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A female has died after being shot by police in Melbourne, the capital city of southeast Australia's state of Victoria, on Saturday evening. The Victorian Police said in a statement on Friday evening that officers were called to Cecil Street in south Melbourne following reports of a male with a machete at around 5 p.m. local time.  Record floodwaters in eastern Australia 4 dead, 1 missing The police located the male and whilst he was being arrested, a vehicle was driven at a police officer. The officer shot at the offending vehicle, striking a female driver and her male passenger. The 34-year-old female has died at the scene, while the 26-year-old male has been taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The male senior constable has been taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.  Record floodwaters in eastern Australia, 1 dead and 3 missing The matter will be investigated with oversight from the Professional Standards Command, as is standard procedure for a fatal police shooting, said the statement.  

Record floodwaters on Australia’s east coast have left four people dead and one missing, officials said Friday as rain eased over the disaster area. 50,000 people have been isolated by flooding along the coast of New South Wales state north of Sydney after days of heavy rain. The low-pressure weather system that brought the deluge had moved further south to Sydney and its surrounds Friday.  Record floodwaters in eastern Australia, 1 dead and 3 missing Four bodies have been retrieved from floodwaters in New South Wales since Wednesday. Three of the victims had driven into floodwaters, while a man’s body had been found on the veranda of his flooded home. The latest victim was a man in his 70s whose body was found in a car in floodwater Friday near Coffs Harbour, a police statement said. The car had run off the road. A 49-year-old man remains missing after walking near a flooded road at Nymboida on Wednesday night. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New South Wales Premier Christopher Minns on Friday were inspecting devastated communities, some of which had been inundated by the highest floodwaters on record. Minns praised emergency services and volunteers for rescuing 678 people from floodwaters in recent days, including 177 in the past 24 hours. “It’s an amazing, heroic logistical effort where, in very difficult circumstances, many volunteers put themselves in harm’s way to rescue a complete stranger. And over the coming days and weeks, we will hear scores of stories of locals being plucked out of impossible, desperate situations,” Minns told reporters in Maitland in the flood area. “Without the volunteers, we would have had hundreds of deaths and we’re in deep, deep gratitude to those people who volunteered their time,” Minns added. Despite the easing rain, State Emergency Service Commissioner Mike Wassing said crews were still looking out for floodwaters potentially rising due to water continuing to flow into catchments. “We still do have active flood rescues still coming into the system and we’re dealing with those on a case-by-case" basis, Wassing said. “We have seen that tempo drop off, and that’s a good thing.” Bellingen Shire Council Mayor Steve Allan said landslides and damaged roads and bridges were complicating the process of reaching isolated communities in his rural local government region southwest of Coffs Harbour. “We’ve woken up to blue skies which is a great thing,” Allan said. Australians start voting in general elections as pope's death overshadows campaigning “Our rivers are slowly receding and I think we’re probably transitioning from the response phase into the recovery phase this morning,” he added.

Record floodwaters on Australia's east coast left one person dead and three others missing, officials said Thursday, as more heavy rain was forecast in the area. Some 330 people were rescued in the flooding emergency in New South Wales state north of Sydney. The area has been hit with heavy rain since Tuesday. The flooding exceeds local records set in 1929.  Australian central bank reduces benchmark interest rate to 3.85% in second cut this year News South Wales Premier Christopher Minns said some areas were forecast to receive as much as 30 centimeters (1 foot) of rain in the next 24 hours. He said 50,000 people were warned to prepare to evacuate or be isolated by floodwaters, telling reporters: “We are bracing for more bad news." The body of a 63-year-old man was recovered from a flooded house in Moto in New South Wales on Wednesday afternoon, Fire and Rescue Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell said. A coroner will determine whether a pre-existing medical condition played a part in his death, he added. Three people — including a 60-year-old woman, a 25-year-old man and a 49-year-old man — were also reported missing, Fewtrell said. “We hold grave fears for all three individuals,” he added. Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said 330 flood rescues were conducted in the past 24 hours. Helicopters have been used to rescue people stranded by floodwaters from rooftops and verandahs. “We’ve seen more rain and more flooding in the mid-to-north coast area than we’ve ever seen before,” Dib said. The flooding has hit communities including Taree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Bellingen in New South Wales. Taree received a month’s rain in 24 hours, Minns said.  Australians start voting in general elections as pope's death overshadows campaigning “Up around the Taree area, we’ve seen communities that have never flooded in recorded history now flooding,” Fewtrell said. The region has opened 14 evacuation centers as of Thursday.

