The German city of Cologne has finished evacuating 20,500 people, its largest evacuation order since World War II, after officials defused three massive, unexploded bombs.

The American bombs – two 20-tonne weapons and another that weighs 10 tonnes – were found in a shipyard on Monday, the city said, causing a huge "danger zone" to be sealed off early on Wednesday.

A hospital, two retirement centres and the city's second-largest train station were among the facilities emptied out. Schools, churches, museums and two of the city's cultural landmarks – the Musical Dome theatre and the Philharmonic Hall – also fell within the evacuation zone.

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The discovery of unexploded weapons is a frequent phenomenon in Cologne, which was decimated by Allied bombing during World War II, but no operation of this size has been carried out since the end of the war, the city said.

"At 7.19pm, the three unexploded bombs that had paralysed large parts of the city were defused. Experts from the ordnance disposal service Rheinland of the Düsseldorf district government rendered them harmless," city authorities said in a statement.

Streets and buildings are being gradually reopened, and residents can return to their homes and apartments, the authorities added.

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Allied nations conducted 262 air raids of Cologne during World War II, killing approximately 20,000 residents and leaving the city in ruins.

Nearly all of the buildings in the Old Town were destroyed, as were 91 of the city's 150 churches.

A massive reconstruction effort took place after the war, with the Old Town rebuilt and major landmarks restored.

But small evacuations still take place on a regular basis when unexploded ordnances are found. About 10,000 residents had to leave their homes last October when another American bomb was found, and last December, 3000 people were asked to evacuate.

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Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie has told a senior Liberal figure to "read the room" after his comments to the party's NSW women's council.

Former Victorian treasurer and former federal Liberal Party president Alan Stockdale told a meeting of the NSW Liberal Women's Council that women in the party were "assertive" and that the men might need protection in the future.

Stockdale later said his remarks were a joke and regretted that people "felt disrespected", the Australian Financial Review has reported.

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But opposition leader Sussan Ley, the first woman to head up the Liberals, issued a statement saying "assertive women" were encouraged to join the party.

"There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman," she said.

And this morning, McKenzie joined the chorus of condemnation.

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"It was a shocking comment," she told Today.

"I think it's time for Alan to head back to the Melbourne club, have a stiff whisky, and chat with the old boys about what went wrong."

She pointed out that 45 per cent of the Liberal MPs in NSW were women.

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"I mean, we've had thousands of years of men running the show. We've finally got a foot in the door. We're coming for you. And it's not bad thing, right?" she said.

She said women needed to be assertive to represent their communities in parliament.

"I don't want to disrespect those who've gone before us, but the reality is our parliaments and our political parties have to reflect our communities," she said.

"I think we need more assertive women because we have to fight for the future of our country and our communities. That's why you send us to places like Canberra."

The recently-reformed Coalition unveiled its shadow cabinet last week, sparking criticism including from within the party after high-profile women were moved out of shadow ministry positions.

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West Australian teen Nick Campo's mother is disappointed her son's killer driver has been sentenced to just three years and two months behind bars.

A judge today found the 17-year-old driver, who can't be named, was encouraged to speed by his passengers, saying they were all morally responsible for the tragedy.

Nick had just made it to adulthood but a high-speed crash while celebrating his 18th birthday ended it all. 

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"Nick was a really good kid and he was very much loved by all of us," mother Bianca Campo said, outside court.

Nick and some mates were catching a lift to a nightclub when the ute they were in collided with a Jeep in North Lake last July.

The promising footy player was killed instantly and three other passengers were seriously injured. 

"It's something we have to live with everyday for the rest of our lives," Bianca said.

"We've been quite broken."

The 17-year-old driver was today jailed for two years and seven months for Nick's manslaughter, plus an extra eight-month term for the combined dangerous driving charges. With time served, he could walk free as early as mid next year. 

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"We don't feel it was enough and I really don't think it sets a good example for young people," Bianca said

There were five boys in the Toyota Hilux and four of them, including the driver, had snorted cocaine. 

The judge also found the P-plater was being encouraged to drive recklessly, racing to beat the club's midnight lockout. 

