1. New PM steps up to first Quad meeting in Tokyo
Anthony Albanese touched down in Tokyo to face his first major tests as Australia's new Prime Minister. He is about to meet with the leaders of Japan, India and the United States for a Quad meeting. They are set to have discussions around security issues in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as climate change, infrastructure needs and collaboration on disaster relief.

2. No more plastic bags from June 1
Major change will hit shoppers across NSW next week as the state government prepares to ban single-use plastic bags from 1st of June. The ban is part of a plan to prevent environmental destruction caused by plastic items ending up in the garbage. The lightweight plastic bag ban comes into effect next Wednesday, 1st of June. Other items such as polystyrene foodware and cups are expected to be banned from November.
“The reason we’re doing that is because it will stop plastic getting into our environment at the source,” Environment Minister James Griffin said on Monday.

3. Melbourne as host of swimming world championships
Melbourne will replace Russia in hosting the FINA World Swimming Championships in December. Founded in 1908, FINA is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in water sports. It is one of several international federations which administer a given sport or discipline for both the IOC and the international community. “Melbourne has a great history with large-scale swimming events, and it will be great to bring an international world championship back on to Australian soil,” Swimming Australia CEO Eugenie Buckley said. It is anticipated the championships will attract 2500 people, including athletes, team staff and officials, and up to 60,000 spectators over the six days.

4. Flood and surf warnings across the country
The extremely wet weather is expected to continue after Brisbane, Sydney and Perth were hit with wild conditions yesterday. Flights were severely delayed in Sydney and thousands of residents in Western Australia were experiencing power outage. Thousands of WA residents are without power winds of up to 125km/h knocked down massive trees over powerlines overnight. Perth has been hit with up to 50mm of rain since yesterday. There is hazardous surf warning in place right from Fraser Island to Batemans Bay in the Far North Coast of NSW, while a flood warning has been issued for the Northern Rivers.

5. Market recap
The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.046% to 7,148.90. On Wall St: Dow +1.98% to 31,880.24; S&P 500 +1.86% to 3973.75; Nasdaq +1.59% to 11,535.27. In Europe: Stoxx 50 +1.26% FTSE +1.67% DAX +1.38% CAC +1.17%.