TRANSCRIPT
- More homes destroyed as fires continue to burn across Western Australia;
- 76 members of a family in Gaza reportedly killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza City;
- Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham side have pushed into the Premier League top four after a hard-fought win against Everton.
Two more homes have been destroyed by the bushfires in Perth as authorities warn of more difficult days ahead.
Authorities say both homes were lost as fire crews battled the flames in Keysbrook, south of Perth, but are fortunately believed to have been empty.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Russell Wells says the causes of the fires are not yet known.
"We have around 100 to 150 firefighters on the scene, as well as a number of other support agencies including Western Power and of course our local government partners and they're working hard to restore services to the community. So there's a number of power lines and power disruptions in place. The cause of the fire is still undetermined and there are still investigations ongoing between the W-A Police and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services on the cause"
Authorities say they have concerns that easterly winds may bring the flames across containment lines.
The Bureau of Meteorology says severe heat warnings will remain in place across Western Australia for some time to come.
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Rainfall is slowly making its way through rivers in far north Queensland as the clean up from ex-tropical cyclone Jasper continues.
Multiple rivers in Cape York are expected to face the continued impact of flooding for the next several days following ex-tropical cyclone Jasper.
Catchments being monitored include the Mitchell River, Magnificent Creek, Stewart River, Normanby River, Jeannie River and Endeavour River.
Meanwhile, floodwaters and rain have eased in the Cairns region, allowing a massive recovery effort to begin.
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Russia's central electoral commission has voted not to allow former TV journalist Yekaterina Duntsova to enter as a presidential candidate.
The unanimous decision was reportedly made because of mistakes made in her application.
Duntsova was planning to run on a platform of ending the war in Ukraine and freeing political prisoners.
The Kremlin says Putin will win the election because of his genuine public support.
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Seventy-six members of an extended family in Gaza have reportedly been killed in an Israeli Defence Force airstrike on Gaza City.
A spokesman for Gaza's civil defence department says the strike is among the deadliest they've seen in the Israel-Hamas war.
Israeli officials say they have arrested 200 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups over the past week and taken them in for questioning.
It comes as Israeli forces have continued airstrikes in Gaza's north, where they are seeking full control so they can focus their offensive on the south.
Thick smoke hung over the northern town of Jabalia - which is also home to Gaza's largest refugee camp - and residents reported persistent aerial bombardment and shelling from Israeli tanks, which they said had moved further into the town.
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Cost-of-living pressures are making Australians more likely to hunt for bargains in sales than spend big before Christmas.
The Australian Retailers Association says many Australians already did their gift-shopping for Christmas during Black Friday Sales at the start of November.
CEO Paul Zara says sales in the pre-Christmas period number about 67.4 billion dollars, which is up 1 per cent from last year.
But, he explains, the reality of those numbers is a little more complicated.
"When you take into account (that) there's an additional million people in the country, through immigration, students - and with overall price increases - gift spending is actually down. We expected Australians to spend about $646 dollars per person on gifting (in 2023) versus last year, which was $700 dollars per person. There's no doubt the cost-of-living crunch has fed into Christmas and we've seen that people have been a little bit more savvier about how they've spent their money, and that's why Black Friday has been so popular. We saw people wanting to stretch their household budget a little, as far as they possibly can."
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In football, Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspurs have ensured they would be in the English Premier League top four at Christmas after a hard-fought 2-1 home win against Everton.
Richarlison scored for a third consecutive match against his old club, with captain Son Heung-min scoring another goal within 20 minutes and guaranteeing an end to Everton's winning streak.
Everton dominated possession in the second half, propelled by a goal from Andre Gomes eight minutes from time, but Tottenham were able to keep the team at bay.
It was a typically entertaining, high risk-reward performance from the Australian coach's team that has capped an impressive December and taken them back into the top four.
