Nurses who died serving Australia, were the victims of wartime atrocities and made sacrifices for their country are now permanently commemorated after the first statue of a woman at the Australian War Memorial was unveiled today.

Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Bullwinkel, who was the sole survivor of an infamous World War II massacre, has become the first female to be memoralised in bronze at the memorial.

Bullwinkel, who died in 2000, was posted to Singapore as part of the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1941 as British-led forces attempted to repel an attack by the Japanese army.

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After the fall of Singapore, 22 unarmed Australian nurses were brutally executed by Japanese soldiers at Bangka Island, east of Sumatra.

Bullwinkel was the only nurse to survive but was later captured and spent three-and-a-half years in a Japanese prison camp.

Following World War II, she left the army and became director of nursing at Melbourne's Fairfield Hospital. She devoted herself to nursing, honouring those killed on Banka Island and raising funds for a nurses' memorial.

The sculpture, created by Brisbane artist Charles Robb, includes 22 inlaid stainless steel discs commemorating the 22 women killed in the atrocity.

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Australian War Memorial director, Matt Anderson, said Bullwinkel's name should be known in all households, as should her inspirational life story.

Australian College of Nursing chief executive Kylie Ward said she hoped the sculpture would inspire children visiting the memorial.

"The sculpture will be a powerful and long-lasting symbol of nurses' selfless service to Australia and its citizens whether in war or in peace."

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A new video showing a sun bear at a Chinese zoo waving to visitors has added fuel to allegations the animal is actually human in disguise.

Hangzhou Zoo in China was forced to confirm its four-year-old sun bear "Angela" was a real bear, after photos and footage of the animal standing on its hind legs went viral.

Now, a 12-second clip shows the bear standing on its hind legs again and appearing to wave twice to zoo visitors as one yells out "hello".

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The footage comes as a zoological expert in the UK told the BBC the animal in the first viral footage was definitely a real sun bear.

Dr Ashleigh Marshall, an expert from Chester Zoo did concede, however, that sun bears do often "look a lot like people in their costumes".

Marshall told the BBC the loose skin on the bear's back, which viewers took to be evidence of an ill-fitting costume, was actually an anatomical feature of the sun bear which allowed them to protect themselves against predators.

The loose skin helped the bear to "turn around in their skin" and fight back if an animal like a tiger grabbed them, Marshall said.

People are keen to judge for themselves, with visitor numbers at Hangzhou Zoo surging by 30 per cent at the zoo since the story began trending on Chinese social media over the weekend, Zhejiang province-based Chao News reports.

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A massive fire burning across both California and Nevada is generating extreme fire behavior, spawning "fire whirls" and creating dangerous conditions for firefighters, authorities said.

The fire, dubbed the York Fire, which is California's largest fire of the year, has consumed 80,000 acres as of Tuesday morning.

The blaze began Friday in the New York Mountain Range of California's Mojave National Preserve and crossed state lines into Nevada Sunday as winds picked up under scorching temperatures.

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Firefighters were able to gain some control of the fire Monday night and by Tuesday morning the York Fire was 23 per cent contained.

"An infrared flight was completed last night, which provided a better assessment of fire size and activity," the National Parks Service said on Tuesday.

The blaze is among dozens of wildfires burning around the country as some areas swelter under unrelenting heat – including one fire raging on both sides of the US-Canadian border.

The fire on the California-Nevada state line is still "growing rapidly" and creating extreme conditions that are making it more dangerous and difficult to control, fire officials said Monday night.

Firefighters battling the blaze have seen fire whirls – "a vortex of flames and smoke that forms when intense heat and turbulent winds combine, creating a spinning column of fire," the Mojave National Preserve said Sunday.

As the fire-heated air rises, cold air dashes to take its place, creating a spinning vortex rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris, and flame – also referred to as a fire tornado in some cases.

"These fire whirls are similar to dust devils but are specifically associated with the heat and energy released by a wildfire," the Mojave National Preserve said. "They can range in size from a few feet to several hundred feet in height, and their rotational speed can vary widely."

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Fire whirls can change direction suddenly, making them unpredictable and difficult to anticipate, park service officials said.

Large fire whirls can have the same intensity as a tornado. In 2018, The Carr Fire outside of Redding, California, spawned a fire tornado so destructive that it killed eight people and flattened several homes. The deadly fire had winds over 140 mph, which would equal an EF-3 tornado, or the third most intense tornado on the EF scale.

