Afternoon Update: bomb scare at house flying Palestinian flag; flood evacuations for parts of Victoria; and gym-goers see mental health boost | Australia news
Good afternoon, and welcome back. The NSW bomb squad was called in after a homemade device was planted on a car outside a Sydney home flying the Palestinian flag.
The car was in the driveway of a Botany home when the device was noticed. The Palestinian flag is displayed on the front fence of the house. Liberal MP Simon Birmingham denounced the act, calling it “reprehensible” and adding that “this act has no place in our nation”.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Gaza, Wael al-Dahdouh, is mourning the death of his son in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza. His son, Hamza Wael Dahdouh – also a journalist for Al Jazeera – was killed alongside Mustafa Thuria, a freelance video journalist for AFP. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 79 journalists and media workers have been killed during the war, 72 of whom were Palestinian.
Top news
Flooded farm fields near Bendigo. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP
Hundreds call for help amid heavy rainfall in Victoria | Evacuation orders have been issued for parts of two Victorian towns, Seymour and Yea, due to the risk of flooding. Almost 700 requests for assistance were made to VicSES in the 24 hours to 6am Monday morning, and 26 people were rescued as heavy rainfall inundated the state.
Suspected MDMA overdoses at Melbourne music festival | Eight young people have been placed in medically induced comas after suspected MDMA overdoses at the Hardmission electronic music festival, which was held at Flemington racecourse on Saturday.
One of the $1.2m worth of native reptiles seized by NSW police which were allegedly being exported to Hong Kong. Photograph: NSW Police
Hundreds of lizards rescued in police bust | A criminal syndicate allegedly planning to export more than $1m worth of Australian reptiles to Hong Kong has been busted, NSW police say. Over the course of the investigation officers located 257 lizards, which were taken to various zoos and wildlife parks for examination by a vet before being released back into the wild.
Man charged with murder over NSW house fire that killed woman | Emergency services were called to a home in Bribbaree, roughly 400km west of Sydney, about noon on Sunday to find a 65-year-old woman suffering severe burns. She was airlifted in a critical condition to Royal North Shore hospital where she died about 3am on Monday. Police were treating the death as a domestic violence incident and said a 42-year-old man was arrested at Parkes police station.
A tidy mouse in Wales, caught on camera. Photograph: Animal News Agency
Mouse secretly filmed tidying man’s shed every night | Rodney Holbrook, a wildlife photographer, noticed that objects he left out of place were being mysteriously put back where they belonged overnight. Holbrook, from Builth Wells in Powys, Wales, set up a night vision camera on his workbench to find out what was happening. Watch the video.
Feds block Victorian plan to build wind turbine plant | Tanya Plibersek has blocked plans by the Victorian government to build a plant to assemble wind turbines for offshore windfarms at the Port of Hastings because it was likely to cause “irreversible damage to the habitat of waterbirds and migratory birds and marine invertebrates and fish” that were critical to the wetland.
Donald Trump campaigns in Clinton, Iowa. Photograph: Cheney Orr/Reuters
Trump fails to sign Illinois pledge not to overthrow government | Joe Biden’s 2024 election campaign has lambasted Donald Trump for failing to sign a loyalty oath in the state of Illinois, in which candidates pledge against advocating for an overthrow of the government. Fellow Republican contenders Nikki Haley and Chris Christie also have not signed.
Low turnout in Bangladesh elections | Bangladesh’s prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has won re-election for a fifth term after a boycott led by an opposition party she called a “terrorist organisation”. The turnout was as low as 40%.
In pictures
Sarah Snook poses with the award for best television series – drama for Succession at the 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
2024 Golden Globes red carpet
Click here for the photo gallery and here for the full list of winners, among them Australian actors Sarah Snook and Elizabeth Debicki.
What they said …
Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP
“There’s no shortage of challenges in our economy as we start 2024, but we are confident that we can overcome them. The interest rates are slowing the economy. We are seeing global uncertainty and global conflict. We are seeing persistent inflation. We’ve had this heavy weather. All of this combined will weigh on our economy in the opening months of 2024 and in the year ahead.” – Jim Chalmers, federal treasurer
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In numbers
Illustration: Guardian Design
Some inspiration if your new year resolution included hitting the gym.
Before bed read
Photograph: James Ross/EPA
Do you think Australian cities should follow the lead of several European cities and trial fare-free public transport? The southern French city of Montpellier is the latest to recognise the benefits of incentivising residents to get on buses, trams and trains.
The Guardian’s view is that fare-free public transport is good for people, as well as the planet.
Daily word game
Photograph: The Guardian
Today’s starter word is: SALS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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Original Photo by Orhun Uygur for Insomniac Events That’s a wrap on 2023. Insomniac, the foremost promoter of North America West Coast raves, just capped off their 30th anniversary year with Countdown NYE at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino. Featuring incredible performances from Tiësto, Oliver Heldens, Kayzo, Eli Brown, the Chainsmokers, deadmau5, Porter Robinson and many more; all amongst the theme of an impending alien invasion. This year’s Countdown just got even bigger and better, as Insomniac always […]
