TRANSCRIPT:
Police are searching for two people who allegedly spray-painted Nazi symbols on an inner western Sydney synagogue over the weekend.
The counter-terrorism unit from New South Wales Police is leading the investigation, releasing images of two people clad in black clothing they want to speak to over the attack in Newtown.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns says the state government will boost security following a spate of attacks targeting the Jewish community.
"We are of course appalled to see antisemitic crime on the street of Sydney in New South Wales. There's never any justification for this kind of racist, antisemitic targeted attacks on our members of community. We are a beautiful multicultural community, but it rests on the premise that people are free to practice their religion, free from discrimination, violence, hatred and racism."
.
The death toll from the LA fires has risen to 16 as the battle to contain six separate blazes continues.
California Governor Gavin Newsom says he expected that number to increase even further, as teams are deployed with cadaver dogs on search and rescue missions.
Firefighters have made slow progress in their efforts to contain the inferno, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency says active duty military personnel are ready to support the firefighting effort.
The blazes have damaged or destroyed 12,000 structures, while more than 100,000 people in Los Angeles County have been ordered to evacuate.
.
The Liberal party has unveiled some of its election promises in an unofficial campaign launch in Melbourne's east.
Speaking from the electorate of Chisholm, party leader Peter Dutton has declared dealing with cost of living pressures, establishing nuclear power, and building a closer relationship with Israel will be part of his party's election agenda.
He says migration is also important.
"Rebalancing our migration program and fixing our housing crisis will be absolutely priority for a Coalition government. Labor has opened the migration floodgates. A record of one million migrants have arrived in Labor's first two years. Migration has been great for our country, but it needs to be well managed."
.
Fewer GP clinics than ever are taking new bulk-billed customers.
Healthcare directory Cleanbill's annual survey of nearly 7,000 GP clinics has found Australia's bulk billing rate has plummeted to 20.7 per cent at the start of 2025, down from 35.7 per cent two years earlier.
Health program director at Grattan Institute Peter Breadon says there are some areas where these changes are impacting patients especially hard.
"Rural and remote areas, the ACT and Canberra, Tasmania and Hobart. And so we know bulk billing is very strongly linked to the number of GPs in an area. So these GP deserts are also bulk billing deserts."
.
A search is under way for a man in a swollen dam in Queensland.
It is understood he jumped from the Beardmore Dam wall in St George, in the southwest of the state, and was pulled into a strong current after trying to resurface.
Police, State Emergency Services, swift water rescue crews and aerial teams have launched an operation to find the man.
.
Penny Wong will attend the impending inauguration of Donald Trump in the US.
The foreign minister says she is "honoured" to be invited, calling it a demonstration of Australia's "steadfast alliance" with the US.
Senator Wong has become the first Foreign Minister in recent memory to even be invited to the ceremony.
Her visit will also include meeting members of the Trump administration and Congress.
.
The Indian city of Prayagraj is preparing to host millions of Hindu pilgrims during the Hindu festival Kumbh Mela.
The event - held once every 12 years - continues over the next six weeks.
In that time, more than 400 million people are expected to take a holy dip at the confluence of three sacred rivers - the Ganga, the Yamuna, and the mythical, invisible Saraswati.
Kali Begum is visiting from Punjab and says she is enjoying the atmosphere.
"A visit to the Kumbh Mela helps cleanse sins of several lives. It was by God's grace that we could come here. I had never seen something as wonderful as this, never been to such a massive festival before."
