Australians are using credit cards to cover everyday expenses, new research from Finder shows.

As cost-of-living pressures continue, a survey by the comparison website found that 11 per cent of respondents have paid for daily expenses with plastic.

For those who have credit card debt, 40 per cent don't prioritise paying down what they owe.

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Almost 30 per cent of respondents said they prioritised other expenses first, while 11 per cent of people said they could not afford to pay down their credit card debt.

The survey found fewer women than men prioritised paying down their credit card debt.

Meanwhile, seven per cent of men said they could not afford to pay off their debt compared to 16 per cent of women.

Finder money expert Sarah Megginson said millions risked spiralling debt as a growing number put credit card repayments last.

"Failing to tackle credit card debt keeps millions of Australians trapped in a cycle that makes it harder to get on top of their budget and creates so much stress," Megginson said.

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"Plastic debt can quickly snowball because of the high interest rates and end up costing you far more than you borrowed.

"Every month you delay paying it off, you're giving your bank more of your hard-earned money in interest."

Meggison urged people to seek out help to get themselves into a more comfortable position.

"It can feel really hard to get on top of credit card debts, like you're chasing Peter to pay Paul each month, but there is help available," she said.

"If your debts are snowballing, you can contact the National Debt Helpline for free financial counselling."

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US President Donald Trump celebrated news overnight that an alumni group from West Point cancelled an award ceremony set to honour Tom Hanks, with the president calling the famous actor "destructive" and "WOKE."

Hanks was scheduled to receive the 2025 Sylvanus Thayer Award on September 25, but the US Military Academy's alumni association cancelled the ceremony last week, according to news reports.

"Important move!" Trump said in a post on his social media network. "We don't need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American Awards!!! Hopefully the Academy Awards, and other Fake Award Shows, will review their Standards and Practices in the name of Fairness and Justice."

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West Point, its alumni association and a representative for Hanks did not immediately respond to messages and calls seeking comment.

It comes as Trump has moved to direct the ideology and leadership of higher education institutes and the military in his second term, seeking to assert control with a mix of executive orders and threats of legal action and withholding funds.

This summer, the Army secretary directed West Point to review its hiring practices, bar outside groups from choosing employees and remove a newly announced hire who led the nation's cybersecurity agency under then-President Joe Biden.

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Earlier this year, West Point disbanded a dozen cadet clubs centred on ethnicity, gender, race and sexuality in response to the Trump administration's push to eliminate diversity programs throughout government.

The school also rehung a painting of General Robert E Lee dressed in his Confederate uniform in the library as the Trump administration has pushed to restore Confederate names and monuments that have been removed in recent years.

The Sylvanus Thayer Award is named for an early superintendent of the military academy who is known as the "Father of West Point." It has been given out every year since 1958 "to an outstanding citizen of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in West Point's motto: 'Duty, Honour, Country,'" according to the West Point Association of Graduates.

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"Tom Hanks has done more for the positive portrayal of the American service member, more for the caring of the American veteran, their caregivers and their family, and more for the American space program and all branches of government than many other Americans," association board chairman Robert McDonald said in a June press release about the award.

Retired Army Colonel Mark Bieger, president and chief executive officer of the association, wrote in an email Friday that the decision to call off the award ceremony "allows the Academy to continue its focus on its core mission of preparing cadets to lead, fight, and win as officers in the world's most lethal force, the United States Army," according to The Washington Post, which was first to report on the cancellation.

Last year's recipient was former President Barack Obama.

Hanks starred in the 1998 war drama Saving Private Ryan and co-produced with Steven Spielberg the World War II HBO miniseries Band of Brothers.

Hanks is among Hollywood's most politically active celebrities, donating to support a slew of Democratic politicians and progressive causes. He vocally endorsed Obama, Hillary Clinton and Biden in their presidential bids and signed an open letter endorsing Kamala Harris last year.

He's also gone to work for the Democrats. In 2012, he narrated a short documentary, The Road We've Traveled, for Obama's reelection campaign.

To fete Biden's inauguration in 2021, Hanks hosted a 90-minute prime-time television special, Celebrating America.

A year later, he narrated a two-minute ad spot from the Biden Inaugural Committee touting the accomplishments of the president's first term. He also served as a celebrity co-chair for When We All Vote, a non-partisan civic engagement organisation founded by former first lady Michelle Obama to boost voter outreach.