Australia’s central bank on Tuesday reduced its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage for a second time this year, to 3.85% after inflation fell within a target range. The Reserve Bank of Australia reduced its cash rate from 4.1%. The reduction from 4.35% at its February board meeting was Australia’s first rate cut since October 2020. ​​​​​​​Australian prime minister names new Cabinet that drops Israel critic The rate cut was anticipated, although expectations had declined slightly after the United States and China agreed last week to cut back recent tariff hikes for 90 days, reviving stalled trade between the world two biggest economies. The bank adjusts interest rates to steer inflation toward a target band of between 2% and 3%. During the March quarter, annual inflation was 2.4%. The trimmed mean –- a gauge of underlying inflation which is the bank’s preferred measure –- was 2.9%. Inflation was also steady at 2.4% in the previous three months. But the underlying figure, which strips out the smallest and largest values, was 3.2% in the last quarter of 2024. Inflation has gradually declined after it peaked at 7.8% in the last quarter of 2022.  Australia to hold general elections on May 3, With inflation and housing crisis key issues Unemployment inched up to 4.1% in January-March from 4.0% in the December quarter but remains relatively low. Economists fear a shortage of workers could fuel further inflation.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled his new Cabinet on Monday following his Labor Party’s landslide victory in the May 3 elections, a move that coincided with the exclusion of a minister who had criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza. The updated Cabinet line-up comes after former Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic said his removal was partly linked to his vocal criticism of Israel’s military campaign. Albanese revealed the names of 30 lawmakers who will serve in ministerial and outer-ministry roles. With Labor securing 92 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives and possibly reaching 95 as counting continues, Albanese said his government now holds more seats than any Labor government since Australia’s first Parliament in 1901. “I’m deeply humbled by the trust that was put into my government with the election and we certainly won’t take it for granted,” he said during a press conference at Parliament House. Although prime ministers distribute ministerial portfolios, the Labor Party’s internal factions determine who fills them based on their proportion of seats. In this reshuffle, faction leaders dropped both Husic, who is of Bosnian Muslim heritage, and former Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish. Australians rescue a 10-foot great white shark stranded in shallow water Husic, the first Muslim federal minister sworn in on the Quran after the 2022 election, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday that Albanese should have acted to retain both him and Dreyfus. “I think it’s been a factor in there. Would I do things differently? I don’t think so,” Husic said, referring to his stance on the Gaza conflict. “You can’t celebrate diversity and then expect it to sit in a corner and be silent. You need to speak up … for the communities that you care about,” he added. When questioned about whether he had attempted to keep Husic and Dreyfus in Cabinet, Albanese avoided a direct answer. “We have a process in the Labor Party caucus. You’ve been watching it for some time,” he said. He added that he spoke with Husic on Monday morning in a “constructive discussion.” “What I’ve done is to allocate portfolios. That’s the system that’s there. It’s one that Ed and others have supported for a long period of time,” Albanese said. Bilal Rauf, an adviser to the Australian National Imams Council, urged Albanese to clarify if Husic’s demotion was related to his views on the war in Gaza. “I think at a minimum, some explanation is warranted. We can’t just leave it at explanations about factionalism,” Rauf said. “If Ed says that’s a factor, I have no reason to discount that,” he added. “It’s hard to deny that it likely is a factor.” Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said his organization had good working relationships with both Husic and Dreyfus, although Husic's comments following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel had caused concern. “He levelled accusations at Israel which we fundamentally disagree with but again reasonable people will differ on these things and we wish Ed Husic all the best,” Ryvchin said. Two weeks after the October attack, Husic had said: “I feel very strongly that Palestinians are being collectively punished … for Hamas’ barbarism.” On Sunday, he reiterated that the Israeli government had “atrociously managed this.” Meanwhile, Anne Aly, born in Egypt, has been elevated to the Cabinet, becoming the highest-ranking Muslim in the government. She will oversee the small business, international development, and multicultural affairs portfolios. With Dreyfus no longer in the Cabinet, this marks the first time since 2010 that an Australian government has had no Jewish Cabinet minister. Most senior ministers have retained their previous roles or experienced minor adjustments. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles remains Defense Minister, while Tony Burke’s Home Affairs portfolio now also includes oversight of the Australian Federal Police and the domestic spy agency, ASIO. Tim Ayres, previously assistant trade minister, has replaced Husic in Cabinet, while Michelle Rowland, formerly communications minister, takes over from Dreyfus.

