RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today

MILITARY personnel allegedly groomed children for sex as a confidential report reveals shocking detail of offences within the Australian Defence Force including rapes.

TODAY

• Hundreds of military personnel are suspected of committing sexual offences, including allegations of child grooming or child porn­o­graphy.

• Sydney Ferries out of Circular Quay were stopped this morning due to heavy fog.

• Miley Cyrus crashed a New York fashion week party topless.

• President Barack Obama has reportedly said that the United States will “go on the offensive” against Islamic State militants in the Middle East. While Australia has confirmed it is prepared to participate in air strikes.

10am

That’s it for our live #RUSHHOUR news blog. You can get across the stories you need to know today below or go to news.com.au for the latest headlines.

9.45am

Tony Abbott has said this morning that at least 60 Australians are fighting for Islamic State, which he has referred to again as a “death cult” and “pure evil”.

He said he was looking forward to US President Barack Obama’s next statement due on Wednesday (US time) and said he thought US airstrikes did contribute to halting IS.

“We want to make sure the Australian community is kept safe from IS,” he told a press conference.

9.42am

UPDATE: Local police have confirmed two Australians were killed after their tour bus overturned in Kenya.

9.40am

The search to uncover the identity of Jack the Ripper appears to be over.

DNA on a shawl found near one of the victims, Catherine Eddowes, reportedly contains a match to both her and one of the chief suspects, Aaron Kosminsky.

The breakthrough came when Dr Jari Louhelainen, an expert in historic DNA, was commissioned to study a shawl found with Eddowes.

Was he Jack the Ripper? Aaron Kosminski’s DNA has been identified.

9.30am

Fighting around two cities in eastern Ukraine has broken a truce between government troops and pro-Russian rebels less than 48 hours after it came into force.

Insurgent militias bombarded a government-held checkpoint on the eastern edge of the port city of Mariupol on Sunday, local officials said, killing one woman and triggering panic among residents.

A Ukrainian serviceman walks past a column of destroyed military equipment near the village of Talakovka after an overnight bombing attack. AFP PHOTO / ANATOLII BOIKO

9.09am

UPDATE: Ferry services in Sydney have resumed as heavy fog lifts.

Click here for photos of the fog, and an explanation of why it was so thick today.

Sydney Ferries have resumed out of Circular Quay after heavy fog. Passengers can still use tickets on buses and trains until 10.30am

— 131500 ferries (@131500ferries) September 7, 2014

8.25am

Australia has announced it is prepared to participate in future air strikes against Islamic State jihadists in Iraq as part of a coalition of like-minded countries.

“The countries that have expressed a willingness to tackle ISIL head on have also looked at what more can be done in terms of air strikes and Australia will respond when a formal request is made,” Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters while attending a NATO summit in Wales over the weekend.

Australia is prepared to act, says Julie Bishop. Photo: Gary Ramage.

Meanwhile former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger has urged US President Barack Obama to “launch an all-out attack” on the Islamic State terrorist group, warning that Americans have ­become “bystanders” in the Middle East.

8.10am

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has acknowledged he and his party could have done some things better in their first year in power but he defended his party’s performance, saying he “looked back at the last 12 months with some satisfaction”.

Mr Abbott attended a Father’s Day community tea in the northern Sydney suburb of Epping with his 90-year-old father Dick.

“With the wisdom of 20-20 hindsight there are always some things (we could have done differently), but we’ve faced some difficult challenges and I think we’ve handled them pretty well,” he said.

Dick Abbott and his son Tony attend a morning tea at The Epping Club. Pictures Justin Lloyd

7.45am

All Sydney Ferries out of Circular Quay have been stopped due to heavy fog. Commuters advised to use their tickets on trains and buses instead.

All Sydney Ferries out of Circular Quay stopped due to heavy fog. Can use tickets on trains and buses instead.

