Sydney dentist found dead after going missing on Sunday morning, & more in News in 5.

– With AAP.

1. A Sydney dentist went missing on Sunday morning. Her body has just been found.

Around 9.30pm on Tuesday night, Police found a body stuffed inside a suitcase inside a vehicle in an eastern Sydney laneway.

It was 32-year-old Dr Preethi Reddy, a western Sydney dentist.

Dr Reddy, from Penrith, was last seen in a McDonald’s on George Street in the CBD about 2.15am on Sunday morning.

Camera footage from inside the restaurant showed her standing alone. She then left the restaurant and walked south towards Market Street.

She called her family about 11am to say she was heading home from St Leonards, where she had been attending a dental conference, but she had not been seen or heard from since.

Police, family and friends had expressed grave concerns for her whereabouts as her disappearance was out of character.

On Tuesday night, police discovered her body in a car parked in Strachan Lane in Kingsford.

In a statement police said Sydney City Police Area Command was continuing inquiries into Dr Reddy's death.

"Investigators are urging anyone with information relating to this incident to come forward," police said.

2. Penrith NRL player Tyrone May has been charged charged over sex tape.

Penrith Panthers utility Tyrone May has been banned by the National Rugby League after being charged by police for his part in leaked sex tapes.

More here: https://t.co/sFnsI9VZdq pic.twitter.com/xsyDyoh1PU

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 5, 2019

Penrith NRL player Tyrone May has been charged with recording and distributing sex videos of two women without their knowledge.

May, 22, turned himself in to police on Tuesday after footage of intimate acts with the two women were leaked on social media over the weekend.

The Panthers' utility has been charged with two counts of recording intimate images without consent and two counts of disseminating images without consent.

He is accused of filming the women without their knowledge while he engaged in sexual acts on separate occasions at Coffs Harbour and Kingswood in western Sydney last year.

May was released on bail after declining to be interviewed, police said.

Detective Superintendent Brett McFadden told reporters the two women reported the film to police after family and friends informed them it was being shared by internet trolls.

Both women have said they were unaware they were being filmed and did not consent to the images being distributed.

"There's no doubt that what's taken place is a serious breach of trust, a violation of the rights of these women," Det Supt McFadden said.

He warned anyone caught sharing the footage could be liable for an offence.

Under NSW's revenge porn laws, offenders face up to three years in jail and an $11,000 fine while offenders who refuse to take down material could face an extra two years in jail and a $5500 fine.

Det Supt McFadden said the crime could devastate victims' self-confidence, self-esteem and their future relationships.

"It's a humiliating thing to become public. The fact that their permission and consent has been totally neglected ... is totally unacceptable," he said.

He would not rule out further charges being laid but confirmed the investigation was ongoing.

May's arrest comes after revelations on Monday that Penrith were aware of another lewd video circulating on social media involving two other Panthers players, including one first-grader.

An NRL spokesman said a decision on their players' immediate future was unlikely to be made on Tuesday.

May is due to appear in Penrith Local Court on May 1.

3. At least nine homes have been destroyed as Victoria's bushfire threat continues.

Towns and farmland remain under threat by scores of fires burning in Victoria's east where at least nine homes have been destroyed as arguments erupt over firefighting efforts.

Emergency warnings remained in place late on Tuesday for two blazes east of Melbourne.

The most damaging of the state's 40 fires continued to burn near the Bunyip State Park, having claimed nine homes, damaged another and razed or impacted 23 outbuildings.

"I really feel for that community as a whole ... in particular those people who have been contacted in relation to the loss of their home," Victoria's Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp told reporters.

An emergency alert remains in place for an uncontrolled fire near Dargo, which could threaten the small township. Northeast of Melbourne at Licola, some residents are also on alert.

More than 40,000 hectares of land has been burned across the state by fires since Friday. Two homes were lost at the weekend in a fire at Yinnar South, further southeast of Melbourne.

While the work of firefighters has been commended by authorities and parts of the community, others have claimed not enough was done to save homes.

Victoria's Country Fire Association has hit back at claims it didn't do enough to help residents during the recent bushfire crisis. #9Today pic.twitter.com/dYr3G7G5fl

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) March 5, 2019

Rex Newton is frustrated Country Fire Authority crews did not help when fire bore down on his Tonimbuk home during weekend blazes that swept southeast Victoria.

"There was trucks sitting 450 metres away from my place doing nothing. Not one thing. They came in yesterday putting out spot fires, which you could put out with a cup of tea," he told Nine's Today program on Tuesday.

But Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville hit back at the criticism.

"I cannot believe how they (firefighters) would feel right now hearing that sort of criticism ... it must be a kick in the guts," she said.

Firefighters from all agencies had the government's 100 per cent support for their actions, she added.

The lack of recent back-burning has also been a sore point.

There were burn offs in the Bunyip State Park during 2008, 2012 and 2016, the state government says.

Premier Daniel Andrews said the weekend fires were so fierce, previous backburns had little effect.

"There has been extensive backburning done around the Bunyip state forest where there were conditions that made it safe to do so," Mr Andrews said.