Australians began voting Tuesday at general elections as campaigning was overshadowed by the death of Pope Francis. Polling stations opened to voters who for a variety of reasons will be unable to vote on May 3. Around half the votes are expected to be cast before the election date. Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton cancelled campaign events planned for Tuesday out of respect for the late pontiff. Flags were flown at half staff from government buildings across the country where a 2021 census found 20% of the population were Catholics. Albanese was raised as a Catholic but chose to be sworn in as prime minister when he was elected in 2022 by making a secular affirmation rather than by taking an oath on a Bible. Albanese attended a Mass in honor of the pope in Melbourne’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Tuesday morning. “I try not to talk about my faith in public,” Albanese told reporters. “At times like this, I think what people do is they draw on who they are and certainly my Catholicism is just a part of me,” he added. Singapore calls May 3 general election as Parliament is dissolved Albanese and Dutton, who leads the conservative Liberal Party, will meet in Sydney later Tuesday for the third televised leaders’ debate of the campaign. A fourth debate is planned Sunday. Dutton, who was raised by a Catholic father and Protestant mother and attended an Anglican school, planned to go to a church service in Sydney. “I don’t think it’s a day for overt politicking at all. I think that the day is best spent reflecting,” Dutton told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “I don’t think there’s a place for the body blows of politics today. I think it’s a very different day from that,” Dutton added. Albanese’s center-left Labor Party is seeking a second three-year term. The government held a narrow majority of 78 seats out of 151 in the House of Representatives where parties form administrations during its first term. Australia to hold general elections on May 3, With inflation and housing crisis key issues The lower chamber will shrink to 150 seats after the election due to redistributions. The major parties are both predicting a close election result.

Australians will head to the polls on May 3 for general elections, with rising costs of living and a housing shortage posing significant challenges for the government as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party seeks a second three-year term. Albanese visited Governor-General Sam Mostyn’s official residence on Friday to formally trigger the election and later announced the date at a press conference at Parliament House. “Over the last few years, the world has thrown a lot at Australia. In uncertain times, we cannot decide the challenges we will face, but we can determine how we respond,” Albanese said. “Our government has chosen to face global challenges the Australian way: helping people under cost-of-living pressure while building for the future,” he added. Opposition Pushes for ChangeOpposition leader Peter Dutton launched his conservative coalition’s campaign by promising better economic management, citing the failure of 29,000 small businesses under Labor’s three-year rule. “It’s a choice about who can better manage our economy, and the question Australians need to ask is: Are you better off today? Is our country better off today than three years ago?” Dutton told reporters. Canada's new leader announces Australian radar purchase while visiting edge of Arctic Circle Election OutlookMany analysts expect Dutton’s coalition to gain seats in the House of Representatives. Since 1931, no Australian government has been ousted after a single term, but second-term elections typically result in losses. Labor currently holds 77 of the 151 seats in the House, where a majority is needed to govern. After a redistribution, the next election will be contested with 150 seats. One likely outcome is a minority government backed by independent or minor party lawmakers. In 2022, a record 19 lawmakers who were not aligned with either major party were elected to Parliament. These independent lawmakers could play a crucial role in determining whether Labor or Dutton’s conservative Liberal Party forms the next government. Adam Bandt, leader of the minor Greens party, said his lawmakers would support a Labor minority government—if Labor agreed to key demands. Those demands include banning new coal and gas extraction projects, providing free dental care for all, and capping rent increases. “With a minority government likely, this is a