Australia news LIVE: Breakthrough at last over the mystery body found in a river that had baffled cops for almost two years

The remains of a man found in the Maroochy River almost two years ago have finally been identified after a member of the public came forward.

Police launched an investigation in November 2023 after a member of the public found the body floating in the water under the Sunshine Motorway Bridge in Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.

Following extensive investigations that extended overseas, the man has been identified as Alexander Marinis, 47, who was originally from Yarram in Victoria.

He moved to the Sunshine Coast earlier in 2023.

Police were able to solve the mystery after a person, who had previously dealt with Mr Marinis in a professional capacity in Maroochydore, recognised him after seeing a public appeal.

‘This information led us to being able to confirm his identify through DNA testing and contact the man’s family,’ Detective Senior Sergeant Robert Lowry said.

‘I also want to thank the detectives that worked on this investigation with such perseverance and tenacity.

‘Detectives went to great lengths to identify the man including several public appeals, door knocks, DNA testing, working to match the internal surgical nails in the man’s right knee with a hospital and enquiries through the global INTERPOL network.’

Police have ruled out foul play and will prepare a report for the coroner.

Mr Marinis has since been laid to rest by loved ones.

A hero rescuer charged into the water to punch a shark seconds after it attacked a teenager – and it kept stalking rescuers as they brought the victim to shore.

The vision shows the two-metre long shark lurking close to shore and giving chase to the victim as a group of surfers and fellow beachgoers rushed to the young man’s aid.

One of Australia’s biggest health insurers will pay back $35 million after thousands of hospital claims were incorrectly rejected.

Bupa has admitted to engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct and making false or misleading representations by advising customers they were not entitled to private health insurance benefits for their entire claim, when in fact this was not the case.

Bupa has also admitted to engaging in unconscionable conduct in connection with its assessment of 388 mixed coverage claims, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Many customers were left thousands of dollars out of pocket and were forced to fork medical treatments that Bupa was in fact obliged to pay.

Other impacted customers upgraded to more expensive policies to ensure coverage.

The consumer watchdog has instituted Federal Court proceedings against Bupa, which is Australia’s second biggest health insurer.

Bupa APAC CEO Nick Stone has issued an apology and acknowledged that it should ‘never have happened.’

‘Our priority has been to communicate and compensate our affected health insurance customers and providers, along with putting in place measures to help ensure this does not happen again,’ he said in a statement.

Bupa has started compensating affected members, medical providers and hospitals, and hasalready paid $14.3 millio for more than 4,100 affected claims to date.

China has warned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to not to increase defence spending, claiming both countries are ‘friends, not foes’.

Xiao Qian, China’s top diplomat in Australia, has criticised US President Donald Trump’s push for Western allies to increase defence spending.

Following last week’s NATO meeting, all member nations – apart from Spain – agreed to lift defence spending to five per cent of GDP over the next decade.

Qian has ramped up the pressure on Albanese to keep military spending down to its current level, which aims to reach 2.3 per cent of GDP over the next ten years.

The two nurses at the centre of a viral video where they allegedly made violent threats against Israelis have copped further sanctions.

Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh have both received a two-year ban from the National Disability Insurance Scheme, four months after they were stood down from their jobs at Bankstown Hospital.

The pair were among 133 individuals and businesses banned from working with NDIS participants in the first five months of 2025 for various reasons, the Daily Telegraph reported.

They were previously banned from working as nurses nationwide, and their registrations have been suspended by the NSW Nursing and Midwifery Council.

The pair were working at south-west Sydney’s Bankstown Hospital in February when they made the alleged threats in a conversation via online platform Chatruletka.

The pair are currently before the courts.

A man will face court charged with murder after another was found dead inside a car on the Gold Coast.

Police allege a Gold Coast man, 44, suffered head injuries during an altercation at Southport property on Saturday night.

Emergency services were called to the address shortly before 10pm after the man was found unresponsive in a nearby vehicle.

He was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital, where he died early Sunday morning.

Homicide detectives launched an investigation into the man’s death.

A Stafford Heights man, 28, was arrested on Sunday and has since been charged with murder.

He is due to appear in Southport Magistrates Court on Monday.

A powerful low pressure system is forecast to intensify rapidly within 24 hours as it develops off the coast of NSW on Monday.

Starting Tuesday, up to 200mm of rain is expected to lash areas between Newcastle, Sydney, and the Illawarra over just 48 hours.

The growing system is being referred to as a potential ‘bomb cyclone,’ known for its explosive development from calm to chaos in a short time.

Click on the link below for the latest.

The teen allegedly murdered by her housemates will be farewelled by loved ones at a private funeral on Monday.

Family and friends will don bright colours when Pheobe Bishop is laid to rest in Bundaberg, six weeks after the 17-year-old disappeared.

Pheobe was last seen near Bundaberg Airport on May 15 after booking a trip to Western Australia to see her boyfriend, but she never checked in for her flight.

Police allege she was murdered by her housemates James Wood and Tanika Bromley and that her body was moved more than once from Good Night Scrub National Park, an hour’s drive from the airport.

Phone data led officers to focus their search on the park before her remains were found on June 6.

The family has requested a ‘media blackout’ of the funeral, which will be conducted by the’amazing women in Phee’s life.’

‘This is absolutely everybody’s worst nightmare, however, we promised to get Phee home and give her a send-off that Phee would approve of and that’s what will happen,’ Pheobe’s mum Kylie Johnson told the ABC.

‘I would tell people to hug their kids a little tighter, tell them you love them multiple times a day, watch that silly movie, dance to the song and capture every moment in your memories

Anthony Albanese’s government is promising life will get easier on July 1 when new cost-of-living help is rolled out.

Minimum wage workers, new parents, tradie apprentices and families are set to be the big winners during the start of the next financial year.

Inflation has also moderated from recent three-decade highs but things like rent and insurance are still climbing at high levels, with $75 quarterly electricity rebates to expire at the end of 2025.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged new help, starting tomorrow (Tuesday).

A car has ploughed into three people, killing one, after burnout in the NSW Hunter Valley went horribly wrong.

Emergency services were called to a crash on a fire trail off Haul Road, Stockrington, near Kurri Kurri, just after 12am on Sunday.

Police were told a modified Ford Fairmont sedan was performing a burnout when it hit three people.

A 53-year-old man was among those hit by the car and suffered critical head injuries.

He died a short time later.

Two women were also injured in the incident, but left the scene before emergency services arrived.

A man, 22, has since been charged with a string of offences and will appear in Parramatt Local Court on Momday.

A young man was rushed to hospital with multiple stab wounds after he was attacked by a group of 10 males in a suburban park where he had planned to meet up with a girl.

Emergency services were called to Auburn Street in Yagoona in Sydney’s south-west shortly after 8pm on Sunday night, following reports of an injured man with stab wounds.

Police were told that the man was assaulted by a group of males in a park on Nobbs Road before he fled across the train tracks to nearby Auburn Street.

The man, 21, was reportedly at the park to meet up with a girl when he was ambushed by the group.

He then reportedly knocked on doors begging for help before emergency services arrived.

The man was treated at the scene for stab wounds to his thigh and was taken to Liverpool Hospital in a stable condition.

Police established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the incident, which is believed to be a targeted attack.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers.