Europe's dire wildfire season is its worst on record. More than one million hectares of land has burned, which is the highest amount since records began in 2006. Twenty people have died as a result.

Spain and Portugal have been hit especially hard, with roughly 1 per cent of the entire Iberian Peninsula scorched, according to EU scientists. This year's total is more than four times that of last year.

Even the UK has been badly hit by its standards, with abnormally warm weather leading to periods of drought.

Chief Commissioner Mike Bush says no request for special officers from Melbourne was made by local police before attending Dezi Freeman's address to execute a warrant.

He said local police performed a risk assessment and "did not consider a request to the Special Operations Group necessary".

Sources earlier told The Age that one of the officers shot dead, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, had a rapport with Freeman after engaging with him during previous police mat

Chief Commissioner Mike Bush has confirmed the woman and 15-year-old boy arrested by police in Porepunkah last night were alleged gunman Dezi Freeman's wife and son.

"There were search warrants executed last night. People were interviewed totally and specifically in relation to the homicide investigation. Those searches have been completed and the interviews have been conducted," he said.

"Those people have been released. There may or may not be charges that follow. But it would be very inappropriate for me to say anything else at this point."

Chief Commissioner Bush also revealed they had received several alleged sightings of Freeman so far which are being explored.

Queensland’s Bruce Highway has been closed for hours after a fiery truck crash early this morning.

The petrol tanker rolled at Owanyilla, south of Maryborough, about 2am, spilling its load of 48,000 litres of fuel and erupting into flames. Eight crews from Queensland Fire & Rescue and Rural Fire Service Queensland worked hard to bring the fire under control.

The road remains closed while crews continue to clean up the accident site.

The truck was destroyed but the driver of the truck escaped with only minor injuries and was taken to Hervey Bay Hospital in a stable condition.

Other trucks were stranded close to the scene as they were unable to get through and were unable to turn around.

Anthony Albanese says he hopes Iran’s expelled ambassador “didn’t slam the door on the way out” after the former envoy was spotted at Sydney Airport on Thursday night.

The Albanese government declared Ahmad Sadeghi persona non grata this week after getting “credible intelligence” Iran was behind at least two anti-Semitic attacks in Australia’s biggest cities.

Mr Sadeghi was given 72 hours to leave the country.

“These are all baseless allegations and lies,” he told reporters in his final remarks at the airport on Thursday.

Earlier, at the ambassadorial residence in Canberra, he said: “I love Australian people. Bye bye.”

Fronting media on Friday, the Prime Minister was asked if Australians should trust Mr Sadeghi .

“No, in a word,” Mr Albanese told Nine’s Today.

“And I hope he didn’t slam the door on the way out.”

He went on to say it was “a big decision by the government”.

“No ambassador has been expelled from Australia in the post-war period,” Mr Albanese said.

“That says something about how significant this was. But this was an attack on Australian soil orchestrated by foreign power. Completely unacceptable, and we took appropriate strong action.”

- NewsWire

Heavy snow is falling in the Alpine region of Victoria where police continue to search for alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Police on Thursday urged ski sports enthusiasts to avoid Porepunkah if they were looking to chase the heaviest snow falls.

Live images from neighbouring Mt Buffalo show snow on the top, while the following video from the Hotham Alpine Resort, roughly 45km southeast of Porepunkah, shows heavy falls.

The conditions are challenging for police, but also Freeman if he is still dressed in what he was seen wearing when fleeing.

Freeman was last seen wearing tracksuit pants and a rain jacket, with survival instructor Gordon Dedman telling the ABC clothing was vital to survival in cold conditions.

"Your first line of defence against environmental factors is your clothing. So what he went in there with him, or whether he has a stash of clothing somewhere if he is prepper, and he could well have that," he said.

Ah yes, there are more train delays in Sydney.

It's been a difficult morning for commuters with urgent track repair work at St James leading to disruptions to several lines.

Take a look below at what it looked like outside Petersham station, with bus replacement services rolled out.

