Australian Federal Police have charged a Chinese national with foreign interference relating to the covert collection of information, in a case that raises the risk of sparking renewed tensions with Beijing.

A Chinese woman has appeared in the ACT magistrates court on Monday accused of foreign interference, by allegedly covertly collecting information about a Canberra Buddhist association. Police arrested the woman,

Several towns in Australia’s east have experienced their heaviest snowfall in decades, causing floods, stranding vehicles and cutting power to thousands of homes. A cold air front dropped as much as 40 cm (16 inches) of snow on parts of northern New South Wales on Saturday,