TRANSCRIPT
- Medicare and bulk-billing central features in Labor's federal election pitch
- Tense scenes between police and protesters in South Korea as impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol faces arrest
- Novak Djokovic advances to the Brisbane International quarterfinals
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler says improving bulk-billing and strengthening Medicare will be key features of Labor's federal election platform.
A date for the federal election has yet to be announced, but the campaigning on policies has already begun.
Mr Butler says addressing the cost and access issues related to visiting the family doctor is something Labor is focused on.
"Of course, we'd like to do more in bulk billing, where we've been committed to Medicare since we introduced it over forty years ago. We're focused on getting more doctors into the system. We're focused on more bulk billing, and we're focused on more options for Urgent Care. We've delivered a whole range of things that are making a really meaningful difference to general practice and to the options, the affordable options for patients, but we know there's more to do."
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South Korean anti-corruption investigators have arrived at the residence of the impeached president, Yoon Suk Yeol to carry out an arrest warrant.
Yoon is under criminal investigation for his short-lived martial law attempt on December 3.
An arrest would be unprecedented for an incumbent South Korean president.
Broadcaster YTN reported that about 2,800 police had been mobilised in preparation for executing the warrant.
Protesters outside Mr Yoon's residence vowed to block any attempt to arrest him.
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In the US city of New Orleans, Bourbon Street has reopened after 14 people were killed when a driver rammed into a crowd early on New Year’s Day.
The incident is being investigated as an act of terrorism after a flag from the self-proclaimed IS group was found in the suspect's vehicle.
The FBI says it now believes the suspect - named as Texas-born US Army veteran Shamsud-Din Jabbar - acted alone.
New Orleans Police Superintendent Anne Kirkpatrick says measures are being taken to prevent a similar attack from happening again.
"We have brought in heavy trucks. You will see when you go down Bourbon, you will see yellow, what we call archers. And they are along the sidewalk. And that would be to be preventive if someone had or if this particular terrorist went around up on the sidewalk, that's what that would do. It would slow that down for anyone who thought that they could reach targets. ... Also you are going to see an incredibly large presence of police."
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Researchers have uncovered around 200 dinosaur footprints dating back to the middle Jurassic era.
The buried prints came to light when quarry worker Gary Johnson felt what he called 'unusual bumps' as he was stripping the clay back with his vehicle in order to expose the quarry floor in Oxfordshire, southern England.
The tracks show the movement behaviours of reptiles, such as the nine-metre predator Megalosaurus.
The large, meat-eating dinosaur was one of the first dinosaurs ever found and the first named in 1824, marking the beginning of 200 years of dinosaur science and public interest.
Dr Emma Nichols is the collections manager at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
She says more than one hundred researchers have been involved in excavating the site.
"So it's just so exciting to be part of an excavation, or to lead an excavation, that is looking at such a wide, large geographical area. We're several days into the excavation now, and we're still discovering more trackways. And also the interactions between those trackways is just so exciting."
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In Tennis, Novak Djokovic's bid for a 100th ATP Tour title has gained momentum, after he advanced to the Brisbane International quarterfinals.
The Serbian defeated Gael Monfils 6-3 6-3 in his 20th-straight victory over the French player, nearly two decades after their first encounter in the opening round of the 2005 US Open.
It brings the 37-year-old a step closer to his goal of joining Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors as players who have won at least 100 titles.
Djokovic says there is a new factor that he believes has improved his playing - his wife and children are with him for the first time in Australia.
"So far it is working very well. I am feeling well on the court. I am playing great. Every time that you have to separate from your kids and your wife - there's a lot of tears involved. And it is not easy. And then you start to question yourself why do I have to do it over and over again. I am more motivated. I am also more calm, more serene. I spend great quality tiem with them. And it also allows me to not think about tennis 24/7. So it is a great balance so far."
