World

Rapidly rising rivers swamped swathes of rain-lashed Sydney on Monday, forcing thousands to flee “dangerous” floods as the city’s largest dam spilled torrents of water.

On the third day of torrential east coast rains, emergency workers said they had rescued more than 140 people since the stormy weather began. 

But evacuated residents in one area of western Sydney were now being allowed to return home, officials said, as weather conditions in New South Wales were forecast to ease over the next 24 hours.

Many of those rescued had been trapped in their cars trying to cross flood-swept roads or were unable to leave homes surrounded by rising waters.

Australia has been at the sharp end of climate change, with droughts, deadly bushfires, bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef and floods becoming more common and intense as global weather patterns change.

Higher temperatures mean the atmosphere holds more moisture, unleashing more rain.

About 32,000 people were under orders to evacuate or be ready to flee across New South Wales, the state’s emergency services said.

The army sent 100 troops to help operations in the storm-battered state.

“The ground is saturated, the rivers are fast flowing, the dams are overflowing,” said State Emergency Services commissioner Carlene York.

“It is particularly dangerous out there.”

Mud-brown river waters transformed a large stretch of land into a lake in the southwestern Sydney suburb of Camden. 

Roads disappeared into the waters and mobile homes stood in knee-high water, at least one toppled on its side, television images showed.

Large volumes of water gushed from the Warragamba Dam, which has been spilling excess water since Sunday.

The huge concrete dam lies on the western outskirts of Sydney and provides most of the city’s drinking water.

– ‘Becoming more common’ –

The wild weather whipped up drama off the Sydney coast, as the 150-metre Portland Bay cargo ship with 21 crew lost power in heavy seas.

The Hong Kong-registered bulk carrier initially dropped two anchors to hold its position off the coastal cliffs, officials said. 

Plans for a helicopter rescue were dropped because of the conditions.

But later in the day, three tugboats managed to start towing the vessel and its crew to deeper water to undertake repairs, the state port authority said.

Australia’s east coast has suffered repeated flooding in the past 18 months.

More than 20 people died only in March this year as floodwaters lapped at rooftops and torrents swept cars off roads.

The current weather system over Sydney is being fed by warm, wet air from near the equator, said Kimberley Reid, an atmospheric scientist at Monash University. 

Rainfall in eastern Australia is highly variable, making it hard to pin this event to climate change, she said.

“However, our research of the March 2021 Sydney floods found that similar events over Sydney were likely to occur 80 percent more often by the end of the 21st century.”

Australia must prepare for more regular flooding events, New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet told a news conference.

“There is no doubt these events are becoming more common,” he said.

“Governments need to adjust and make sure that we respond to the changing environment we find ourselves in.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the “colossal” work ahead as leaders from dozens of countries and organisations gathered in Switzerland Monday to hash out a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild his war-torn country.

Zelensky, who is due to deliver a video address to the conference when it opens Monday afternoon, stressed Sunday the towering challenges that recovering from the devastation wrought since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24.

“The volume of the works on already liberated territories is really colossal,” he said.

“And we will have to free over 2,000 villages and towns in the east and south of Ukraine.”

The two-day conference, held under tight security in the picturesque southern Swiss city of Lugano, had been planned well before the invasion, and had originally been slated to discuss reforms in Ukraine before being repurposed to focus on reconstruction.

As billions of dollars in aid flows into Ukraine, however, lingering concerns about widespread corruption in the country mean far-reaching reforms remain in focus and will be a condition for any recovery plan decided here. 

– ‘Roadmap’ –

Lugano is not a pledging conference, but will instead attempt to lay out the principles and priorities for a rebuilding process aimed to begin even as the war rages.

Ukraine’s ambassador to Switzerland Artem Rybchenko said ahead of the conference that it would help create “the roadmap” to his country’s recovery.

While Zelensky was unable to leave Ukraine to co-host the event with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal made a rare trip out of the country since the war began to attend. 

Five other government ministers were also among the around 100 Ukrainians who made the journey, although Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reportedly had to cancel at the last moment due to illness.

In all, around 1,000 people were scheduled to participate in the conference, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Lithuania.

– ‘Marshall Plan’ –

Questions have been raised about the value in discussing reconstruction when there is no end in sight to the war.

But Robert Mardini, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, stressed the importance to give “a positive perspective” to Ukrainians who have lost everything and are “struggling with anxiety and uncertainty for the future”.

Others stress the need to begin laying the groundwork well in advance, as was done with the wildly successful Marshall Plan, a US initiative that pumped vast sums in foreign aid into Western Europe to help the continent rebuild and recover after World War II.

