Thank you for joining us today. This blog has now closed, read below if you want to catch up on all the news from Thursday July 24.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has had an offical account hacked while attempts to to regain control continue to be shot down.

Schrinner offical X social media account has reportedly been hacked this week and, in a strange turn of events, renamed after a American fighter pilot.

The account’s name has been changed to John R. Alison, with the new handle @thanksdaddyfor2.

Alison was a highly decorated American pilot during World War II.

He is often cited as the father of Air Force Special Operations.

Schrinner himself served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1995 to 1997 before starting a career in politics.

He confirmed on Thursday that the account he has been in posession of for the last 16 years had been hacked, saying he was upset the obvious changes to the profile “didn’t raise any suspicions at X”.

“We’ve been trying to get the account restored but the folks at X rejected our request, which is weird,” Schrinner posted on facebook.

“If anyone has Elon Musk’s mobile number, I’d love a quick chat ideally before his trip to Mars.

“In the meantime, Brisbane residents can continue to get all my updates on here.”

Previous posts made by Schrinner remain intact, however the bio has been changed to “keeping not moving”, believed to be a play on Scrinners popular slogan “keeping Brisbane moving”.

An urgent appeal for information has been announced after a man was seriously injured in an alleged attack on the Fraser Coast in Queensland.

Police said they were called to the intersection of Gympie St and the Bruce Hwy in Torbanlea about 9.15pm on Wednesday after reports of a fight.

A 50-year-old Mount Perry man was found by officers with serious head injuries.

Paramedics took the man to Hervey Bay Hospital before he was airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital for further treatment.

“Investigators are appealing to anyone who may have any relevant information, dashcam or CCTV footage to come forward,” police said.

“Investigations are ongoing.”

Workers at a South Australian steelworks factory have been rushed to hospital after becoming sick with potential carbon monoxide poisoning.

Emergency services were called to the Whyalla Steel Works just after 2.30pm on Thursday after workers reported feeling lightheaded.

Paramedics treated three employees for suspected exposure to a carbon monoxide leak.

WorkSafe SA told 7NEWS they were “aware of the incident” and were “making enquiries”.

A Thai F-16 fighter jet bombed targets in Cambodia on Thursday, both sides said, as weeks of tension over a border dispute escalated into clashes that have killed at least nine civilians.

Of the six F-16 fighter jets that Thailand readied to deploy along the disputed border, one of the aircraft fired into Cambodia and destroyed a military target, the Thai army said.

Both countries accused each other of starting the clash early on Thursday.

“We have used air power against military targets as planned,” Thai army deputy spokesperson Richa Suksuwanon told reporters. Thailand also closed its border with Cambodia.

Cambodia’s defence ministry said the jets dropped two bombs on a road, and that it “strongly condemns the reckless and brutal military aggression of the Kingdom of Thailand against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cambodia”.

The skirmishes came after Thailand recalled its ambassador to Cambodia late on Wednesday and said it would expel Cambodia’s envoy in Bangkok, after a second Thai soldier in the space of a week lost a limb to a landmine that Bangkok alleged had been laid recently in the disputed area.

Thai residents in the Surin border province fled to shelters built of concrete and fortified with sandbags and car tires as the two countries exchanged fire.

“How many rounds have been fired? It’s countless,” an unidentified woman told the Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) while hiding in the shelter with gunfire and explosions heard intermittently in the background.

For more than a century, Thailand and Cambodia have contested sovereignty at various undemarcated points along their 817 km land border, which has led to skirmishes over several years and at least a dozen deaths, including during a weeklong exchange of artillery in 2011.

Tensions were reignited in May following the killing of a Cambodian soldier during a brief exchange of gunfire, which escalated into a full-blown diplomatic crisis and now has triggered armed clashes.

LANDMINES

The clashes began early on Thursday near the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple along the eastern border between Cambodia and Thailand, around 360 km from the Thai capital Bangkok.

“Artillery shell fell on people’s homes,” Sutthirot Charoenthanasak, district chief of Kabcheing in Surin province, told Reuters, describing the firing by the Cambodian side.

“Two people have died,” he said, adding that district authorities had evacuated 40,000 civilians from 86 villages near the border to safer locations.

Thailand’s military said Cambodia deployed a surveillance drone before sending troops with heavy weapons to an area near the temple.

Cambodian troops opened fire and two Thai soldiers were wounded, a Thai army spokesperson said, adding Cambodia had used multiple weapons, including rocket launchers.

A spokesperson for Cambodia’s defence ministry, however, said there had been an unprovoked incursion by Thai troops and Cambodian forces had responded in self-defence.

Thailand’s acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said the situation was delicate.

“We have to be careful,” he told reporters. “We will follow international law.”

An attempt by Thai premier Paetongtarn Shinawatra to resolve the recent tensions via a call with Cambodia’s influential former Prime Minister Hun Sen, the contents of which were leaked, kicked off a political storm in Thailand, leading to her suspension by a court.

Hun Sen said in a Facebook post that two Cambodian provinces had come under shelling from the Thai military.

