Naveed Akram, the surviving alleged suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, according to the New South Wales Police.

The other gunman, his father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the attack, which targeted Australia's Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

It was the country's deadliest shooting since 1996.

Akram also faces 40 charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, as well as one charge of causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol.

He was critically injured during the incident on Sunday, and had his first hearing from his hospital bedside, the local New South Wales court said.

The case has been adjourned until April 2026, the court added.

Earlier on Wednesday, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they were waiting for medication to wear off before formally questioning Akram.

"For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening," Lanyon said.

Twenty people injured in the attack remain in hospitals across Sydney, with one person still in a critical condition.

Earlier, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they were waiting for medication to wear off before formally questioning Akram.

"For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening," Lanyon said.

Police have designated the attack a terrorist incident, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it appears to have been "motivated by Islamic State" group ideology.

Police said "homemade" Islamic State group flags and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been found in the vehicle used by the gunmen.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Patients are being told to expect disruption as doctors start their five-day strike in England, with NHS bosses saying they are struggling to keep as many services going as they have done in recent walkouts.

NHS England said with a wave of flu placing pressure on hospitals, non-urgent services would be affected by the strike which begins at 07:00 Wednesday.

This is the 14th walkout by resident doctors, the new name for junior doctors, in the long-running pay dispute.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the strike had been timed to inflict most damage on the NHS and put patients at risk, but the British Medical Association said it would work with NHS bosses to ensure patient safety.

The strike is being held after the two sides held last-minute talks on Tuesday afternoon.

The talks were described as "constructive" by the government, but not enough progress had been made to call off the strike.

Resident doctors represent nearly half of the doctors working in the NHS. They will walk out of both emergency and non-urgent care with senior doctors drafted in to provide cover.

In the two most recent strikes – in July and November – NHS England said it was able to keep the majority of non-urgent operations and treatments, such as hip and knee replacements, going.

But NHS England said it expected more disruption this time. Concern has also been expressed that hospitals may struggle to discharge patients in time for Christmas as the doctors who are working concentrate on providing strike cover.

Medical director Prof Meghana Pandit said: "These strikes come at an immensely challenging time for the NHS, with record numbers of patients in hospital with flu for this time of year.

"Staff will come together as they always do, going above and beyond to provide safe care for patients and limit disruption.

"But sadly more patients are likely to feel the impact of this round of strikes than in the previous two – and staff who are covering will not get the Christmas break they deserve with their families."

Streeting added: "We have been working right up to today to try and avert these strike actions.

"Everyone knows the period leading up to Christmas and into the New Year are always the busiest for the NHS. With super flu, this year is harder.

"And that double whammy of flu plus strikes means that there is an additional burden now on other NHS staff."

NHS England said GP practices will continue to be open and urgent and emergency care services will be available for those who need them.

But even then there is likely to be some disruption. Cheltenham General Hospital's emergency department is closing for emergencies during the strike - it will remain open for minor injuries - with patients advised to use nearby Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

NHS England said the public should use 111 online as the first port of call for urgent, but not life-threatening issues during the strike.

Patients who need emergency medical care should continue to use 999 or come forward to A&E as normal, it added.

The strike is going ahead despite a new offer from the government being made last week, which included increasing the number of speciality training posts and covering out-of-pocket expenses like exam fees.

Getting job is 'nightmare'

The speciality training jobs, which resident doctors start in year three of their training after completing medical school, have become highly competitive.

This year 30,000 applicants went for 10,000 jobs – although some of the applicants were doctors from abroad.

Dr Tom Twentyman is one of those who lost out after trying to secure an emergency medicine post. He says finding a job is an "absolute nightmare".

Since then he has been struggling to find work, juggling a handful of locum shifts each month at the same time as applying for more than 40 short-term contracts at hospitals across the country – one of which he now secured.

But this will not count towards his training, so he will now look to reapply next year.

