SYDNEY: About 25,000 homes were without power on Sunday in Australia’s northern city of Darwin after a tropical cyclone felled trees, canceled flights, closed schools and delayed shipping.
No deaths were reported.
Residents of the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory have been warned to boil their water as a precaution after Tropical Cyclone Marcus lashed the city with 130 kph (80 mph) winds on Saturday.
The Northern Territory Government said that schools would remain closed on Monday and asked non-essential businesses also to stay shut.
Flights resumed on Sunday. Commercial shipping was back to normal with live cattle export ships and chemical-laden tankers able to return to port after being forced to ride out the storm at sea.
The cyclone churned out to sea on Saturday evening where it gathered strength before hitting the northern coast on Sunday morning, this time in the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Pieter Claassen told Reuters that Marcus was expected to move into the Indian Ocean on Monday where it is forecast to grow into a severe Category 3 storm with wind speeds ranging from 165 kph (102 mph) to 224 kph (139 mph).
No threat is expected to the iron ore exporting hub of Port Hedland.
Thousands of Australian homes without power after cyclone hits
Thousands of Australian homes without power after cyclone hits
France’s Macron accepts resignation of Louvre museum chief after jewel theft
- Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102m
- Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation on Tuesday of the head of Paris’ Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Laurence des Cars tendered her resignation, which Macron accepted, “praising an act of responsibility at a time when the world’s largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully carry out major projects involving security and modernization,” his office said.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world’s most-visited museum.
Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures and added to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors’ office have questioned the museum’s low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which is open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic relaunch projects.
