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Some of Disney's most famous characters feature on a new range of Aussie-themed stamps from Australia Post.

William Izett stabbed a man twice in the torso after he asked to buy cannabis from him.

An anonymous council staff member says water charges could double in four years.

The race for the north is a complicated one.

Lawyers brought in to negotiate the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games were hired weeks before the Victorian government told the public, reports claim.

Documents, seen by The Age, reveal the government had engaged lawyers from Melbourne firm Arnold Bloch Leiber for "legal services regarding withdrawal from hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games" in June.

It was nearly three weeks later on July 18, when former Premier Daniel Andrews called a snap press conference, announcing the controversial decision.

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The contract with the Melbourne firm, which ran until September 21, came at a cost of $1.27 million to taxpayers.

Documents also reveal the government had sent Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule to London to inform the Commonwealth Games Federation of the withdrawal, just days before it was made public.

The trip cost $22,115, including almost $15,000 in airfares, according to the documents.

When cancelling the Games, the former premier told media, that hosting games was no longer a viable option, after the cost had blown out by billions.

"Last year when the Commonwealth Games Authorities approached us, needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out," Andrews said.

"But, of course, not at any price and only if there was lasting benefit.

"What's become clear is that the cost of hosting these Games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted. It is, in fact, at least $6 billion and could be as high as $7 billion.

"Six to seven billion is well and truly too much for a 12-day sporting event."

The cost of cancelling the games will cost taxpayers $380 million, after the government reached a settlement with the federation.

Walking into state parliament today, Premier Jacinta Allan remained tight-lipped about the timeline.

"I don't have the advice on the exact date as that was a matter that was handled at the time by the department of premier and cabinet at the time," she said.

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"But what I can say is that when it became clear that the costs to run a 12-day sporting event were going to exceed $6 billion dollars, that just became too much and it became clear in the weeks leading up to the announcement as the then-premier said at the time."

A senate parliamentary inquiry has been established to investigate the decision to axe the Games.

The Games were slated to be held from March 17-29 in 2026, across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.

US police are responding to an active shooter situation involving multiple victims at Morgan State University in Baltimore.

There is a "preliminary report of four individuals shot" somewhere on the university grounds, Baltimore City Fire Department Director of Communications Kevin Cartwright told CNN.

Both police and the university – a small HBCU in northeast Baltimore – have urged those on campus to shelter in place and avoid the area.

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Footage from CNN affiliate WJZ shows multiple emergency response vehicles surrounding a taped-off student dormitory building.

The glass of one of the building's upper-floor windows appears to be shattered.

"Please stay clear of the area surrounding Thurgood Marshall Hall and the Murphy Fine Arts Centre and shelter in place," the university said in a notice on its website.

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Police said they were responding to the 1700 block of Argonne Drive.

ATF Baltimore said its agents are assisting police in responding to the shooting.

Morgan State is a historically Black university and had about 9000 students enrolled in Fall 2022.

A worker has been crushed to death by a bulldozer on a site in Queensland's South Burnett region.

Queensland Ambulance told 9news.com.au that a man was treated for critical injuries at a construction site in Tarong, 200km north-west of Brisbane, after machinery rolled over this morning.

It's understood a bulldozer rolled over and crushed the man.

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A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland spokesperson confirmed the worker died after the incident.

"Workplace Health and Safety Queensland investigators are en-route to the site of an incident that claimed the life of a worker in Tarong," the spokesperson said.

"All work onsite has ceased.

"The details of this incident are still being worked through by authorities, including the Queensland Police Service, and a thorough investigation will be conducted."

A lithium-ion battery has been determined as the cause of a blaze in a backpackers hostel in inner Sydney.

CCTV footage captured the moment the battery exploded inside the Mad Monkey hostel, as two backpackers fled from the flames.

The fire erupted at 9am on Wednesday, forcing 70 people to evacuate the Potts Point accommodation.

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One man, aged in his 20s, suffered minor leg injuries from the explosion, while a second made it out unscathed.

"(I'm feeling), a little shocked, but I'm okay – I'm lucky to be here and intact," French Backpacker Phillip told 9News.

Philip was standing in the doorway of the room where the battery exploded, talking to his friend who was inside before the flames sprung from the battery.

Fire and Rescue have confirmed the cause of the blaze was a faulty e-bike battery left on charge.

Fire crews contained the fire to just the one unit, and managed to extinguish it a short time later. 

Witnesses reported seeing flames shooting out the side of the building.

Billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla is on the brink of being overtaken by a Chinese automaker as the world's biggest seller of electric vehicles.

A slow third quarter of sales from Tesla, which fell short of Wall Street forecasts, saw Chinese manufacturer BYD move towards taking control of the global EV crown.

BYD sold 431,603 electric vehicles in the third quarter, compared to Tesla's 435,059.

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The gap of 3456 vehicles in the narrowest yet between the two competitors.

Tesla's third-quarter sales were down around 7 per cent from its 466,000 vehicle deliveries in the second quarter.

"In a nutshell, there was nothing to write home about in these numbers and the Street will be left wanting more," according to a market note from tech analyst Dan Ives.

Tesla had warned that (northern hemisphere) summer shutdowns for various upgrades could affect its factory output, and that was apparently the case, as production fell even more than sales, dropping 10 per cent compared to the second quarter.

But for the first time since the first three months of 2022, the company delivered more vehicles than it produced.

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Wall Street analysts bearish on Tesla have been pointing to the sales falling short of production in the previous five quarters, as a sign of weakening demand for Tesla's cars.

Tesla has been cutting prices to spur greater demand for its cars and continue to hit aggressive growth rates.

Musk has said that the price cuts are partly driven by macroeconomic factors, such as rising interest rates.