Crews battling the York Fire are facing sustained temperatures over 100 degrees that are causing difficulties for firefighters, who are increasingly relying on aerial resources.

The struggle to control the York Fire has allowed smoke to reach into Nevada and southern Utah, the fire incident overview noted. There has been "elevated readings for particulate matter" in East Las Vegas, Boulder City and Henderson, according to a tweet from the Clark County, Nevada government.

As hot and dry conditions continue, 64 active large fires are burning across nine states, including 12 large new fires were reported on Sunday, the National Interagency Fire Center said Monday.

More than 11,500 wildland firefighters and other personnel are assigned to incidents throughout the US, the agency said.

As of July 31, 1.1 million acres have burned across the US in 2023, according to the National Interagency Fire Center – still well below the 5.7 million acres that had burned by the end of July in 2022.

Grammy-winning singer Lizzo and her production company are being sued by three former dancers over allegations of creating a hostile work environment, including weight shaming and sexually denigrating behaviour.

The lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court named Lizzo, whose real name is Melissa Viviane Jefferson, her production company Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc and the captain of her dance team, Shirlene Quigley, court documents showed.

A representative for Lizzo did not respond to a request for comment.

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The complaints filed by plaintiffs Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez include harassment based on sex, religion, race and disability.

In the lawsuit, the dancers claimed they were coerced into touching nude performers at an Amsterdam strip club in late February.

The suit also stated that Davis was pressured to participate in a nude photo shoot to stay in a dance competition despite her discomfort.

She claimed she feared losing her job if she didn't comply with Lizzo's requests.

"The stunning nature of how Lizzo and her management team treated their performers seems to go against everything Lizzo stands for publicly, while privately she weight-shames her dancers and demeans them in ways that are not only illegal but absolutely demoralising," the plaintiffs' attorney, Ron Zambrano, said in a statement.

The lawsuit alleged that Quigley harassed the dancers by subjecting them to her religious beliefs against their will.

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"Ms Quigley was not only vocal about her religious belief but took every opportunity to proselytise to any and all in her presence regardless of protestations," the lawsuit stated.

The plaintiffs' claimed that Quigley forced the topic of Davis' virginity into conversations and interviews and on social media where she publicly revealed personal details about Davis without her consent.

Davis and Williams were eventually fired while Rodriguez resigned over the behaviour, the lawsuit said.

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Hundreds of guns were found during the search, police say.

Fierce battle lines have been drawn in the agricultural heartland of southern New South Wales as farmers try to stop a massive multi-billion-dollar renewable electricity line, deemed critical by government, rising up and carving through their properties.

There are serious environmental issues in play over the controversial HumeLink project, which has a ballooning cost yet to be determined beyond a moving figure of many billions.

HumeLink's objective is to connect clean energy from new wind and solar farms to major towns and cities which were once served by coal plants in Hunter Valley in NSW and Latrobe Valley in Victoria.

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Up for debate is how Transgrid, the privatised NSW transmission monopoly, chooses to do that: overground or underground.

It is a complex discussion, with much at stake.

Depending on who is speaking about HumeLink, you'll hear about the crucial supply of clean energy to reduce Australia's carbon emissions, and how vehement opposition to the project is slowing the project down.

Then there's the damage the lines will inflict on large swathes of tranquil private property and multigenerational farming operations, and the potential harm to wildlife, nature and tourism.

And it's impossible to ignore the question of whether or not the chain of 80-metre-high steel masts which will carry high voltage lines that stretch 360km across the NSW hinterland is a bushfire risk in an area prone to devastating fires.

The cost of building the 500kV line has already blown out from $3.3 billion to about $5 billion, but farmers want Transgrid to cough up billions more and sink the line underground, an option they argue is safer and less destructive than the 70-metre-wide ugly "scar" that will otherwise sit underneath the overhead lines.

A Transgrid spokesperson told 9news.com.au that going subterranean, as has been done in California and Germany, could increase costs by $5 billion to $10 billion.

Wherever the costs might land, the spokesperson insisted an underground route will delay HumeLink by three to five years, "slowing down the delivery of cheaper, cleaner renewables into the grid".

'Scared stiff' behind lines

Michael Katz, who owns a Wagyu beef stud west of Goulburn, told 9news.com.au that, if built, the overground lines "basically constitute a wall" that could trap his family in the event of a bushfire, such as the 2019 Dunns Road blaze.

