A 29-year-old woman was charged with wilful damage after the incident.

The Vatican has released the first images of Pope Francis, showing him in his casket with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him.

Cardinals gathered on Tuesday (local time) at the Vatican to begin scheduling Pope Francis' funeral and burial, planning the conclave to elect his successor and making other decisions about running the Catholic Church as world leaders and ordinary faithful grieved the death of history's first Latin American pope.

Most immediately, they will determine when his body can be moved into St Peter's Basilica for public viewing.

READ MORE: Which cardinals are seen as contenders to be the next pope?

The first images of Francis show him in the wooden casket, in red vestments and his bishop's miter, with the Vatican secretary of state praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived.

Francis died on Monday at age 88 after suffering a stroke that put him in a coma and led his heart to fail.

He had been recovering in his apartment after being hospitalised for five weeks with pneumonia.

He made his last public appearance on Sunday, delivering an Easter blessing and making what would be his final greeting to followers from his popemobile, looping around St Peter's Square.

READ MORE: How is a new pope elected? Inside the Vatican's centuries-old secret process

In retrospect, his Easter appearance from the same loggia where he was introduced to the world as the first Latin American pope on March 13, 2013, was a perfect bookend to a 12-year papacy that sought to shake up the church and return it to its Gospel-mandated mission of caring for the poorest.

The Vatican announced that the first meeting of the Congregation of Cardinals, the gathering of the cardinals currently in Rome, would begin on Tuesday at 9am in the Vatican's synod hall.

They could decide to allow public viewing of Francis as soon as Wednesday morning in St Peter's Basilica.

READ MORE: The rites and rituals following the death of a pope, his funeral and burial, explained

Under norms approved by Francis last year, the funeral and burial must occur between Friday and Sunday.

In his final will, Francis confirmed he would be buried at St Mary Major basilica, which is outside the Vatican and home to his favorite icon of the Virgin Mary.

After every foreign trip, Francis would go to the basilica to pray before the Byzantine-style painting that features an image of Mary, draped in a blue robe, holding the infant Jesus, who in turn holds a jeweled golden book.

READ MORE: From Buenos Aires to Rome: Key dates in the life of Pope Francis

Francis stopped by the basilica on his way home from the Gemelli hospital on March 23, after his 38-day hospital stay, to deliver flowers to be placed before the icon.

He returned April 12 to pray before the Madonna for the last time.

The world reacts

Bells tolled in chapels, churches and cathedrals around the world and flags flew at half staff in Italy, India, Taiwan and the US after Francis' death was announced by the Vatican camerlengo.

Soccer matches in Italy and Argentina were suspended in honour of the Argentine pope who was a lifelong fan of the San Lorenzo soccer club.

World leaders praised Francis for his moral leadership and compassion, while ordinary faithful remembered his simplicity and humanity.

“Like every Argentine, I think he was a rebel,” said 23-year-old Catalina Favaro, who had come to pay her respects in the Buenos Aires church where Francis discovered his priestly vocation. “He may have been contradictory, but that was nice, too.”

In East Timor, where Francis’ final outdoor Mass drew nearly half of the population last September, President Jose Ramos-Horta praised Francis’ courage.

“Papa Francisco was a brave man who was not afraid to speak out against the rulers of the world who seek war, but do not want to seek peace,” Ramos-Horta said.

“He challenged the powerful to act with justice, called nations to welcome the stranger, and reminded us that our common home — this Earth — is a gift we must protect for future generations,” said Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who is Muslim. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and has around 30 million Catholics, representing about 14 per cent of the total population.

Viewing the pope's coffin

The pope's formal apartments in the Apostolic Palace were sealed on Monday evening, following a centuries-old ritual. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo had the task of announcing the death and confirming it once the cause was determined, presided over the ritual.

Francis chose not to live in the palace, though, but in the Domus Santa Marta hotel on the other side of Vatican City. He died there and his body was transferred to the hotel chapel in the lobby, where a private viewing was being held on Tuesday for Vatican officials and members of the pontifical household.

In changes made by Francis last year, his body was not placed in three wooden coffins, as it had been for previous popes. Rather, Francis was placed in a simplified wooden coffin with a zinc coffin inside.

Once in St Peter's, his coffin will not be put on an elevated bier, but will just be be placed simply facing the pews, with the Pasqual candle nearby.

Funeral and burial

The burial must take place between the fourth and sixth day after his death, meaning a likely date is Saturday or Sunday.

