THE premier of Australia’s Queensland state has abolished its troubled health department after one of its top executives allegedly embezzled Aus$16 million (€12.3m).

IN MY youth, I was obliged to attend Sunday Services.

A decorative collection of arts and furnishings from Irish country houses have transformed Slane Castle into a set from a period drama.

AUSTRALIA’S biggest cyclone in a century shattered entire towns after pummelling the coast and churning across the country, terrifying locals but remarkably causing no fatalities.

One of the most powerful storms recorded in Australia pulled houses apart and snapped power poles as it ripped across already flood-sodden Queensland state, leaving authorities relieved that no one was killed.

A powerful cyclone ripped across Australia’s north-east coast, blasting apart houses, laying waste to banana crops and leaving boats lying in the streets of wind and wave-swept towns.

Tens of thousands of Australians stockpiled food and waited in sturdy shelters today as a monster cyclone approached the north east coast with furious winds, rain and surging seas on a scale unseen in generations.

Authorities scrambled to airlift hospital patients from the path of a cyclone roaring towards waterlogged north-eastern Australia today and urged residents to flee potentially deadly flash floods.

AUSTRALIA’S Queensland state is facing one of the worst cyclones in its history, officials warned yesterday, bringing wild winds and potentially devastating rainfall to areas still awash with floods.

A strong tropical cyclone was roaring towards flood-ravaged areas of Australia today, sparking evacuations and warnings from officials that the storm could be the worst the region has ever seen.

Parts of Australia’s third-largest city reopened today as deadly floodwaters that had swamped entire neighbourhoods receded, revealing streets and thousands of homes covered in a thick layer of putrid sludge.

Floodwaters washing through Australia’s third-largest city crested today just shy of levels residents had feared most but high enough to submerge entire neighbourhoods and cause damage one official likened to the aftermath of war.

Floods poured into Brisbane’s empty centre today after leaving a deadly trail across the region in what could be its most devastating floods in a century.

Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swathe across northeast Australia flowed onto the streets of the nation’s third-largest city today, forcing people to flee both suburbs and skyscrapers.

THOUSANDS of people fled central Brisbane yesterday as the panicked city braced for its worst flooding in 120 years, after terrifying flash floods left 10 dead and 78 missing.

Rescuers raced today to reach people trapped on roofs after a flash flood hurled a tsunami-like wall of water through Australia’s waterlogged east, tossing cars like toys, killing at least eight people and leaving 72 missing.

AUSTRALIA put an army general in charge of flood recovery yesterday after weeks of heavy rains deluged the country’s coal-producing north-east, crippling the area’s economy and sending out reverberations felt in energy markets around the world.

Floodwaters in an inundated city on Australia’s north-eastern coast held steady below their predicted peak today as exhausted residents were warned they would face a long wait before the mud-soaked landscape dries out.

Severe flooding in Australia could have a “significant long-term effect” on the global steel industry, a senior politician said.

MILITARY flights rushed yesterday to restock an Australian city before it was cut off by floodwaters that have turned a huge swath of the outback into a lake, while police confirmed two more deaths in the crisis.

Military aircraft dropped supplies to towns cut off by floods in north-east Australia today as the prime minister promised new assistance to the 200,000 people affected by waters covering an area larger than France and Germany combined.

An Australian state is to return tens of thousands of acres of land to the original Aboriginal occupants, more than 30 years after it was turned into a national park, the state premier said today.

The crew of a coal-carrying ship that ran aground on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and is leaking oil will be questioned today about why their vessel was in a restricted area, an official said.

IT’S all over, apparently. It’s fair to say the media has been a little patronising of late, like United were the dad and Liverpool the toddler: “ah, you wanna race me little fella? Okay. Look at you going full pelt, ooooh, you might just beat me” etc.

Outraged child welfare campaigners in Australia have protested after nine people who raped a 10-year-old girl escaped jail because a judge said their victim “consented” to sex.

REVELATIONS that nine people who pleaded guilty to raping a 10-year-old girl had escaped prison sentences were met with outrage in Australia yesterday, prompting officials to launch a review of sexual assault cases in remote Aboriginal communities.

Nine people who pleaded guilty to raping a 10-year-old girl have avoided prison sentences – causing outrage in Australia today.

YOU have to hand it to Michael Smith. Where another politician might be happy to kill two birds with one stone, Michael goes for a half dozen feathered friends per pebble.