In this bulletin;
- Police appeal for information about man suspected of Christmas Day arson attack;
- Extreme weather warnings across the country;
- And in sport, LawConnect leads the fleet as the 80th annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race gets underway.
Police have named a person of interest in their investigation into a suspected arson attack on a rabbi's car in Melbourne.
Early on Christmas Day, a car with a billboard celebrating Hannukah was set alight in St Kilda East.
Victoria police say they're hoping to speak with 47-year-old John Argento following early investigations suggesting he may be able to assist.
They also want to talk to him about a car that was broken into about 20 minutes after the alleged arson attack.
Assistant Police Commissioner Chris Gilbert says while the motive remains unclear, they won't rule anything out yet.
"Our responsibility at this stage is to make sure that we don't take anything off the table. We look at it and certainly, if it was racially or religiously motivated, we will follow that angle and if it's not, then, you know, we'll sort out the matters as they are. The most important thing at the moment is that we speak to him and we understand what they are, because we want to make sure the community doesn't live in fear as a result of this incident."
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A man has been charged after allegedly performing Nazi salutes and distributing "propaganda style" stickers at a Canberra shopping centre.
The 18-year-old Weston local was allegedly putting Nationalist Socialist Network stickers on public buildings before performing a Nazi salute.
He also allegedly trespassed at the Australian National University multiple times in August to put up the stickers.
He has been charged with trespassing and defacing Commonwealth property, and performing Nazi salutes in public, which carries a punishment of up to five years in prison.
AFP Assistant Commissioner Stephen Nutt says every measure is being taken to address acts of hate.
"Let me be clear, there is no place for hate and threats of violence against the Australian community. The AFP will take every step, every measure, to defend Australia from such threats and behavior. Antisemitism is a cancer, it is something that needs to be dealt with and removed from Australian society, that is what the AFP is doing and we're taking every action to do that."
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A bush fire is continuing to rage about 200km southeast of Perth, although authorities are no longer urging nearby residents to leave their homes.
Investigators believe dry, gusty winds and extreme heat ignited the blaze at the Boddington gold mine.
The risk has been downgraded to "watch and act," although the bushfire remains uncontrolled and uncontained, and wind changes are expected.
According to the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, increasing humidity and consolidated containment lines are increasing the chance of fires.
Nearby residents say they have been on alert since Monday.
"We were just watering the house down, like from nine o'clock onwards, non stop, the house three doors down went up two days earlier. So we were we've been on alert since Monday."
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Presidential candidates in Guinea have held their final political rallies ahead of this weekend's election.
Around 6.8 million people are eligible to vote in the west African country, with the choice of nine candidates including junta leader General Mamady Doumbouya.
Despite promises to return power to civilians when he took over in 2021, Mr Doumbouya is running for president in an election with all the main opposition barred.
His supporters, like Mariame Kourouma, say he has given people more opportunity.
“I’m here to support Mamadi Doumbouya because of his kindness, for the job opportunities he gave to the people who need it, and for the efforts he did for us, for the population. So we are here to support him as the president of our country.”
Guinea's opposition is calling for a boycott of the vote, which follows a tenure marked by repression, imprisonment, and disappearances of vocal opponents.
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To sport now and in sailing,
The 80th edition of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race is underway and LawConnect is leading the fleet in pursuit of it's third straight line honours title.
Lucky and Palm Beach XI were in hot pursuit of the defending champions, who have legendary swimmer Ian Thorpe on board this year, and Master Lock Comanche as the yachts headed out of Sydney harbour.
Crews can expect a cold first night with swell between three and four metres, with upwind conditions also increasing the chance of damage to boats.
Ahead of the race, co-owner of Master Lock Comanche Matt Allen says the race could go anyone's way.
"I think it's really open fleet, you know, there's going to be some breakages, you know, through the course of tonight and tomorrow morning. The seas are going to be pretty big, you know, we're going to see maximum wave height of around about five and a half meters, with a bit of current. So they're going to be steep waves, and it's going to be a matter of really balancing how hard you can push, and so I think it's pretty open between probably three or four boats."