US President Donald Trump has announced he and first lady Melania Trump plan to attend.

Argentine President Javier Milei is also expected.

The funeral will be presided over by the dean of the College of Cardinals or, if that is not possible, by the vice dean or another senior cardinal. The current dean is Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, 91. The vice dean is Argentine Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, 81.

Re and Farrell, the camerlengo, will have key roles in the coming days as they summon the cardinals and prepare for the conclave to elect Francis' successor.

Choosing the next pope

After the funeral, there are nine days of official mourning, known as the “novendiali".

During this period, cardinals arrive in Rome to participate in meetings before the conclave to elect the next pope.

To give everyone time to assemble, the conclave must begin 15-20 days after the “sede vacante” — the “vacant See” — is declared, although it can start sooner if the cardinals agree.

Once the conclave begins, cardinals vote in secret sessions. After voting sessions, the ballots are burned in a special stove. Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected, while white smoke indicates that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.

The one who has secured two-thirds of the votes wins. If he accepts, his election is announced by a cardinal from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica who announces “Habemus Papam,” Latin for “We have a pope.”

A woman who slipped and fell at a national park in New South Wales spent the night waiting to be rescued after calling for help yesterday.

The 47-year-old was rock climbing at Warrumbungle National Park, around 150km from Dubbo, with an 80-year-old man when she fell and became injured near near Grand High Tops lookout at around 5pm.

The man activated a personal locator beacon (PLB) and a multi-agency rescue team arrived at 8.30am today.

READ MORE: Australian cardinal among top church figures to select new pope

Blue Mountains Police Rescue conducted a vertical rescue from a clifftop alongside PolAir, a Toll Ambulance Recscue helicopter and NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service officials.

Police rescue officers and around 100kg of specialist equipment were winched to the area last night before the rescue took place after daybreak.

The injured woman was airlifted to Dubbo Base Hospital with suspected broken ribs.

The man, 80, was not injured.

READ MORE: Police try to identify man in decade-old armed robbery CCTV

READ MORE: Man charged with murder over death of NSW teen Audrey Griffin, who was found in creek

Orana Mid-Western Police District Acting Superintendent Paul Stephens said the rescue mission was a "concerted multi-agency effort".

"This is a hugely positive outcome that is testament to the great work of all involved, particularly given the difficult terrain," Stephens said.

"We want to thank our emergency services partner agencies and volunteers for all they have done."

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Reverend Frank Ritchie admired his commitment to peace and support for the marginalised.

A Liberal Party campaign truck has crashed into an early voting centre in western Sydney, causing significant damage and forcing voting at the centre to be delayed for several days.

The truck was wrapped in campaign material advertising Liberal candidate for Greenway Rattan Virk when it smashed into a portico at Quakers Hill Community Centre yesterday.

Video footage shows a man hastily removing Virk's signage from the truck following the accident.

READ MORE: The rites and rituals following the death of a pope, his funeral and burial, explained

A spokesperson for the NSW Liberal Party apologised following the crash in a statement shared with 9news.com.au, but didn't address the footage of the man removing the party's signage from the truck.

"Yesterday, a truck delivering materials to Quakers Hill Community Hall dislodged a portico," the spokesperson said.

"We sincerely regret any inconvenience this has caused for the local community.

"The local campaign proactively contacted the appropriate authorities and fully cooperated, following instructions when they arrived to assist at the hall."

Virk is challenging the seat of Greenway, where the damaged voting booth is located, this federal election.

It is currently held by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland on a margin of just under 8 per cent.

READ MORE: Man charged over Bruce Highway crash death, shooting

The centre was closed for voting on Tuesday as workers tried to remove the truck from the collapsed roof.

"The Quakers Hill Pre-Poll Voting Centre will not open today as a result of damage to the building," the Australian Electoral Commission said in a statement.

"The AEC is assessing the damage to this facility and will make a decision about whether the facility can be used or will need to be relocated in coming days."

Early voting officially began today, April 22, ahead of the May 3 election.

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A woman abducted from her home in Sydney and found dead in a car was targeted over her partner's involvement in an organised crime group, police allege.

Thi Kim Tran, 45, originally from Vietnam, was kidnapped from her home in Bankstown and killed on April 17.

Her body was found in a torched car in Beverly Hills.

NSW Police homicide squad commander Joe Doueihi today said police believe Tran was killed over her partner's association with a criminal drug manufacturing network.

LIVE UPDATES: Pope Francis dies aged 88

Doueihi said police believe the man was in "conflict" with his superiors within the alleged crime network.

