42 calls for assistance: heavy rains + strong winds smashed parts of #Perth + South West

UPDATE: THERE have been 42 calls for assistance after heavy rains and strong winds smashed parts of Perth and the South West this morning.

The wild weather hit the South West from 7am to 8am before hitting Perth just before 11am and then Albany between 11am and noon as a cold front passed through the state.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Megan Colangelo said the cold front had now moved through the city but we could expect more showers and gusty winds for the remainder of the day as the cold air behind the front followed.

She said there was still a chance of a thunderstorm and hail this afternoon, but the storm was expected to ease by the late evening.

Perth has been hit by 14mm of rain since 9am, while Mandurah has received 8.6mm, Swanbourne has had 11.8mm, Garden Island has had 13mm, and 11mm has fallen in Jandakot.

Meanwhile in the South West, Pemberton has been smashed by 40mm and Dwellingup has been drenched by 40.6mm.

Source: Perth, South West storm: Wild weather wreaks havoc across WA | Perth Now

4 months rain fallen in outback Australia & rug up in the East & Southeast- more frost

A new robot inspired by geckos is helping clean up space junk

A new robot inspired by geckos is helping clean up space junk. http://pic.twitter.com/54m0GY58WJ

— SBS World News (@SBSNews) July 1, 2017

UK: Woman seen holding baby out of burning tower. …attempts to reach trapped residents were hopeless.

A witness to the London tower inferno grabbed an axe and entered the building’s second storey through a window in a bid to save residents.

Jody Martin told the BBC he had seen one person falling out a window and a woman holding her baby out of the building.

But he said there was so much smoke, his attempts to reach trapped residents were hopeless.

“You’re watching them waving in the window and you know there’s nothing they can do,” Mr Martin told BBC radio.

He said it did not look like fire crews were able to get past the fourth floor – and spraying the building with water had not had much effect.

“Nobody would have been able to get out from the third floor upwards without assistance from the fire crew, and I don’t think fire crews would have gone up any higher than that,” he said…

MORE: London fire: Woman seen holding baby out of burning tower

Australian police investigate Russians over $30 million

The Australian Federal Police has been given the green light to pursue nine Russians over $30 million alleged to be the proceeds of crime.

The Supreme Court in Queensland last month granted the AFP the right to apply for orders to further investigate the group over money frozen in bank accounts back in December 2013.

The Russians are alleged to have deposited the mystery millions into Surfers Paradise, Queensland bank accounts between April 6, 2011 and August 23, 2013, The Courier-Mail reported.

But the Russians are also fighting to get the money back, arguing the AFP has already had ample time to investigate them.

The AFP believes the Russian’s modest incomes do not stack up with the millions frozen across 24 bank accounts.

One of the group has a reported annual salary of $24,000 but the money frozen in his bank account tops out at $11.8 million.

The nine Russians are said to have claimed interests in business in Siberia.

The AFP’s was meant to investigate the group via a video link between Brisbane and Irkutsk, southern Siberia in late 2015 but the Russian Government did not provide formal approval.

Source: Australian police investigate Russians over $30 million | Daily Mail Online