TRANSCRIPT:
- A 13 year old to face court over a supermarket stabbing;
- Firefighters race to contain LA fires ahead of a concerning weather forecast;
- Jannik Sinner has made a successful start to his Australian Open title defence.
A 13 year old boy has been charged with the stabbing of a supermarket worker in Queensland.
Police allege the teen stabbed the 63 year old woman in the back at a Coles store in Ipswich before running away.
But it's understood members of the public held onto the teenager until police arrived.
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Police in Victoria say they are close to identifying the person who attacked an elderly woman in the 1980s.
Detective Inspector Mark Burnett says advances in DNA technology and tip-offs have provided vital clues to the two sexual assaults of the woman in her Melbourne home.
The Detective Inspector says they just need the help of the woman's neighbours and anyone else with information about the assailant to finally solve the brutal crimes after more than four decades.
He says new information provided so long after the attack can still make an enormous difference.
"It is as important as ever that the person responsible is brought to justice and I absolutely believe that with the right information, it can be solved."
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Dangerously high winds are expected to return to Los Angeles in the next day or so, jeopardising efforts to contain two massive wildfires that have levelled whole neighbourhoods and claimed the lives of at least two dozen people.
The National Weather Service has predicted dry Santa Ana winds of up to 80-110 kilometres.
Officials say crews have been able to keep the fires from spreading overnight and are preparing for the increased winds in the days ahead.
Major General Pat Ryder says the National Guard has also been helping with those efforts.
“As part of our ongoing support to California, over 1,800 California National Guardsmen have been activated to assist with the firefighting efforts, including hand crews, rotary wing aircraft and military police that are working in support of local law enforcement. Additionally, eight C-130s equipped with the modular airborne firefighting system, or MAFS, are currently on station at Channel Islands Air National Guard Station to support aerial firefighting efforts.”
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At least 100 miners have died after becoming trapped in an abandoned gold mine in South Africa’s North West province.
Sabelo Mnguni from the Mining Affected Communities United in Action Group says the men likely died from starvation or dehydration.
The mine has been the scene of a standoff between police and miners since authorities first attempted to force the miners out and seal the site two months ago.
Illegal mining is common in parts of South Africa where companies close down operations that are no longer profitable, leaving groups of informal miners to illegally enter them to try and find leftover deposits.
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A national strategy for autism has been unveiled in Australia.
The action plan aims to address the social and economic exclusion often experienced by autistic people, as well as improve access to diagnosis and support services.
National Autism Strategy Oversight Council co-chair Clare Gibellini says the strategy recognises change is needed.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has told the ABC that her own family has experienced first hand how hard it is to have the right tests and diagnosis done for her autistic daughter.
"And how, in a sense, without all of that, how lost I think she felt for, you know, many years as we navigated that path. So trying to make that easier for parents and autistic people themselves is really important. And Amanda Rishworth has done an incredible job on this and I'm really pleased to have the first strategy out there now."
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A man's body has been found days after he went missing in a rain-swollen dam in Queensland.
Police say he was located after a massive search by police, SES volunteers, and swift water rescue teams.
The man in his 40s was reported missing after he dived into Beardmore Dam near St George, in Queensland's southwest, and failed to resurface.
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Jannik Sinner has made a successful start to his Australian Open title defence with a straight-sets win over Nicolas Jarry.
Sinner had this to say following the match.
It was a tough match as you saw, especially the first couple of sets, you know, could've gone both ways. But I am very happy how I handled that situation. Um, ya, that's it. Obviously I'm happy to win the first match pf the season. Now we see what's coming in the next round."
Sinner made headlines off the court last year after testing positive to a banned anabolic steroid.
He avoided a suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency ruled it was a matter of accidental contamination, but the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed that ruling and is seeking a ban of a year or more.