Some Australians are getting caught out by a car insurance trap that costs drivers hundreds of dollars extra every year.

But one simple change could get you back in the driver's seat of your finances.

Queensland resident Mark Warnock knows running two cars and two motorbikes can quickly clean out your cash.

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"It's an expensive exercise," he said.

"There's servicing and the fuel side of it, it's not cheap."

The insurance he has to pay isn't cheap either.

While you might expect it to cost the same regardless of whether you pay for your policy monthly, quarterly or yearly, Warnock has learnt this isn't the case.

"That's why I've looked at paying annually because there's a substantial reduction in what you end up paying," Warnock said.

Across three different car models, data from Compare the Market found five out of seven car insurers were charging customers who pay monthly from four per cent to a whopping 20 per cent more for their premium, compared to if they paid for 12 months up front.

"If you're thinking it's a $1000 premium, [at] 20 per cent, there's $200 extra just to pay every month," Compare the Market's Chris Ford said.

Administration fees, your driving history, and the risk of claiming are among the reasons insurance companies can charge additional costs.

"When you are planning out the budget for next year, you would want to shift to that annual payment to avoid some of these fees," Ford said.

"At least you have that confidence and it's not that stung stealth charge."

If paying a 12-month lump sum is not a viable option for you, increasing your policy excess can reduce your premium.

But beware, you will have to fork out more if you make a claim as a result, but it could be less money up front.

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"Don't just renew blindly," Andrew Dadswell from the federal government's Moneysmart website said.

"If your car is parked in your garage, make sure that's covered in your policy.

"If you've got kids under 25, and they no longer need the car remove them from the policy.

"Spending as little as 30 minutes shopping around could save you hundreds of dollars over the course over a year, it could be the most money you make over a short period of time."

A Queensland mother has spoken out after an alleged robbery at the Logan service station where she works.

Aaron Joseph Huiarangi, 18, has faced court charged with 14 offences including armed robbery, breaking and entering, and unlawfully using a vehicle.

He is accused of breaking into multiple petrol stations between September 20 and October 1, including Underwood Caltex in Logan.

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There, he allegedly threatened a worker before stealing her car yesterday morning.

Uma Thareja said the attack was terrifying.

"My mind was frozen," she said.

She said she found she couldn't even press the store's silent alarm button.

"I don't know how much time I will take to be recovered," Thareja said.  

"I know there is some terror behind that, which I can feel scared."

Police say the group stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of stock from the store, as well as Thareja's new uninsured car.

Police allege Huiarangi attempted to break into several businesses yesterday, allegedly succeeding at a sushi store in Ormeau.

He is also accused of attempting to break into a tobacconist in Bannockburn Village, breaking into a sushi store in Holmview, and targeting a tobacconist in Darra.

He also allegedly robbed a man in Riverhills while armed with a crowbar.

Yesterday police conducted a search warrant at a property in Logan and said they found stolen property, firearms and ammunition.

Huiarangi was charged with five counts of armed robbery, two counts of attempted break and enter, five counts of break and enter, and two counts of unlawful use of motor vehicles.

Officers are still searching for several other people they believe were involved.

The 18-year-old remains in police custody.

He will appear in court again in December.

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Iran launched dozens of missiles toward Israel on Tuesday in what it said was a response to the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and others – potentially taking the region closer to a wider conflict.

CNN teams on the ground in multiple locations in Israel observed dozens of missiles piercing through the skies as sirens blasted across the country.

At least one person was killed and several were injured during the attack, according to the Israeli military.

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The IDF's international spokesman Nadav Shoshani told CNN's Jake Tapper that one Palestinian was killed in Jericho as a result of the attacks.

Israel has vowed to respond to the attack – sparking worries among its allies that the conflict in the Middle East could escalate further.

Speaking hours after the assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Iran made a big mistake tonight – and it will pay for it. The regime in Iran does not understand our determination to defend ourselves and our determination to retaliate against our enemies."

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it estimated that Iran fired 180 "projectiles" at the country. It said it intercepted many of the missiles, although some landed on the ground in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said later on Tuesday that the attack by Iran was "effectively defeated."

While the attack was over relatively quickly, it is clear that it has further raised the stakes in what is already an extremely tense moment. World leaders have long warned the conflict between Israel and Iran's proxies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon could spiral into a wider regional war. All eyes will now be on how Israel responds.

US President Joe Biden said the United States was "fully supportive" of Israel. But he said his administration was still discussing with Israel what kind of response would be appropriate.

"We're going to get all the data straight, we're in constant contact with the Israeli government and our counterparts and that remains to be seen," he said.

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Israel is already fighting on two fronts. It has been at war with Hamas in Gaza since the deadly October 7 terrorist attack by the group on southern Israel. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, with much of the strip reduced to rubble.

And while Israel and Hezbollah have been trading cross-border fire for much of the past year, Iran launched the barrage on Tuesday just hours after Israel announced it launched a "limited and localized" ground operation in Lebanon. Sending Israeli troops into Lebanon would have been seen as a major escalation by Iran.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it targeted Israel in response to the killing of Nasrallah and others, according to Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency.

After the barrage of missiles was launched, the Iranian mission to the United Nations said that Tehran carried out a response to "the terrorist acts of the Zionist regime."

