Pedestrians hit by SUV in Melbourne CBD
More than a dozen people have been injured after a SUV ran down pedestrians on the corner of Flinders and Elizabeth streets in Melbourne's CBD about 4:40pm.
- Pedestrians hit by a SUV in what police believe was a "deliberate act"
- 14 people injured, 13 taken to hospital
- Pre-school aged child taken to Royal Children's Hospital in a serious condition
- It is not known if it is terrorism-related
- Police have arrested the driver and passenger
- Witnesses described seeing 'bodies flying everywhere'
- What we know so far
Lachlan Vella, who said he arrived at the scene moments after the crash, said he saw a man in a suit lying on the floor surrounded by people.
"His head was busted open," he said.
Working among rats and needles for 70p a day: life on Madagascar’s mega dump – in pictures
About 3,000 people work gruelling 10-hour shifts at Ralalitra, one of Africa’s largest rubbish sites. Doctors fear it could become a breeding ground for plague
Photographs by Tom Maguire
Wed 20 Dec ‘17 12.11 GMT
Fanja Randriamihavo, 15, is one of 3,000 people who live and work in Ralalitra, one of Africa’s largest rubbish dumps. The site, in Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, spans about 50 acres. Each day, it receives more than 600 tonnes of waste from the capital and from the three million residents of its sprawling suburbs.
People who work on the dump site collect metals, coal and plastic from among the chaotic mess of needles, rats, faeces and aborted babies. They are paid just 3,000 Malagasy ariary ( 70p) a day.
Many families take it in turns to work a gruelling 10-hour shift: mothers and children during the day, men at night. Among the many dangers facing families is the plague, which spread to the capital in August. Across the country, around 2,400 cases of the disease have been reported.
North Korean soldier defects to the South after crossing demilitarized zone
Second known defection of a North Korean soldier in recent monthsJeremy B White San Francisco
A North Korean soldier has defected to South Korea after crossing the heavily fortified demilitarized zone.
A South Korean defence official said the soldier managed to traverse the DMZ that spans the two nations without any shots being fired, taking advantage of what Yonhap news agency described as thick fog.
It marks the second known defection of a North Korean soldier in recent months. Another man who escaped in November was hit multiple times as North Korean soldiers opened fire, according to the South Korean military, and underwent treatment in the South.
Catalans return to polls in decisive election
Catalans take their independence struggle to the polls Thursday in a hotly-contested election that could mark a turning point for their region just two months after a secession bid ended in failure.
The vote pits leaders of the wealthy northeastern region's separatist movement against parties that want to remain in Spain, and opinion polls suggest both sides' leading candidates are neck-and-neck.
Will voters again hand victory to pro-independence parties that tried to break Catalonia from Spain, one of whose candidates is in jail and the other in self-imposed exile in Belgium?
Or will they lose the absolute parliamentary majority of 72 seats they won in 2015 in what would be a stunning upset for the region's secessionist drive?
Somalis faced 'inhumane' abuse on US deportation flight
More than 90 Somali men and women were subjected to "inhumane conditions and egregious abuse" on a failed deportation flight that lasted nearly 48 hours and was eventually forced to return to the United States earlier this month, according to a class-action lawsuit filed this week.
Ninety-two Somali nationals were being deported by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Somalia from the US state of Louisiana on December 7 when their flight made a stop in Dakar, Senegal.
But the flight never reached Somalia and was forced to return to the US on December 9.
Cost of global disasters 'jumps to $306bn in 2017'
Disasters in 2017 caused losses of $306bn (£229 bn), according to estimates from insurance giant Swiss Re.
The figure represents a 63% jump from last year, and is well above the average of the past decade.
The Americas was hardest hit, with hurricanes in the Caribbean and southern US, earthquakes in Mexico and wildfires in California.
Despite the rise in the financial cost of disasters, there was no significant increase in the loss of lives.
Swiss Re said more than 11,000 people died or went missing in disaster events in 2017, which is similar to 2016's figure.
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