TRANSCRIPT:
- A man arrested over the discovery of pipe bombs in Canberra last week;
- Greenlanders take to the streets to protest Donald Trump;
- Tahlia Gibson the first local player through to the Australian Open's second round.
A man has been arrested over the discovery of 15 pipe bombs in Canberra last week.
A-C-T Police allege the 41 year old purchased and stole items used to create the pipe bombs from a store in Belconnen.
The devices were discovered over several days near Lake Ginninderra, with some believed to have detonated before being found, while others were intact.
Further charges are expected to be laid over the devices - but police do not believe the incident to be terrorism related.
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Rescue efforts are continuing this afternoon across New South Wales, even as conditions begin to ease along the east coast that has been battered by strong winds and heavy rain.
At least 1000 volunteers for the New South Wales State Emergency Service are on the ground today [[SUN 18]], responding to over 2100 incidents and rescuing a total of 25 people who were trapped in floodwaters across the state.
Warnings have been downgraded in Sydney's northern beaches, after an evacuation order on Saturday night forced locals and holiday makers near Narrabeen Lagoon to head to higher ground.
Floodwaters at Narrabeen are expected to take several days to recede.
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Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher is pleading with the Opposition to engage constructively with the government as Parliament returns to debate new hate speech and gun reforms.
The Albanese government has announced it will split its legislative response to the Bondi Beach mass shooting into two separate bills: one for hate speech and another for gun reform.
It is also removing controversial racial vilification provisions - but still needs support for each bill from either the Coalition or the Greens as Labor does not have a majority in the Senate.
The Greens say they are willing to back gun reform - and Senator Gallagher says it's time for Opposition leader Sussan Ley to bring the Coalition to the table.
"This is a day where she needs to unite her party and put Australians first. The opposition had some concerns around linking guns with other elements of the bill. The prime minister has responded to that. If there are genuine amendments, ideas, that the opposition want to put forward then we are prepared to listen to those. The PM has been clear about this from the get-go, but we need to get something from the Opposition. We haven't had anything to date."
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A massive fire has torn through a multistory shopping mall in Pakistan, killing at least three people.
The blaze appears to have erupted in an area of the Gul Mall in Karachi, where shopkeepers stored imported garments, clothing and plastic household goods, items which helped fuel the flames.
Local media reports suggest most shop owners had already left when the fire broke out - or like Mohammad Ahsan, were in the process of closing.
He says the fire spread rapidly.
"We told the customers that we are closing the shop. I saw that fire is erupting at gate number 5, then we tried to stop it by extinguisher. But we couldn't stop it, and the fire engulfed the entire building."
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Thousands of Greenlanders have held a public protest as Donald Trump continues to push for a US takeover of the Arctic island.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen was among the protesters that comprised almost a quarter of Nuuk's population, while others held rallies and solidarity marches across the Danish realm, including in Copenhagen.
News broke near the end of the demonstration about Trump's 10 percent import tax on eight European countries, a move designed to put pressure on them over their opposition to U.S. control of Greenland.
But protesters like Aviaq Brandt remain adamant they don't want to become a US territory - and that Trump's goal makes no sense.
"He puts so much pressure on us as a people and I think it's surreal. And it's unreal to be part of that circus he's doing right now."
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Owners who leave dogs in hot cars or use painful prong collars on their pets could face jail time under proposed changes to animal welfare laws in New South Wales.
The plan proposes a maximum fine of $44,000 and a year in prison, which is in line with other animal cruelty offences.
The changes would bring the state more into line with laws in Western Australia and South Australia.
In WA, offenders can be fined up to $50,000 and jailed for up to five years.
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To sport and in tennis news,
Tahlia Gibson is the first local player into the second round of the Australian Open.
The young West Australian has blasted aside Russia's Anna Blinkova, winning 6-1 6-3 during main draw play at Melbourne Park today.
The performance equals Gibson's previous best grand slam result, which was a round two appearance at the Open last year.
