Gold Coast hit hardest with 325mm of rain falling at Loders Creek and more than 200mm in hinterland

Major highways were cut and residents flooded in as more than 300mm of torrential rain bucketed down on south-east Queensland overnight.

Two people were stranded after trying to drive through floodwater on the Gold Coast, with police receiving more than 50 reports of flooded roads across the city on Saturday morning.

Child had initially been searching for a way to kill off the popular character

The author of the Jack Reacher series of novels is retiring and handing over the writing duties to his brother, according to a report.

Lee Child said he has been searching for a way to kill off the title character, portrayed on film by Tom Cruise, for years but has ultimately decided his fans deserve to see him live on in books which will now be written by Andrew Grant.

State scheme starts from Monday as part of government bid to tackle ‘period poverty’

Tampons, sanitary pads and other period products will be made freely available to all state schools and colleges in England starting next week, with the launch of a scheme funded by the Department for Education.

The scheme follows the government’s commitment last year to pay for sanitary products for primary and secondary schools, in an effort to tackle “period poverty”, which can cause girls from low-income families to missschool.

• One person was also seriously injured, officials say
• Storm dumped up to 25in of snow at Alpine Meadows resort

A morning avalanche at a Lake Tahoe ski resort in northern California has killed a 34-year-old skier and severely injured another, according to the Placer county sheriff’s office.

The injured victim was transported by ambulance to Tahoe Forest hospital in Truckee where he was undergoing surgery.

Woman in northern Syrian camp received letter this week confirming decision had been backdated three years

An Australian mother of five held in the deteriorating al-Hawl camp of northern Syria has been stripped of her citizenship – retroactive by three years – leaving two of her children potentially stateless and potentially permanently splitting her family.

The woman, who held Australian and Lebanese citizenship, was informed by letter this week her citizenship has been extinguished, backdated more than three years.