Three people, including two brothers from Australia, killed in a missile attack in southern Lebanon; the number of people killed during the storms on the east coast increases to ten and Andoo Comanche and LawConnect lead the fleet in the Sydney to Hobart
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TRANSCRIPT
- Three people, including two brothers from Australia, killed in a missile attack in southern Lebanon
- The number of people killed during the storms on the east coast increases to ten
- Andoo Comanche and LawConnect lead the fleet in the Sydney to Hobart
Lebanon's National News Agency has reported that two brothers from Australia and one of their wives are believed to have been killed during an Israeli air strike on south Lebanon.
Ibrahim and Ali Bazzi were residents of south east Sydney's St George area and had travelled to Lebanon's Bint Jbeil overnight to retrieve Ibrahim's wife, Shorouk Hammoud.
Ms Hammoud had recently acquired an Australian visa and was planning to move back to Sydney and live with her husband to avoid spreading conflict.
The reports that the missile which killed the three was of Israeli origin remain unverified.
The Department of Home Affairs and Trade says it is aware of the reports and is seeking confirmation.
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The number of people who have been killed by the heavy weather hitting the nation's east coast has increased to ten, after a man's body was found in Victoria's East Gippsland region.
In Queensland, the remains of two women aged 46 and 40 were recovered near Gympie, while three men have also been confirmed dead after their boat capsized in Moreton Bay.
A 59-year-old woman has also been killed by a falling tree on Christmas Day, while the authorities have located the body of a nine-year-old girl who had gone missing in the Brisbane floods.
In Victoria, a 44-year-old man from Bunyip was killed on Boxing Day by a falling branch, and police found a yet-to-be-identified body of a woman at a campground hit by the floods.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has called for people to follow the instructions provided by the authorities as the situation continues.
"So, the events have certainly taken a tragic turn in the southeast so can I ask, please, that everyone heeds those warnings, that they really listen to authorities, they stay out of those dangerous conditions."
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As Australia braces for an increasingly hot summer, there are concerns about ongoing drowning deaths.
Since the start of summer this year, Royal Lifesaving Australia says there have already been 21 drowning deaths recorded across the country - that's three more than recorded on the same date last year.
Six of those have occurred in New South Wales alone, with Surf Life Saving New South Wales CEO Steven Pearce explaining this heightened risk of drowning over the festive period.
"You know we always have this heightened peak of operation particularly around Christmas. And even unfortunately particular here in New South Wales it's been a really tragic start, and even you know since 1 December we're up to 6 coastal drownings in New South Wales alone."
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Supermaxis Andoo Comanche and LawConnect are in a two-way battle for Sydney to Hobart line honours as more unpredictable weather looms for a storm-weary fleet.
Reigning line honours champion Comanche held a six-nautical-mile lead over fellow 100-footer LawConnect as the pair tracked off Tasmania's east coast late on Wednesday afternoon.
LawConnect navigator Chris Lewis has said in a video on the yacht's Facebook page that the crew had gone through a difficult Boxing Day night, but they're still in the fight.
"Yeah, we've had a little bit of everything, in fact, the wildest was literally 180-degree windshifts. Been pretty wild."
Reporter: "And you're doing well against Comanche still there."
Chris Lewis: "Yeah, real well! We're playing cat-and-mouse all night long!"
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In cricket,
Australian captain Pat Cummins bowled his dream ball yesterday to remove Pakistan star Babar Azam and place his team on track to retain the Benaud-Qadir trophy at the M-C-G.
With the tourists enjoying a rare period of dominance in Australia, Cummins stepped up and took control of the game late on day two of the Boxing Day Test.
The 30-year-old changed the second Test in three overs when he removed opener Abdullah Shafique and Azam to trigger a mini-collapse.
Cummins held onto a stunning return catch to get rid of Shafique, but his dismissal of Babar will go down as one of his favourite 245 Test wickets.
Pakistan ended day two a 6 for 194, trailing Australia by 124 runs.
