Listen to the latest updates from ABC News

Listen to the latest updates from ABC News

Listen to the latest updates from ABC News

The opening day of a landmark case in the Federal Court between the ACCC and Coles has adjourned.

The consumer watchdog is seeking to prove the supermarket giant breached consumer law by misleading customers with fake discounts.

Coles' legal counsel has told the court that the case hinged on whether the supermarket was justified in lowering the prices of a basket of goods, raising them for a brief period, and then lowering them again.

Earlier, lawyers representing the A-triple-C labelled the price discounts as "utterly misleading".

Police investigating the disappearance of four-year-old Gus Lamont on a remote South Australian station say they've charged a person with unrelated offences.

It's understood Gus Lamont's grandmother, Josie Murray, was arrested and charged with firearms offences, as police conducted another search of Oak Park Station, near Yunta.

Police say the charges aren't related to the disappearance of the boy from the property in September.

Earlier this month, they said a person living at the property was considered a suspect in Gus's disappearance, but stressed his parents weren't being investigated.

American journalist, Savannah Guthrie, has appealed to the kidnappers of her 84 year old mother, Nancy, to "do the right thing" and release her.

Police believe Nancy Guthrie was abducted from her home in Arizona two weeks ago .

They are now examining DNA from a glove recovered three kilometres away, which appears to match the pair worn by a masked prowler seen in doorbell camera footage.

Coles has been accused by the consumer watchdog of a planned campaign to mislead customers on the prices of hundreds of items.

On the opening day of a Federal Court case in Melbourne, the ACCC claimed the conduct by Coles was planned and that it would have violated the supermarket's internal policies but they were changed prior to the Down Down program discounts in question.

Coles has rejected the allegations that the discounts were fake and says rampant inflation was behind the price increases.  

The Bondi Beach terror attack gunman Naveed Akram has appeared on a video link before a Sydney court for the first time since his arrest in December.It was a largely procedural mention of the case about suppression orders over the identities of survivors.

The 24 year old is facing nearly 60 charges, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, over the shooting at Bondi during a Jewish event on December 14.

He is yet to make a plea.

Police believe an elderly man mistakenly kidnapped from his home in north-west Sydney is still alive and are pleading for his safe release.

It's alleged three people kidnapped 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian from his home in North Ryde early on Friday morning.

The ABC understands a video of Mr Baghsarian was filmed by his kidnappers and distributed by his captors, and that police believe the kidnappers may have been targeting a different family nearby.. with links to organised crime.

But police say they have the wrong man. 

Bondi Beach terror attack gunman, Naveed Akram has, appeared in court for the first time.

The 24-year-old faces 59 charges including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist attack over the shooting in December.

Akram's father Sajid Akram was killed by police during the shooting at Bondi on December 14, which took place while a Jewish event Chanukah by the Sea was being held in Archer Park.

Mr Akram's lawyer says it 's too early to say how his client will plead.

Police believe an elderly man mistakenly kidnapped from his home in north-west Sydney is still alive.

It's alleged a number of offenders grabbed 85-year-old Chris Baghsarian from his North Ryde bedroom early on Friday morning and bundled him into a car.

Police say the kidnappers have the wrong man and his family is not involved in any criminal activity.

The ACCC's bombshell lawsuit against supermarket giant Coles has kicked off in Melbourne this morning.  

The consumer watchdog is accusing the supermarket giant of ripping off customers by hiking prices for a short period of time, before dropping them for their "Down Down" promotion.

Coles claims the price rises were justified, citing high inflation and supplier demands.  

The Bondi gunman has appeared on a video link for the first time in a Sydney court. 

Naveed Akram is being held in custody at Goulburn supermax prison and his lawyer says he's doing as well as can be expected.

15 people were killed and dozens more were injured during the shooting in mid-December which took place while a Jewish event was being held at Bondi Beach.