It comes just weeks after NSW Premier Chris Minns gave Sydneysiders a day of free travel following a major train outage that wreaked havoc across the network.

In another update from Porepunkah, police have extended the no fly zone for aircraft and drones over the town.

It will now last until the end of the weekend, having previously been granted until the end of Friday.

"Given the suspect in this matter is heavily armed, this condition has been granted due to the risk to aircraft and drones, as well as potential implications associated with the suspect tracking police movements based off media coverage," police said when they announced the ban.

We now have more details from that operation in Porepunkah last night.

Armed police arrested a woman and a teenage boy in the overnight operation, as they continue to hunt for Dezi Freeman, the man accused of murdering two police officers on Tuesday.

The raid took place on Thursday night near Chandler Court and Francis Street in the quiet town.

Around the same time, Victoria Police issued a "dangerous person" alert at 9.34 pm.

"A 42-year-old woman and 15-year-old boy were safely arrested at the address and taken into custody," police confirmed in a statement on Friday.

"The Porepunkah pair were interviewed and released pending further enquiries."

With AAP

Well this crackdown on e-bikes and other two-wheeled modes of transport seems to be gathering pace.

Randwick City Council in Sydney's east is the latest to team up with police to get to grips with the illegal use of bikes on pavements. With the high speeds e-bikes and e-scooters can achieve, there's growing concern in Australia their misuse on footpaths can cause serious harm to the public.

"It is illegal for people aged 16 or over to ride bicycles, electric bikes and electric scooters on footpaths in NSW, unless carrying or accompanying a child," council reminded locals as it took to the streets with police on Thursday and Friday.

On-the-spot fines of $114 apply, council said.

“We regularly receive complaints from people who have experienced near misses with people illegally riding on the footpath. The increase in e-bikes and delivery riders accessing busy town centres for pickups is increasing conflict with pedestrians," Mayor Dylan Parker said.

“Everyone deserves to be safe when walking on a footpath. The message is simple – footpaths are for people. Walk your wheels,”

Well they're certainly the craze of the moment and cops in South Australia are warning people to take care when they're buying Labubus and other valuable items.

"Always buy from trusted sources and avoid paying outside secure platforms," police warned as part of Scam Awareness Week.

Check out their post below.

Police have swarmed a Porepunkah street in the search for alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman.

Detectives reportedly detained a number of residents near Francis St, as unmarked police cars monitored the area, the Herald Sun reported.

Police removed people from their homes along the street.

Locals reported seeing police swoop on a property, and remove “five or six” people. It is understood that property is linked to a family member of Freeman.

An emergency alert was issued at 9.24pm to avoid the area as police “searched for an armed and dangerous offender”.

The estranged family of Freeman have broken their silence, saying they have been left “devastated and sickened” by the allegations he shot dead two police officers.

The family released a statement on Thursday to Seven News, saying they were “actively assisting police with their investigation and are providing details of our knowledge of the area and property”.

“We are devastated, heartbroken and sickened by the loss of two police officers,” they said.

“Decades ago, Dezi detached himself from us in both name and ideology.

“We stand with the brave members of Victoria police and the families of the murdered officers.”

Read more from NewsWire here.

Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott, who oversees the operations of their retail brands Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks says theft is increasingly an issue in their stores.

Scott said expensive items are often the target and can later appear online for sale. He fears organised crime syndicates are behind the rise, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

While all three brands reported revenue growth, Wesfarmers' FY25 results show, Scott says more needs to be done to ensure they are not losing money through the growing problem

“Together with other retailers, we are trying to lobby the Victorian government for some tougher rules that do apply in other states around some of the retail aspects of retail crime," he said.

Bunnings controversially rolled out facial recognition technology and while it was found to be unlawful, Scott still believes it still has a place to tackle theft.

Kmart deploys receipt checkers at its exits after it moved its checkout to the centre of its stores. But it will now backflip on that decision and return checkouts to the exits of their stores.

Supermarket giant Coles has too implemented rules to prevent the theft of expensive items, instructing checkout staff to assist shoppers to scan those items first.