TRANSCRIPT:
- A five week inquest begins today into last year's Bondi mass stabbing attack;
- Fears the death toll could rise after 11 people killed in a Vancouver car ramming;
- Sydney plays host to the Oceania Sumo Championships.
A coronial inquest is set to begin today into the mass stabbing attack at a shopping centre in Bondi Junction one year ago.
The mandatory inquest will consider the circumstances of the deaths of the six victims and the attacker, who was shot dead by police at the scene.
It will also consider the emergency response and adequacy of mental health services.
The court will be using a trauma-informed approach during the five week inquest, which will include no sensitive CCTV or body cam vision to be played in court.
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Authorities fear the death toll from a car ramming in the Canadian city of Vancouver
could rise in the coming days.
Dozens have been left injured in the attack, which saw a 30 year old man drive his car into a crowd celebrating a Filipino festival [[killing 11]].
Vancouver Interim Chief Constable Steve Rai says some of those hurt are in critical condition.
But British Columbia Premier David Eby says the government will do everything it can to help the survivors and the families of those who died.
"This is a community that is suffering right now. We're gonna put our arms around them as all British Columbians. We're going to stand with them and support them just like they support us every single day in this province. It's their turn. It's there turn to get care from us."
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Visitors have begun queuing to see the grave of Pope Francis.
The tomb at St. Mary Major Basilica has been opened on the second of nine days of official mourning for Francis, after which a conclave will be held to elect the next pope.
The visitors include Susmidah Murphy from Kerala, India.
"Still, it's unbelievable that he's no more with us. It's a mixed emotion. It's sad, we don't get popes like this very often. And we hope that the next pope will continue the same as he has done. And hopefully that he is going to pray for us with Jesus. So it's a mixed emotion. He's no longer with us, but he is still with Jesus."
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A mind-altering medication chemically akin to ketamine is being made cheaper for Australians suffering from treatment-resistant depression.
From Thursday, the Spravato nasal spray will be available for up to 30,000 Australians through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.
Professor Ian Hickie is the co-director of Health and Policy at the University of Sydney's Brain and Mind Centre.
He says this is the first new government-backed initiative to treat the chronic mental illness in decades, with no major pharmaceutical innovations for depression since the launch of Prozac and related antidepressants in the late 1980s.
"Largely in fact over the last 60 years, most antidepressants have focused on one of the common monoamines: serotonin or adrenaline dopamine. This has a different chemical target: glutomate in the brain. So it's different. And it's the first drug to be supported by the PBS that is fundamentally different from all those compounds."
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used a visit to a community housing provider on the Central Coast of New South Wales to announce an election pledge of $20 million for a new women’s and children trauma recovery centre.
He says the funding will provide frontline services to up to 500 victims of domestic and sexual violence.
But Mr Albanese says a whole-of-society response is needed to tackle violence against women and children.
"Young people are a very young age, when they're developing, are exposed to some pretty hateful stuff out there. The rise of misogyny connecting up. I don't know if you've seen Adolescence. I would encourage anyone to have a look at it. It's scary. And so this is something we have to have conversations about. And we just need to do better right across the board."
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Peter Dutton's frenetic final week of the federal election campaign has hit a literal roadblock.
Trailing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the polls, Mr Dutton has embarked on a last-ditch blitz to visit 28 electorates before polls close on May 3.
This morning, a bus carrying the travelling media contingent beached itself on a concrete bike-lane divider as it was pulling away from a hotel in Sydney's city centre.
It meant about 40 journalists, camera operators and media advisers spilled onto Pitt Street as the driver attempted to dislodge the vehicle, delaying the press pack by about 40 minutes.
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Organisers of the Oceania Sumo Championships say they're hopeful the sport will take a greater hold in Australia, as social media builds a wider audience and greater understanding of the sport.
The championship tournament has been held in Sydney over the weekend, hosting 30 participants from around the nation, Pacific Islands and New Zealand.
President of the Oceania and Australian Sumo Federation John Trail says the sport has evolved with the inclusion of an amateur women's category.
"Sumo does actually have Olympic recognition. If break-dancing can make it in there, why can't sumo? But, they have already overcome all the gender issues and that with amateur sumo. We would love to basically see it get a lot bigger and we have international competitions."