The Federal Treasury is considering changes to Australia's tobacco excise, after previously rejecting the idea that cutting the cost of cigarettes would solve the problem of the illegal tobacco trade.Experts are pushing for a freeze to the excise, which has grown by 60 per cent since 2020 and is due to rise again next month.They say the tax's effectiveness is waning and that freezing it will allow the government to catch up to the illegal market. 

A state of emergency is in place for a large area north of Wellington in New Zealand due to wild weather, with tens of thousands of people without electricity across the country's North Island.Authorities say 20 vehicles are stuck in a mud slide in Taihape, and that mass evacuations are underway. Air New Zealand has cancelled flights in and out of Wellington and Napier because of strong winds, and Cook Strait ferries, which sail between the North and South Islands, are not running today.Preparations are now underway, as the weather makes its way to the South Island.

New liberal leader Angus Taylor has put taxes, housing, and nuclear energy on his agenda in the wake of last week's leadership spill. Mr Taylor won the leadership ballot convincingly against Sussan Ley, and has since been keen to let Australians know what direction the party will take. A tougher approach to immigration is also on the table for the opposition, with Mr Taylor declaring, "the door must be shut" to people who don't align with "Australian values".Federal treasurer Jim Chalmers has accused the Coalition of playing politics with migration. 

Gaza's civil defence agency and health officials have reported at least 12 Palestinians have been killed and several injured across Gaza, after the Israeli military carried out airstrikes. A Hamas spokesperson accused Israel of committing a new massacre against displaced Palestinians, calling it a serious breach of the ceasefire.An Israeli military official said forces attacked in response to Hamas violations of the ceasefire agreement. 

Preparations are underway across the country ahead of the start of the Lunar New Year tomorrow.Hundreds of millions of people worldwide will take part in the 15-day Lunar celebration, marking the Year of the Fire Horse.The Fire Horse last appeared in 1966 and is associated with strong energy, courage and momentum in Chinese culture.

A high stakes Federal Court case between Coles and the consumer watchdog is getting underway, which could dramatically reshape what Australians pay at the checkout.The ACCC is accusing the supermarket giant of ripping off customers with "illusory" or fake discounts: hiking prices for a short period of time, before dropping them for their "Down Down" promotion.Coles claims the price rises were justified, citing high inflation and supplier demands.  The federal treasurer still isn't ruling out changes to the capital gains tax discount on investment properties.Officials from the treasury department have all but confirmed they've provided options to the government about how to reduce spending and improve equality in the housing market. Jim Chalmers has again downplayed the possibility of changes but says generational inequality is a key focus of the government.

Meanwhile new opposition leader Angus Taylor has written to the Prime Minister requesting a bipartisan taskforce be set up... to find areas to trim in the upcoming budget. Skier Matt Graham has headlined day nine of the Winter Olympics for Australia, claiming bronze in the dual mogul skiing in Livigno. Elsewhere, 16-year-old Ally Hickman has qualified for the final of the women's slopestyle although 2022 bronze medallist Tess Coady missed out.And snowboarders Josie Baff and Adam Lambert have fallen just short of adding to Australia's medal tally, finishing fourth in the big final of the mixed team cross.

The consumer watchdog has accused Coles of ripping off customers with fake discounts in a bombshell case going before the federal court today. The ACCC alleges the supermarket giant misled customers with fake discounts on products which were put onto "Down Down" promotions. Coles is defending the case, saying the program did offer a genuine discount and any price increases were due to supplier demands and inflationary pressures.

New Liberal Leader Angus Taylor insists nuclear power should be part of Australia's energy mix. The Opposition last year promised to build nuclear power plants at seven sites if it won the election.Mr Taylor says nuclear power shouldn’t be discounted when considering how to reduce emissions and power costs. 

The widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says she's determined to continue his fight for justice, after labs in Europe determined he was poisoned with a rare toxin found in South American dart frogs.The UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands say tests on samples taken from Mr Navalny's body "conclusively confirm" the toxin's presence.Yulia Navalnaya says she's glad the finding has been made, two years after her husband's death.