New figures from property data firm Cotality show house prices have fallen nationally for a fifth consecutive month

Prices dropped zero-point-nine per cent in August

Sydney prices dropped the most, falling one-point-four percent...followed by Melbourne and Canberra.

Experts say the drop is a result of three interest rates hikes this year, economic uncertainty and changes to the capital gains tax discount.

Rescuers in Nepal are racing to free workers feared trapped in hydropower project tunnels, in the wake of a flash flood that's killed more than 950 people.

Hundreds of workers are unaccounted for at a dozen hydropower projects close to Nepal's border with China.

Experts say that some workers could have access to oxygen, but others are warning that the chances of finding survivors is diminishing.

Thousands of people remain missing, including at least 45 Australians.

Lionel Messi has ended his career with Argentina's soccer team, after nearly two decades representing the national side.

Messi has played in six World Cups and won the tournament in Qatar in 20-22.

He led Argentina to the final this year, losing to Spain.

The 39-year-old's father and agent Jorge died last month, and Messi posted online saying he didn't know how he could go on without him.

He did not reveal when he will stop playing club football.

For more news at any time you can follow the ABC News Top Stories podcast.

Listen to the latest updates from ABC News

Listen to the latest updates from ABC News

The Nepali army says search-and-rescue teams are using controlled blasts and excavators to try to reach trapped people, as the death toll from catastrophic flooding in the region climbs to more than 900. Efforts are intensifying around several hydropower sites, where it's believed there are hundreds of people trapped in tunnels.

Police are appealing for information, as they search for the mother of a newborn baby whose body was found in a bin in western Sydney. Officers say the unclothed baby's body was found in the bin of a unit block at Harrow Street, Auburn, just after 11AM and is believed to have been inside the bin for up to 36 hours.

And One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has accused the prime minister of inciting violence over comments he made about the party, after it's latest victory in the safe WA Labor seat of Secret Harbour. In a speech in Brisbane on Sunday, Anthony Albanese took aim at the resurgent minor party, while also claiming 'hard right populists' were peddling dangerous and divisive politics.

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Nepal has a booming hydro-electric power industry with workers toiling away in underground tunnels at multiple sites. 

Around 900 of these workers are believed to be trapped since the torrent of water, mud and debris tore through the border area of Nepal and Tibet. 

There's hope that some of them could still be alive and there's a desperate effort to reach them, complicated by mud and damage to roads.

Police are appealing for help to find a mother, after the body of a newborn baby was found in a garbage bin in Sydney's west. Emergency services were called to Harrow Road in Auburn just after 11 o'clock this morning. Police say they hold serious concerns for the welfare of the baby's mother, and are urging her to attend the nearest hospital to receive urgent care.

The death toll in devastating flash floods in Nepal and Tibet has jumped to more than 900 people, while thousands remain missing, including 43 Australians. Nepal says it's intensifying efforts to free at least 933 people trapped inside tunnels at around half a dozen hydropower projects, crews have been attempting to make contact but have so far received no response from inside.

And there are calls for greater oversight of telehealth clinics, after an online clinic prescribed an Ozempic-like drug to a patient with a history of anorexia nervosa.

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Authorities in Nepal are warning of possible fresh flooding, urging residents in flood-affected districts to remain on high alert. Flood warning notices have been sent to people's phones, as rescue crews work to clear a major highway connecting Kathmandu to one of the areas worst hit by last week's catastrophic floods. At least 800 people have been confirmed dead, but thousands of others are still missing in Nepal and Tibet including 43 Australians. 

Attorney General Michelle Rowland says the government wants to bolster Australians' safety through a series of new privacy protections. Under the proposal, companies could no longer justify collecting more information than they need. People will also be given the right to erase their data from platforms and there'll be stronger rules on how organisations respond to data breaches. 

And administrators of the embattled Bathla Group say its demise is just days away if they can't secure urgent funding to pay 350 staff by Thursday. The major property developer went into administration last week with debts exceeding $3.2 billion.

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A new NASA telescope that could change the way we view the universe has been successfully launched into space.

The Nancy Grace Roman telescope will eventually take up position about a million miles from earth and has the ability to explore black holes, dark energy, dark matter and discover new planets.

Apple gift cards have been used by scammers who lure unsuspecting victims to send over laundered money. 

But imagine if you bought gift cards from a major supermarket only to find the balance was drained when you went to make a purchase. 

It involved tampering with the physical cards and victims are being given the run-around. 

Australians are being caught up in a growing problem involving gift card fraud.

Some shoppers say they're buying gift cards, only to find the activation barcode scratched out and the credit already spent.

An ABC investigation has found police have busted a scam involving Apple gift cards sold at Coles supermarkets in Sydney.

US authoritieis says it's impacting many countries.

A Melbourne geologist advising teams trying to rescue about 100 people stuck in Nepal's hydropower tunnels since last week's flood, says many may have drowned already.

Professor Arnold Dix says rescue teams are working around the clock with shovels.

But the threat of further flooding is also looming, with a backlog of water building up on the Chinese side of the border.

More than 800 people have died in the flood disaster and 3,000 remain missing, including 43 Australians.

Penguin experts are gathering on Phillip Island in Victoria for a major international conference, as colonies across the country face the deadly threat of bird flu

The H5 strain of bird flu has been detected in little penguins on the island, while more than 400 positive cases have been recorded in wildlife nationally.

Earlier this month 1,000 little penguins on Phillip Island received a dose of the H5N1 bird flu vaccine.

Authorities are planning to vaccinate 5,000 of the island's 40,000-bird population.

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