The mission said on X that if Israel should "dare to respond or commit further acts of malevolence, a subsequent and crushing response will ensue."

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US warned about 'imminent attack'

The White House warned earlier on Tuesday that Iran was poised to launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel soon, instantly ratcheting up fears of all-out war in the region.

People in Tel Aviv and other cities have been told to stay near shelters or other protected areas and the atmosphere on the streets was noticeably tense.

In a statement released mid-morning, just hours before Tehran launched the attack, the White House said it had "indications that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel," adding the United States was "actively supporting defensive preparations to defend Israel against this attack."

Israel assessed that Iran was likely to attack three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base located just north of Tel Aviv, a person briefed on the matter said before the attack. The IRGC said it targeted three Israeli military bases around Tel Aviv, according to the semi-official Iranian media outlet Mehr News.

The intelligence base in Glilot was evacuated Tuesday afternoon, the person said, and the Israeli military has put contingency plans for the safety of personnel at those bases into effect.

Two videos from the attack geolocated by CNN showed a number of Iranian missiles striking Nevatim air base in southern Israel based. CNN has reached out to the IDF for comment on the videos, but did not immediately receive a response.

Iran previously targeted the same base during a similar April 13 attack.

The person was released by police after it was confirmed they held diplomatic immunity.

Now a judge has described one of the women involved as a menace to the community.

Intercepted phone calls between a daughter and her fugitive property developer father might not be allowed to be used in a fraud case against her, despite forming a major part of the prosecution's case.

Ashlyn Nassif, who is a trained lawyer, claims the calls made during an investigation into her father Jean Nassif should fall under the category of legal professional privilege.

Hundreds of Mr Nassif's calls were intercepted by NSW Police during a 2021 investigation into suspected money laundering at Sydney's The Star casino, a court was told on Wednesday.

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Ms Nassif was an executive at her father's Toplace development firm, which has been banned from engaging in construction work by NSW Fair Trading after a string of defects in multiple, major apartment projects.

She is facing allegations she submitted falsified documents to trigger a $150 million loan from Westpac for the construction of three apartment towers in the north-western Sydney suburb of Castle Hill.

Magistrate Christopher Halburd said he would allow a NSW Police detective senior constable to be questioned about the phone calls before Ms Nassif's case proceeded.

He told a hearing in Burwood Local Court that prosecutors would have a "very strong case indeed" if the calls were allowed, but would be significantly weaker without them.

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Prosecutors have argued the calls could reasonably fall into a number of different categories, including discussions between a father and daughter about family matters.

The calls could also be classified as being about business matters between Toplace executives or between a solicitor and client, Halburd said.

"I intend to allow cross-examination on a much narrower scope than was sought by the applicant," he said.

A hearing has been set for November 29 to hear from the detective senior constable about the phone calls.

Mr Nassif left Australia for Lebanon in 2022 and is being pursued by NSW Police following a two-year fraud investigation.

An early-morning blaze that tore through a hotel in Burwood may have been started by vape batteries.

Firefighters worked to put out a fire on the second floor of the Bath Arms Hotel after it broke out about 5.45am today.

Heavy smoke was seen wafting from the venue and the front room of the building was completely engulfed in flames.

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One accommodation room in the two-storey pub was completely burnt out in the blaze, which took 35 firefighters and eight fire trucks to put out.

"If anyone was inside this would not have been survivable when our firefighters got here," FRNSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said. 

"Fortunately, the occupant had already left for work."

About 20 people were evacuated and the fire brought under control in about 20 minutes.

There were no injuries recorded.

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Fire and Rescue NSW is investigating and believe the source could be lithium-ion batteries from vapes.

Multiple vape batteries were found on charge in the room, FRNSW said. 

Dewberry said the occupant confirmed he left "cheap-style" vape batteries charging in the room.

Dewberry said the batteries were very flammable and could catch fire during a blaze even if they are not the source.

"They are extremely volatile and explosive and can significantly increase the intensity of the fire," he said.

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FRNSW warned people to never leave lithium-ion-powered devices charging while you sleep or are away from home.

A decision to buy $1500 of cocaine on credit led to a man being murdered weeks later by a shotgun-toting drug dealer during a home invasion.

Bahra Youseff killed 30-year-old Adnan Salameh in front of his partner in their granny flat in the western Sydney suburb of Tregear on November 30, 2020.

A NSW Supreme Court jury today found the 23-year-old guilty of a single charge of murder after a lengthy trial, which started in August.

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During the trial, crown prosecutor Sylvie Sloane told the jury Salameh's partner bought $1500 worth of cocaine on credit from Youseff around six weeks before the shooting.

The dealer broke into the couple's home with another man, armed with a shotgun and wearing balaclavas, and fired at Salameh after he lunged at them.

The debt was never settled and blood was shed.

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Sloane told the jury the couple were selling drugs to fund their addictions and had used the drug "ice" shortly before the murder.

Youseff planned the home invasion after hearing that Salameh and his partner had broken into the house of two friends on November 8, 2020 and stole some money.

His lawyer John Stratton SC denied there was sufficient evidence to link his client to the murder, a claim rejected by the jury.

Stratton argued Salameh had ramped up his drug use before being killed, alleging he refused to pay his debts to others and had also ripped off those who were buying his product.

Youseff will face a sentence hearing on November 12.

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