Police speak out after Myer Christmas window event canned, water pistol sparks CBD panic: Australia news live

'From student to gladiator".

Paul Mescal's secondary school has shared throwback photos of the star ahead of Gladiator II's release globally this week and fans are absolutely loving it.

The popular Irish actor was recently in Australia promoting the film and said it was "absolutely mad" to see the amount of people turn out to see him and the cast.

Coles has ordered its non-store staff back to the office in what the supermarket giant says is a move that will benefit "the needs of our teams and operations".

It's a growing trend with more and more businesses moving away from working from home, with companies often stating beneficial in-person collaboration as the reason why.

Yet Damien Andreasen, VP of HR company HiBob, says there may well be more to it than that.

"There's no question that the prospect of being forced into a full-time return to the office is incredibly unpopular among employees, especially after the success of flexible work over the past few years. In a stronger economy, companies pushing this agenda would see a mass exodus of top talent unwilling to sacrifice flexibility," he said.

“It feels like it was yesterday when companies were celebrating the success of their four-day workweek trials and how it drove improved engagement and productivity so call me cynical, but moving back to full-time office work doesn’t seem to be about innovation or collaboration.

“For some companies, it’s a way to encourage resignations to reduce headcount while avoiding redundancy payouts… Or, maybe the C suite is being asked to justify the cost of their new CBD commercial tower — only time will tell."

Nick Kyrgios is returning to the tennis court. It's been a lengthy two-year battle with injury, but the former world number 13 says he's feeling best he has in those 24 months off.

“It was a 15 miracle per cent chance that I was going to get back to playing at this level and here we are," he told Nine.

“To get back out there in front of the home fans is going to be sick.”

The former Wimbledon finalist will be the headline act at the Brisbane International in December, returning to the court after playing only one tour match in more than two years. He is unranked and could need a wildcard if he plans on appearing at the Australian Open.

Well this must have been a very strange experience. A man browsing a Sydney op-shop has stumbled across photos of himself and his wife for sale, with the holiday pictures taken some 30 years ago.

Rob Klaric found the pictures taken in Italy in Mosman's Lifeline store and said he thought he was "hallucinating".

So how did it happen? Well the photos were misplaced years ago by removalists and were never found. Until not that is.

Read all about it here.

A Colombian man allegedly locked people in cupboards for several days and took control of their passports and earnings in Adelaide’s inner north.

The 38-year-old, who lived in Kilburn, allegedly helped members of a youth group he used to lead in Venezuela to migrate to Australia in 2015, with another group member also moving to Australia in 2016.

However, once they arrived in Australia police will allege the man took control of their passports and earnings, tracked their movements, restricted daily activity, and forced victims to “pay off debts that were unreasonably enforced” in what’s been described as “ongoing cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment”.

Police allege he isolated the victims from family and friends and restricted or oversaw their private messages to loved ones while also locking them out of the group home or inside cupboards for several days.

Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Melinda Adam said servitude practices, including debt bondage, take place when “people are subjected to conditions to which they had not agreed”.

“Victims are significantly deprived of personal freedom in all aspects of their life, and threats, coercion or deception are often used against them,” Superintendent Adam said.

“Offenders usually benefit or profit off vulnerable people who cannot, or will not, report exploitative conditions out of fear of retribution by perpetrators, social isolation and financial dependence on offenders.”

A search warrant was executed at the man’s Kilburn home on Thursday. The man was arrested and AFP investigators seized electronic devices and documentation. He is facing several charges and is expected to front court today.

Read more here.

A command centre that helps Aussie travellers in strife has been “inundated” with hundreds of calls for assistance since the volcanic eruption in Indonesia.

Staff from the Brisbane-based travel risk management company World Travel Protection have helped hundreds of travellers left stranded after Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, a volcano on the remote island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province, began spewing hot ash into the air last week.

It prompted major airlines to ground flights, however they have since restarted flying.