"Some of the job adverts were coming down within two hours of going up after they received 650 applications, which is clearly an enormous number to shortlist," he says.

On Monday the BMA announced its members had voted to continue with the strike – effectively rejecting the offer in the process – after the union agreed to hold an online poll of members.

BMA resident doctor leader Dr Jack Fletcher described it as a "resounding response" and said the government needed to go further on jobs as well as pay.

Streeting has maintained he will not discuss pay as doctors have received pay rises totalling nearly 30% over the past three years.

The BMA argues that, despite the pay rises, resident doctors' pay is still a fifth lower than it was in 2008, once inflation is taken into account.

Dr Fletcher added: "It is well past the time for ministers to come up with a genuinely long-term plan.

"If they can simply provide a clear route to responsibly raise pay over a number of years and enough genuinely new jobs instead of recycled ones, then there need not be any more strikes for the remainder of this government."

But the BMA said it was committed to ensuring patient safety.

"We will be in close contact with NHS England throughout the strikes to address safety concerns if they arise," the union added.

The UK is set to rejoin the Erasmus scheme, the BBC understands, five years after announcing that it would end its participation as part of the Brexit deal with the European Union.

The EU provides funding through the scheme for people to study, train or volunteer in other European countries for up to a year.

The UK replaced it with its own Turing scheme in 2021, which funds similar placements worldwide.

The government said it would not comment on ongoing talks.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had suggested in May that a youth mobility scheme could be part of a new deal with the EU.

The Erasmus scheme was scrapped in the UK in December 2020, when the government announced its post-Brexit trade deal with the EU.

Boris Johnson, prime minister at the time, said it was a "tough decision", but the scheme had become "extremely expensive".

He said it would be replaced by the Turing scheme, which has operated since then.

Both schemes are open not just to university students, but also to people doing vocational courses, as well as apprentices and people training at college or school.

In 2020, the last year in which the UK participated in Erasmus, the scheme received 144m euros (£126m) of EU funding for 55,700 people to take part in Erasmus projects overall.

The UK sent out 9,900 students and trainees to other countries as part of the scheme that year, while 16,100 came the other way.

Glasgow, Bristol and Edinburgh were the three universities to send the most students, and Spain, France and Germany were the most popular countries which UK students went to.

In the 2024/25 academic year, the Turing scheme had £105m of funding, which paid for 43,200 placements, with 24,000 of those being in higher education, 12,100 in further education and 7,000 in schools.

The majority (38,000) were from England, with 2,900 from Scotland, 1,000 from Wales and 1,200 from Northern Ireland.

Ministers who introduced the Turing scheme in 2021 said it was designed to benefit more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and provide greater support for travel costs than the Erasmus scheme did.

It is not yet clear what will happen to the Turing scheme once Erasmus is reintroduced for UK students.

Paul Doyle's loss of temper on the day of the Liverpool parade attack, described by the sentencing judge as "incomprehensible", may never be fully explained.

There seemed little cause for the 54-year-old to feel so aggrieved by the crowds blocking the roads as they celebrated at Liverpool FC's Premier League victory parade on 26 May.

Whatever the reason, he is now serving a sentence of 21 years and six months after pleading guilty to 31 offences including dangerous driving, affray and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

This is how Doyle's increasing aggression on the roads developed into catastrophe over one afternoon, starting at 12:34 BST when a friend who he had agreed to drive to the parade arrived at his home.

12:34 – Paul Doyle's friend Dave Clark and his family arrive at his home in Croxteth, Liverpool. The Clark family are Liverpool fans and Doyle, an Everton fan, has agreed to drive them into the city centre to watch the parade.

12:41 – Doyle leaves home with Mr Clark and his family. On the "mundane" journey into the city, they speak about house prices, schools, football, cars, their common work in IT and family matters.

He then drops them off on Exchange Street East, where footage showed him driving calmly and following the traffic measures on Dale Street.

