TRANSCRIPT:
- Flags at half mast in Australia after the death of Pope Francis;
- Cardinals to decide on funeral arrangements for the pontiff;
- Mollie O'Callaghan completes an epic comeback from injury at the Swimming Championships in Brisbane.
Flags will fly at half mast in Australia today to mark the death of Pope Francis in Rome at the age of 88.
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet says the Australian national flag will be displayed at half mast at all government buildings and agencies as a mark of respect and mourning.
Major parties have also suspended campaigning to pay their respects to the pontiff, with the prime minister attending mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne and Peter Dutton due to attend a commemoration service after starting the day in Orange, in the must-win seat of Calare.
Mr Dutton says the Pope was widely respected and beloved in Australia.
"He lived frugally and simply. Above all else, he was driven by Christ's values of mercy and forgiveness. He emphasized those values in his last Christmas address, saying, and I quote 'God's mercy can do all things. It unties every knot. It tears down every wall of division. God's mercy dispels hatred and the spirit of revenge."
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Cardinals will meet in the coming hours to decide on a date for the funeral of Pope Francis.
Based on protocols, the dates are likely to be this Friday [[April 25]] or Sunday [[April 27]], with the service expected to be held at St Peter's Square.
Clare Johnson is a professor of Liturgical Studies at the Australian Catholic University.
She has told SBS there will be a number of rituals observed as part of the official nine-day mourning period, called the Novendiale.
"They're official days of mourning where masses of suffrage or masses of intercession are prayed each day. So, it's a novena of nine days where the Pope is remembered specifically on each of those days. The funeral itself will be dominated by red, which is the colour of mourning. The challenge of course with celebrating these masses within the season of Easter is that it's a season of joy. So we've got these kind of contrast between joy and sorrow."
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Cardinals will soon be summoned to Rome to choose the successor to Pope Francis.
Among them will be Australia's Mykola Bychok, who was born in Ukraine and is now based in Melbourne.
London-based Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe is also preparing for the conclave - but he says it is hard to know who the next pope will be.
"I think that we always open ourselves to be surprised. All recent popes have been quite different from each other. And often we think, will the pope in fact continue the legacy of the previous one? But we trust that the bishop of Rome, whom we need now, will be given us. And we may be surprised."
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Labor has taken a clear lead in the polls with two weeks to go until election day.
The latest Newspoll in the Australian newspaper puts Labor's primary vote at its highest point in a year, with the A-L-P at 52 percent on a two-party preferred basis and the Coalition on 48 percent.
But the Prime Minister says Labor is not taking anything for granted as the campaign enters its final fortnight.
"There's no complacency from my camp. I assure you of that, and this election is certainly up for grabs... And I remind colleagues that in 2019 the bookies paid out - and guess what? That (Labor win) didn't occur. That was a very unwise thing to do."
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A man is under police guard in a Queensland hospital after being accused of a shooting and a number of carjackings following a fatal crash.
The 41-year-old has been charged with 15 offences.
Queensland Police allege it started with a collision on the Bruce Highway at Palmview, after which the man allegedly got out and shot another motorist before carjacking a different vehicle.
Chief Inspector Jason Overland says a woman died in the initial accident.
"Three crime scenes have been declared, and a woman and a man who were involved in the initial accident were taken to hospital. Sadly, since that, the female occupant of that vehicle has passed away."
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A top Australian university is reviewing the honorary law degree of a former Bangladeshi prime minister after they were accused of crimes against humanity for allegedly overseeing massacres and disappearances.
The Australian National University's honorary committee says it is re-considering the honorary doctorate of law given to Sheikh Hasina in 1999.
But the ANU has stopped short of committing to any decision before a larger review of its processes is complete.
The confirmation comes days after an arrest warrant was issued following allegations of abusing political power by Bangladesh's anti-corruption commission.
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In swimming news,
Mollie O'Callaghan has won the women's 100-metre freestyle at the Australian Open Swimming Championships in Brisbane.
The two-time world champion in the event has been battling injury this year.
But the multiple Olympic gold medallist has clocked the second fastest time in the world this year with her performance.
