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Sydney: Australian police offered Aus$1 million Saturday for the arrest of a gunman who allegedly killed two police officers, as a vast manhunt entered its 12th day without any sightings. Police in the eastern state of Victoria said they were putting up the "life-changing" sum to assist their search for the 56-year-old fugitive, Desmond Freeman. Freeman is accused of opening fire when police arrived at his home in Victoria with a search warrant. The shooting killed 59-year-old detective Neal Thompson and 35-year-old senior constable Vadim De Waart. A third officer had surgery after being wounded in the lower body. More than 450 police have been searching in vain for the alleged shooter, a reported conspiracy theorist who has bush survival skills, after he fled into dense forest by the small town of Porepunkah. The area is scattered with mine shafts and caves. Now, Victoria police say they are offering up to Aus$1 million (US$659,000) for information leading to Freeman's arrest -- a record sum in the state for the detention of a suspect. "There is no doubt that Aus$1 million is a significant amount of money for anybody, and it will have lifelong changes to people's circumstances," said the Victoria police homicide squad's detective inspector Dean Thomas. He denied the reward was an "act of desperation", telling reporters it was enticement for people who may have been reluctant to come forward so far. "The last confirmed sighting we have of Freeman was on the day of the murders," Thomas said. Police said they were pursuing various scenarios. "At this time, there is nothing to indicate that Freeman is being assisted by a specific person, however given the difficult terrain and the requirement for various supplies this remains a possibility," Victoria police said in a separate statement. At large or dead "Police are also open to the possibilities that he remains at large alone or is dead as a result of self-harm." Freeman was last seen wearing dark green tracksuit pants, a dark green rain jacket, brown boots and reading glasses. "Police believe Freeman remains armed and advise members of the public not to approach him," they said. As part of the search, police raided a property last week and briefly detained the gunman's wife Amalia Freeman and their teenage son. Amalia Freeman has issued a public statement urging her husband to surrender to police. Australian media say Freeman is a self-professed "sovereign citizen", referring to a movement that falsely believes it is not subject to laws passed by the government. Police have not divulged the cause for the search warrant that 10 officers tried to execute on the day of the shooting. But they say the police team at his home included members of the sexual offences and child investigation squad. During the shootout, police fired at the suspect but apparently did not wound him, they said. Deadly shootings are relatively rare inAustralia, and police fatalities even rarer. The latest gunshot death listed in a national memorial to fallen police showed one officer was shot and killed in 2023.

Asia

Osaka, Japan: An umbrella developed by a manufacturer in Osaka is gaining popularity among blind people or those who are highly sensitive to noise, as it muffles the sound of raindrops. Maruyasu Yougasa, which has been producing handmade umbrellas, launched the "Silent Umbrella” in 2022. According to the company, the umbrella reduces the sound of being hit by raindrops by 30 to 35 percent compared to ordinary umbrellas. The concept was born from a comment from a blind person nearly 20 years ago, who said, "I feel anxious walking around as the noise of rain hitting the umbrella drowns out the sounds of my surroundings.” Read Also Novak Djokovic, in defeat, has never been so lovable AI giant Anthropic to pay $1.5 bn over pirated books 'Large shark' kills man off Sydney beach However, the company was too busy to develop a new type of umbrella. Ultimately, it fully committed to its development during the covid-19 pandemic as orders slumped. The Silent Umbrella uses a double-layer structure to reduce rain sounds. The upper layer is made of a waterproof mesh fabric, which breaks raindrops up into smaller drops, which the lower-layer fabric then repels. The umbrella costs 19,800, yen and there is a 60-centimeter-long version and a 65-centimeter-long version. Foreign customers have also shown interest. The company held a workshop on making umbrellas by hand at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo to promote the product to overseas visitors. "I’ll be glad if it sparks even a little interest in the craft of umbrella making for someone,” said Hirofumi Kawaguchi of the company.

Asia

Tokyo: Japan heralded on Saturday the coming-of-age of Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to become emperor after his father, the 19-year-old received a black silk and lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. "Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming of age ceremony," said Hisahito, clad in the traditional yellow costume for minors, bowing to Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, who smiled at him. "I will fulfil my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family," he told his parents at the ceremony in Tokyo, attended by a score of royal family members and relatives. Hisahito was then seen boarding a carriage to attend other ceremonial events, after changing into a dark coloured costume, traditionally worn by adult royals. Although the emperor has a daughter -- Princess Aiko -- the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family's male-only succession rules. Even though tradition dictates only a man can carry on the imperial line -- which goes back 2,600 years according to legend -- opinion polls have shown high public support for a woman taking the throne. "It makes no difference to me whether a woman becomes the emperor or a man does," said Tokyo bartender Yuta Hinago. The 33-year-old felt there could be "room for more flexibility" in the succession rules. "Gender doesn't matter," part-time shop clerk Minori Ichinose, 28, told AFP, adding that she supports the idea of a female emperor. Japan has debated the royal succession for decades, with a key government panel in 2005 recommending that it pass to the oldest child regardless of their sex. That appeared to pave the way for the emperor's daughter to rise to the Chrysanthemum Throne, but Hisahito's birth the following year silenced the debate. Politicians have been slow to act, "kicking the can down the road," and delaying a solution with youthful Hisahito in view, said Kenneth Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at Portland State University. Traditionalists have asserted that the "unbroken imperial line" of male succession is the foundation of Japan, and major changes would divide the nation. Under the post-war constitution, the royal family holds no political power. Pressure on women With royal daughters forced to leave the family after marriage, one modernising proposal would see them continue their public duties after their nuptials. Conservatives, meanwhile, are pushing for the royal household to bring distant relatives back to the fold. But it is unclear if those men would be willing to give up their careers and freedom to continue the lineage. Hisahito said this year he has "not yet thought deeply" about his own marriage prospects, which could be challenging. Historically, women who wed royals have faced intense pressure to produce sons and some family members are regular subjects of online and media gossip. Empress Masako, a former high-flying diplomat, struggled for years with a stress-related illness after joining the household, which some have put down to the pressure to have a boy. Emperess Emerita Michiko, Naruhito's mother, also suffered stress-induced illnesses. Hisahito's sister, Mako, married her university boyfriend Kei Komuro. She has faced intense tabloid reporting over claims that Kei's family had run into financial difficulties, leading the former princess to develop complex post-traumatic stress disorder. The couple left for the United States, where they recently had a baby. Despite broad public support for changing the succession rules, away from the pageantry, people are focused on other issues, such as rising inflation, royal historian Hideya Kawanishi told AFP. "If people who are generally supportive (of women emperors) become a bit louder, then politicians can become more serious," said Kawanishi, an associate professor at Nagoya University. "But when ceremonies end, society, including the media, calms down and moves on."