13:35 – Doyle arrives home after dropping his friends off on Exchange Street East. The court heard that while it did not form part of the dangerous driving charge, he "drove in a markedly more aggressive way" on his way home, jumping lanes and undertaking other vehicles.

14:30 – The victory parade starts at Allerton Maze, in the the south of Liverpool.

17:24 – Doyle sends Mr Clark a message asking "how's it going?" and is told his friend is on Castle Street, close to Dale Street and Water Street.

17:29 – Doyle sets off from his house to return to the city centre. He instructs the sat-nav system in his Ford Galaxy car to take him to Castle Street. On the way, he undertakes several cars and runs a red light.

17:40 – The Liverpool FC parade finishes when the buses arrive outside the Liver Building on the waterfront.

17:48 – Mr Clark sends Doyle a message telling him signal is poor. Doyle says he will be at Castle Street in about 10 minutes but does not reply when Mr Clark asks if he wants them to walk anywhere. Mr Clark also tells him he might find the area of Castle Street blocked.

17:54 – Doyle arrives on Dale Street from Byrom Street, having undertaken a series of other vehicles at traffic lights and gone around a roundabout in the wrong lane, coming close to pedestrians who are crossing the road.

He uses his horn and presses on down the road, despite a dense crowd of fans heading back from the waterfront. He drives through a red light at the junction with Stanley Street.

17:58 – A man walking with his child, who has not been identified, becomes concerned about Doyle's driving and places his foot on the bumper of the Ford Galaxy as he moves his child out of the way. He points at Doyle, who responds by shouting: "It's a [expletive] road."

After this interaction, Doyle continues to drive in the direction of the increasingly worried crowd, some of whom bang on his car roof.

He blasts his car horn and shouts further obscenities. Adults jump out of his way and children are pulled from his path.

He initially stops ahead of traffic cones put in place to divert traffic away from Water Street, which is full of fans, but then steers into the left lane.

The first person he hits is Jack Trotter, 23, who attempts to get out of the way but suffers an injury to his leg. He then drives into a group of people who are thrown onto his bonnet. He hits another group of people and then drives into a 10-year-old girl, before shouting "[Expletive] move".

He carries on down Water Street, striking more people, including Jacqueline McClaren, 60, and paramedic Jay Vernon, 34. He reverses and collides with an ambulance.

Doyle stops for a short time and fans surround his vehicle. One, ex soldier Dan Barr, opens the rear passenger door and gets into the car.

Doyle then accelerates again, hitting Simon Nash, who is thrown into the air. Driving sharply to the right, he hits Sheree Aldridge and the pram she is pushing, carrying six-month-old baby Teddy Eveson.

The pram, with Teddy in, is thrown into the air but the baby is uninjured. Ms Aldridge suffers a serious injury to her left thigh.

From the back of the car, Mr Barr leans forward and holds the automatic gear selector in park mode. Doyle continues to try and accelerate but eventually the car, with four people underneath it, comes to a stop.

18:01 – Doyle is dragged from his vehicle and quickly shielded from the crowd by police officers. In the two minutes since he drove into the crowd, 134 people have been hit.

Doyle pleaded not guilty to 31 charges when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on 4 September, with a trial scheduled for November.

Jurors were sworn in on 25 November but he changed his pleas the following day as the prosecution prepared to open its case.

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Learner drivers face months of delays booking practical tests because a backlog will not be cleared until November 2027, a watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said there was a backlog of 1.1 million tests that were not carried out in the 2020/21 financial year because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and around 360,000 of these had still not been booked.

The average waiting time was 22 weeks in September, but at 70% of test centres the wait has hit 24 weeks – the maximum allowed.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it was "taking decisive action to address the backlog", including employing military driving examiners.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) had planned to cut waiting times to seven weeks by the end of 2025.

The NAO's inquiry found delays have led to people paying third parties to secure tests, some of whom were "paying significantly inflated prices of up to £500" - nearly eight times the official DVSA fee of £62 for a weekday slot.

