SYDNEY - Australia is facing its most wide-ranging heatwave in more than a decade as 80 per cent of the continent is hit by temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. State emergency services have flagged the risk of huge fires that could threaten homes and farms, while power companies are bracing for increased demand for electricity. The extreme weather, caused by a mass of hot air, has spread east from Western Australia and is expected to affect the most populous states of Victoria and New South Wales over the next week. In India, New Delhi has suffered its coldest day in 44 years due to a cold snap across the country's north. The maximum on Wednesday was just 9.8 degrees, the lowest temperature since records began in 1969. Bloomberg, AFP
DAILLON, Switzerland - A gunman with psychiatric and drug problems opened fire in a village in southern Switzerland, killing three women and injuring two men. The shooting raised questions about gun laws in Switzerland, where citizens are allowed to keep their weapons at home outside periods of mandatory military service. The gunman, 33, used a historic rifle known as a mousqueton and a hunting rifle. AFP