His ute had been dangerously modified, with the front passenger seat facing backwards, and only two seat belts, including his own, working. 

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"Please just make sure your kids know to do the right thing when they get into cars because this is like a pain that's unbearable, it really is," Nick's mum said.

Children's Court president Hylton Quail said although the legal consequences fell on the driver alone, the moral responsibility of the tragedy was shared by everyone who got in the car. 

"As his honour described in the sentencing, there are no winners here," defence counsel Michael Tudori said.

Nick's parents are now on a mission to educate young drivers in their boy's honour.

"It's something no one could understand until you've had to live it and I really feel for people who have to go through this," Bianca said.

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A witness to events before an alleged murder where two people were locked in a toolbox and drowned has admitted to a jury he lied to police.

Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp are charged with murdering Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, at Kingston in Logan, south of Brisbane, on January 24, 2016.

Lelan Harrington, a former flatmate of some of the defendants and friend to the alleged victims, agreed under defence cross examination in the Queensland Supreme Court that he lied to police about Breton owing money to Daniels.

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Daniels' defence barrister John Fraser asked Harrington today if he had told a "massive lie" to police when he made a statement that Daniels was present at the lagoon when the toolbox containing the alleged victims was thrown into the water.

"It was a lie. Not a massive lie," Harrington said.

Fraser asked if Daniels would have told a "huge lie" if he hypothetically said to police Harrington was present at the alleged murder scene.

"Yes," Harrington said.

Harrington had earlier testified Thrupp told him he had killed Breton and Triscaru.

"I asked him what it was like," Harrington said.

"He said 'I opened the toolbox and they begged for their lives' and he shot them in the head."

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Harrington said Thrupp told him he put holes in the toolbox to make it sink and then weighed it down with tyres and pieces of concrete.

The bodies of Breton and Triscaru were found in the toolbox at the bottom of Scrubby Creek two weeks after they were allegedly murdered.

Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane previously told the jury they would hear forensic evidence the pair likely died from drowning but their remains were too decomposed to be certain.

All three defendants pleaded not guilty to two murder charges at the start of their trial on Monday.

Crane said the prosecution would allege Thrupp was present with another man at Scrubby Creek when Breton and Triscaru were locked in the toolbox and thrown into the water.

Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp were accused of going to a multi-storey residential unit where Breton and Triscaru were tied up, assaulted and tortured in the hours before they died.

Harrington said he had been living upstairs at the unit when the defendants lured the pair inside because they thought Breton might be a "dog" by informing police about their drug dealing.

"I could hear the duct tape. I heard the hit. Everyone jumped on him," he said.

Under cross-examination, Harrington admitted he was high on methamphetamine when the alleged victims arrived and was later convicted of assault occasioning bodily harm and deprivation of liberty for assisting in their violent interrogation.

Harrington said he later went downstairs to see Breton and Triscaru sitting on a couch in the living room while bound with cable ties and duct tape.

"(Breton) had a stab wound above his front knee. I could see the blood," Harrington said.

The jury heard Triscaru started "hyperventilating" when Harrington helped carry a two-metre-long toolbox into the living room.

"That's when (Triscaru) started freaking out. Cory sat there numb," Harrington said.

The jury heard Taiao hit the alleged victims in the head to get them to lie down head-to-toe in the toolbox, which was carried to the back of a HiLux utility vehicle.

"(Daniels) stood there giving the orders … (Breton and Triscaru) were banging and screaming pretty loud," Harrington said.

"We had the music in the car turned up to the max."

Harrington said he did not go in the HiLux to the creek and instead helped clean bloodstains in the unit.

The trial continues before Justice Glenn Martin.

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A group of teenage boys have been released from police custody pending summons, after they allegedly stole a gym patron's car and led police on a wild chase through Melbourne's south-east.

The group allegedly used a stolen pass to enter a gym in Wantirna about 11.30pm last night.

There, they allegedly took the keys to a gym patron's Mazda 3.

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Police rushed to the gym car park where they arrested one of the males.