It said the DVSA struggled to "understand the real demand for tests" because third party websites quickly book available slots using automated programmes known as bots.

"These delays can have a serious impact on learner drivers' income and the economy, with 30% of respondents to a DVSA survey saying they need to be able to drive for their jobs," the watchdog said.

The NAO also reported a lack of examiners and found many were leaving "due to uncompetitive pay and safety concerns". Despite running 19 recruitment campaigns since 2021, DVSA has only hired 83 extra examiners, far short of its 400 target.

In the 2023/24 financial year, DVSA had a total of 220 staff at its 240 test centres who were qualified examiners.

Learner driver Shiromi Gaughan, a small business owner in London, says she has been trying to book a test for the past eight months since she passed her theory exam two years ago, and felt "sick" when she found out it would cost her £350 for a slot from a third party seller.

She told the BBC: "It's really unfair and I'm extremely frustrated. As a small business owner from London, I've been really struggling over time.

"People like us are just so desperate."

Normally learners must take their practical test within two years of passing the theory test.

She urged the government to "do something about this because it's totally unacceptable".

She added: "I think the government need to review the whole system as they're actually aware of what is happening with the scammers or the third party agencies.

"Now I'm having to retake my theory test and spend more money so I'm extremely disappointed."

Learner driver Martha Machiek, a single parent from Stockport, said she is "very stressed" trying to book a driving test slot.

She needs a licence to save time and money taking her children to and from school and football practice.

Ms Machiek says her theory test certificate expires at the end of the month, and if she cannot book a practical test in time, she will have to start over, which she cannot afford.

"The system is not being fair on people like us," she said.

"I don't have money to book another one."

The NAO urged DVSA and the DfT to assess whether there was enough support for learners booking tests and to investigate how to boost the examiner workforce.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said "decisive action" needed to be taken to fix the delays and improve service.

"The current system for providing driving tests in England, Scotland and Wales is not working satisfactorily, with long waiting times and exploitation of learner drivers by resellers of test slots."

The DfT said it had inherited a system which was "frustrating" and open to abuse, leaving learners waiting weeks for a test.

A spokesperson said the government was "seeing improvement" with the measures it had been taking.

From spring, only learner drivers will be able to book tests and limits will be placed on the number of times they can move or swap a test.

The government said it hopes this will stop third-party companies "exploiting vulnerable learners and make the whole process more transparent".

"The DVSA has already carried out 74,847 extra tests between June and November this year compared to 2024, and these new measures will deliver thousands more extra tests over the next year," the spokesperson added.

Prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed murder charges against a son of Rob and Michele Reiner, the Hollywood couple who were found dead in their home with multiple stab wounds on Sunday.

Nick Reiner, 32, is facing two counts of first-degree murder and could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. He will be brought to court to formally face charges after he is "medically-cleared" by prison officials, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Hochman also said no decision had yet been made about whether to seek the death penalty.

Rob Reiner directed several iconic films in a variety of genres, including This is Spinal Tap, Misery and A Few Good Men.

Michele Singer Reiner was an actress, photographer and producer, and the founder of Reiner Light, a photography agency and production company.

Their son Nick Reiner is facing two counts of first degree murder, "with a special circumstance of multiple murders," according to Hochman. That enhancement could lead to a stiffer sentence if he is later found guilty.

District Attorney Hochman said he also is accused of using a "dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife".

The suspect is currently undergoing medical testing to ensure that he can attend court. He is expected to appear before a judge later on Tuesday for an arraignment hearing, where he will be able to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell also spoke during the news conference, describing how the case has reverberated throughout the city.

"This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones, but for the entire city," he said.

"We extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy."

During the news conference, officials declined to say how the suspect was located, attributing his arrest to "good, solid police work".

District Attorney Hochman added that it is too early to say whether any "mental illness" played a role in the crime, and speculated that it could come up at trial.