The task is daunting.

Rebuilding Ukraine, which has already seen devastating destruction, is expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) has estimated the damage done so far to buildings and infrastructure at nearly $104 billion, and that Ukraine’s economy has already suffered losses of up to $600 billion. 

– Build back greener –

Simon Pidoux, the Swiss ambassador in charge of the conference, said that it was too early to try to estimate all the needs, insisting Lugano instead should provide “a compass” for the work ahead.

“I think the effort will last for years, if not decades,” he said.

Despite not being a donor conference, some participants are expected to make new pledges and propose frameworks for providing more funds.

The European Investment Bank will propose the creation of a new Ukraine trust fund, which with investments from EU and non-EU states could eventually swell to 100 billion euros, according to sources familiar with the draft plans.

The proposal, which is due to be announced Monday, aims to create a platform able to generate investment towards reconstruction, and also towards Ukraine’s EU accession goals, they said. 

The Lugano recovery and development plan will lay out reconstruction needs in terms of damaged and destroyed infrastructure and the devastated economy, but also its environmental recovery and social recovery needs.

In an effort to push decision-makers to opt for building back Ukraine’s power grid with renewables, Greenpeace and 45 Ukrainian NGOs erected a giant replica wind turbine close to the conference venue.

Natalia Gozak, head of Kyiv-based Ecoaction, insisted “Ukraine should not rebuild its infrastructure to the old Soviet standards,” known for dirty coal and the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe.

“We cannot afford to plan it wrong from the start.”

Rescuers used thermal drones Monday to search for possible survivors trapped under ice after an avalanche set off by the collapse of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps killed at least six people and injured eight others.

Authorities said they did not know how many climbers were hit when the glacier gave way Sunday on Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Italian Dolomites.

“We found bodies torn apart, in a shapeless tide of ice and debris stretching over 1,000 metres (3,280 feet),” Gino Comelli from the Alpine Rescue Service told the Corriere della Sera daily Monday.

The disaster struck one day after a record-high temperature of 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) was recorded at the glacier’s summit.

Emergency services spokeswoman Michela Canova told AFP an “avalanche of snow, ice and rock” hit an access path at a time when there were several roped parties, “some of whom were swept away”.

The total number of climbers involved was “not yet known”, she said.

Helicopters and sniffer dogs were called off as night fell and amid fears the glacier may still be unstable.

But rescuers used drones equipped with thermal cameras to continue the search overnight and early Monday, Canazei mayor Giovanni Bernard told AFP.

“It is difficult for the rescuers in a dangerous situation”, he said.

Images of the avalanche filmed from a refuge close by show snow and rock hurtling down the mountain’s slopes.

“It’s a miracle we’re alive,” Stefano Dal Moro, an engineer who was hiking with his Israeli partner told Corriere della Sera.

“There was a dull noise, then that sea of ice came down. It’s useless to run, you can only pray that it doesn’t come your way.

“We crouched down and hugged each other tightly as the ice passed”.

Bodies dug out of the ice and rock were taken to the village of Canazei.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi was expected to visit Canazei later Monday.

Massimo Frezzotti, a science professor at Roma Tre University, told AFP the collapse was caused by unusually warm weather linked to global warming, with precipitation down 40 to 50 percent during a dry winter.

“The current conditions of the glacier correspond to mid-August, not early July,” he said.

The Trento public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation to determine the causes of the tragedy.

The Ukrainian army retreated from the strategic city of Lysychansk over the weekend, as Russia claimed a major victory by seizing control of the entire eastern Lugansk region.

The Ukrainian withdrawal followed weeks of fierce fighting and marked a decisive breakthrough for Moscow’s forces more than four months after their invasion and after turning their focus away from the capital Kyiv.

Leaders from dozens of countries and international organisations will meet Monday in Switzerland to map out a “Marshall Plan” to rebuild Ukraine — aimed to begin even as Russia’s war efforts continue to rage.

A major flashpoint in the conflict, Lysychansk had been the final holdout in the Lugansk area of the eastern Donbas region and Moscow’s capture of it frees up Russian forces to advance on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in neighbouring Donetsk. 

“The continuation of the defence of the city would lead to fatal consequences” in the face of Russia’s superiority in numbers and equipment, the Ukrainian army said in a statement announcing its retreat Sunday evening. 

“In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw.

“Unfortunately, steel will and patriotism are not enough for success — material and technical resources are needed.”

The fall of Lysychansk comes after Russian forces seized its twin city of Severodonetsk last week after bouts of intense fighting. 