Heavy smoke around high voltage lines, such as the HumeLink, can create "arcing", a dangerous phenomenon which results in electricity jumping through air because of elevated levels of carbon particles.

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Chad Daybell, the stepfather of two children who have been missing in the US since last year, has been charged with destroying evidence as prosecutors said two children's remains were found on his Idaho property.

The children of Lori Vallow, Daybell's wife, have not been seen since September.

Tylee Ryan, 16, was last seen when she visited Yellowstone National Park on September 8 with her brother, her mother and her uncle Alex Cox, according to authorities.

Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, was last seen at a school in Idaho later that month.

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The families of the children said in a statement that the remains "are indeed our beloved JJ and Tylee."

"We are filled with unfathomable sadness that these two bright stars were stolen from us, and only hope that they died without pain or suffering," said Larry and Kay Woodcock, J.J.'s biological grandparents, Colby Ryan, Lori Vallow's son from a prior marriage, and Kelsee Ryan, Colby's wife, in their statement.

"This is the worst news we will ever get in our lives and want to be left alone for the time being," they said, adding that "once officially confirmed, statements from The Rexburg Police, The Medical Examiner and the FBI will be released."

The charges filed against Daybell allege he concealed the remains sometime between September 2019 and June 2020.

His bail was set at $1 million.

Vallow, is currently awaiting trial for multiple charges, including two felony counts of desertion and nonsupport of children, according to a criminal complaint filed with an Idaho court.

The charges against Daybell are part of a sprawling investigation that has stretched from Idaho to Arizona to Hawaii, picked up connections to a deep religious ideology and raised new questions about the deaths of other family members.

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Daybell and Vallow married in November, not long after their previous spouses died.

Chad Daybell's brother, Matt Daybell, sent his sympathies to the children's families.

"Throughout this ordeal, we have supported one another in pursuit of the truth, and will continue to do so. They have been praying for our family, as we have prayed for them. Our heartfelt love and prayers continue to go out to them and their family at this very difficult time," Matt Daybell said.

How we got here

In late November, relatives asked police in Rexburg, Idaho, to do a welfare check on Joshua because they hadn't talked to him recently. But police didn't find him at the house when they arrived.

They did see Vallow and Daybell, who, authorities said, told them Joshua was staying with a family friend in Arizona.

When police returned the next day to serve a search warrant, both Vallow and Daybell were gone.

The couple was found in January in Hawaii, where they had been since December 1 as authorities searched for Vallow's children.

They were served with a search warrant, and police gave Vallow a deadline to turn Joshua and Tylee over to authorities.

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But that deadline passed without any sign of the two.

Vallow was arrested in February, and in March she was extradited from Hawaii. Her bail remains at $1 million and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 9.

The investigation has also led to questions surrounding other family members' deaths.

Shortly before Tylee, Joshua and their mother moved from Arizona to Idaho, Vallow's estranged husband, Charles Vallow, was shot and killed during a fight with her brother, CNN affiliate KIFI/KIDK reported.

The brother was not charged in the case, and he then died in December, the affiliate reported.

Daybell was also married before. His first wife, Tammy Daybell, died on October 19, and a few weeks later, he and Vallow were married.

Authorities initially believed Tammy Daybell died of natural causes, but Rexburg police later said her death was suspicious and exhumed her body.

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After Vallow and Daybell married, they told some witnesses Tylee had died a year before her father, and told others that Vallow did not have any young children, police said.

Further, those close to the couple said they had been involved in strong religious ideologies.

Arizona police released body camera footage from January 2019 of Vallow's ex-husband saying he could not get in touch with the children. He said their marriage had rapidly deteriorated and that "she thinks she's a resurrected being and a god."

In addition, Daybell was connected to a religious website called "Preparing a People," a doomsday prepper site that describes itself as a "series of lecture events focusing on self-reliance and personal preparation."

The publishers of the site said they decided to pull content featuring either Daybell or Vallow in light of the children's disappearance.

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Exclusive: A woman with a painful back condition said she doesn't know how she'll cope as a drug she says is essential to her life is discontinued in Australia.

Anna McKay, 67, has been taking a form of liquid morphine called Ordine for more than ten years for the pain from Cauda Equina Syndrome, which is caused by a compression of a bundle of spinal nerves.

As reported by 9news.com.au Ordine is a type of liquid morphine which won't be available anymore because it's "not commercially viable".

