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About 50,000 people have been urged to evacuate their homes as floods hit Australia's largest city for the third time this year, BBC reported.

Parts of Sydney have received about eight months of rain in four days.

Roads have been cut off, some houses are underwater and thousands have been left without power.

Widespread flooding across Australia - driven by a La Niña weather pattern - has killed more than 20 people this year, many in New South Wales (NSW). 

More than 100 evacuation orders have been issued across Greater Sydney for the current emergency.

People in another 50 areas have been warned to prepare to leave, as several major rivers flood. Severe weather is also hitting the nearby Hunter and Illawarra regions.

Some areas of NSW have seen 800mm of rain in four days, says the Bureau of Meteorology, almost a third more than the average rainfall Greater London receives in a year, according to BBC.

The downpour is expected to begin easing in Sydney on Tuesday, but gale-force winds are also forecast, bringing a risk of falling trees and powerlines.

"The emergency is far from over," NSW Emergency Services Minister Stephanie Cooke said.

Authorities are urging locals to heed evacuation warnings, after rescuers were called to save people who were ordered to leave two days earlier.

"Ultimately if you stay you're putting your life at risk," said NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.

For many locals, it is their third flood this year.

Speaking after evacuating his partner from their house by kayak, Tyler Cassel said locals were tired of the constant threat to their homes and lives.

He moved into his home in the Sydney suburb of Windsor last year, and was told major flood events were supposed to be "one in 25 years, one in 50 years or whatever it was".

"Now it has been three in 2022," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"We've become experts around this area now... you are almost living on the edge."

Experts say the flooding emergency has been worsened by climate change and a La Niña weather phenomenon. A La Niña develops when strong winds blow the warm surface waters of the Pacific away from South America and towards Indonesia. In their place, colder waters come up to the surface, BBC reported.

In Australia, a La Niña increases the likelihood of rain, cyclones and cooler daytime temperatures.

A gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago on Monday, killing at least six people, wounding at least 30 and sending hundreds of marchers, parents with strollers and children on bicycles fleeing in terror, police said, Associated Press reported.

Authorities said a man named as a person of interest in the shooting was taken into police custody Monday evening after an hourslong manhunt in and around Highland Park, an affluent community of about 30,000 on Chicago’s north shore.

The July 4 shooting was just the latest to shatter the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the nation tried to find cause to celebrateits founding and the bonds that still hold it together.

“It definitely hits a lot harder when it’s not only your hometown but it’s also right in front of you,” resident Ron Tuazon said as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday evening to retrieve chairs, blankets and a child’s bike that he and his family abandoned when the shooting began.

“It’s commonplace now,” Tuazon said of what he called yet another American atrocity. “We don’t blink anymore. Until laws change, it’s going to be more of the same.”

The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day for the annual celebration. Dozens of fired bullets sent hundreds of parade-goers — some visibly bloodied — fleeing. They left a trail of abandoned items that showed everyday life suddenly, violently disrupted: A half-eaten bag of potato chips; a box of chocolate cookies spilled onto the grass; a child’s Chicago Cubs cap.

“There’s no safe place,” said Highland Park resident Barbara Harte, 73, who had stayed away from the parade fearing a mass shooting, but later ventured from her home.

Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said a police officer pulled over Robert E. Crimo III about five miles north of the shooting scene, several hours after police released the man’s photo and an image of his silver Honda Fit, and warned the public that he was likely armed and dangerous. Authorities initially said he was 22, but an FBI bulletin and Crimo’s social media said he was 21, according to Associated Press.

Police declined to immediately identify Crimo as a suspect but said identifying him as a person of interest, sharing his name and other information publicly was a serious step.

Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference “several of the deceased victims” died at the scene and one was taken to a hospital and died there. Police have not released details about the victims or wounded. 

Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said the five people killed at the parade were adults, but didn’t have information on the sixth victim who was taken to a hospital and died there. One of those killed was a Mexican national, Roberto Velasco, Mexico’s director for North American affairs, said on Twitter Monday. He said two other Mexicans were wounded. 

NorthShore University Health Center received 26 patients after the attack. All but one had gunshot wounds, said Dr. Brigham Temple, medical director of emergency preparedness. Their ages ranged from 8 to 85, and Temple estimated that four or five patients were children.