In an address late Sunday, Zelensky vowed Kyiv would fight on and ensure the military had “the most modern weapons”.

“Ukraine will reach the level when the fire superiority of the occupiers will be levelled.”

The latest country to provide aid was Australia, whose Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday pledged further military support — including armoured vehicles and drones during a meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv. 

– ‘Shooting from all sides’ –

On Sunday, Moscow accused Kyiv of firing three cluster missiles at the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, which came a day after neighbouring Belarus said it had intercepted Ukrainian missiles.

In what would represent an escalation of the conflict, Russia said its anti-aircraft defences shot down three Tochka-U cluster missiles launched by “Ukrainian nationalists” against Belgorod.

Eleven residential buildings and 39 houses had been damaged, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. 

Moscow has previously accused Kyiv of conducting strikes on Russian soil, particularly in the Belgorod region.

On Saturday, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko accused Kyiv of provocation and said his army intercepted missiles fired at his country by Ukrainian forces “around three days ago”.

Belarus, a Russian ally, supported the February 24 invasion and has been accused by Kyiv of launching its own attacks on Ukrainian territory.

Lukashenko denied any involvement in a recent cross-border incident, and said Belarus does “not intend to fight in Ukraine”.

About 75 kilometres (45 miles) west of Lysychansk, the city Sloviansk saw heavy Russian shelling which left six people dead — among them a nine-year-old girl, Zelensky said Sunday evening. 

About 20 others were wounded as “the Russian army once again brutally shelled” the city, as well as Kramatorsk and Kharkiv.

A strike on the town of Dobropillia — just southwest of Sloviansk — killed two people and wounded three, including two children, Donetsk authorities said.

The city of Siversk, 30 kilometres west of Lysychansk, also saw overnight shelling, residents and an official told AFP.

“It was intense, and it was shooting from all sides,” said a woman sheltering in a cellar.

Zelensky’s address Sunday evening was defiant — he pointed to Ukrainian troops progressing in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, and vowed “there will be a day when we will say the same about Donbas”.

“We will rebuild the walls, we will win back the land, and people must be protected above all else,” Zelensky said. 

“Ukraine does not give anything up.”

By Monday, the overall death toll of children “as a result of armed aggression” from Russia stood at 345, Ukraine’s parliament said. 

Its army warned in an early morning report that “the enemy is regrouping troops to resume the offensive”. 

– ‘Democracy over autocracy’ –

Four months into the war, Ukraine has seen devastating destruction across about 10 regions. 

On Monday, leaders from dozens of countries and international organisations will meet in the Swiss city of Lugano, where they aim to hash out a roadmap for Ukraine’s reconstruction — expected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

Ukraine will also face demands for broad reforms, especially in cracking down on corruption after Brussels recently granted Kyiv candidate status in its push to join the 27-member European Union.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is due to pledge both immediate humanitarian assistance as well as access to British financial and economic expertise, the foreign office said.

She will tell delegates that Ukraine’s recovery “will be a symbol of the power of democracy over autocracy”, it added.

But for residents in Bucha — a Ukrainian town synonymous with war crimes blamed on Moscow’s forces after their retreat in April — fear remains even as talk begins of reconstruction. 

“We’re going to bed without knowing if we’ll wake up tomorrow,” said Vera Semeniouk, 65. 

“Everyone has come back, is starting to repair houses, many are putting in new windows. It would be terrible if it started again and we had to leave everything again.”

Danish police said Monday that the suspect in a weekend shooting at a Copenhagen mall that left three dead, including two teenagers, was known to mental health services.

“Our suspect is also known among psychiatric services, beyond that I do not wish to comment,” Copenhagen police chief Soren Thomassen told a press conference.

Thomassen added that the victims appeared to have been randomly targeted and there was nothing to indicate it was an act of terror.

“Our assessment is that the victims were random, that it isn’t motivated by gender or something else,” Thomassen said.

The police chief could not yet comment on a motive, but said there seemed to have been preparation ahead of the attack and that the 22-year-old suspect was not aided by anyone else.

“As things stand, it seems he was acting alone,” he said.

The three killed have been identified as a Danish teenage girl and boy, both aged 17, and a 47-year-old Russian citizen residing in Denmark.

Another four were injured in the shooting: two Danish women, aged 19 and 40, and two Swedish citizens, a 50-year-old man and a 16-year-old woman.

Police confirmed that the suspected shooter was present at the mall at the time of the shooting and is known to the police “but only peripherally”.

