Australian news live: Former Jetstar pilot pleads not guilty to murdering campers, bombshell claim about deaths of Robinson brothers

A trial is due to begin for a former Jetstar pilot accused of murdering Russell Hill and Carol Clay while they were camping in Victoria's alpine region.

Greg Lynn, 57, formally pleaded not guilty to each of the murders from the back of the court room.

Justice Michael Croucher told jurors that prosecutors would allege Lynn killed Ms Clay, 73, and Mr Hill, 74, while they were camping at Bucks Camp in the Wonnangatta Valley in March 2020.

"It will be alleged that Mr Lynn shot Ms Clay in the head, as a result killing her, and that Mr Lynn killed Mr Hill," he told the jury.

- AAP

Well this is one way to try and save the planet.

A giant air capture plant has opened in Iceland, pulling carbon out of the air and locking it underground where it will turn into stone.

The plant from Climeworks has its critics, with the technology used, Direct Air Capture (DAC), questioned by experts who warn it is yet to be seen how effective it is on a large scale.

Read more here.

A 10-year-old boy has been charged after he allegedly sexually assaulted a 24-year-old Italian woman in Cairns.

The woman was also allegedly attacked by a group of juveniles in the Cairns CBD when she tried to raise the alarm on Wednesday morning.

"It does sound like a very disturbing story," Queensland Premier Steven Miles told reporters on Thursday.

"I understand the police have acted swiftly and apprehended the alleged offender."

Read more here.

Chinese nationals applying for 5,000 annual working holiday visa spots granted to the country by Australia say they've been "cheated" after they were left in the dark as the scheme reportedly ground to a halt.

The ABC reports only 406 visas were approved in the last financial year, despite there being tens of thousands of Chinese people applying for the 5,000 visas in the quota.

News of the drama has caused a stir on Chinese social media with the Australian government facing widespread backlash.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has remained coy over the situation and has so far failed to offer any clarity to the situation, further enraging applicants who believe they've wasted money on applying.

In an unfortunate moment for electric vehicle advocates, Porsche's leading electric car offering has been hit with an urgent recall notice by the federal transport department over battery issues that could lead to the luxury vehicles catching fire.

“Due to a manufacturing issue, the cell modules installed in the high voltage battery may be defective. A short circuit could cause a thermal overload and result in a vehicle fire over time,” the department memo reads.

The Taycan debuted in 2020 as the company’s first electric car and made up 7.4 per cent of the retailer’s sales that year.

Read more here.

He's one of Australia's greatest ever wicket takers, so it's fair for him to have a bit of confidence about his own ability with the ball.

So when off-spinner Nathan Lyon, seventh on the list of all-time test wicket takers, left Australia's Ashes tour due to injury with his side 2-0 up against their arch rivals England, he knew it wasn't over yet.

The momentum swung, and the series eventually finished 2-2. For Lyon, there was one main reason.

"I do believe if I was here it would have been 4-0 to Australia," he confidently told the BBC.

I'm not sure many cricket fans could disagree with him.

Vanuatu has been hit with a 6.2 magnitude earthquake.

The earthquake struck about 95km from Luganville about 7.24pm (AEST) on Wednesday, according to Geoscience Australia.

The island nation is 3600km off the coast of northeastern Queensland and is home to about 340,000 people.

The bureau has assured Australians there is no threat of a tsunami hitting anywhere along the nation’s coastline.

-NCA NewsWire

The UK has waded in on Australia's growing dispute with China over an aerial encounter, urging Australia to release vision of the incident above the Yellow Sea it claims was "unsafe and unprofessional".

China has rubbished those claims, arguing an Australian helicopter had come provocatively close to one of their jets.

"The key lesson is around communication, being super clear about calling out poor behaviour, demonstrating that with the use of video footage and really signalling very clearly to Russia and China and to their air forces what a professional intercept looks like," the UK's Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton told the ABC during a visit to Canberra.

A man has been arrested after a 39-year-old was stabbed in a gym car park in Sydney's Alexandria on Wednesday afternoon.

Police were desperately searching for the alleged attacker who they say was in a brief relationship with the woman. A 45-year-old man presented himself to a police station on the Northern Beaches some 25km away on Thursday morning.

South Sydney Police Area Command Superintendent Rod Hart described the attack as "horrendous".

The woman was rushed to hospital and remains in a stable condition.

The 23-year-old then-girlfriend of a man charged in relation to the shooting deaths of Callum and Jake Robinson has claimed in court he told her "I f***ed up three gringos".

Girlfriend Ari Gisel, also charged by police but now a key witness for the prosecution, allegedly asked what he meant and said former boyfriend Jesús Gerardo then told her: “I killed them.”

His charges are expected to be upgraded to murder, the ABC reported.

Ari Gisel said Jesús Gerardo fitted her vehicle with new tyres the morning after the alleged killings, consistent with the police theory the Robinson brothers and their friend Jack Charter Road were targeted in a vehicle theft.

Their three bodies were found in a well with bullet wounds to the head.

Read more here.