"The motivation is a clear result of the male partner's involvement in an organised crime network," Doueihi alleged today.

Police say he was also known to them over minor drug offences.

Doueihi said Tran's de facto partner, who was away on business at the time, has been assisting police in the investigation.

An investigation into the death and crime group is being conducted by both NSW and Victoria Police.

Doueihi said a search warrant conducted at a rural property in the Melbourne suburb of Springdallah resulted in evidence "supportive of a drug lab" being discovered.

He said an investigation into the crime group, which consists mainly of Vietnamese males on a local level, was ongoing.

Tran is not believed to have been involved in any criminality.

She was at home with a young child and teenager at the time of her kidnapping.

READ MORE: Man charged with murder over death of NSW teen Audrey Griffin, who was found in creek

Doueihi said an eight-year-old boy is still in an induced coma after he was bashed with a baseball bat during the attack, but medical staff are hopeful he will wake today.

A 15-year-old was uninjured however Doueihi said he suffered severe "psychological injury" as a result of watching his mother attacked and kidnapped.

Doueihi said Tran and the children were innocent victims.

"The level of violence is "rare and unprecedented," he said.

"They're callous, brutal and are offences against innocent people."

Doueihi issued a warning to anyone involved with organised crime groups and said it could place loved ones in "significant risk".

Police are seeking information from members of the public who have any knowledge of the victim or the organised crime group.

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Affected passengers are being moved to the next available sailings.

He later repeatedly rammed a police vehicle with the car he had stolen.

Emergency services respond to vessel fire off Coromandel coast; one person rescued.

With the federal election just around the corner, Anthony Albanese's Labor government currently holds 78 seats in the House of Representatives, while the Coalition has 55 and 16 are in the hands of the minor parties and independents.

Many of those, though, sit on a knife's edge. Of the 150 electorates that will be contested on May 3, the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) lists 51 as being marginal – that is, currently held on a margin of less than 6 per cent.

These are the 10 closest ones, which will be crucial in deciding who forms government in a matter of days.

READ MORE: The election promises Labor and the Coalition have made to win your vote

Keep in mind these margins reflect how people voted in 2022, and take into account the redistribution (new boundaries) of seats.

They're not representative of current polls, or how people are necessarily going to vote this year, but more an indicator of the seats that, theoretically, have the most potential to change hands.

READ MORE: Here's how you can vote before May 3

Deakin (Victoria)

Currently held by: Liberal Party, Michael Sukkar
Margin: 0.02 per cent

Michael Sukkar holds a handful of shadow portfolios on the Coalition front bench, but he also has the unenviable task of holding the closest seat in the nation.

He won Deakin in 2022 by just 375 votes, despite a 4.5 per cent swing to Labor, and his margin has narrowed even further to 0.02 per cent thanks to the redistribution of the seat.

Lawyer Matt Gregg, who almost won the seat off Sukkar in 2022, has been chosen by Labor to contest it again this year.

Bennelong (NSW)

Currently held by: Labor Party, Jerome Laxale
Margin: 0.04 per cent (notionally Liberal)

Bennelong has long been a Liberal stronghold, having been held by the party for all but six years since 1949, including for more than three decades by former prime minister John Howard.

Jerome Laxale was just the second Labor MP ever to win the seat, following in the footsteps of Maxine McKew, but faces a challenge to retain it.

While he won by just under 1 per cent in 2022, the abolition of North Sydney has significantly changed Bennelong's boundaries, meaning it's notionally a Liberal seat, albeit on a paltry 0.04 per cent margin.

Scott Yung won preselection to be the Liberal candidate for the seat this year.

READ MORE: How to apply for and submit a postal vote this election

Gilmore (NSW)

Currently held by: Labor Party, Fiona Phillips
Margin: 0.17 per cent

Gilmore was the tightest race in the entire 2022 election, when Fiona Phillips retained the NSW South Coast seat with just 373 more votes than Liberal Andrew Constance.

Constance, a former NSW state minister who gained a particularly high profile in the region for his response to the Black Summer bushfires, will contest the electorate once again.

Menzies (Victoria)

Currently held by: Liberal Party, Keith Wolahan
Margin: 0.42 per cent (notionally Labor)

This was another close contest in 2022, when Keith Wolahan pipped Labor's Naomi Oakley.

Redistribution has made Menzies even more winnable for the government, with the Victorian seat now listed as notionally Labor by the AEC.

