Australia

BRISBANE - An eerie calm prevails in Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, as it braces for an expected devastation of life and property through floods.

BRISBANE - Authorities in Queensland are urging people to leave parts of Brisbane, the country's third largest city, Brisbane, in the wake of floods said to be one of the worst in decades.

BRISBANE - A Christian pastor has blamed Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd for the floods devastating Queensland.

BRISBANE - Flood waters have cut the southeastern Queensland city of Gympie in two, with about a dozen businesses already under water.

CANBERRA - The Australian Government has declared the whistle blowing web site WikiLeaks initial leaking of classified documents and their subsequent distribution as likely to be illegal.