"If there is evidence of mental illness, it will appear in court, in whatever details the defence seeks to present," he said.

To his close friends and family, Paul Doyle was a "diamond". A dependable, generous and successful father-of-three.

To his 134 victims - the babies, children and adults mown down at the Liverpool FC victory parade on 26 May - he represents sheer terror.

That is the paradox of Paul Doyle: Why did a man who served in the Royal Marines and then built a successful and stable life plough a 1.9 tonne Ford Galaxy Titanium into a joyous crowd of Liverpool FC fans?

The 54-year-old, from Croxteth in Liverpool, was jailed for 21 years and six months at Liverpool Crown Court earlier after admitting 31 offences - including dangerous driving, affray and multiple counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

• As it happened: Liverpool parade attacker Paul Doyle sentenced to 21 years and 6 months in prison

Over two days of extraordinary proceedings, the court heard and saw how IT networking engineer Doyle's car knocked prams aside and dragged children and an elderly woman under the wheels on Liverpool's packed Water Street.

Those victims included Ukrainian war refugee Anna Bilonozhenko and Manchester Arena bombing survivor Francesca Massey, who surely thought they had experienced more than their share of trauma before 26 May.

And yet, Doyle is still a man with friends.

"It's quite hard for some people to understand but from my perspective, he's still Paul to me," said one, who did not wish to be named.

"Obviously the harm he's caused to the victims isn't great, but I'm still grateful he's in my life."

That loyalty was a result of 32 blameless years of education and hard work.

He was a man who avoided drugs and alcohol and who loved the outdoors. His hobbies included triathlons and hiking with his close circle of friends in Eryri National Park or the Lake District.

One friend said Doyle would "drop anything to help you".

He highlighted how the 54-year-old had agreed to drop off and pick up his wife's friends in the city centre on the day of the parade amid crowds of around a million.

"If someone had asked me to do that, I probably would have told them to [expletive] off, but that was Paul," he said.

Those who worked with him in various companies across the UK, including fellow ex-soldier Mike Hern, told the BBC he was a well-liked colleague.

Mr Hern described him as a "mentor" with a "good sense of humour".

His neighbours in the smart, quiet Croxteth cul-de-sac on Burghill Road, where Doyle lived with his wife and three sons for around 10 years, saw the family as "lovely people".

Catherine Tremarco, who used to live next door to Doyle and his wife at a previous address before he moved to Burghill Road, echoed those sentiments.

She said: "They were lovely neighbours. When they moved in they were getting married and they invited the whole close to the wedding.

"My husband and I couldn't go because we had a pre-booked holiday, but I couldn't do them any injustice, they were lovely."

One man, who serviced the car that Doyle "used as a weapon" in the words of prosecutors, told the BBC: "To me he seemed like a sensible, family man.

"He gave no indication of being capable of something like that. I'm very surprised something like this happened."

Doyle 'bit sailor's ear off'

The news that Doyle was responsible for injuring and maiming helpless pedestrians was met by his friends and family with astonishment.

When he got the message to say Doyle was responsible for the carnage being broadcast on every national news network, his friend said: "I just went blank."

But deeper in his past, and unknown to even some of his closest friends, was evidence of a dangerous, explosive temper.

We now know that between the ages of 18 and 22, Doyle's life seemed likely to be heading down a troubling path.

Despite making it into the Royal Marines, he had racked up a series of convictions including for serious violence and was forced out of the military.

Most alarmingly, on 2 July 1993, a drunken fight in a Lancashire pub ended with Doyle biting the ear off a sailor, leading to a 12-month prison sentence for causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) without intent.

That offence was not out of the blue. While in the army he had military convictions for common assault, criminal damage, and using "violence against a superior officer".

He had also been convicted of another GBH offence over a drunken nightclub brawl.

