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Jerusalem synagogue attack
Four people have been killed and eight wounded in a brutal attack on a synagogue in Jerusalem, in which Palestinians armed with cleavers and a gun attacked during early morning prayers, before being killed by Israeli police.
The four men killed were all rabbis, three with dual US citizenship and one with dual UK citizenship.
Reactions from the local community have been split between mourning and anger, with groups reciting psalms while others chanted “Death to terrorists”.
This and other recent attacks pose a new threat for Israeli security forces, as they grapple with violence by local residents and small groups rather than militant operations.
We have rolling coverage of events since the attack happened, including Israeli prime minister Netanyahu’s promise of a “heavy handed” response.
Australian news and politics
• Asylum seekers who have registered with the UNHCR in Indonesia will no longer be able to be resettled by Australia’s humanitarian program, after Scott Morrison announced retroactive changes that will mean thousands of asylum seekers will be prevented from applying through the route preferred by the federal government.
• WA government plans to close more than 100 remote and primarily Indigenous communities would be “devastating”, say the traditional owners, who have warned the closures are the “biggest threat to our people since the shocking events of the 1960s”.
• Tony Abbott and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi have agreed to hold regular joint naval exercises and talked up a possible free trade agreement in late 2015.
• The government’s mandatory data retention bill places limitations on human rights that are “not proportionate” to its intentions, according to a scathing cross-party report.
• One in three CSIRO staff are seriously considering quitting, a staff survey shows, amid budget cuts and a bruising year of job losses.
Around the world
• Finland is on red alert over Russia’s expansionist rhetoric.
• Pope Francis is raffling off gifts given to the Vatican to raise money for the poor.
• The Murdoch family has defeated a shareholder revolt over the voting structure of News Corp.
More from around the web
• Among the most read on the Guardian this morning: our live kick-by-kick coverage of the Scotland v England football match, which kicked off at 7am Sydney time.
• The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which is preparing to be abolished, may be spared by the Senate at the last moment - but the staff have mostly already left, Canberra Times reports.
• An Australian man was among five killed in a Cambodian nightclub fire, the ABC reports.
• Indigenous Australians are working and earning more, but levels of self-harm are also rising significantly, SBS reports.
• The Queensland government is angry at US president Barack Obama for remarks during the G20 summit on climate and coal, the Australian reports.
• Work-life balance is deteriorating for most Australians, the SMH reports.
One last thing
George Monbiot writes on how the age of loneliness is killing us.
Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I’ve missed, let me know on Twitter @newsmary.
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