And for the better part of the past decade, Hanks has made no secret of his disapproval of Trump and the president's policies. He called the then-Republican candidate a "self-involved gasbag" during an on-stage interview in 2016.

After Trump took office, Hanks said during an American Civil Liberties Union fundraiser that actions like the attempted travel ban for Muslim-majority countries represented a "brand of tragedy."

During Biden's inauguration, he spoke of "deep divisions and a troubling rancor in our land" and warned against attempts to twist the truth by those entrusted with public service during a 2023 Harvard commencement speech.

Just this past year, he stoked the ire of Trump supporters after depicting a caricature of one during the 50th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live.

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A new mural by elusive street artist Banksy showing a judge beating an unarmed protester with a gavel will be removed from a wall outside one of London's most iconic courts, authorities said on Monday.

The mural appeared on Monday and depicts a protester lying on the ground holding a blood-splattered placard while a judge in a traditional wig and black gown beats him with a gavel.

Banksy posted a photo of the work on Instagram, his usual method of claiming a work as authentic.

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It was captioned “Royal Courts Of Justice. London.”

Security officials outside the courthouse covered the artwork with sheets of black plastic and two metal barriers, and it was being guarded by two officers and a security camera.

Because the Victorian gothic revival style building is 143 years old, the mural will be removed with consideration for its historical significance, according to HM Courts and Tribunals.

“The Royal Courts of Justice is a listed building and HMCTS are obliged to maintain its original character,” it said in a statement. Listed buildings are considered the country’s most significant historic buildings and sites and are protected by law.

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While the artwork doesn't refer to a particular cause or incident, activists saw it as a reference to the UK government's ban on the group Palestine Action.

On Saturday almost 900 people were arrested at a London protest challenging the ban.

Defend Our Juries, the group that organised the protest, said in a statement that the mural “powerfully depicts the brutality unleashed” by the government ban.

“When the law is used as a tool to crush civil liberties, it does not extinguish dissent, it strengthens it,” the statement said.

The courts have weighed in on the Palestine Action case, with judges initially rejecting the organisation’s request to appeal its ban.

A High Court court judge then allowed the appeal to go forward, though the government is now challenging that decision.

Banksy began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists.

His paintings and installations sell for millions of dollars at auction and have drawn thieves and vandals.

Banksy’s work often comments on political issues, with many of his pieces criticizing government policy on migration and war.

At the Glastonbury Festival last year, an inflatable raft holding dummies of migrants in life jackets was unveiled during a band’s headline set.

Banksy appeared to claim the stunt, which was thought to symbolize small boat crossings of migrants in the English Channel, in a post on Instagram.

The artist has also taken his message on migration to Europe.

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In 2019, “The Migrant Child,” depicting a shipwrecked child holding a pink smoke bomb and wearing a life jacket, was unveiled in Venice, Italy.

In 2018, a number of works including one near a former center for migrants that depicted a child spray-painting wallpaper over a swastika were discovered in Paris.

Banksy has also created numerous artworks in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the years, including one depicting a girl conducting a body search on an Israeli soldier, another showing a dove wearing a flak jacket, and a masked protester hurling a bouquet of flowers.

He designed the “Walled Off Hotel” guesthouse in Bethlehem, which closed in October 2023.

Last summer, Banksy captured London’s attention with an animal-themed collection, which concluded with a mural of a gorilla appearing to hold up the entrance gate to London Zoo.

For nine days straight, Banksy-created creatures– from a mountain goat perched on a building buttress to piranhas circling a police guard post to a rhinoceros mounting a car — showed up in unlikely locations around the city.

Despite being on the brink of bankruptcy as a result of court proceedings, embattled former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has lodged legal action against the head of a corruption watchdog and a federal minister. 

The legal action was filed by Lehrmann personally at 9.30pm on Thursday under the classification of a "judicial review", which asks the court to review the legality of a governmental decision. 

Lehrmann has filed proceedings against the Commissioner of the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner Paul Brereton and federal Special Minister of State Don Farrell. 

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The nature of the proceedings is unknown as of this afternoon, but Lehrmann has been contacted for comment. 

Farrell's office declined to comment and the National Anti-Corruption Commissioner said it was inappropriate to comment because the proceedings were before the court.

Lehrmann entered into the national consciousness after he was accused of raping his colleague Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019.

