Canberra Airport Shooter charged with firearm offences.

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A 63 year old Man is in custody after shooting multiples rounds of ammunition in Canberra Airport on Sunday.

He faces the ACT Magistrates Court on firearms offences.

The Suburban Rail Loop is one of the most ambitious projects in the history of Victoria. Expected to cost between $30-50 Billion. But the Victorian opposition says that if elected it will cancel the project and spend the money on the state's health system.

The project aims to connect all major lines in the Melbourne train network to create a loop around the city.

It is expected to drastically decrease travel time for people living in the outer suburbs. Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said that criticism from the opposition was a sign that they were increasingly desperate.

While the Project has been estimated at between $30-50 Billion independent modelling has given a price tag more like $200 Billion.

The Project could feature several new stations (Melbourne Airport, Bundoora, Doncaster, Burwood and Monash) with the Monash station helping thousands of students commute to the university.

Liz Truss has won the Conservative leadership election and will be the new UK Prime Minister. Truss won against former Chancellor Rishi Sunak 81,326 votes to 60,399.

In a long awaited report released on Wednesday, outgoing UN human rights chief stated that China has potentially committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang province against the Uyghur minority group.

This comes after years of speculation about what happens behind closed doors in China's infamous re-education camps. After countless allegations of torture and forced abortion, leading to accusations of genocide by the Chinese government, which has been continuously denied by Beijing.

Taiwan and China; one of the most complicated and precarious diplomatic situations in the world. China (PRC) claims to own Mainland China and the island of Taiwan. Taiwan (RC) also claims ownership of mainland China and of course the island of Taiwan. However they are not in the same position at all.

Western countries are wary of recognizing Taiwan, never referring to it as a rightful country or going against the "one China" policy. They are of course sympathetic to Taiwan. Taiwan is a democratic government and very similar to Western countries in many ways. But this type of extreme diplomacy from western countries is not unique to Taiwan. The genocide of Uyghurs in China is essentially by western countries same goes for the actions of the Chinese government in Tibet and Hong Kong. Western countries know they can't comment too harshly on these topics or else face tough sanctions from Beijing.
But this may soon have to stop.

Since Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan tensions have escalated. With China Conducting military drills with some  aircraft briefly travelling into Taiwanese airspace. One of the most haunting remarks was by Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian, when he hinted at re-education camps for Taiwanese citizens. China has stated that it will "take any means necessary to take Taiwan".

So what is the likelihood of an invasion in the next few years? This is a very complicated question. It is obvious China wants Taiwan but will it risk its own already damaged reputation on the world stage. As we have seen with Russia and Ukraine, The West and other countries will sanction, and it is unlikely to be any different with China.

So if China does invade Taiwan western countries will have to stop tiptoeing around Beijing and take measures whether in terms of sanctions or on the battlefield. And Taiwan is prepared for an invasion, it will be very challenging for the People's Liberation Army to launch an amphibious invasion of Taiwan. If we again compare to Ukraine Russia could just cross over the border while China will have to come from the sky or sea.

 Ukraine has launched a (so far) successful counterattck in the countries east. It has retaken multiple towns in the Kharkiv Oblast.

Videos have circulated of Ukrainian soldiers being cheered on by civilians in newly retaken towns and villages.

The Victorian governmenthas ditched mask mandates requiring people to wear masks on public transport and rides hare vehicles.

The new rules will come into effect from Thursday 11:59pm.      

Geelong Cats have defeated Sydney Swans 133 to 52.

Optus hit by cyber attack that has compromised customer information.

Optus says it has notified that Australian Federal Police and is currently working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre.

Emails, Phone numbers, Customer Names, and dates of birth. For some customers, addresses and ID document numbers eg: driver's licence or passport numbers have been exposed. 

"We are devastated to discover that we have been subject to a cyber attack that has resulted in the disclosure of our customers' personal information to someone who shouldn't see it," Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin said in a statement. 

About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania's west coast.

The latest reports from the Tasmanian Department of Natural Resources and Environment said that about half of the whales were alive.

Thirty-four people were killed in Thailand on Thursday in a mass shooting at a day-care centre by a former policeman who killed his wife and child before shooting himself dead, police said.

22 children were among the dead. There were around 30 children present in the centre at the time.

Ukraine has launched a successful counter-attack in the country's east. It has retaken massive amounts of land in the Kharkiv Oblast

Videos have circulated of Ukrainian soldiers being cheered on by civilians in newly retaken towns and villages.

Ukraine's Kherson counter-attack is also proving successful and Ukraine appears close to retaking The City of Kherson, which has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.

These successful counter-offences show a turning point in the war. They are the biggest victory for Ukraine since the Battle of Kyiv in the first weeks of the war. There is no doubt that Russia's performance in this war has been disastrous. And many are labelling this as possibly the beginning of the end of the war.

Thousands of people without a home, now one man dead. Catastrophic flooding has inundated the State.

The worst hit areas are around Central Victoria. Rochester, Echuca, Echuca Village, Shepparton. Flooding is expected to worsen.

In the past few years climate change has shown itself in Australia. First with bushfires and now in another year of LA Niña, floods are ever-present.

The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese has just announced commonwealth payments for those affected by flooding.

There has also been flooding in Melbourne around the Maribyrnong and Yarra River.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is about to hand down Labor's first budget in almost a decade.

Chalmers says it will be a responsible and family friendly budget.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned.

She says she will step down after a new successor has been chosen. She will become the shortest serving UK Prime Minister in British history.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is named to a new term as head of the Communist Party.

This comes after the party abolished its two term limit.