That side of Paul Doyle appears to fit more with the man depicted in dashboard camera footage from inside his vehicle on 26 May, screaming obscenities at his innocent victims as they thud against the bonnet.

But after his release from prison in 1994, Doyle underwent a remarkable transformation.

He enrolled at the University of Liverpool where he studied maths and psychology. A successful career in IT followed.

One friend who met Doyle in the early 2000s told the BBC: "I don't suffer fools gladly, but he was just really competent.

"If he could help you he would, and if he didn't know he would say 'let me find that out for you'."

Companies House records indicate Doyle started a business selling baseball caps.

But his friends said that was a venture started to show his three sons how business worked and was never intended as a real source of income.

In the words of prosecutor Paul Greaney KC: "Those efforts to rehabilitate himself after a difficult early adulthood only serve to make more shocking, and tragic, what he did in Liverpool that day this May."

The court heard Doyle himself had taken months to get to grips with the reality of what he had done before pleading guilty.

His barrister, Simon Csoka KC, said: "The defendant wasn't able immediately to reconcile the man that he has been for the last 30 years with the way he behaved on 26 May.

"In the same way that nobody who knows him well could believe it; neither could he for some time."

'The fans were not to blame'

Whether Doyle has truly accepted responsibility for his atrocious decisions on 26 May is in dispute.

The court heard how his police interviews were peppered with false claims and outright lies, blaming the fans for making him fear for his life.

He claimed he had seen someone with a knife, he claimed a bottle had been thrown, he claimed he stopped as soon as he realised he had struck someone.

It was all untrue.

"The position should be stated clearly," said Judge Andrew Menary KC, as he passed sentence.

"The crowd did not cause this incident; they reacted to it... The chaos that unfolded was caused solely by your driving, and any attempt to place responsibility on the public or the Liverpool supporters present would be unfair and wholly unfounded."

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Naveed Akram, the surviving alleged suspect in Sunday's mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, has been charged with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder and one of committing a terrorist act, according to the New South Wales Police.

The other gunman, his father Sajid Akram, 50, was killed in an exchange of fire with police at the scene.

Fifteen people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the attack, which targeted Australia's Jewish community at an event celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

It was the country's deadliest shooting since 1996.

Akram also faces 40 charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, as well as one charge of causing a public display of a prohibited terrorist organisation symbol.

He was critically injured during the incident on Sunday, and had his first hearing from his hospital bedside, the local New South Wales court said.

The case has been adjourned until April 2026, the court added.

Earlier on Wednesday, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they were waiting for medication to wear off before formally questioning Akram.

"For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening," Lanyon said.

Twenty people injured in the attack remain in hospitals across Sydney, with one person still in a critical condition.

Earlier, New South Wales Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said they were waiting for medication to wear off before formally questioning Akram.

"For his fairness, we need him to understand what is exactly happening," Lanyon said.

Police have designated the attack a terrorist incident, with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying it appears to have been "motivated by Islamic State" group ideology.

Police said "homemade" Islamic State group flags and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have been found in the vehicle used by the gunmen.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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Prosecutors in Los Angeles have filed murder charges against a son of Rob and Michele Reiner, the Hollywood couple who were found dead in their home with multiple stab wounds on Sunday.

Nick Reiner, 32, is facing two counts of first-degree murder and could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty. He will be brought to court to formally face charges after he is "medically-cleared" by prison officials, District Attorney Nathan Hochman said.

During a news conference on Tuesday, Mr Hochman also said no decision had yet been made about whether to seek the death penalty.

Rob Reiner directed several iconic films in a variety of genres, including This is Spinal Tap, Misery and A Few Good Men.

Michele Singer Reiner was an actress, photographer and producer, and the founder of Reiner Light, a photography agency and production company.

Their son Nick Reiner is facing two counts of first degree murder, "with a special circumstance of multiple murders," according to Hochman. That enhancement could lead to a stiffer sentence if he is later found guilty.

