Parts of Australia’s east coast were hit by severe storms on Saturday, dousing some of the bushfires that have devastated the region for months but causing road closures and flash flooding, Reuters reported. Despite the heavy rain, authorities were still battling nearly 100 blazes - part of the bushfires that have killed 29 people since September, destroyed more than 2,500 homes and scorched an area nearly one-third the size of Germany. Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, three of the states most hit by drought and bushfires, are now dealing with rain bucketing down in several areas. Major highways were closed in Queensland on Saturday, with the state getting some of the heaviest rain Australia has seen for months, while power was cut in parts of New South Wales after a stormy night. A resident of Burleigh Heads in Queensland even posted a picture showing what he claimed to be a shark floating down his flooded street. 💦💦💦

Striking musicians and singers of the Paris Opera, France, staged an open-air concert on Saturday in front of the city’s historic opera house in protest against a pension reform that seeks to end their special retirement scheme, Reuters reported. The musicians were cheered on by colleagues including ballerinas who last month performed scenes from Swan Lake at the same spot in a similar protest over the proposed pensions overhaul. President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to merge France’s various pension schemes into a single system has triggered more than a month of strikes, particularly in public transport. However, concessions by the government, notably a delay to a move to raise the age at which workers can claim a full pension from 62 to 64, have contributed to a waning in strikes.