once-in-a-generation chance to keep Peter Dutton out and push Labor to take action on the housing crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, and climate change,” Bandt said. The Greens previously supported a Labor minority government in 2010, which introduced a carbon tax. However, the tax was later repealed by a conservative government. Key Election IssuesCost of Living:Since Albanese took office, cost-of-living pressures have intensified, with 12 interest rate hikes. However, Australia’s central bank lowered the benchmark cash rate to 4.1% in February, signaling a potential easing of inflationary pressures. Housing Crisis:Albanese pledged to build 1.2 million homes over five years to address the housing shortage, but progress has been slow. Dutton has promised to ease housing competition by reducing immigration and allowing Australians to use savings from compulsory workplace pension funds for home down payments. Bangladesh most credible, influential voice in global climate negotiations: Australia Climate Policy:Both major parties have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. However, their approaches differ—Labor supports a transition to renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, while the opposition proposes building seven state-funded nuclear power plants and expanding gas-fired power generation. The election outcome will determine whether Australians stick with Labor’s vision or shift toward the conservative opposition’s policies. Source: With input from agency 

One person has died, and several others have been injured as a tropical low moves west across the Australian east coast, reports AP. Heavy rainfall is expected to continue battering parts of the Australian east coast for several more days, despite the region escaping the destructive winds of its first tropical cyclone in 51 years, officials said on Saturday. Authorities confirmed one fatality and multiple injuries. Evacuations ordered as first cyclone in 51 years approaches Australia Tropical Cyclone Alfred was initially predicted to be the first cyclone to make landfall near Brisbane, the capital of Queensland and Australia’s third-largest city, since 1974. However, on Saturday, it weakened into a tropical low—characterised by sustained winds of less than 63 kph (39 mph)—and stalled off the Brisbane coast for several hours. According to Matt Collopy, a Bureau of Meteorology manager, the cyclone's remnants are expected to move west across the Australian mainland over the coming days, bringing intense rainfall. “The primary concern now is the locally heavy-to-intense rainfall, which may result in flash and riverine flooding,” Collopy told reporters. Cyclones frequently occur in Queensland’s tropical north but are uncommon in the state’s more temperate and densely populated southeast, which borders New South Wales. 3 dead after light planes collided in Australia Police reported that a 61-year-old man, who went missing in a flooded river near Dorrigo in New South Wales, was confirmed as the first fatality when his body was recovered on Saturday. Additionally, several defence personnel sustained injuries when two military trucks involved in the emergency response collided in Tregeagle, New South Wales, on Saturday, according to police. Media outlets, including Nine Network television, reported that 36 people were injured in the accident, eight of them seriously, while two individuals remained trapped inside the trucks. A woman suffered minor injuries after the roof of an apartment building in the Queensland border city of Gold Coast was torn off on Friday, police said. She was among 21 residents evacuated from the building. Officials reported that a couple sustained minor injuries when a tree crashed through the ceiling of their Gold Coast bedroom during strong winds and rain on Thursday night. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli stated that 330,000 homes and businesses had lost power since Thursday due to the storm. No previous natural disaster had caused a larger blackout in the state’s history. In New South Wales, up to 45,000 properties were left without electricity on Saturday, although officials said tens of thousands had been reconnected by late afternoon. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, days of heavy rainfall have resulted in flooding across Queensland and New South Wales. The missing man was the only casualty among 36 flood rescues conducted by emergency teams in northern New South Wales in recent days, most of which involved vehicles attempting to drive through floodwaters, police said.