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Different strengths will be discontinued between the end of this year and early 2024.

But when McKay, from Melbourne, went to collect her latest prescription last week, her local pharmacist told her the 10mg form she takes is running out already.

"She said 'there's only 36 bottles left at the warehouse'," she told 9news.com.au.

"I don't know if that's all pharmacies. She said she would have to try and order in another one or two," she told 9News.com.au

"She didn't give us much hope.

"Without the Ordine I don't know how I'm going to cope.

'Disastrous' situation

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) flagged a shortage after company Mundipharma announced the plan to stop supplying the medicine.

The drug is also used in end of life care and for progressive and painful conditions such as COPD.

Doctors said they feared dying patients could face more pain and suffering due to the expected shortage and discontinuation.

McKay, whose husband Ron, 69, is her carer said she has tried alternative painkillers but none of them work as well as the slow release liquid.

"It's not enough," she said.

"My doctor was talking about alternatives and none of them sounds too great.

"This is disastrous. It's constantly on my mind. It's ghastly."

McKay, who has a son Nicholas, 31, has undergone nine back surgeries since damaging her back lifting a box in her 20s.

She later developed nerve damage known as peripheral neuropathy which also causes numbness.

The TGA predicted different strengths of the drug would start running out from the end of the year and according to a statement, Mrs McKay's isn't being discontinued until March 2024.

Palliative care advocates are calling on the government to find another supplier, plus remove red tape so patients can afford access to it as soon as possible.

Australian Doctor's organisation Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) urged the government and pharmaceutical industry to work together to ensure patients can get the medicines they need

"Medicine or dose substitution is often an option, but it's not always an option," RACGP Vice President Dr Bruce Willett told 9News.com.

"It's vital we have a sufficient supply of medicines and plans in place where shortages might become an issue."

Issue is a 'high priority'

Earlier this month, the TGA said it was treating the discontinuation with "high priority".

It is now looking at importing similar drugs from overseas, it told 9news.com.au.

"The TGA is investigating the potential for approvals for importation and supply of overseas-registered morphine oral liquids under section 19A of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989," a spokesman said.

"We are working with the sponsor of these products as well as health professional groups to minimise the impact of these discontinuations on patients."

A spokeswoman for Mundipharma told 9News.com.au it "strongly regrets any distress caused..

"Ordine was manufactured by a third-party in Australia with Mundipharma holding the Market Authorisation and it was the decision of the third-party organisation to cease production of the range," the spokeswoman said.

"We continue to work with the authorities."

Anybody affected should talk to their doctor.

Crisis support is available from Lifeline on 13 11 14.Support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Do you have a story? Contact journalist Sarah Swain at ss****@******om.au

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‘This a phenomenal number of people to a supposedly minor party.’

A man has been charged for posing in a photo with a toddler holding guns the day before a man was allegedly executed in a shooting gangland murder.

NSW Police were investigating the alleged murder of Marvin Oraiha in Elizabeth Hills on May 22, when they seized a ballistic vest, ammunition and six phones from a home in Yagoona.

Detectives said they found several images of a 21-year-old allegedly "holding two pistols in the company of a young child, who was also holding a third glock-style pistol" on the phones seized.

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Police alleged the images were taken on May 21, the day before 24-year-old Oraiha was gunned down in the driveway of his south west Sydney home about 4pm.

Detective chief superintendent Jason Weinstein alleged the child holding the firearm was about three years old.

"Quite frankly the images that were on this individual's phone are appalling and very disturbing and probably some of the worst things I have seen in a long period of time in my policing history," Weinstein said.

He said police had about 150 of the "labour force of organised crime" on their radar and would be pursuing them for minor offences.

Weinstein said they were working to divert younger people away from organised crime.

"There is a younger element that's coming through and that is what we are concerned about."

A 22-year-old was charged with murder after police searched seven homes across Roselands, Edensor Park, Green Valley, Yagoona, Liverpool, Merrylands and Guildford.

The phone pictures were allegedly found in a Yagoona home, where the 21-year-old was arrested today.

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He was charged with 13 firearm-related offences including possessing an unauthorised pistol and supplying a pistol to an unauthorised person.

The man is due to appear at Bankstown Local Court today.

The arrest is part of Task Force Magnus, which was established last week to disrupt gun-related crime and to investigate links between the recent spate of shootings.

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