The highway is blocked and police warn delays may last for some time.

Auckland Airport says 19,500 international travellers will depart today.

Police were called to the scene at about 4.30pm.

Tributes have been paid to first responders and other heroes who stepped in to save lives during the Bondi terror attack before the fifth Ashes test.

Before day one of play at the SCG, the Australia and England teams lined up in a guard of honour for 14 people who represented emergency services as well as members of the public who put their lives on the line to save others.

They included Ahmed Al Ahmed, who wrestled and disarmed one of the gunmen, and Jackson Doolan and Daniel McLaughlin, representing lifeguards at Bondi Beach who acted quickly to save lives.

READ MORE: Bondi terror suspects allegedly used rural farm to practice shooting

The heroes stood on the SCG pitch, and players, officials and 48,000 people in the crowd gave them a moving and rapturous standing ovation.

NSW Police and NSW Ambulance, as well as hospitalmedics were also represented.

A moment of silence for the 15 victims of last month's attack was held.

READ MORE: Why is the US attacking Venezuela?

Al Ahmed was the final person to walk through the guard of honour, with his left arm in a still in a sling after being shot.

He was in St George Hospital for over a fortnight, and had surgery on his shoulder.

Al Ahmed was released from hospital on December 29.

READ MORE: World leaders react with condemnation and caution after US attack on Venezuela

Bondi Lifeguards thanked Cricket Australia for the touching ceremony.

"As lifeguards, we are incredibly proud to make Ahmed al-Ahmed an honorary member of the Bondi Lifeguards, recognising his selfless heroics that helped save lives," a post said.

"Thank you… for your tribute to the first responders, and for once again allowing a moment's silence in honour of the families affected by the Bondi attack."

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Flags are at half-mast as Dunedin farewells former mayor.

The curly-coated retriever was still wearing her bright orange lifejacket.

Police are investigating the apparent theft.

Venezuelan Kiwi Dietrich Truchsess has a cousin missing since May last year.

The dark clouds that once hung over Porepunkah are starting to dissipate.

It has been a tough few months for the small Victorian tourist town of just over 1000 people, but the light has finally returned for residents and business owners

When accused cop killer Dezi Freeman allegedly shot and killed Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim Hottart De Waart, 34, and injured a third, Porepunkah was plunged into a snap lockdown.

READ MORE: '$250 by 8am': The unusual idea earning everyday Aussies big money

Do you have a story? Contact reporter April Glover at Google Play.

Venezuela's government has accused the United States of attacking civilian and military installations in multiple states after at least seven explosions and low-flying aircraft were heard in the capital, Caracas.

The Pentagon referred requests for comment to the White House, which has not yet commented. The Federal Aviation Authority banned US commercial flights in Venezuela airspace over "ongoing military activity" ahead of explosions in Caracas, which began about 1.50am on Saturday (5.50pm AEDT).

"One was so strong, my window was shaking after it," CNN correspondent Osmary Hernandez said.

READ MORE: 'Extraordinary' couple gunned down in their US home

Smoke could be seen rising from the hangar of a military base in Caracas. Another military installation in the capital was without power.

People in various neighbourhoods rushed to the streets. Some could be seen in the distance from various areas of Caracas.

"The whole ground shook. This is horrible. We heard explosions and planes in the distance," said Carmen Hidalgo, a 21-year-old office worker, her voice trembling.

She was walking briskly with two relatives, returning from a birthday party.

"We felt like the air was hitting us."

Venezuela's government has called on its supporters to take to the streets.

"People to the streets!" the government said in a statement.

"The Bolivarian government calls on all social and political forces in the country to activate mobilisation plans and repudiate this imperialist attack."

The statement added that President Nicolás Maduro had "ordered all national defence plans to be implemented" and declared "a state of external disturbance".

Colombian President Gustavo Petro called for the United Nations to "meet immediately".

"Right now they are bombing Caracas. Alert the world, they have attacked Venezuela," Petro wrote on X.

Petro did not specify how he knew bombing had occurred or who "they" were. Colombia is one hour behind Venezuela's capital Caracas.

The blasts come as the US military has been targeting, in recent days, alleged drug-smuggling boats. On Friday, Venezuela said it was open to negotiating an agreement with the US to combat drug trafficking.

Maduro also said in a pre-taped interview aired on Thursday that the US wants to force a government change in Venezuela and gain access to its vast oil reserves through the monthslong pressure campaign that began with a massive military deployment to the Caribbean Sea in August.

Maduro has been charged with narco-terrorism in the US. The CIA was behind a drone strike last week at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels in what was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the US began strikes on boats in September.

US President Donald Trump for months had threatened that he could soon order strikes on targets on Venezuelan land. The US has also seized sanctioned oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela, and Trump ordered a blockade of others in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's economy.

The US military has been attacking boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September. As of Friday, the number of known boat strikes was 35 and the number of people killed was at least 115, according to numbers announced by the Trump administration.

They followed a major buildup of American forces in the waters off South America, including the arrival in November of the nation's most advanced aircraft carrier, which added thousands more troops to what was already the largest military presence in the region in generations.

Trump has justified the boat strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US and asserted that the US is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels.

More to come

– Reported with Associated Press and CNN