"The strength of the fires that we have seen in the last few days meant that that fire either went through or went over the fire breaks that had been built over the last couple of years."

Mr Crisp said planned burns were not the "panacea" to preventing future fires.

"Planned burns can do some work in terms of slowing down the spread and the severity, but it is not the ... cure-all," he said.

Authorities warn it will take days to contain the fires and weeks to extinguish them unless there's significant rain, but none is forecast.

Conditions across eastern Victoria on Wednesday include temperatures reaching into the high 20Cs.

4. Sydney doctor on trial for sexual assaults of 16 patients under the guise of "medically necessary" examinations.

A court has heard the details of alleged assaults on more than a dozen women at the hands of Sharif Fattah, a south-west Sydney doctor.@LetishaMarambio pic.twitter.com/fSkUzIIuUn

— Sandra Sully (@Sandra_Sully) March 5, 2019

A Sydney-based doctor touched 16 female patients for his own sexual gratification under the guise of a "medically necessary" examination they had consented to, a jury has been told.

General practitioner Sharif Fattah, 62, has pleaded not guilty in the NSW District Court to 30 charges of sexual and indecent assault allegedly committed over six months from September 2016.

Fattah was arrested in early March 2017 after three women approached police.

His other 13 alleged victims came forward within a month.

"The accused used his position as a doctor to sexually assault or indecently assault the complainants under the guise that each assault was medically indicated, medically necessary, or as part of a legitimate medical examination," prosecutor Tony McCarthy said as he opened the Crown's case on Tuesday.

"Therefore, the consent that was given was not informed consent to that act."

He said Fattah had worked as a GP for 20 years in New Zealand before coming to Australia and starting work at a health centre in Sydney in mid-2016.

The female patients, aged between 19 and 40, are expected to testify they consented to particular examinations by Fattah at the practice.

But what followed was "medically unnecessary" and for his own sexual gratification, Mr McCarthy said.

"The Crown is saying that they are not genuine medical examinations," the prosecutor said, in the midst of detailing the charges relating to each alleged victim.

"I don't want to have to repeat that every time but that is our case."

The women had presented to the GP for specialist referrals and to treat conditions including rashes, bites, mole checks, influenza, chest infections, back and pelvic pain, and vitamin deficiencies.

The prosecutor said a different doctor would give evidence that there was no "medical indication" for Fattah to touch the women in the way he allegedly did during the consultations, such as to assist in his diagnosis of a condition.

The examinations, or alleged assaults, were also not documented in a number of patient medical records later seized by police, Mr McCarthy said.

Fattah, who sat with an interpreter during proceedings, is being represented by defence barrister Greg Scragg.

The trial continues before Judge Sharon Harris.

5. Domestic violence prevention programs get $328 million funding boost.

Violence against women & children is unacceptable, in any shape or form. Our Government’s first priority is to keep Australians safe. That’s why today I’ve announced the largest ever Commonwealth investment of $328m for prevention & frontline services to reduce domestic violence. pic.twitter.com/37JwpfLTMq

— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 5, 2019

Prime Minister Scott Morrison looks forward to the day when his successor can say that a young Australian woman won't experience domestic violence - but he doesn't know when that will be.

"I can't say that today," he said on Tuesday.

"No prime minister could. It's not clear to me what day they will be able to say that, but I know what we're doing today takes us closer to that point."

The coalition has announced a $328 million funding boost towards domestic violence prevention programs, as part of an ongoing national strategy to curb violence towards women.

The package includes $82 million for frontline services, $68 million for prevention strategies and $78 million for safe places for family violence sufferers.

On average, one woman a week is murdered by a current or former partner, and eight women are hospitalised each day due to domestic violence.

"We are talking about significant longer-term generational cultural change and these programs are designed to address that," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

Violence against women begins with disrespect towards women, he added - echoing former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The national sexual assault and domestic violence phone counselling service will get $62 million, while $35 million will go towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The funding will also help develop specific prevention initiatives in multicultural communities and for people with disability.

Head of domestic violence prevention group Our Watch, Patty Kinnersly, says an increase in rates of incidents partly comes down to women feeling more comfortable to report.

"They feel like there is a system around them that makes (it) more safe to speak out," she said.

"It is difficult to say absolutely why the figures are still going up but we do acknowledge that on the path to improvement, part of it is people feeling safe to speak."

Minister for Women Kelly O'Dwyer says the prevention strategies will have a strong focus on raising awareness around sexual violence and consent in healthy relationships.

"We have zero tolerance for violence against women and girls, and we want girls and women to know that they can be safe in their homes, in their communities, online and in their workplaces," she said.

Labor has recently pledged $60 million to create about 20,000 funding packages for people fleeing domestic violence if it is elected to government.

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek welcomed the Morrison government's announcement but hoped it would also back Labor's funding packages and its commitment to 10 days paid domestic violence leave.

"Because if you lose your job as well as being a victim of violence, it dramatically reduces your opportunity to leave a violent relationship," she told ABC News.

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