They added that they believe videos of the suspect circulating since Sunday evening on social media to be authentic.

– ‘Sufficiently psychopathic’ –

In some of the images, the young man can be seen posing with weapons, mimicking suicide gestures and talking about psychiatric medication “that does not work”.

YouTube and Instagram accounts believed to belong to the suspect were closed overnight, AFP noted.

The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon at the busy Fields shopping mall, located between the city centre and Copenhagen airport. 

According to police, the shooter was armed with a rifle, a pistol and a knife, and while the guns were not believed to be illegal, the suspect did not have a license for them.

Witnesses quoted by the Danish media described how the suspect had tried to trick people by saying his weapon was fake to get them to approach.

“He was sufficiently psychopathic to go and hunt people, but he wasn’t running,” one witness told public broadcaster DR.

Other eyewitnesses told Danish media they had seen more than 100 people rush towards the mall’s exit as the first shots were fired.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen denounce the “cruel attack” in a statement late Sunday.

“Our beautiful and usually so safe capital was changed in a split second,” she said.

The shooting came just over a week after a gunman opened fire near a gay bar in Oslo in neighbouring Norway, killing two people and wounding 21 others.

In February of 2015, two people were killed and five injured in Copenhagen in a series of Islamist-motivated shootings.

Ivan Sukhanov and his family used to holiday by the Black Sea. This year, the family from Kyiv dreamt of travelling to Egypt. Then Russian troops invaded.

Now, they’re going no further than the banks of the Dnipro river in the Ukrainian capital to have as normal a holiday as they can, in very abnormal circumstances.

“We wanted to show the children the pyramids, but the war ruined our plans,” says the 41-year-old electrical engineer. 

“This year, we’re enjoying what’s around Kyiv, the lakes, the parks… We’re relaxing as best we can”.

Kyiv boasts many sandy beaches, usually crowded during the hot summer months.

But on the first weekend of July, despite temperatures close to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), no one is rushing to lay claim to a prime spot with a beach towel.

The city is still living in slow motion, even though Russian troops withdrew from the outer northern and northeast suburbs three months ago to concentrate their offensive on the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

– ‘Used to it’ –

Compared to the rain of bombs in Donbas and the deadly strikes in the south of the country, Kyiv is now relatively calm.

“We’re getting used to it,” admits Sukhanov, four months after Russian troops marched into his country on February 24.

So, when air-raid warnings sound, “we don’t go to the shelters, we don’t follow the security rules… We live as best we can, hoping that everything will be OK”.

But anxiety that worse is yet to come dominates daily life. A missile killed one person and wounded four others on June 26, in a neighbourhood near the centre of Kyiv that had already been hit twice.

Many also say they are affected by the air raid warnings that still sound regularly.

Add to that the daily curfew, from 11:00 pm to 05:00 am, and sandbags protecting statues and official buildings, and it’s hard to forget you are living in a country at war.

– ‘Really hard’ –

Vera Sapyga is also trying to enjoy herself on a Kyiv beach but cannot hide her anxiety.

She returned to the capital a week ago, having left on the first day of the war for a village in western Ukraine with her five-year-old daughter.

She is already looking forward to leaving again.

“In terms of morale, it’s really hard,” the 37-year-old says. “I worry a lot, with the warning sirens, the news. Every day I cry. I have never experienced such stress.”

Sapyga plans to travel again with her daughter next week, heading to London to stay with a family who has offered to support Ukrainians. 

She’s been exiled before, back in 2014 when Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula where she and her husband then lived.

If she manages to get to the British capital, she doesn’t know how long she will stay. 

“It’s very difficult to plan anything”. 

– Rumours – 

That is an expression repeated daily in Kyiv, where no one dares predict how long the war will last.  

“At first the experts assured us that the war would end quickly, then they said, ‘It will be over by Constitution Day’ (June 28), then by Independence Day (August 24), now they say nothing,” says Liudmila Iashchuk, a 55-year-old sitting with her husband at one of the few cafes open on the beach. 

“We hope it will be over by the end of the year, but now everyone is talking about a long conflict,” says Sukhanov.

The uncertainty fuels incessant rumours of a new Russian offensive on Kyiv. 

First they were allegedly going to attack on June 22, the anniversary of the 1941 Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Then word was that it would happen on Constitution Day, explains Ianna Khlinina, 33, out sunbathing with her husband.

Neither she nor anyone else in the city, however, seems to doubt Ukraine’s final victory over Russia. 

Ukraine “has already won morally”, says Sukhanov. 

“All that’s left is to make it happen on the ground.”