Morning everyone. As pre-election campaigning heats up, some Liberal supporters are paying $10,000 a head to attend a fundraising dinner with Peter Dutton next week in the key Sydney marginal of Bennelong.
Elsewhere, Sam Kerr has appeared in court in London overnight ahead of a trial next month for alleged racially aggravated harassment of a police officer; Los Angeles is braced for “extreme” fire danger today as winds pick up again; and it’s no problem for the Australian Open’s main character, Alex de Minaur.
Australia
$10,000 dinner | The Coalition leader Peter Dutton will host a $10,000-per-head dinner for wealthy supporters in the marginal Sydney seat of Bennelong as he seeks to build support for Liberal candidate Scott Yung.
Kerr in court | The Matildas superstar Sam Kerr has appeared in court in south-west London charged with alleged racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. Her trial is set to start on 3 February.
Housing pain | Australians on median incomes are spending 33% of their earnings on housing costs, a report has found, despite last year seeing the smallest annual rental increase since 2021.
‘Urgent inquiries’ | The Australian government is “making urgent inquiries” after reports of the death of an Australian citizen, 32-year-old teacher Oscar Jenkins, captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine.
Wicked words | Australia’s peak mining lobby group is promoting nuclear energy to young women with a social media campaign generating millions of views on TikTok through memes about Wicked, The Grinch and seasoning steak with sawdust. Meanwhile, a cautionary tale from the UK, where the cost of building the Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk has doubled to £40bn (around A$80bn).
World
‘Tremendous threat’ | Firefighters in Los Angeles are braced for a treacherous day as winds strengthen and threaten to whip up wildfires that have devastated large parts of the city in the past week. Follow developments live. Residents and business owners have sued the city’s largest electricity provider, arguing that some of the utility’s equipment started the Eaton blaze in the area.
Peace hopes | Mediators have been meeting in Doha overnight amid high hopes that Gaza ceasefire negotiations are in their final stages after claims of a breakthrough in overnight talks.
‘I’m not perfect’ | Donald Trump’s pick as Pentagon chief, Pete Hesgeth, fought off questions about Greenland and on-the-job drinking at an ill-tempered confirmation hearing. Trump would have been convicted of crimes over his failed attempt to cling to power in 2020 but for his victory in November, according to the special counsel who investigated him, while Michelle Obama will miss the incoming president’s inauguaration next week.
Exclusive | Afghans who fled their country with American assistance after the US’s chaotic withdrawal remain stranded in third countries, new documents suggest, some in prison-like facilities.
‘A beautiful man’ | The British comedian Tony Slattery, who has starred on stage, radio, television and film, has died aged 65 after a heart attack, his partner announced.
Full Story
A history-making moment at the Australian Open
After winning through to the second round of the Australian Open today, Hady Habib found time to talk to Nour Haydar about how his success has been a source of celebration for Lebanese Australians amid months of war and devastation.
In-depth
The rescue of Hadi Nazari from dense bushland in the national park captured the nation’s imagination. Kate Lyons has been talking to one of the people who led the rescue, how they ran the operation and how it turned out to be one of the longest-ever to result in a happy ending.
Not the news
It’s the time of year when many people take a look at how much they’re drinking and decide that it’s too much. Our resident GP columnist, Ranjana Srivastava, writes today that although she has not met a patient who doesn’t know that smoking causes cancer not so many know that boozing, too, much carries “a higher absolute risk of a cancer diagnosis”.
Sport
Tennis | Alex de Minaur eased through to the second round of the Australian Open with a straight sets win over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 – although not without the slight distraction of the fate of his fiance on another court. Australia’s women’s No 1, Kim Birrell, was reduced to tears after a shock straight sets defeat to an opponent she only found out she was playing minutes before her round-one clash. Back in the men’s draw, Andrey Rublev was knocked out by Brazilian qualifier João Fonseca and Daniil Medvedev is through despite a racket-smashing tantrum.
Cricket | Australia picked themselves up off the floor to beat England in the second women’s Ashes ODI yesterday, with the tourists capitulating from a winning position.
Football | There are four Premier League matches this morning and you can follow the action as third-placed Nottingham Forest take on top dogs Liverpool.
Media roundup
There has been a “massive” number of failures in the Australian citizenship test, according to the Adelaide Advertiser. The owner of a house on the Mornington Peninsula destroyed by a landslide has told the Age he feels “bloody lucky” given his family’s near miss. Four subjects have been axed, along with 91 jobs, under a shakeup at the University of Wollongong according to the Illawarra Mercury.
What’s happening today
New South Wales | The doctor’s union is set to hold a press conference on mass psychiatry resignations at 11am.
Victoria | An interlocutory appeal for an aged care provider charged for breaching health and safety standards after 34 deaths during the Covid pandemic will be held.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
