Henry Belot

Thirty-six Australians remain missing after deadly flash floods and landslides on the Nepal-Tibet border, where more than 5,000 people have reportedly disappeared and over 1,000 have died. Most of the Australians were on Mount Kailash pilgrimages organized by Himalayan Glacier Adventures, Kailash Journeys or the Isha Foundation. The report profiles missing families, couples and individuals, including several whose relatives are appealing for continued searches and prayers. Some Australians have been confirmed safe, while Michael Keats’s family reported his death but Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said official confirmation had not yet been received. Rescue and information-gathering efforts remain ongoing.

Dozens of Australians remain missing after catastrophic flash floods struck the Nepal-Tibet border, with at least 584 people reported dead and more than 1,900 missing. Among the Australians unaccounted for are Royal Australian Air Force member Karan Bhardwaj, the Muralitharan family, pilgrimage participants, trekkers and two University of Newcastle medical students. Families and community groups are searching for information while hoping survivors can be rescued. One Australian woman has been confirmed safe. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia is mobilising consular and humanitarian support, including a team of three specialists, although the remoteness and scale of the disaster are complicating rescue and recovery efforts.

One Nation Victoria is seeking substantial donations through exclusive fundraisers featuring Pauline Hanson ahead of the November state election, including a $2,000 lunch expected to raise about $36,000. Despite the fundraising push, the branch had disclosed only one $5,000 donation above the reporting threshold for the financial year, far behind Labor and the Liberals. The article raises concerns that One Nation invitations lacked required authorisation and failed to explain donation caps or disclosure obligations. After being contacted, the party updated some invitations, while the Victorian Electoral Commission said donor information need not be provided before payment but that electoral material must be authorised.

The Guardian’s live coverage reports that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson rebuked new NSW candidate Mike Newman for answering a question in Japanese, while Newman defended the party against racism allegations and said his Japanese wife and Indian business partners contradicted such claims. The blog also covers the rising number of Australians missing after catastrophic Nepal floods, the passage of voluntary assisted dying laws in the Northern Territory, One Nation’s preparations for the 2027 NSW election, and criticism of the Albanese government’s revised gambling-ad restrictions. Virgin Australia reported stronger annual earnings despite fuel-cost and geopolitical pressures. Australia will withdraw 24 Macquarie Island expeditioners because of the expected psychological impact of a potential bird-flu mortality event, while a dolphin in South Australia became the second native mammal species confirmed to have contracted H5N1. The government also commissioned a Productivity Commission review of the Closing the Gap agreement, and Australian shares partially recovered as technology and banking stocks rose.

Australian officials are urgently trying to determine the welfare of at least 35 Australians reported missing after catastrophic flash floods struck Nepal’s border region with Tibet. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is coordinating with Nepali authorities, tour operators and its Kathmandu post, while Australia plans to send crisis-response personnel and is consulting the Australian Defence Force. Damaged roads and telecommunications infrastructure are hampering efforts to establish contact. Nepali authorities report hundreds dead, injured or missing, with tourists from several countries among those affected. Australian ministers have expressed sympathy, urged people to follow local safety advice and asked anyone with information about Australians in the region to contact consular authorities.

Australia’s Nepali diaspora is urgently trying to locate relatives, friends and community members after a devastating flood in Nepal and Tibet killed at least 389 people and left nearly 1,300 missing. Suman Shrestha fears two friends working as trekking guides are dead, while other Sydney-based families are searching for relatives and 15 Australians who traveled on pilgrimage. Community organizations are coordinating with officials, holding prayer services and raising funds, while Nepal’s damaged communications and difficult terrain are hampering rescue and search efforts.

At least 39 Australians, including children as young as 11 and two families, are missing after devastating flash floods struck Nepal’s Rasuwa region near the Tibet border. Fifteen Australians were part of a Mount Kailash pilgrimage group operated by Himalayan Glacier Adventures, while others were connected to separate trekking and tour groups. Families have lost contact with loved ones, and one tour operator said the destruction left little hope of survivors. Nepalese authorities reported hundreds dead, injured or rescued and nearly 1,300 people missing, while Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said officials were working to identify all Australians affected.

Pauline Hanson said One Nation’s net migration target remains 130,000, with Pacific labour workers counted separately, apparently confirming a position that party representative David Farley had described as 130,000 migrants plus up to 100,000 additional workers and backpackers. The live coverage also reported that at least 34 Australians were missing after catastrophic floods near the Nepal-Tibet border, including 14 members of one Hindu organisation, while rescuers searched for hundreds of people. Other major developments included strong Australian household-spending growth, expectations of another Reserve Bank rate rise, charges against two Western Australian men over an alleged cybercrime syndicate, and criticism of Queensland legislation that would give the attorney general greater control over the state’s child-safety watchdog. Jean Nassif is due to give evidence to the NSW corruption inquiry, Powerhouse Parramatta’s chief executive Lisa Havilah has stepped aside during a procurement investigation, and a federal court ordered pro-Israel activist Ofir Birenbaum to pay costs in litigation involving Sydney restaurant Cairo Takeaway.

Australia’s ban on gambling-company logos on professional sports jerseys includes a five-year transition period, allowing existing deals to continue until as late as 2031 or 2032. David Pocock, Andrew Wallace and public-health advocates condemn the delay, arguing that it undermines the government’s stated goal of protecting children from gambling marketing. Communications Minister Anika Wells says earlier exits remain possible but are commercial decisions for clubs. Several NRL teams, including the Brisbane Broncos, Penrith Panthers, Newcastle Knights and Sydney Roosters, still have active wagering-related sponsorships, while a carveout exempts domestic lottery branding.

Jesse Murphy says VIP gambling managers used free bets, sports tickets, food and alcohol to keep him betting, including sending him $43,700 in bonus bets before he quit. Despite a bipartisan parliamentary recommendation for a total ban on inducements, the Albanese government passed narrower reforms that restrict inducements for newly registered or self-excluded customers, require gambling companies to identify high-risk users and prohibit some VIP-manager commissions. Gambling-harm experts, affected families and former gamblers argue the measures are weak, difficult to enforce and unlikely to prevent addiction or suicide, while the government says they will target the most harmful industry practices.

Australia’s government and opposition agreed on amendments to gambling reforms and the NDIS bill, while independent senator David Pocock said he would oppose the gambling legislation, calling it inadequate on advertising. The Senate passed a symbolic Greens motion condemning Labor’s aged-care assessment tool as flawed and demanding stronger clinical oversight. Flood warnings were issued across northern Victoria, with further rain expected to affect South Australia, New South Wales and northern Tasmania. Former cricketer David Warner was fined $1,500 and convicted of mid-range drink-driving, while two Queensland residents were charged with murdering Chad Steven Bishop after alleged human remains were found. The Northern Territory Wagering Commission is reviewing, but has not yet acted on, Luke Bateman’s allegations about gambling-industry misconduct.