The remaining offenders avoided capture, allegedly dropping a machete as they fled in the stolen Mazda.

The car was then tracked to the Dandenong area about 1am, where it was travelling southbound on Eastlink.

The Mazda then began driving in convoy with another allegedly stolen car, both speeding through Seaford.

Stop sticks were deployed on Cranbourne Road.

The Mazda continued to drive and was allegedly dumped near Moate Street a short time later.

Officers searched the area and arrested two males, one of whom had climbed onto a nearby roof.

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"We heard the commotion of 'get on the ground, get on the ground'," a nearby resident said.

"For it to happen out the front of home, yeah, it was a little bit scary."

The second car, a blue Toyota Echo was dumped in Kerry Street, Langwarrin, where three males allegedly tried to flee on foot.

They were quickly arrested at the scene.

The Toyota was allegedly stolen from Mont Albert earlier this week.

The six teens are aged between 15 and 18 and are mostly from the Boroondara area.

They have all been interviewed and released pending summons.

The investigation remains ongoing.

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Two Sydney councils want harsher penalties for pet-related offences, claiming there's been a decline in "pet etiquette", including owners not picking up their dog's droppings.

Randwick City Council has submitted an application to the NSW government to review the Companion Animals Act 1998, saying they want bigger fines and harsher penalties for dog owners caught doing the wrong thing.

The application refers to "irresponsible" dog owners, including actions like "off-leash dogs harassing children or wildlife" and "owners neglecting to pick up droppings".

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The council said it had seen a significant increase in dog attacks, from 900 reported attacks in 2004 to over 5000 in 2024.

"Submissions from our community highlight a need for clearer rules and etiquette to guide dog handling in shared spaces," the submission reads.

"Key expectations include keeping dogs under control at all times, respecting other people and animals and cleaning up after pets.

"Unfortunately, these common-sense practices are not universally observed."

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Cat owners aren't out of the woods either, with the application saying the council's goal is to "move toward a norm of responsible cat ownership"

It says cats should not be allowed to "roam and threaten wildlife or cause a nuisance".

The council recommended "significantly higher fines" for those caught doing the wrong thing, specifically in instances of a dog attack.

In NSW, the maximum fine a council can issue is $330 for breaking off-leash walking rules, while the fine for not picking up after your dog is $275.

Waverley Council is also considering making a change, arguing tougher penalties are needed, as well as advocating for dog owners to attend pet ownership training classes.

Waverley Council said it and "a number of other councils in Sydney" had also made a submission to the government on the animal companion legislation.

"The Waverley local area has high rates of pet ownership and Council values the benefits to households and the community of pets.

"We encourage responsible pet ownership to ensure safety and that everyone including our four-legged companions can enjoy our parks and community.

"We thank the vast majority of pet owners who take great pride in their pets and are responsible."

A man who identified himself as a New Orleans jail escapee released videos on social media while still on the run, leading to a police raid that failed to recapture him, an Associated Press source says.

Authorities were so convinced about the authenticity of the videos that they searched a home a little over 3.7 kilometres from the jail late Monday where they believe the recordings were made by escapee Antoine Massey, according to a senior law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said he wasn't authorised to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation into the May 16 escape by 10 inmates.

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Massey was not at the New Orleans home on the edge of the Fairgrounds and Gentilly neighbourhoods, the official said, but authorities did locate clothing they believe he wore during filming.

The owner of the home, Shedrick Burnell, said it was being rented and declined to name the tenant. He told AP by phone that he had never seen or heard of Massey before the jailbreak and the videos circulated online, but he appeared unfazed that a fugitive had likely used his property as a hideout.

“I’m 76, I’ve seen a helluva lot worse than this,” said the Louisiana native. “As long as my tenant is safe, there’s nothing I can do.”

When an AP reporter knocked at the home Tuesday afternoon, no one answered.

Next door, a house under construction had been kicked in and the backdoor, gate and windows were open — likely due to the police search, said Tariq Aldahir, an electrician who had been working on that property, adjacent to where Massey had allegedly been hiding.