World Travel Protection global chief medical officer Derrick Tin said it had assisted in supplying medicines for holidaymakers whose vital supplies had run out, saying it was an important reminder to be prepared for such scenarios.

- With NCA News

How's this for a backyard discovery.

One Perth resident has sought help online after finding scores of bees clinging to the bottom of a child's swing seat.

The man was reassured the bees were only stopping temporarily and would be on their way shortly.

There's some alarming results from a recent study that suggests visitors to Australia are at significant risk at our beaches.

Foreign nationals can often find themselves in trouble in Australian waters which can at times tragically result in death.

Monash University has found that 60 per cent of Japanese university students surveyed do not understand what red and yellow safety flags on beaches mean. The research found that those students actually thought the zoned area was in fact a danger zone, not an area that can be swam in.

They also found that despite many having competent English, terminology used on safety signs were hard to understand.

Leading drowning prevention researcher Dr Masaki Shibata said the findings were "pretty concerning" and suggested signs with images instead of words would be more beneficial.

Video from inside New Zealand's parliament is going global after Maori members performed a haka to disrupt voting on a controversial amendment to a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

Indigenous people in NZ have argued the bill will undermine their rights.

Watch the moment below.

A senior police officer has told a court she was “comfortable” with her subordinate’s decision to Taser a 95-year-old woman in a nursing home.

Clare Nowland died of injuries sustained when Senior Constable Kristian White discharged his Taser at her chest in Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma on May 17.

The police officer is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to manslaughter over the great-grandmother’s death.

The Crown alleges he breached his duty of care to Mrs Nowland and caused her unlawful death by either criminal negligence or a dangerous act.

The 34-year-old does not dispute that he discharged the weapon that caused Mrs Nowland’s death, but his lawyers argue it was a proportionate reaction to the risk she posed by holding a knife.

On Thursday, the jury heard Constable White’s supervising officer then-Acting Sergeant Jessica Pank said in a statement that she thought they had “done the best we could in the situation”.

She was asked if she, as a supervisor and with the training she had, thought it was appropriate that Constable White discharged his Taser at Ms Nowland.

“I was comfortable with the situation,” Constable Pank said in the statement, but added she wasn’t happy about it.

She told the court she was “scared for her physical safety” when she was trying to get the knife out of Mrs Nowland’s hands because “it looked really sharp and her eyes were dark”.

Read more here from NCA NewsWire.

Well here we go. Just as millions of struggling mortgage holders thought they were within touching distance of a bit of relief, one of the big banks is pushing back its rate cut prediction.

NAB now believes the RBA will cut the cash rate in May next year instead of February. The other big three sit at February but will they be making a change also? Only time will tell.

See more about the decision here.

Victoria Police has spoken out over Myer's decision to cancel its famous Christmas window unveiling, saying it did not call for the move.

Myer confirmed on Thursday it cancelled the event over fears for the safety of attendees with a pro-Palestine rally set to be held at the same time.

But police, who had planned to be in attendance at the store, said it has not recommended the event be cancelled after reports emerged they had.

"Victoria Police has not made any recommendations about cancelling an event on Bourke Street to mark the opening of the Myer Christmas Windows," they said.

"We continue to work with Myer to support the staging of this much-loved tradition. The community should be assured Victoria Police will have a visible presence on Sunday.

"Any decision to cancel the event sits with Myer."

Some protesters online had revealed plans to disrupt the unveiling, saying Christmas joy should be cancelled as there's "no joy in genocide".

A water pistol has been seized and a man charged after police rushed to Sydney's CBD after reports a weapon had been discharged.

Officers descended on the Domain park near NSW's Parliament House on Thursday afternoon after reports a man discharged what's believed to be a replica firearm, NSW Police said.

The man reportedly left the location in a vehicle before a 28-year-old man was later arrested and a water pistol was seized.

he was charged with possessing an unauthorised firearm and was refused bail. He will face court today.

"Police will allege in Court that the water pistol appeared to be a dark coloured pistol similar in appearance to a ‘Glock’ manufactured firearm," NSW Police said in a statement.