And fire crews across Australia are preparing for a week of scorching temperatures. A heatwave is making its way across much of the country with temperatures in some areas expected to top 40 degress in the coming days.

 

Police believe an excess of speed may be to blame for a triple fatality in Melbourne's southeast. Police say a car hit a 45-year-old man as he was crossing Dandenong(丹德农，澳大利亚地名）Road at Oakleigh shortly after half past eleven last night before crashing into another car. The pedestrian and two passengers in the second car died at the scene. 

 

Police hold grave fears for the safety of a missing Queensland man and his daughter lost on a New South Wales' far north quote(口误）coast. Thirty-five-year-old Greg Hutchings and four-year-old Eeva Dorendahl were last seen on Saturday when they set out on a walk to meet the girl's mother at Pottsville. 

 

Israelis have been paying their last respects to their former prime minister Ariel Sharon. Mr. Sharon died at the weekend after eight years in a coma. His body is lying in state ahead of a funeral to be held later today.