Temple said 19 of them were treated and discharged. Others were transferred to other hospitals, while two patients, in stable condition, remained at the Highland Park hospital.

“It is devastating that a celebration of America was ripped apart by our uniquely American plague,” Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said at a news conference.

“I’m furious because it does not have to be this way... while we celebrate the Fourth of July just once a year, mass shootings have become a weekly — yes, weekly — American tradition.”

The shooter opened fire around 10:15 a.m., when the parade was about three-quarters through, authorities said, Associated Press reported.

Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill, the incident commander on scene, said the gunman apparently used a “high-powered rifle” to fire from a spot atop a commercial building where he was “very difficult to see.” He said the rifle was recovered at the scene. Police also found a ladder attached to the building.

The CPN (Maoist Centre) leaders have suggested that the party should forge an alliance with the CPN-UML in the federal and provincial assembly elections.

During the Central Executive Committee of the party held at the Pragya Bhuwan in Kathmandu, leaders suggested Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to start discussions and debates for the left alliance with the UML.

Leaders were of the opinion that the Nepali Congress betrayed the Maoist Centre in the local level elections.

"The Maoist honestly cast votes for the Congress candidates in the local level polls. But, the Congress did not cast ballots for us," central member Ram Kumar Sharma said.

The leaders said that the party should forge an alliance with the Congress only after reaching an agreement.

"The Congress should be given 50 percent seats if the parties forge alliance in the upcoming elections again. Remaining 50 percent should be given to other parties of the coalition," leader Sharma said.

Similarly, during the meeting, the leaders have said that the Citizenship Bill should be endorsed at the earliest.

Newly appointed ministers of the Janata Samajbadi Party took the oath of office and secrecy on Monday.

President Bidya Devi Bhandari on the recommendation of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba appointed Mrigendra Kumar Singh Yadav as the Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development, Mohammad Istiyak Rai as the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Pradip Yadav the Minister for Forest and Environment.

President Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to newly appointed ministers in the presence of Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister Deuba and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Timilsena, amidst a special ceremony at Sheetal Niwas this evening.

The party had recalled its three of four ministers from the government this morning.

Earlier, the CPN (Unified Socialist) had reshuffled four of its ministers in the government.

Nepal reported 40 new Covid-19 cases on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 847 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 34 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 163 people underwent antigen tests, of which six were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 19 infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 348 active cases in the country. 

Among them, 344 are in home isolation and four are in institutionalized isolation. 

Similarly, one is undergoing treatment at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Ministry said.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 9. 75 points to close at 2,076.67 points on Monday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 2. 89 points to close at 395. 94 points.

A total of 10,981,591 units of the shares of 234 companies were traded for Rs 4. 34 billion.

Meanwhile, CYC Nepal Laghubitta Bittiya Sanstha Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 10 percent. Likewise, Global IME Bank Limited Debenture was the top loser with its price dropped by 9. 75 percent.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalisation stood at Rs 2. 96 trillion.

The main opposition CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has demanded the formation of a parliamentary committee to probe into involvement of unauthorized persons in the budget-making process.

Speaking at a special session of the House of Representatives on Monday, he said that all the things like increasing or reducing the tax rates came with bad intentions.

“Let’s form a parliamentary committee to investigate this issue. It cannot be imagined to formulate the budget with the help of outsiders,” he said.

Saying that it is not a common thing to involve unauthorized persons in the budget-making process, the former Prime Minister said that a parliamentary committee should be formed to investigate the incident and should make the report public.

Rohingyas, who have been living in Nepal as refugees after being displaced from Myanmar, staged a demonstration outside the office of United Nations in Pulchowk, Kathmandu on Monday.

They staged the demonstration demanding resettlement in third countries.

Earlier on June 27, the Rohingyas had staged a protest outside the office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kathmandu, saying that the UNHCR cut off the financial aid it has been giving to the Rohingya refugees and their children.

Their parents said that they have been facing difficulties in paying school fees among others after the UNHCR cut off the financial aid.

The government of Nepal has termed the Rohingyas living in Nepal as illegal immigrants.

The UNHCR, however, has recognized them as refugees.