— 131500 ferries (@131500ferries) September 7, 2014

Morning fog in North Sydney pic.twitter.com/EFwTF0PPxv

— Elle Hardy (@ellehardytweets) September 7, 2014

Early morning in Sydney. Fog hides the Opera House. #Sydney #Sydneylife pic.twitter.com/xq91xRqA7D

— RobertHammond (@Clark_Equip_Aus) September 7, 2014

7.30am

Hugh Jackman was part of a star-studded ceremony to farewell funnywoman Joan Rivers on Sunday.

A who’s who of comic, stage and TV legends joined radio and TV personality Stern at Temple Emanu-El on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to remember Rivers, who died Thursday at 81.

Guests included Kathy Griffin, Matthew Broderick and wife Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Sawyer, Geraldo Rivera, Donald Trump, Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters and Kelly Osbourne.

Sarah Jessica Parker attends the Joan Rivers memorial service at Temple Emanu-El. Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images/AFP

Kelly Osbourne arrives at Joan Rivers memorial service. Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images

7.05am

President Obama has reportedly said that the United States will “go on the offensive” against Islamic State militants in the Middle East.

“The next phase is us going on the offensive,” Obama said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“We are going to systematically degrade their capabilities. We’re going to shrink the territory that they control. And ultimately we’re going to defeat them.”

US President Barack Obama says the US will go on the offensive against IS. AP Photo/Jon Super

Mr Obama will further outline his plans on Wednesday in a speech.

Meanwhile Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has told Fairfax that destroying IS entirely will be “impossible” and that it may become a long-term threat similar to al-Qaeda.

6.45am

Miley Cyrus crashed a New York fashion week party topless, twerking with fans and getting intimate with designer Alexander Wang.

Cyrus turned heads at the top designer’s after-party at a Brooklyn warehouse when she turned up topless except for nipple tassels.

Candids of Miley at the Alexander Wang Party in NYC yesterday! 👙👑 pic.twitter.com/C7VeGZl6hM

— Miley Cyrus News (@TheMileyPromo) September 7, 2014

6.25am

A flag used by Islamic State terrorists responsible for thousands of murders across Iraq and Syria, including the execution of two journalists, has been auctioned at a Sydney mosque.

According to the Daily Telegraph, disturbing footage of the sale is being shared among Australian teenagers.

While a Muslim community leader claimed the Shahada symbol had largely been hijacked by IS militants, political leaders slammed the flag auction at Liverpool’s Markaz Imam Ahmad mosque and youth centre, led by Sheikh Abu Adnan Mohamad.

Photo of the flag for sale.

Kashmiri demonstrators hold up a flag of the Islamic State. AFP PHOTO/Tauseef MUSTAFA/FILES

6.20am

At least one Australian is reportedly dead after a bus crash in Kenya.

A tour bus travelling to Maasai Mara overturned outside the city of Nairobi on Sunday night, an ABC report says.

The victim was reportedly an elderly Australian woman.

Local media in the African nation is reporting that up to two Australians could be dead.

It is believed the crash occurred after a tyre burst, the bus ended up in a nearby creek and eight people were taken to hospital.

At least one Australian Dead - possibly two in a tour bus crash here in Kenya. Photo from the scene. pic.twitter.com/5a0k2Adh0B

— Martin Cuddihy (@MartinCuddihy) September 7, 2014

6.15am

Hundreds of military personnel are suspected of committing sexual offences over the past few years, including dozens of report­ed cases involving allegations of child grooming or child porn­o­graphy, confidential documents reveal.

According to The Australian, the figures have been compiled from military police records and were in a briefing prepared for the then chief of the Australian Defence Force, General David Hurley, in May last year.

Briefing with figures given to General David Hurley. Photo: Courtesy of Australian Defence Force

They provide the first evidence of widespread sexual offending involving children.

Since 2008, there have been 104 reports of aggravated sexual assaults, including rapes by milit­ary personnel, the briefing reveals.

Military investigators have also received 102 reports of “non-assaultive sexual offences against a child” over this time, almost all of which have been dealt with by civilian police.

Military sources said many of these were likely to involve transmitting pornography using mobile phones or over the internet, as well as a few child-grooming offences.

6am

Good morning, and welcome to our morning news coverage. We will be bringing you the best of what’s happening this morning, so you can get across the news quickly.