He has denied the claims, which remain untested in a criminal court after a 2022 trial in the ACT was abandoned because of juror misconduct. 

But the Federal Court found in 2024 the allegations he raped Higgins were proven on the balance of probabilities, which is a lower civil standard of proof than its criminal counterpart.

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Lehrmann's appeal against his defamation loss to Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson was heard by a panel of judges in August. 

The justices reserved their decision to be delivered at a later date.

He claimed he was defamed by Wilkinson's 2021 interview with Higgins on The Project in which Higgins alleged she was raped. 

Justice Michael Lee found the allegations were likely true in his headline-grabbing judgment in April 2024.

"Having escaped the lions' den, Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of going back for his hat," the judge quipped at the time.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

At least four people have been killed in a shooting attack in Jerusalem after attackers opened fire in a bus at a busy intersection in north Jerusalem, paramedics say.

They said 15 other people were injured and six were in a serious condition.

Police said two attackers were "neutralised" soon after the shooting began on Monday morning (Monday afternoon AEST).

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The shooting took place at a major intersection at the northern entrance to Jerusalem, on a road that leads to Jewish settlements located in east Jerusalem.

Israeli media reported that the two attackers boarded a bus and opened fire.

Footage of the attack showed dozens of people fleeing from a bus stop at the busy intersection during the morning rush hour. Paramedics who responded to the scene said the area was chaotic and covered in broken glass, with people wounded and lying unconscious on the road and a sidewalk near the bus stop.

There was no immediate comment on the attack from Palestinian militant groups.

The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in both the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel. Palestinian militants have attacked and killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank, while there has also been a rise in settler violence against Palestinians.

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While there have been scattered attacks over the past months in Israel, the last deadly mass shooting attack was in October 2024, when two Palestinians from the West Bank opened fire on a major boulevard and light rail station in the Tel Aviv area, killing seven people and leaving many others wounded. Hamas' military wing claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to police, the two men opened fire in the Jaffa neighbourhood of Tel Aviv, including shooting directly into a light rail carriage crowded with passengers that was stopped at a station.

The twin of a surfer killed by a shark at a Sydney beach at the weekend has paid an emotional tribute to the brother he described as "my life, my right-hand man".

A shark took Mercury Psillakis, 57, at Long Reef Beach in Dee Why on Saturday, sparking the temporary closure of several beaches and the halting of a limited shark-net removal trial in the city. 

Mike Psillakis said it was the "hardest moment of my life".

The Psillakis Surfboards shaper said he had lost the yin to his yang, a man he described as "my mirror, my blood, my DNA" and with whom he said he shared the same soul.

"Mercury was my life, my right-hand man," Mick said in an emoji-scattered Instagram post this afternoon.

"Words cannot describe the bond we had together growing up. We had our own language and shared the same dreams, literally.

"The experiences we had together were truly amazing."

Mick said Mercury would be the "life at every party" and called on loved ones to follow his brother's message to "live life with pure passion".

"Express ALL emotions, whether they are happy, sad, angry or mad," Mick said.

"Tell your loved ones that you love them. Hold them tight.

"Get rid of the filter that hides who you really are.

"He was passionate about being REAL."

Mercury was survived by his wife, Maria and daughter, Freedom.

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Shark believed to be great white

Experts believe they know what type of shark took his life.

"NSW government shark biologists have assessed photographs of the victim's surfboard and determined a white shark approximately 3.4-3.6 metres in length was likely responsible," a NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) statement said today.

"Based on information from emergency services, it is understood the incident occurred approximately 300 metres north of the Surf Life Saving club."

Fellow surfers said Mercury spotted the predator and began warning those around him, but was unable to save himself.

Manly Beach and Freshwater Beach were closed this morning after reported shark activity just days after the fatal attack nearby.

The shark net at Dee Why is about 500 metres from the shore, with the nets being 150 metres long and six metres deep.

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New measures are being taken in response to the fatal attack.

"An extra two SMART drumlines have been deployed by the DPIRD contractor between Dee Why and Long Reef on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, in addition to the three SMART drumlines deployed daily off Dee Why year-round," the DPIRD statement said.

"Surf Life Saving NSW have also deployed drones in the area again today, plus helicopter surveillance."

The Northern Beaches Council also announced the closure of the two popular beaches, saying the NSW Government Shark Smart app had reported a sighting of a "tagged shark in the vicinity" of the beaches.

