Key Points
- 59 dead in North Macedonia nightclub fire
- Treasurer warns Cyclone Alfred will cost at least $1.2 billion
- Sprint sensation Gout Gout achieves a sub-20 second time
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers says early indications suggest the economic effects of ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred could reduce the federal budget by up to $1.2 billion.
He's expected to detail the costs in a speech tomorrow, one week before delivering his final budget ahead of the upcoming election.
So far, at least 44,000 insurance claims have been lodged.
Mr Chalmers says the federal government has already co-sponsored with the states $30 million in support for immediate recovery costs.
He says the cost is expected to reduce economic growth and add to inflationary pressures, while also reducing the funds available in the budget.
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North Macedonian authorities say they have detained a number of people after a massive nightclub fire killed at least 59 people in the eastern town of Kocani.
Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski says the young revellers' use of pyrotechnics ignited the blaze, which began around 2.30 AM at the Pulse nightclub.
At least 155 people have been hospitalised, many with severe burns, as family members desperately seek more information.
Mr Toshkovski says further details will be released soon, but for now he is calling for calm.
"Please, have (some) understanding at this moment, I think the most important thing is to establish all the facts and evidence that is necessary for the investigation, to express our condolences to the families, and to be calm."
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The United States has launched a deadly air bombardment on Yemen after President Donald Trump promised to use what he called "overwhelming lethal force" to target Houthi rebels.
The Houthis say at least 31 people were killed and 101 others wounded in the U-S attacks.
The strikes follow a Houthi announcement they would resume attacks on ships in the Red Sea in response to Israel cutting the flow of humanitarian aid and electricity to the Gaza Strip.
A spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry, Anees al-Asbahi, says most of the victims are women and children.
"There are martyrs and wounded, and medical teams are still responding to the situation, while some injured individuals are being pulled from under the rubble."
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The union representing psychiatrists is calling on the New South Wales government to come to the negotiating table and provide better pay, as they warn the system is at breaking point.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation says staff shortages have worsened, after more than 200 psychiatrists quit the public system in January.
The dispute goes to arbitration today amid psychiatrists' warnings of dangerous conditions, bed closures, and delays at emergency departments.
The union is calling on the state government to provide a 25 per cent pay increase and take urgent action to attract and train new staff.
Premier Chris Minns has previously said the state can't afford the pay rise.
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A Space-X capsule has delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station in a NASA crew-swap mission that will enable two astronauts to return home after more than nine months.
Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams have been stuck on the orbiting lab since their Boeing Starliner capsule suffered propulsion issues upon landing in June last year.
Now, 29 hours after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, the Space-X Crew Dragon capsule has docked at the I-S-S.
Suni Williams welcomed the new crew on Sunday in a video link with mission control.
"It was a wonderful day, great to see our friends arrive, so thank you so much."
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In athletics, sprint sensation Gout Gout has broken 20 seconds for the 200-metres for the first time; and came close to bettering his own Australian record at the Queensland athletics championships.
Gout flagged that he was again about to do something special when he clocked 20.05 seconds in the heats on Sunday morning, just one hundredth of a second outside the time he set in December which bettered an Australian standard that had stood for 56 years.
The 17-year-old then went even faster in the final with a flying effort of 19.98, but it won't count as an Australian record as he was aided by an illegal 3.6m per second tailwind.
Gout is just the seventh Under-20 athlete in history to break the 20-second mark, regardless of the wind factor.