Thailand this week accused Cambodia of placing landmines in a disputed area that injured three soldiers. Phnom Penh denied the claim and said the soldiers had veered off agreed routes and triggered a mine left behind from decades of war.

Cambodia has many landmines left over from its civil war decades ago, numbering in the millions according to de-mining groups.

But Thailand maintains landmines have been placed at the border area recently, which Cambodia has described as baseless allegations.

Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal and Saad Sayeed; Editing by Martin Petty and Raju Gopalakrishnan.

- Reuters, Panu Wongcha-um and Chayut Setboonsarng

An alleged graffiti vandal accused of scaling dozens of landmarks to scrawl cartoon birds has transitioned into a wall-climbing vigilante.

Jack Gibson-Burrell performed as Spider-Man in front of media outside Melbourne Magistrates Court on Thursday, climbing up walls and waddling into a gutter as he left.

The 21-year-old, who is accused of being behind the infamous “Pam the Bird” tag, declined to speak during the spectacle, which carried on down the city-centre pavement towards a train station.

“Why Spider-Man? Are you protecting the neighbourhood?” a television reporter asked as he left.

Gibson-Burrell, who changed back into a shirt and pants to face court, was facing 60 charges when he last appeared in February but is now charged with 208 offences.

He is accused of breaking into Victorian train stations, abseiling off buildings and scaling heritage-listed sites to spray-paint “Pam the Bird”.

Alongside co-accused Matthew Raoul White, 39, Gibson-Burrell allegedly trespassed into Flinders Street Station in July 2024 and abseiled onto the clock tower to paint the bird.

Gibson-Burrell also allegedly graffitied Footscray’s heritage-listed Uncle Toby’s factory in June, Channel Nine’s Melbourne headquarters in September and the “Cheese Stick” column on CityLink road in October.

Police previously estimated the damage bill for Gibson-Burrell’s alleged vandalism at more than $100,000.

He’s further accused of stabbing a man in West Footscray, punching a worker in the face at Emporium Melbourne, stealing multiple cars in Torquay and ram-raiding a Nando’s restaurant in Footscray.

Prosecutor Brayden Sharp confirmed additional charges had been filed against Gibson-Burrell since the last hearing, bringing the total up to 208.

Details of the additional 148 offences were not aired in court.

Defence lawyer Micky Milardovic said the police investigation was conducted over a “significant period of time” and some of the charges included previous proceedings.

The court was told the case will go to a committal hearing in February with six witnesses to be called, including police and a civilian.

Milardovic said co-accused White had made a plea offer to prosecutors for them to consider, which was why his case had been separately adjourned to a committal mention in August.

Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz adjourned Gibson-Burrell’s case for a two-day committal hearing and approved defence’s application to cross-examine the witnesses.

A committal allows evidence to be tested before a magistrate decides whether to commit the case to trial in a higher court.

Gibson-Burrell is yet to enter a plea to any of the offences.

His bail was extended to the committal hearing, which will begin on February 2, 2026.

- AAP Emily Woods

A Queensland shop has been evacuated, and multiple people treated by paramedics after an unknown chemical leak causes midday mayhem on the Gold Coast.

Emergency crews were called after a strong unknown smell forced the evacuation of a shop, located inside the Arundel shopping plaza, on the Gold Coast just after 12.30pm on Thursday.

At least four Queensland fire department crews were on scene, with hazmat specialists seen still doing chemical tests and readings in the area at 1.10pm.

Queensland Ambulance said paramedics are currently treating eight stable patients for eye irritation.

It is still unknown what the chemical was and what caused the leak.

Police divers are returning to examine a submerged car which may be linked to the cold case disappearance of a teen and the death of her mother 25 years ago.

The car was found on July 18 at Garden Island, north of Adelaide – not far from Blair Athol where 15-year-old Melissa Trussell and her mother Rosemary Brown, 33, went missing on May 13, 2000.

Rosemary’s body was found at Garden Island on July 2, 2000 but Melissa remains missing.

South Australia Police are unsure if the car is related to the case, and divers are removing silt and examining it to see if it warrants being brought to the surface for further investigation.

A man who allegedly followed women at shopping centres in Melbourne and took photos of them has been charged.

The man allegedly took photos of women using a mobile phone at shopping centres in Ringwood and Glen Waverley, as well as at a motor event in the CBD, between March and July.

He then allegedly posted the images online.

On Thursday police executed a search warrant at an address in Mitcham where they found and seized a number of mobile phones, laptops and storage devices.

A 37-year-old man was arrested and has since been charged with 17 offences, including produce intimate image and distribute intimate image.

He was bailed to appear before Ringwood Magistrates Court in September.

A woman has been charged after allegedly stealing a car with a therapy dog inside in Brisbane’s inner south.

About 4.20pm on Wednesday a 44-year-old man got out of his Mazda 3 on Logan Rd in Stones Corner.

When he returned to the car he found it had allegedly been stolen.

A 29-year-old woman was inside the car allegedly attempting to drive away.

She was arrested by police and charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle and unlawful possession of suspected stolen property.

The woman will face Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday.