Australian news live: No Anzac Day threat amid terror raids, Bondi victim's family see body for first time on birthday

Police say seven people have been arrested in counter-terrorism raids across Sydney on Wednesday.

The raids, involving 400 officers, come after a bishop was allegedly stabbed by a 16-year-old boy during a live-streamed sermon last week. He was later charged with a terrorism offence.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson told reporters those arrested share a "religiously motivated violent extremist ideology".

While the Australian government battles Elon Musk to get the Wakeley church stabbing video taken down from his social media platform X, the bishop at the centre of it says he wants it kept up.

The matter has ended up in court and during a brief hearing on Wednesday, X's lawyer Marcus Hoyne pointed out Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel's position.

""There's recently been an affidavit … from the bishop, the victim of the attack, stating that he's strongly of the view that the material should be available," Mr Hoyne said.

Blocking clips of Bishop Emmanuel's stabbing for Australian web users was enough, X has argued, however Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it should be a global ban.

Read more here.

Kyle Sandilands has said it's "bulls***" a new complaints department has been set up as he and Jackie O prepare to launch in Melbourne.

There's been plenty of commentary their brash style that has seen them become the highest paid radio stars in Australia's history will be too much for a Victorian audience.

But Sandilands put the claim to bed on Wednesday. "That’s not true! We own this brand. Nothing happens without us knowing," he said on-air.

GoFundMe has stressed staff are monitoring fundraising pages related to the victims of the Bondi Junction attack amid a period of "heightened activity".

It said a crisis response team is monitoring, vetting and verifying all pages linked to the stabbing attack that left six dead and a dozen more injured.

Scammers have been known to target unsuspecting Australians with fraudulent fundraising pages at times of widespread mourning.

The latest verified GoFundMe page for one of the six victims is for 55-year-old Pikria Darchia.

Friend Nicole described Pikria as a "beautiful, talented, kind and thoughtful woman".

"Pikria was a widow, and has two incredible sons and three beautiful young granddaughters who adored her."

Nicole said the money raised in the GoFundMe would help support her family during this traumatic time.

A page set up for victim Ash Good's family, including her baby daughter stabbed in the attack, has raised more than $700,000.

Police have stressed thousands of residents set to pay their respects at public Anzac day services needn't be worried by counter-terrorism raids on Wednesday.

Search warrants are being executed across Sydney in the wake of the Wakeley church stabbing last week.

“There is no current threat to public safety and no connection to Anzac Day commemorations,” an AFP spokesperson said.

Read more here.

The family of security guard Faraz Tahir killed in the Bondi Junction attack has arrived in Australia on what would have been his 31st birthday.

They have thanked Australians for recognising his heroic actions trying to protect shoppers from knifeman Joel Cauchi.

“Faraz will be dearly missed by whole family and community. Today is his 31st birthday and the family have seen his body for first time," his brother Muzafar Tahir said.

"We would like to thank the Australian public for showing love and compassion to a stranger, who became a hero."

His funeral is this Friday.

Tesla says it will prioritise the launch of a cheaper electric vehicle, just weeks after reports emerged Elon Musk would be walking away from a lower-cost car in the face of strong Chinese competition.

"We have updated our future vehicle line-up to accelerate the launch of new models ahead of our previously communicated start of production in the second half of 2025," Tesla said in its first quarter shareholder release, with further information to be shared in August.

Tesla is facing a major battle for market share with Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, which vows to be Australia's biggest car manufacturer by 2030.

Read more here.

The city of Baltimore are suing the owners of the ship that crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge last month that left six people dead.

A lawsuit from the city stated the vessel was "clearly unseaworthy" and the crew were "incompetent".

The owners of the ship had earlier sought funding from those with cargo on board to help with the salvage operation, with the vessel still trapped under a segment of the collapsed bridge.

Read more here.

The cast of The Simpsons has been a winning formula for close to four decades. But the hit show has decided to killed off a long-standing character, with regular Moe's patron Larry no more.

The character, whose full name is Lawrence Dalrymple, has been a mainstay in the show since the first series and has sporadically featured across episodes in the past 35 years.

Fans were left shocked by the revelation. "I can't believe it," one wrote on X.

Read more here.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher appeared close to tears while facing questioning over the rate of women killed by violence in Australia.

When pressed by ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland on the number of deaths of women this year, she admitted it's been "really tough".

"This is a crisis in this country and women don’t feel safe,” she said on Wednesday morning.

“I think how women feel about this in particular. And when we see, you know, it’s not safe to go out for a run, you go shopping, you take action against violent perpetrators, you do all the right things, and we still have these cases."

Read more here.

In a disturbing story now from the US, a woman has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after she allegedly drove her car into a child's birthday party, killing two children.

Several others were seriously injured in the Michigan incident, with police alleging Marshella Chidester, 66, was intoxicated behind the wheel.

Disturbing CCTV shows Chidester's car driving at speed towards the building where the party was being held.

"They walked into that birthday party having a fun time. They were sitting at that table eating, and this woman crashed her car through this building, destroying all of our lives," the aunt of the 8-year-old and 4-year-old victims told reporters on Tuesday.

Read more here.

A woman has been found dead inside her home, just days after young mother Molly Ticehusr was killed in NSW.

The woman’s body was found inside a Campbell Road home in Cobram in the far-north of Victoria about 2.15pm on Tuesday. A 39-year-old man is currently assisting with inquiries.

She is the 26th woman killed this year in Australia, according to data from Counting Dead Women.

Appearing on Sunrise on Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said Australian women were struggling to deal with the threat to women in the country.

"It is exhausting as a woman just having to watch this and for every woman out there getting up and reading about this in the papers every day, like we just can't let this continue," she told host Nat Barr.