Coles unveils discounts amid pricing scrutiny, eight arrests in methanol poisoning tragedy, man allegedly drives over kangaroos

There's another big Powerball draw tomorrow, and as is often the case when the jackpot hits $100 million, about half of the country's adults are expected to have a ticket.

But the rate at which people buy tickets as the draw nears may surprise you.

A whopping 8,681 tickets were sold in a single minute at 6.17pm the last Thursday $100 million was on offer, The Lott revealed.

Australians travelling to the UK will soon need to pay a fee and apply for permission to enter the country under new border security system changes.

The UK government last year moved to introduce the electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme, which will require visitors to the country staying for up to six months to apply for permission.

Each application costs £10 (about $20), according to the UK government website, with even babies needing an ETA.

“Everyone travelling needs to get an ETA, including babies and children. You can apply for other people. You cannot get a refund after you apply,” the website states.

Applications have just opened for hopeful Australian travellers, with travel dates beginning from January 8 next year.

Read more here.

This Reddit post from Perth has got people talking. And it begs the question – is it acceptable to cut your finger nails on public transport?

According to the poster, the woman did collect her nails in her hand before dispersing them on the floor once she exited.

Have your say in the poll below.

Sydney is heating up and is edging very close to a 40C November day.

Holsworthy in the southwest has reached 39C shortly after 1.30pm, with the mercury expected to continue to rise.

NSW's Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe has warned the state may not be able to meet the electricity demand as households crank up air condition this afternoon.

The NSW government is cracking down on taxi drivers just in time for Christmas, warning those who are caught ripping off customers face having their licence ripped up.

In the past 24 months, about 900 drivers have been hit with fines for offences such as refusing short trips and not using the pay meter. More than 2500 passengers have also been handed refunds for being overcharged.

New rules now mean anyone caught offending twice will be booted from the industry.

"This is a really busy time for the taxi and rideshare industries … Christmas parties are starting to kick off, people will be starting to come home through the airport, and then there are people rushing around for those last-minute gifts," Transport Minister Jo Haylen said.

"We're sending a strong message to the minority of rogue drivers that if they continue overcharging, not using the meter or refusing fares they now risk being kicked out of the industry."

Other examples of bad taxi driver behaviours include trying to negotiate a fare that is not displayed on the meter, adding an extra surcharge or pinging passengers a maxi-taxi tariff if there are fewer than five people in the car.

- With AAP

It's not a country that Aussies would immediately consider for a getaway, but China is now making it easier for us to spend significant time in their country as it looks to boost dwindling tourism after shutting itself off from the world for large parts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Australia has been confirmed as one of dozens of countries where its visa-free policy has been extended from 15 to 30 days.

Chinese state media hailed it as a further step in the right direction for Sino-Australian ties which it says have dramatically improved since Anthony Albanese became prime minister.

"This latest move demonstrates China's firm commitment to continuing its opening-up, while also reaffirming its sincerity and willingness to further improve China-Australia relations," Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times.

The move comes at a time when Albanese faces increased scrutiny around how he navigates relations with the US and China following Donald Trump's election win. Trump has vowed to slap tariffs on Chinese imports.

The families of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, the two Australian women who died in the Laos methanol poisoning tragedy, say they are "overwhelmed" with the response from Australians.

The families set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the expenses they've so far incurred, while they want to use the remainder to raise awareness of methanol poisoning through existing and future initiatives.

Having set a target of $250,000, that amount was easily surpassed with $336,000 raised as of 10am on Wednesday.

"Thanks to your incredible support, we’ve not only made significant progress towards our initial goal and also realised the potential to expand our efforts even further," the families said in an update.

"To honour Bianca and Holly’s memory and amplify our mission to raise awareness about the dangers of methanol poisoning, we are increasing the campaign goal from $250,000 to $500,000.

"Every dollar raised will go towards making a lasting impact and ensuring that their story saves lives. We’re so grateful for your support and hope you’ll continue to stand with us as we work towards this larger goal."