“It’s a little scary – if he is as dangerous a criminal as they say he is, what is he capable of doing?” Aldahir said. “He’s desperate – any human being who is desperate, there’s no limit to what they can do.”

Authorities were tipped to the videos, posted online Sunday, by relatives who recognised the residence.

Authorities are racing to recapture Massey and convicted murderer Derrick Groves, more than two weeks since the audacious breakout. Eight other escapees have since been recaptured.

State Police Superintendent Col. Robert Hodges said that despite the agency’s confidence in its investigations, “things change at a moment’s notice and it’s usually because someone has helped them.” He encouraged people to keep offering tips. Authorities are offering a US$50,000 (A$77,000) reward per escapee.

Louisiana State Police, the agency leading the search, declined to comment on whether it had verified Massey's identity in the videos. The agency carried out the search related to the videos — since removed from Instagram — which seemingly show a man with the same facial tattoos as Massey sitting near a kitchen.

“Please, I’m asking for help,” said Massey, appealing to President Donald Trump and several rappers including New Orleans native Lil Wayne in one video. “When I get back in custody I’m asking y’all please to come and help.”

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson urged Massey to surrender, adding in a statement: “Cooperating with law enforcement is in his best interest and may help avoid additional charges."

Massey, 32, faced charges of rape, kidnapping, domestic violence involving strangulation and violation of a protective order all stemming from a November 2024 incident, authorities in nearby St. Tammany Parish say. In Orleans Parish he faced charges of motor vehicle theft and domestic battery.

Massey said he's innocent and also claimed on video that he'd been “let out” of jail.

A woman police identified as being in an on-again, off-again relationship with Massey — and who suffered from domestic abuse at his hands, police reports indicate — was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and as a principal to aggravated escape, court records show. Authorities said the woman knew of Massey’s escape plans beforehand, communicated with him afterward and misled authorities.

During a Tuesday press conference, Gov. Jeff Landry, a tough-on-crime Republican, urged the two escapees “quit the hide-and-seek game” and turn themselves in.

Video and images from the breakout show inmates had yanked open a faulty cell door, removed a toilet and crawled through a hole where steel bars had been cut before using blanks to get over a barbed wire fence.

A maintenance worker charged with helping the incarcerated men escape has denied knowingly aiding them, via his lawyer.

Three young girls reported missing from a city in the US state of Washington have been found dead and their father is suspected of their murders.

According to the Wenatchee Police Department, nine-year-old Paityn Decker, eight-year-old Evelyn Decker, and five-year-old Olivia Decker were found dead near the Rock Island Campground west of Leavenworth on Monday.

The father, 32-year-old Travis Decker, is still missing and wanted for first-degree murder and kidnapping charges.

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The girls were last seen on Friday, May 30 with Travis for a scheduled visitation.

They were reported missing later that evening by their mother.

A Missing Person Alert was issued on Saturday by Washington State Patrol.

When the three girls went missing, Decker was believed to be living out of a white, 2017 GMC Sierra pickup truck with Washington license plate D20165C.

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The pickup was found unoccupied near the campground where the girls' bodies were discovered.

Decker is 5 feet 8 inches tall, 190 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

He was last seen wearing a light-colored shirt and dark shorts.

Wenatchee police say it's unknown if Decker is armed but he is a military veteran with extensive training.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

Two cold fronts surging across south-eastern Australia are expected to serve up daily dustings of snow in the Australian Alps over the next week.

The polar blast has arrived just as the 2025 ski season gets underway this King's Birthday long weekend.

A weak cold front sliding across south-eastern Australia will deliver some light snow to the high mountains in NSW, Tasmania and Victoria, Weatherzone reports.

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The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting a small chance of snow on Wednesday in Victoria's ski fields at Mt Hotham and Mt Buller, with a maximum temperature of -1°C. In NSW, there is also a slight chance of snow falling at Perisher and Thredbo. 

From Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, the mercury is expected to plummet, with minimum temperatures forecast to reach -5 to -7°C in the Victorian and NSW Alps.

The snow falls are expected to begin in earnest over the weekend, when two cold fronts are set to sweep across south-eastern Australia, Weatherzone said.