Lawyer and former public servant Gabriel Ng has been named to contest the seat for Labor.

READ MORE: 'Dismal' housing plans by Labor and Coalition risk skyrocketing debt, says expert

Sturt (South Australia)

Currently held by: Liberal Party, James Stevens
Margin: 0.45 per cent

James Stevens won this once-safe Liberal seat by a razor-thin margin in 2022. While it has been held by the Coalition since 1972, only 1016 votes stood between Stevens and Labor's Sonja Baram.

This time, local councillor and lawyer Claire Clutterham has been chosen to contest the seat for the ALP.

EXPLAINED: How Australia's preferential voting system works

Wentworth (NSW)

Currently held by: Independent, Allegra Spender
Margin: 0.58 per cent

Wentworth is a bit of an odd addition to this list, all things considered. Teal independent Allegra Spender won it quite comfortably in 2022, with a 4.2 per cent margin.

Calculating that margin after redistribution is tricky because its neighbouring seats – Kingsford-Smith and Sydney – didn't have a leading independent candidate at the last election.

That's why there's a big disparity in estimates of what Spender's margin actually is.

While the AEC has it down to just 0.58 per cent, leading election analysts Ben Raue, William Bowe and Antony Green believe it has actually grown to between 5.8 and 9 per cent – so listing it as one of the most marginal seats is probably a bit of a misnomer.

That said, the Liberals still consider themselves a genuine chance of winning it back. Ro Knox is the party's candidate.

READ MORE: Investigation into 50,000 illegal pamphlets targeting independent MP

Moore (Western Australia)

Currently held by: Liberal Party, Ian Goodenough
Margin: 0.91 per cent

Moore was a rare piece of good news for the Liberals in 2022 – it was the only seat in metropolitan Perth that the party won.

Now, it's looming as a headache for the Coalition, and not just because of the sub-1 per cent margin.

Sitting MP Ian Goodenough lost his preselection bid to recontest the seat for the Liberals, with former federal MP Vince Connelly instead being picked by the party.

But Goodenough has committed to run as an independent, and has flagged directing preferences to Labor ahead of Connelly, potentially denting the Coalition's chances of retaining the crucial Western Australian seat.

Labor's candidate is electrician and lawyer Tom French.

READ MORE: Where Albanese and Dutton have been on the campaign trail

Lyons (Tasmania)

Currently held by: Labor Party, Brian Mitchell
Margin: 0.92 per cent

Brian Mitchell has held Tasmania's largest electorate for three terms for Labor, but is standing aside this year to allow former state opposition leader Rebecca White, considered something of a rising star in the party, to contest Lyons.

Susie Bower, who lost to Mitchell by just 1344 votes in 2022, will once again be the Liberal candidate.

READ MORE: The severe penalties for anyone caught voting twice

Canning (Western Australia)

Currently held by: Liberal Party, Andrew Hastie
Margin: 1.2 per cent

Western Australia is looming as a key battleground in this year's election, and Canning is the seat with the second-tightest margin in the state, sitting at 1.2 per cent.

That's due largely to redistribution – Coalition frontbencher Andrew Hastie won it with a more comfortable 3.59 per cent margin in 2022, and it would be a surprise if one of the opposition's more prominent frontbenchers (Hastie is the shadow defence minister) lost his seat.

Prosecutor Jarrad Goold is Labor's candidate.

READ MORE: Young voters eyeing these five key issues

Curtin (Western Australia)

Currently held by: Independent, Kate Chaney
Margin: 1.32 per cent

Of all the seats the teal independents won off the Liberal Party in 2022, Curtin is considered the most likely to fall back to the Coalition this time around.

Kate Chaney won the blue ribbon electorate – which is home to some of Perth's (and Australia's) wealthiest citizens, including Gina Rinehart and Andrew Forrest – in a major upset in the last election.

It's a little odd to see the Chaney name running against the Liberals, given her family's history. Uncle Fred was a minister in Malcolm Fraser's government, and grandfather Sir Frederick was the navy minister under Robert Menzies before later becoming Perth lord mayor.

However, the Liberal Party is confident of painting Curtin blue once again. It has picked former Uber executive Tom White – who was working in South Korea during the last election – to contest the seat. 

Note: This article originally included the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari as one of the closest in the country. However, following redistribution (which was finalised later in the NT than in other states and territories), the AEC has slightly increased Labor's margin in the seat from 0.95 to 1.6 per cent, making it the 13th-closest seat. 

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