A man has gone missing in floodwaters, evacuations have been ordered in flood-prone areas, and tens of thousands of homes lost power on Friday as the Australian east coast faced heavy rain and winds ahead of its first tropical cyclone in 51 years, reports AP. Tropical Cyclone Alfred is expected to make landfall north of Brisbane in Queensland state early Saturday, according to Bureau of Meteorology manager Matt Collopy. 3 dead after light planes collided in Australia Collopy stated, “It’s important to note that the exact track is still uncertain,” adding that Alfred was moving west with winds near 95 kph (59 mph) and gusts up to 130 kph (81 mph). However, the storm is anticipated to weaken as it approaches Brisbane, and destructive winds are unlikely for the city itself. Damaging gusts of up to 120 kph (75 mph) are still expected to develop quickly as the storm nears. The missing man was driving an SUV that was swept off a bridge near Dorrigo in northern New South Wales on Friday afternoon, a region that has seen significant rainfall in recent days. Police said the driver managed to escape the SUV and hold onto a tree branch 30 meters (100 feet) from the riverbank. Though they were able to speak to him before he was swept away, he has since disappeared underwater. Emergency teams have launched a search. At least five people have been rescued from floodwaters as rivers rise in New South Wales. In Queensland, two people narrowly avoided being struck by a large tree that fell on their home in Currumbin Valley on Thursday night. The couple was only centimeters from where the tree landed in their bedroom, but they sustained only minor injuries, according to Queensland Ambulance Service. Power outages have affected 46,000 homes and businesses in Queensland, mainly in the Gold Coast area, due to fallen trees. In northern New South Wales, 43,000 properties lost power, though 6,500 had their electricity restored by Friday afternoon. State Emergency Service acting chief superintendent Stuart Fisher reported that 19,000 people in New South Wales had been ordered to evacuate their homes by noon to avoid being trapped by flooding. Cyclones are common in Queensland’s tropical north, but rare in the state’s southeastern regions, which are densely populated and border New South Wales. Popular tourist destinations like the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast have been hit by large waves and high tides generated by Alfred, which have caused significant beach erosion. Alfred is expected to become the first cyclone to hit the Brisbane area since Cyclone Zoe struck Gold Coast in 1974, bringing widespread flooding. The storm has been tracking south from the tropics for weeks. Lithuanian rower Aurimas Mockus, 44, was rowing solo from San Diego, California, to Brisbane when he became stranded in the Coral Sea last week due to the storm’s conditions. An Australian warship battled 16-meter (52-foot) swells to rescue him 740 kilometers (460 miles) east of Mackay, Queensland. Mockus was finally reunited with his wife in Sydney on Friday. Australia rejects Beijing's claims over rife with 'racism, hate crimes' Mockus, relieved to be safe, told reporters in Sydney he thought he was going to die when he activated his emergency beacon on Feb. 28, waiting three days for rescue. He recalled the terrifying experience, saying his boat rolled 30 times in tumultuous seas, and described his boat as sinking with broken equipment, including a faulty radio. “I thought if I lost my mind, I’d have nothing left to fight for,” he added.

Three men died after two light planes collided midair and crashed into a forested area southwest of Sydney on Saturday. Australian police, fire and ambulance crews reached the two wreckage sites, located in a semirural bushland area about 55 miles southwest of Sydney, on foot. One plane had burst into flames on impact. New South Wales Police Acting Superintendent Timothy Calman confirmed that a Cessna 182 carrying two people collided with an ultralight aircraft from a nearby airfield carrying one. Further details of the victims have not been disclosed. Anti-war protesters in Australia clash with police outside a weapons convention Witnesses saw “debris coming from the sky” and tried to help, but “there was probably not much that could’ve been done,” Calman said to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . He noted both crashes, about one kilometer apart, were “not survivable.” NSW Ambulance Inspector Joseph Ibrahim, part of the emergency response team, said to the ABC, “unfortunately, there was nothing they could’ve done.” The cause of the crash will be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.