specifically, the beef industry, is set to see the biggest disruption,” Mr Udy said.

“The government’s recent decision to allow beef imports from the US has little implication for Australia.

“After all, Australian exports of beef to the US have been surging in recent times due to low herd numbers in the US.”

Mr Udy said Australia was one of the few countries facing the baseline US tariff rate of 10 per cent, which could be an advantage for local producers.

“New Zealand’s beef exports to the US now face a 15 per cent tariff and Brazil’s beef exports to the US now face a whopping 50 per cent tariff rate,” he said.

“That puts Australia in prime position to capitalise on the US’s growing demand for beef imports.”

- NewsWire

A woman who bagged and threw a newborn baby out a window has pleaded guilty to the shocking crime.

Irine Jerotich, 26, briefly faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday accused of reckless conduct endangering life.

An infant was found with life threatening injuries outside a Dandenong North home about 2.40am on August 30, 2024.

The newborn was taken to hospital, suffering serious injuries.

Jerotich, who is on bail, attended the brief hearing dressed in a white hoodie and a long braided ponytail placed over her shoulder.

She was not required to speak, other than to indicate to magistrate Leon Fluxman that she was pleading guilty to the single offence.

No details of the crime or allegations were aired in court on Monday.

But charges previously alleged Jerotich placed the baby in a plastic bag and threw the child out the bathroom window onto concrete "that placed unnamed infant in danger of death".

Read more here.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 13 11 14, Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

Heat-related deaths could surge by more than 400 per cent in Sydney and Darwin by 2050 if global heating progresses at 3C, a daunting new climate report from the federal government has said.

Melbourne's increase could stand at a 259 per cent, and would contribute to thousands of additional people are expected to die because of hot weather each year.

Rising sea levels will also cause significant problems, with the report saying by 2050, 1.5 million coastal residents could be at risk, with that number rising to 3 million by 2090.

A husband who questioned whether he should even buy a lottery ticket has ended up winning his family a rosy $2 million.

The Brisbane man said he and his wife usually play for the big jackpots and said he was unsure if the $10m on offer for the Saturday Gold Lotto draw was big enough.

"Normally, we only buy a lottery ticket if it’s a big jackpot, so I actually said to [my wife], ‘Are you sure? It’s only $10 million’. She’s going to be ecstatic!" he told lottery officials.

His wife normally buys the ticket, but with time running out the husband bought the ticket online instead. We bet he's glad he made that last-minute decision.

"This is the best call I’ve ever received," he said.

A man has been charged after he allegedly performed a Nazi salute at the Gabba on Saturday.

Queensland Police has confirmed a 39-year-old man was charged over the alleged salute and is due to front court on September 29.

The alleged moment occurred before the AFL match between the Lions and Suns, and during the Australian national anthem and Welcome to Country ceremony.

"The man has also been issued with a lifetime ban from the AFL," police revealed.

ANZ has agreed to pay a record $240 million penalty after admitting to “widespread misconduct”. This included incorrectly reporting bond trading data to the government, ignoring hundreds of customer hardship notices and failing to refund fees charged to thousands of dead customers.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed that it and the bank would ask the Federal Court to impose the penalties. It noted the misconduct occurred over “many years”, spanning across ANZ’s institutional and retail divisions, with nearly 65,000 customers impacted.

ASIC chair Joe Longo said the total penalties were the largest announced by the corporate watchdog against one entity and reflected the seriousness and number of breaches of the law.

“Time and time again ANZ betrayed the trust of Australians,” Longo said.

Read the breakdown of the fine here.

It's been a long 20 months but Sam Kerr is back with a bang.

The Matildas captain finally returned for Chelsea after being kept on the bench for their first league fixture of the year. And she marked her return in style, netting her 100th goal for the club as they beat Aston Villa 3-1.

"I'm a goal-scorer, that's what I love doing, and those 100 goals represent a lot of hard work, dedication and sacrifices to get there," Kerr said.

She reached the mark from just 128 games.

The man arrested in the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is not cooperating with authorities, but investigators are working to establish a motive for the shooting by talking to his friends and family.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the accused gunman, Tyler Robinson, 22, would be formally charged on Tuesday. He remains in custody in Utah.

Investigators have yet to piece together why Robinson allegedly scaled a rooftop at Utah Valley University during an outdoor event and shot Kirk in the neck at long range on Wednesday.

Kirk, a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump and co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed by a single rifle shot during the event attended by 3,000 people in Orem, about 40 miles south (65 km) of Salt Lake City.

The killing ushered in newfound fears of a spike in political violence in the United States and an ever-deepening divide between the left and the right.

Robinson has not confessed to investigators, Cox told the ABC program This Week.

"He is not cooperating, but all the people around him were cooperating, and I think that's very important," the Republican governor said.

Read more here.

The town at the centre of Australia's biggest manhunt is preparing to return to a sense of normalcy as police lift movement restrictions around the area.

A strong police presence in Porepunkah and surrounding areas, including Myrtleford and Bright, is expected to continue with authorities set to enter their fourth week searching for accused cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Freeman, 56, is accused of fatally shooting policemen Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart at a property in Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne, on August 26 before escaping into bushland.

Police on Sunday lifted travel warnings in the area, allowing the community to return to normalcy ahead of school holidays.

Mount Buffalo National Park will remain closed.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Russell Barrett said lifting some of the restrictions was a "difficult decision to make" but it was important to find a balance between the need to find Freeman and the needs of the local community.

"We're incredibly conscious of the impact the operation has on the local community and we're talking to them about that all the time," he told reporters on Sunday.

"It's really important for us to understand if they see anything unusual when they return. Really important for us to know immediately if a burglary has occurred at a house that's normally vacant."

Locals have celebrated the news, with the local chamber of commerce declaring the area open for business.

"I think it certainly lifts the shackles off the tourist crowd that we've been missing over the last few weeks," Bright and district Chamber of Commerce president Marcus Warner told AAP.

"We're ready to go. We're open for business and there's plenty of vacancies."

The Albanese government has announced a $12 billion injection for defence, and comes as a face-to-face meeting with US President Donald Trump looks like it could eventually materialise for the prime minister.

The huge boost to defence spending comes as Anthony Albanese seeks reassurance from Trump he is on board with the AUKUS deal, with Canberra so far lacking the concrete message it desires.

But Defence Minister Richard Marles denied the boost was an attempt to win over Trump on Monday.

That is despite the money going to the Henderson Defence Precinct in Perth, where the nuclear submarines Australia will acquire under the deal will be able to dock and US submarines will be able receive maintenance.

With AAP