The winner of $1.6 million on Saturday's TattsLotto draw won't pick up their phone to accept their win, lottery officials have revealed.

The winner's ticket is registered but The Lott can't get through to the phone number provided. The ticket was purchased in Hobart.

“I was ready to reveal the life-enhancing news to Hobart’s newest division one winner earlier this week, but sadly whenever I called the number provided, it just rang out and went straight to message bank,” The Lott spokesperson Anna Hobdell said.

“If you see a number of missed calls on your phone, you could be the mystery millionaire we’re trying to contact."

ING customers are raging again as the major bank suffers a severe outage, which is the third in four weeks. Hundreds of people have reported issues with using their online banking services, with DownDetector receiving 1,066 notifications on Wednesday morning.

ING has apologised for the outage and said work is underway to rectify the issue. One customer told Yahoo Finance that they have struggled to use the bank's website for days.

Read more here.

A man has died after a tree branch fell on his car during a "significant weather event" on the NSW-Victorian border.

The man was driving in Yarrawonga after 7pm on Tuesday when a large tree branch fell on his moving vehicle. The man died at the scene.

"A teenage boy was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while a woman was taken to hospital for observation," Victoria Police said in a statement.

"The exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be determined and police will prepare a report for the Coroner."

A 20-year-old man is set to front court after he allegedly ran over several kangaroos.

In September, authorities located CCTV of a vehicle deliberately running over kangaroos in Running Stream 60km north of Lithgow, NSW Police said.

"Following extensive investigations, police charged a 20-year-old Balgowlah Heights man on Friday 18 October 2024 with torture, beat and seriously injure animal, recklessly beat and seriously injure animal, and driver not disclose identity of driver/passenger as required," a police statement read.

The man is due to face Manly Local Court later today.

"Police will allege in court the man deliberately ran down several adult and baby kangaroos before mutilating the body of one of the animals," the statement continued.

The parents of Melbourne teenagers who died after suspected mass poisoning have expressed their gratitude after it was revealed staff from a backpacker hostel had been arrested.

Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, died in Thai hospitals last week after falling ill with suspected methanol poisoning.

The pair, who were on a “trip of a lifetime” travelling across South-East Asia, are believed to have consumed tainted alcohol while staying in popular tourist hotspot Vang Vieng in Laos.

The suspected poisoning also took the lives of four other international tourists: a British woman, an American man and two Danes.

A third Australian has also become ill following the suspected poisoning, according to the ABC.

On Tuesday, it was announced that eight men, aged between 23 and 47, had been arrested over the suspected mass methanol poisoning.

As the arrests were announced, the bodies of Bianca and Holly landed at Melbourne airport.

Their parents, who were on the same flight, spoke to the media, with Bianca’s father Mark Jones saying he was happy to hear there’d been updates in the investigation.

“We want to grieve, we miss our daughters desperately,” Mr Jones said.

“I was happy to hear that there’s been some movement over in Laos, we cannot have our girls passing and this continuing to happen.”

The eight men have been arrested, included staff members and managers at the hostel, where all six of the tourists are believed to have stayed.

Read more here from NCA NewsWire.

The heatwave is rolling on in NSW and millions in Sydney are facing another sweltering day.

Cooranbong in Lake Macquarie, north of Sydney, reached 30.4C as early as 8.19am, with health authorities urging vulnerable residents to take precautions as the day heats up.

Temperatures are expected to hit 40C in Sydney's west in an unusual burst of late Spring heat.

Coles has added more than one hundred Christmas discounts as it looks to win over customers amid a testing time for the supermarket giant.

Alongside Woolworths, the supermarket giants are facing legal action from the ACCC over what it says is deceptive pricing tactics to fool shoppers. Both reject the allegations.

On Wednesday, Coles said it had lowered the price of more than 550 products since October "to help customers prepare for Christmas celebrations".

Coles said it was "committed to reducing the price of family staples".

Some products have been slashed by more than 30 per cent.