TRANSCRIPT:
- Investigators probing a Melbourne fire that's seriously injured three young children;
- Security tightened in Timor-Leste as the Pope prepares to visit;
- Cameron Johnston injured in his debut N-F-L game for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that three young children injured in a house fire in Melbourne were at home alone.
The youngsters, all believed to be aged under five, remain in hospital with life threatening injuries following the blaze in Sydenham on Sunday night.
Detective Superintendent Paul Dalton says no-one else was injured in the blaze.
He says a probe is underway to determine if anyone else was present in the home at the time or just prior to the fire.
"No, I can't - I don't have any detail in relation to that other than I'm aware of the incident that's occurred this morning, but I don't have the detail at this point. As I said, our arson explosive squad are out there at the moment investigating the circumstances surrounding it."
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The chair of the Royal Commission into Veteran Suicides says a "failure of leadership" has led to the cultural problems within the defence force identified in the final report.
That report was handed to the governor general this morning and has been tabled and publicly released by Defence Minister Richard Marles this afternoon.
Chair Nick Kaldas wants to see a bipartisan approach to solving the problems in the force.
He also wants to see accountability in the Force's leadership, who he says failed to act on a number of probes that identified issues previously.
"We now know there's at least 57 inquiries that have preceded the Royal Commission. Somewhere around 770 recommendations came out of those inquiries - and yet the dial hasn't moved. The problems are persistent. And frankly, nobody has gone back to check whether the intent of those recommendations was actually acquitted or not."
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Donald Trump has threatened to jail his political opponents after November's election.
Trump has posted on his Truth Social site that the people he believes "cheated" in the ballot will be prosecuted "to the fullest extent of the law".
The message is being seen as an attempt to sow doubt about the integrity of November’s poll, even though cheating is incredibly rare.
It also represents his latest threat to use the office of the presidency to exact retribution if he wins a second term in the oval office.
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Security has been tightened in the capital of Timor-Leste ahead of the arrival of Pope Francis.
Military personnel have been seen checking vehicles near President Nicolau Lobato International Airport, and barbed wire has been set up on roads.
97 percent of the island's population identify as Catholic, making it the country with the highest percentage of Catholics outside of Vatican City.
The last papal visit to Dili was in 1989, when Pope John Paul II arrived in territory then occupied by Indonesia, gifting the country's fledgling independence movement an historic boost and rare prominence on the global stage.
42 year old business owner Vicente Oliveira Soares says he was there during that initial visit.
“When the first visit of Pope II John (referring to John Paul II) we were occupied by Indonesia but now we are happy because we are free. We as a new nation, we are very happy to receive and to meet with Pope Francis.”
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The man responsible for one of Australia’s deadliest bus crashes has begun his multi-day court hearing in Newcastle.
Survivors AND families of victims have detailed how their lives have changed after the "unprecedented" tragedy.
Brett Andrew Button was driving guests home from a wedding in the NSW Hunter Valley last June, when he lost control of the bus.
Ten people died in the accident.
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The federal government is locked in negotiations with both the Opposition and Greens over the creation of a new environment protection agency.
The current bill before the Senate would establish a new body tasked with enforcing current laws and deciding environmental approvals.
But it appears stuck in Parliament, with the government struggling to broker an agreement over exactly what the new body would be doing.
National's Leader David Littleproud argues the body will only slow down approvals.
"What we don't need is more bureaucracy, taking longer to approve important resource projects, agricultural projects and even infrastructure in this country. What we need is some common sense. I think we're at a juncture our nation has enough environmental data that we shouldn't be holding developments up for years upon years, layers upon layers of more bureaucracy."
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A new report says families in regional and rural Australia are struggling to access childcare.
The report has been produced by advocacy group The Parenthood, drawing on the experiences of 162 parents, carers, educators and an online poll of 855 parents.
Campaign director Maddy Butler says 86 per cent of families in regional, rural and remote communities are finding it a challenge, which has flow-on effects for their quality of life, and the viability of regional businesses and communities.
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Former Australian A-F-L player Cameron Johnston has been hurt in his debut game for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the N-F-L.
Johnston joined Pittsburgh from Houston on a three year $9 million deal.
But he appears to have suffered a serious knee injury after colliding with an Atlanta Falcons defender during an attempted punt late in the fourth quarter.
