Most people trapped in the port city are sleeping in bomb shelters to escape more than six days of near-constant shelling by encircling Russian forces that have cut off food, water, power and heating supplies, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
The civilian death toll from hostilities across Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion on February 24 stands at 364, according to the United Nations on Sunday, with hundreds more injured.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said most civilian casualties – which include more than 20 children – were caused by the use of “explosive weapons with a wide impact area, including shelling from heavy artillery and multi-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes”.
“War is madness, please stop,” Pope Francis said in his weekly address to crowds in St Peter’s Square, adding that “rivers of blood and tears” were flowing in Ukraine’s war.
Putin made his demand for Ukraine to end the fighting in a phone call with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who appealed for a ceasefire.
Putin told Erdogan he was ready for dialogue with Ukraine and foreign partners but any attempt to draw out negotiation would fail, a Kremlin statement said.
Anti-war protests took place around the world including in Russia itself, where police detained over 4300 people, an independent protest monitoring group said.
The interior ministry said 3500 demonstrators had been held, including 1700 people in Moscow and 750 in St Petersburg.
In the besieged city of Mariupol, authorities had said on Sunday they would make a second attempt to evacuate some of the 400,000 residents.
But the ceasefire plan collapsed, as it had on Saturday, with each side blaming the other for the failure.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said the failed attempt to allow 200,000 people to leave had underscored “the absence of a detailed and functioning agreement between the parties to the conflict”.
Nuclear-powered submarines base set for the east coast
The base for Australian and visiting nuclear-powered submarines will be set up on the east coast under a plan to be announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison today.
Morrison will tell a Lowy Institute forum on Monday that defence officials have been tasked with talking to the NSW and Queensland governments on setting up the multibillion-dollar base at either Brisbane, Newcastle or Port Kembla.
Fleet Base West in Western Australia will remain home to the current Collins class and future nuclear-powered submarines, given its strategic importance on the Indian Ocean.
“(But) establishing a second submarine base on our east coast will enhance our strategic deterrent capability, with significant advantages in operational, training, personnel and industrial terms,” Morrison said.
“An optimal east coast base would provide home-ported submarines with specialised wharfs, maintenance facilities, administrative and logistics support, personnel amenities, and suitable accommodation for submarine crews and support staff.
“It would also enable the regular visiting of US and UK nuclear-powered submarines.”
With initial work to be completed by the end of 2023, the three potential sites have been chosen because of their proximity to industrial infrastructure, large population centres, deep water, maritime training and weapons storage and loading facilities.
Morrison said more than $10 billion would be needed to meet the services and facilities needed for the shift from Collins to the nuclear-powered submarines.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton said on Sunday he expected a decision “within the next couple of months” on whether a British or American submarine design will be used.
He was confident the first of the submarines could be acquired “much sooner” than 2040.
The nuclear submarines are set to be constructed at the Port Adelaide and Outer Harbour docks, although no safety assessment or planning study has been undertaken to examine the prospect of docking nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide.
Driver dies after Flinders Ranges crash
A person has died and another has been injured after a head on crash between a sedan and a ute on the Augusta Highway last night.
Police say emergency services were called to the highway in Woolundunga, 13km south-east of Port Augusta, about 7pm following reports of a crash between an Isuzu ute and Hyundai sedan.
The driver of the Hyundai died at the scene while the driver of the ute, a 57-year-old man from Woolundunga, was taken to Port Augusta hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The Augusta Highway has reopened after it was closed for several hours as Major Crash Investigators examined the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The crash takes South Australia’s road toll this year to 13, compared to 20 at the same time in 2021.
Labor pledges tougher laws for child sex offenders
Labor has promised to crack down on child sex offenders, proposing a series of law reforms to strengthen penalties for predators and create a public child sex offender register if it wins this month’s state election.
The Opposition this morning announced a range of reforms that will be pursued under a Labor Government, including requiring lifetime electronic monitoring for child sex offenders when they re-enter the community and closing loopholes for those who possess child porn or child-like sex dolls to get larger sentencing discounts or bail.
Labor has also promised to pass new laws extending indefinite detention for serious child sex offenders and create “South Australia’s first public child sex offender register”.
Currently, the child sex offenders register can only be accessed by authorised officers.
Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas said the reforms would make South Australia’s laws and penalties “the toughest in the nation”.
“The most important responsibility of government is to protect the community, particularly the most vulnerable,” he said.
“We have listened to victims, their families, and the broader community and we know that there is a strong will for tougher action on these predators.”
Labor’s package also includes $2 million in additional funding for victim support services.