District Attorney Hochman said he also is accused of using a "dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife".

The suspect is currently undergoing medical testing to ensure that he can attend court. He is expected to appear before a judge later on Tuesday for an arraignment hearing, where he will be able to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell also spoke during the news conference, describing how the case has reverberated throughout the city.

"This case is heartbreaking and deeply personal, not only for the Reiner family and their loved ones, but for the entire city," he said.

"We extend our deepest condolences to everyone affected by this tragedy."

During the news conference, officials declined to say how the suspect was located, attributing his arrest to "good, solid police work".

District Attorney Hochman added that it is too early to say whether any "mental illness" played a role in the crime, and speculated that it could come up at trial.

"If there is evidence of mental illness, it will appear in court, in whatever details the defence seeks to present," he said.

Finland's delegate to last month's Miss Universe pageant held in Thailand has sparked a racism firestorm over a viral photo that showed her pulling the corners of her eyes.

Sarah Dzafce, who has been dethroned, uploaded the photo with the caption "eating with a Chinese". The slanted-eyes pose is often seen as disrespectful to East Asians.

The post drew backlash in Japan, South Korea and China against the 22-year-old and even against her country's flag carrier, Finnair.

Back home in Finland, the prime minister said on Monday making such gestures was "thoughtless and stupid" and that the controversy that ensued was "damaging" to the country.

Ms Dzafce claimed the gesture was her reaction to a headache during dinner. She said a friend added the offensive caption to the 11 December post without her consent, according to local tabloid Ilta-Sanomat.

Ms Dzafce has apologised for the photo, noting it has "caused ill will in many people".

"That was not my intention in any way... One of the most important things for me is respect for people, their backgrounds and differences," she wrote on an Instagram post.

The apology still drew criticism, with some calling it "insincere" given it was written in Finnish.

"Not sure Chinese outside of Finland would understand it. Such considerate and sincere apology," one wrote in a comment on her post.

Another wrote: "That was uncalled for, Asian people didn't do anything to you... We [are] still disappointed in you."

Two right-wing MPs in Finland, Juho Eerola and Kaisa Garedew, posted photos of themselves mimicking Ms Dzafce's gesture to show their support for the beauty queen.

The posts were taken down after backlash. Eerola apologised adding he felt Ms Dzafce was given "disproportionately harsh punishment".

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned the MPs' actions as "childish", adding that lawmakers should set an example of proper conduct.

The Finns Party is deliberating whether the MPs should face any sanctions for their actions, local media reported.

Finland's flag carrier Finnair told public broadcaster Yle that the controversy had affected the company, and that there had been calls for tourists to boycott Finland.

"The statements or posts mentioned by some Finnish members of parliament do not represent the values of Finnair," the airline wrote on its Japanese X account on Tuesday.

"As an airline supported by employees from diverse backgrounds and customers around the world, we promise to welcome everyone with respect," it wrote.

The debacle has also drawn attention in Japan, South Korea and China, among other East Asian countries.

A Japanese man living in Finland launched an petition calling for an investigation into anti-Asian discrimination, which had gathered more than 7,000 signatures as of Sunday evening, the Asahi Shimbun reported.

The Finnish embassy in Japan said it had received "numerous opinions and questions" on Finland's efforts to address racism.

"Racism remains a challenge in Finnish society, and its resolution requires continuous and resolute efforts," it acknowledged in an X post early this week.

The controversy around Ms Dzafce is a postscript to a chaotic Miss Universe audition hosted in Thailand that had been hounded by walkouts and allegations of rigging.

The Miss Finland Organisation said dethroning Ms Dzafce was a "difficult but necessary" move.

"Miss Finland holds a position of role-model status, which requires respecting all people regardless of their origin, background, or appearance," the organisation said in a statement.

"We are deeply sorry for the harm these events have caused. Especially to the Asian community, but also to everyone affected. Racism is never acceptable in any form," it wrote.