This marks the fourth beach to be closed in the area, with Dee Why Beach and Long Reef Beach also remaining closed after Saturday's attack.

In addition to the beach closures, a planned trial to take down shark nets from Sydney beaches was paused yesterday.

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The pair met that fateful day but only one would survive the night.

A British Airways plane has made an emergency landing at Sydney Airport.

Singapore-bound flight BAW16 had taken off from Sydney just after 3pm, shortly before the pilot issued a mayday call.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which has the capacity to carry between 250 and 500 passengers, returned to Sydney and landed safely after circling.

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A British Airways spokesperson said the aircraft returned to Sydney as a precaution after reports of a technical issue.

"The flight landed safely and our teams are working hard to get customers' journeys back on track as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.

It is understood the plane ran into trouble over Orange in the NSW Central West before the aircraft turned around.

Audio of the mayday call between the pilot and the Sydney Airport operations control centre has since been released.

"Mayday Speedbird 16… just about to become established on (runway) 34 L, we will have to stop for at least a minute on the runway after landing," the pilot said.

"Speedbird 16 Sydney tower… g'day, copy, mayday acknowledged," the operations control centre employee responded.

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The flight was met on the tarmac by eight emergency vehicles, including fire trucks, which is standard procedure for emergency landings.

The plane has since been met by engineers at the British Airways airport gate.

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The three children spent three years in hiding in remote Waikato bushland.

A fugitive father who had been hiding for years with his three children in the dense New Zealand wilderness is believed to have been shot dead during an armed confrontation with police responding to a break-in, police said today.

An officer was also wounded in the confrontation after being shot in the head, police said.

"The formal identification has yet to take place but we believe him to be Tom Phillips," Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters.

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One of the children was with the man believed to be Phillips at the time and is in police custody.

But the other two children – a boy and a girl – were still missing.

Following a massive and urgent search operation involving helicopters and special tactics police today, police announced the other two children had been found on their own at a remote campsite in the dense bush near the tiny rural town of Marakopa, on the rugged west coast of New Zealand's Waikato region.

"They are with police officers now, and are being removed from that location," Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers told reporters this afternoon.

Thomas Callam Phillips vanished with his children in December 2021, and despite several sightings, appeals for help, and a police search, the family's location had remained a mystery.

Police believe they were living off-grid, with the father using his survival skills to feed, shelter and clothe his children.

He and one of his children were spotted in camouflage clothing scoping out a store in Piopio late last month in footage released by New Zealand Police.

Early today local time police were called to reports of a break-in at a farming good store in the Poipoi, a town of less than 500 people in the western Waikato district in the North Island of the country, near where Phillips is believed to have been hiding out.

Police were alerted to a four-wheeled farm bike with two people on it leaving the scene on a gravel road and set up road spikes on at a nearby intersection.

"The quad bike has run over the spikes. The two occupants have been on that bike, and it has come to a rest on this rural road. A short time later, the first attending police officer at that scene has come across that stopped quad bike and been confronted by gunfire at close range," Rogers said.

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The officer was struck in the head and took cover. When another policer arrived at the scene, they shot at Phillips.

"A second person was located at the scene, and multiple firearms were located on and around the quad bike," said Rogers.

The injured officer has been airlifted to Waikato Hospital and undergo surgery.

Rogers said locating the other two children was a priority.

Tom Phillips sister, Rozzi Phillips, confirmed to CNN affiliate and public broadcaster RNZ that he had been killed.

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Just two weeks ago, law enforcement released CCTV footage of what they believed to be Phillips and one of the children involved in an early morning burglary at convenience store in the same town as today's shooting.

Last June police offered a reward of 80,000 New Zealand dollars ($71,000) for information leading to their location and safe return.

Phillips' series of alleged crimes includes the armed robbery of a bank in May 2023, when two people were seen on closed circuit television escaping on a motorbike with cash.

Phillips already faced a range of charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding, and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The children's mother, known as Cat, said she was "deeply relieved that for our (children) this ordeal has come to an end," in a statement to CNN affiliate RNZ on Monday morning.

"They have been dearly missed every day for nearly four years, and we are looking forward to welcoming them home with love and care," she said

"At the same time, we are saddened by how events unfolded today. Our hope has always been that the children could be returned in a peaceful and safe way for everyone involved."

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