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Snow is expected to fall in the mountains each day from Saturday to at least Tuesday.

The cold front will move over Victoria on Tuesday morning. The huge field of speckled cloud to the south of this front reveals a large cold air mass surging towards southeastern Australia.

"It's still too early to predict exactly how much snow will fall from these systems, although computer models suggest that about 20 to 50 cm could fall across this four-day period," Weatherzone said.

Soon after viciously attacking his longtime girlfriend Cassie in a US hotel hallway, Sean "Diddy" Combs sought out a security guard and predicted accurately that his iconic career would be ruined, his image as the affable, successful "Puff Daddy" destroyed, if video of the beating ever became public.

Eddy Garcia, 33, testified that the hip-hop mogul made the comment repeatedly before giving a brown paper bag stuffed with $US100,000 ($155,000) in cash to the then-guard, in order to buy what he hoped was the only copy of surveillance footage of the March 2016 assault.

Prosecutors at Combs' sex trafficking trial in Manhattan have made the footage of Combs kicking, beating and dragging Cassie at the Intercontinental Hotel in Los Angeles a centrepiece of their federal case against him. They contend it supports the claims of three women, including Cassie, who allege the Bad Boy Records founder sexually and physically abused them over two decades.

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US prosecutors say Combs' persistent efforts to hush up the episode fit into allegations he used threats and his fortune and fame to get what he wanted.

Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and racketeering charges.

After the attack, Garcia said, he spoke several times to Combs' chief-of-staff, Kristina Khorram, telling her he couldn't show her the recording but "off the record, it's bad."

He said during one phone call she put a "very nervous"-sounding Combs on the phone, who "was just saying he had a little too much to drink" and that, as Garcia surely knows, "with women, one thing leads to another and if this got out it would ruin him."

Garcia added: "He was talking really fast, a lot of stuttering."

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In the evening, Garcia said, he became nervous and scared when Khorram called him on his mobile phone — the number for which he had not provided — and she put Combs on.

"He stated that I sounded like a good guy," Garcia testified, adding that Combs again said "something like this could ruin him."

When he told Combs he didn't have access to the server to obtain the video footage, Combs said he believed Garcia could make it happen and that "he would take care of me," which Garcia said he took "to mean financially."

Garcia said he checked with his boss and was told he'd sell it to Combs for $US50,000.

When he told Combs, he said the music producer "sounded excited."

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"He referred to me as 'Eddy my angel,'" Garcia said, adding that Combs told him: "I knew you could help. I knew you could do it."

Within two days of the attack on Cassie, whose real name is Casandra Ventura, Garcia gave Combs a storage device containing the footage in exchange for $US100,000 in cash — with Combs feeding bills through a money counter and putting them in a brown paper bag.

Garcia signed a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement, shown in court, that required he pay $US1 million ($1.6 million) if he breached the deal. At the time, he said, he was making $US10.50 an hour working hotel security.

Garcia said he signed a declaration swearing that there was no other copy of the video.

He said he signed the papers in an office building with Combs' bodyguard and Khorram present. Garcia said he didn't fully read the documents, explaining that he was nervous and "the goal was to get out of there as soon as possible."

After signing, he said, Combs asked him what he planned to do with the money and advised him not to make big purchases. Garcia said he took that to mean he shouldn't do anything that would draw attention.

Garcia said he gave $US50,000 to his boss and $US20,000 to another security officer. He pocketed $US30,000 and used some of it to buy a used car, he said.

He used cash and, avoiding a further paper trail, never put the money in the bank, he said.

A few weeks later, Garcia said, Combs called him and asked if anyone had inquired about the video. Garcia said no, recounting Combs' ebullient greeting: "Happy Easter. Eddy, my angel. God is good. God put you in my way for a reason."

Garcia said he asked Combs if the rapper might have future work for him, and Combs sounded receptive. But Combs never responded to his later inquiries, the witness said.

Last year, CNN aired footage of the security video. Another hotel guard has testified he recorded the footage on his phone so he could show it to his wife.

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