Kimberley Echo

An urgent search is underway for a missing teenager in WA’s Pilbara region. WA Police issued an appeal late on Friday for help finding 13-year-old Ezsheerika Balacky, who was last seen in Karratha on Wednesday, July 15 and subsequently reported missing. Ezsheerika was described as short with long straight black hair and a tanned complexion. Police say she frequented the South Hedland area. Anyone who sees Ezsheerika has been urged to call police immediately on 131 444 and quote CAD 527876.

A plane has been forced to be diverted after it began “shaking violently” leaving passengers “crying” and “praying” for their lives. The United Airlines flight was travelling from Rome to Newark in the US on July 11 when it wound up in trouble. About three hours into the 10 hour journey, the plane was diverted to Shannon, Ireland. Passenger Zach K told People that he was travelling home from an Italian holiday with his fiancé.

For travellers contemplating a relaxing stay in Vietnamese hotspot Nha Trang, I have some buyer-beware advice. And this advice could avoid you finding yourself bedless, broke and broken on arrival. Despite being rated “a superb 9.5/10 rated dream property” on a major global booking site, you could easily find your supposed delightful digs to be dodgy-as or even an artful dodger — impossible to find, even for a taxi driver as experienced as ours.

The 31-year-old was diving at a depth of about eight metres when the attack happened. A diver has been attacked by a shark in Tasmania. Police said the 31-year-old man was diving with two others near Cole Point, Adventure Bay when the attack happened. It is understood they were diving at a depth of about eight metres approximately 50 metres offshore at the time of the attack. The man from southern Tasmania was able to get to shore with the assistance of the other divers.

Australia’s home affairs minister has angrily hit out at comments made by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson on a podcast with a British far right commentator. Appearing on a broadcast alongside the controversial Tommy Robinson, Senator Hanson appeared to blame migration issues on the abolition of the White Australia policy 50 years ago. Introduced after 1901, the measure restricted non-European immigration to the country and was torn up in 1973.

Anthony Albanese has delivered a pointed message to voters of One Nation. The Prime Minister was asked about One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts’ comments about COVID-19 vaccinations, published by The ABC on Saturday morning. The Senator from Queensland claimed half of pregnant women who received the vaccine experienced a miscarriage. There is no evidence that vaccinations increase the risk of miscarriage.

Albatross Tours specialises purely in Europe, with smaller groups and longer stays, and has just released its Europe and UK 2027 tours and brochure. They are trusted friends of Travel and we partnered with them for our successful tour through less-visited areas of Italy. Megan French travelled with them through England. Their tours are a mix of highlights, smooth travel arrangements, excellent tour managers and guides, and enough free time to just wander, explore and be.

Fly to Sydney, stay a night and sail for 11 nights back to Fremantle, from $5475 per person. It’s a neat idea for West Australian travellers and a chance to call at Newcastle, Melbourne, Adelaide, Albany and Busselton for Margaret River. And, of course, sail the stunning southern coast of Australia. The 11-night Southern Australia Explorer voyage is on Crown Princess, with all onboard meals and entertainment included.

Europe is increasingly laced with rapid railways, their sleek, air-conditioned trains whizzing punctually from city to city — and sometimes across borders — at speeds exceeding 200km/h (and occasionally 300km/h). But they’re not all like that. Regional services linking urban areas with commuter suburbs and rural towns and villages are much greater in number and move at a distinctly more sluggish pace.

Paul Pelosi, husband of former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been charged with a misdemeanour hit-and-run over a collision with a parked car. Pelosi, 86, was driving his brown convertible on July 3 in Yountville, California, a town in the heart of wine country, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, the Napa County Sheriff's Office said in a statement at the time. He briefly stopped and then allegedly drove away.