Wildfires being put out by torrential rainfall
Sydney: Rain lashed Australia’s east coast at the weekend, extinguishing a major wildfire but causing widespread flooding.
Rain put out the Currowan fire south of Sydney late on Saturday after 312 homes had been destroyed and 1.2 million acres razed over 74 days.
Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said he hoped the rain would move inland and drench more fires, some of which have burned for months.
Mr Fitzsimmons said farewell at a Sydney Airport hotel yesterday to 21 American and 21 Canadian firefighters heading home after their deployment in Australia.
A severe weather warning was in place along the New South Wales coast and parts of Queensland to the north, with heavy rain, high winds, high tides and damaging surf forecast.
The State Emergency Service reported six flood rescues overnight near Grafton, north of Sydney, mostly of motorists who attempted to drive through flood water.
Some towns had their heaviest rainfall in five decades in recent days.
Thousands of people have marched in Morocco’s capital to protest against US President Donald
Trump’s peace plan for the Middle East.
Demonstrators also oppose what they see as their Government’s lenient position toward it.
Political leaders, from Islamists to left-wing figures, took part in the march through Rabat with union members, activists and civil society groups.
Palestinian flags were held and chants sounded against the Trump-led peace initiative.
The marchers also expressed frustration with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, who declared his country’s “appreciation” for Mr Trump’s plan and urged its citizens not to be “more Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves.”
The US President’s plan for a solution to the Israelpalestinian conflict claims to uphold the eventual creation of a Palestinian state but would leave large chunks of the occupied West Bank in Israeli hands.
Many Arab countries and the EU have rejected the plan as unfair.
Swiss voters are delivering their verdict on a measure that would make it illegal to discriminate against people because of their sexual orientation.
Switzerland’s parliament has approved the move to extend existing legislation banning racial discrimination and make it illegal to publicly denigrate, discriminate or stir up hatred against people based on their sexual orientation.
Opponents who insist the move violates the right to freedom of opinion gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the issue but polls showed solid support for the “antihomophobia” law.