NSW faces further heavy rain amid flood devastation
Scenes after the floods in the Central Business District of Lismore, NSW, Friday, March 4. Photo: Jason O’Brien/AAP
Already flooded parts of NSW face the prospect of further heavy rain that could cause more inundation while the clean-up continues around the state, as South Australia sends over more personnel to assist with the response and recovery effort.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued multiple flood warnings on Sunday, with heavy rain and river rises expected to continue into Monday in areas already affected.
Moderate to major flooding is predicted with heights set to rise on the Richmond, Hawkesbury-Nepean, Colo and Weir Rivers as well as Wollombi Brook.
The BOM has observed renewed rises on multiple rivers and warns that flooding may reach levels similar to the past week.
Heavy rain is expected from the Hunter through the Central and Southern Tablelands and down to the South Coast, with more rain on the Mid-North Coast on Monday.
Thunderstorms could also bring intense rain to the Northern Rivers, with damaging winds and large hail a concern in an area trying to clean up from devastating floods in Lismore and nearby towns.
Some areas could receive up to 120mm of rain in six hours and dangerous flash flooding could follow.
Six deaths have been confirmed in NSW, four of them in Lismore, from flooding that began over a week ago.
NSW Deputy Premier Paul Toole said help from the defence force for recovery efforts was needed “right now”.
He told AAP that NSW had called for defence assistance and he understood there were 5000 members available.
“We’ll take every one of them. We can’t delay,” Toole said.
He said the devastation had left a smell “you just can’t describe”.
The “number one priority” for the NSW Government was securing temporary housing for flood victims.
Meanwhile, 31 specialists from the South Australian SES, Environment Department and Country Fire Service are departing from Adelaide Airport this morning to assist in the flood recovery, and are expected to be in NSW until Saturday.
“These outgoing specialist personnel will now play an important role in continuing our support of the NSW SES during this severe weather event,” SASES chief of staff Sara Pulford said.
“New South Wales emergency services are working with a range of state and national agencies to provide a coordinated response to this event and SASES, DEW and CFS personnel will be part of that.”
Warne family accepts state funeral in Melbourne
(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Cricket’s greatest showman will be given a befitting public farewell, with Shane Warne’s family accepting a state funeral in the city that most adored him.
Two days after the suspected heart attack that killed Warne at age 52, Australia and world sport was still in shock on Sunday.
Australia’s players in Pakistan continued to wear a black armband in his honour, with the memory of Warne hovering over both them and the women’s team in New Zealand.
Details of Warne’s funeral are yet to be confirmed, but the acceptance of a state funeral means the event will give the public the chance to offer a final farewell.
No one loved crowds more than Warne.
He often played up to them, while his efforts to try and stop a minor riot at the MCG in 1999 showed the influence he had over them.
The stadium could be one potential option, the same ground at which he tore apart the West Indies in 1992 to announce himself on home soil, took his Test hat-trick and 700th wicket at.
The southern stand is set to be renamed the S.K. Warne Stand in his honour.
“I’ve spoken with the Warne family again today and they have accepted my offer of a State Funeral to remember Shane,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
“It will be an opportunity for Victorians to pay tribute to his contribution to his sport, to our state and the country.
“Details will be finalised in coming days.”
Warne’s body meanwhile remains in Thailand undergoing an autopsy before repatriation to Australia, with those closest to the leg-spinner detailing the health kick and liquid diet he’d recently began.
Thai police have also detailed that Warne had been suffering chest pains before arriving in the country and that he had asthma.
Australia push on against Pakistan as runs dominate
Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne dig in on day three of the first test between Pakistan and Australia. Photo: Anium Naveed/AP.
Australia has set their sights on somehow turning the Rawalpindi run-fest into a contest after reaching 2-271 at stumps on a shortened day three of the first Test in reply to Pakistan’s 4-476.
With bat dominating ball in near-record fashion on Sunday, Usman Khawaja narrowly missed out on a century in his first match in his country of birth with 97.
David Warner also struck 68 as part of a 156-run opening stand between the pair, while Marnus Labuschagne was 69 not out when bad light and then rain ended play.
Steve Smith was alongside him on 24 not out, with the pair 32 runs short of the fifth hundred-run partnership of the match.
As a show of how much bat has ruled on the first three days, the average runs scored per wicket now sits at 124.5 – on track to be the second-highest of all-time.
Both sides fxjmtzywace an uphill battle to force a result on the flat wicket, but Australia’s run rate of 3.71 on the third day has at least given them a chance to follow their plan of grabbing a lead and applying pressure on day five.
