The 45-year-old man who tested positive was a van driver transporting international flight crew to and from the airport
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New South Wales has recorded a new locally acquired case of Covid after a van driver transporting international airline crew to and from Sydney airport contracted the virus.
The state’s health minister, Brad Hazzard, said the case was discovered Wednesday morning.
Continue reading...Northern NSW and south-east Queensland hit by heavy rain, strong winds and king tides.
Continue reading...Study shows animals with no long history of domestication show patterns of interaction with humans similar to that of dogs or horses
The classic TV show Skippy, about a child speaking with a highly intelligent kangaroo, might not be as fictional as we once thought, according to Australian and UK researchers.
A study from the University of Sydney and the University of Roehampton in London suggests that kangaroos are capable of intentionally communicating with humans, suggesting a higher level of cognitive function than previously thought.
Continue reading...Comments to Italian media are the strongest cardinal has made alleging abuse charges may be linked to Vatican corruption investigation
Cardinal George Pell has told an Italian current affairs program that there is “some evidence but no proof” that figures within the Vatican conspired to “destroy” him, the strongest comments he has made to date that allege the charges against him may be linked to Vatican corruption.
Pell claimed all senior figures within the Vatican who had taken charge of reforming the finances of the Holy See “with very few exceptions, has been attacked by the media on the level of reputation in one way or another”.
Continue reading...Avi Nissenkorn’s pledge comes after the supreme court rejected an appeal by the alleged child sex abuser against her extradition
Israel’s supreme court has rejected an appeal by alleged child sex abuser Malka Leifer to block her extradition to Australia, effectively ending a years-long judicial saga that has tested relations between the two countries.
The extraction request will now be decided by Israel’s justice minister, Avi Nissenkorn, who announced on Tuesday he would comply.
Continue reading...Drug baron remains in jail while he appeals other guilty verdicts citing involvement of lawyer-turned-police informant Nicola Gobbo
Little time was wasted on pleasantries during the first meeting between the gangland lawyer Nicola Gobbo and the police officers who were handling her as an informant in 2005.
“Tell us everything you know about Tony Mokbel,” was how the police handler known as Mr White started the meeting.
Continue reading...Nanaia Mahuta says Canberra and Beijing ‘will have to be willing to come together and concede in some areas’
New Zealand’s new foreign minister has said the country could help negotiate a truce between Australia and regional heavyweight China with the two nations caught in an escalating trade and diplomatic spat.
Nanaia Mahuta said on Tuesday that hosting the high-profile Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next year presented an opportunity for New Zealand to bring both parties to the table.
Continue reading...The little job security and freedom Noah Gwatkin had has vanished. He is one of a generation of young Australians whose lives are being shaped by Covid
Name: Noah Gwatkin
Age: 18
Continue reading...Arrest of public health expert Lukman Thalib and son Ismail Talib came three months before US accused Australian-based son Ahmed Luqman Talib of links to al-Qaida
An Australian public health professor and his son have been detained in Qatar for almost five months without charge, and are receiving consular assistance from the Australian embassy.
Australian citizens Prof Lukman Thalib, 58, and his son Ismail Talib, 24, were arrested at their home in Doha by local authorities on 27 July, and are being kept at an undisclosed location.
Continue reading...Jacinda Ardern says New Zealand’s cabinet has agreed to a proposal for a trans-Tasman travel bubble; storms forecast to continue in parts of south-east Queensland and northern NSW. Follow the latest updates
If you were hoping to grab some of the Victorian government’s vouchers for travelling into regional Victoria for a holiday, you have missed out on the second round, AAP reports 30,000 vouchers sold in 31 minutes.
An extra 30,000 Regional Travel Voucher Scheme vouchers, worth $200 apiece, were snapped up within 31 minutes of becoming available from midday on Monday via a new-look state government webpage.
AAP reports the extreme weather in northern NSW and southeast Queensland will continue to intensify overnight.
Sites in NSW’s Northern Rivers District had about 400mm of rain in just a few days, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Jane Golding told reporters on Monday.
Continue reading...Trans-Tasman bubble will allow Australians and New Zealanders to cross the ditch without quarantining
New Zealand’s cabinet has agreed to establish a quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia in the first quarter of 2021, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said.
The Australian health minister Greg Hunt enthusiastically greeted the in-principle announcement, saying it was the “first step” in normalising international travel and anticipated the Australian government was “absolutely” likely to grant the necessary approvals.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Buttrose mounts robust defence of broadcaster’s independence in response to questions about Four Corners’ episode Inside the Canberra Bubble
The ABC chair, Ita Buttrose, has accused the government of a pattern of behaviour which “smacks of political interference” in a robust defence of the public broadcaster’s independence, according to a draft of a letter responding to a barrage of Coalition complaints about the Four Corners program Inside the Canberra Bubble.
In the program broadcast last month, the journalists Louise Milligan and Lucy Carter investigated complaints about attorney general Christian Porter, including an alleged history of sexist and inappropriate behaviour towards women, and an affair the acting immigration minister, Alan Tudge, had with a female adviser in 2017.
Continue reading...Potentially serious flooding and dangerous surf forecast for Queensland and northern NSW as heavy rain and damaging winds pound coast
Wild storms battering the Queensland and New South Wales coastline are expected to worsen later on Monday, and authorities have warned the heavy rain and strong winds could be “similar to a category one cyclone”.
Emergency services in both states have received thousands of calls for help since Saturday, as the conditions cause flash flooding and dangerous waves that have washed away large sections of beachfront.
Continue reading...Asylum seekers forcibly returned to their home countries have faced arrest and threats. Some have died
They came for him, as he had said they would. They came for him with knives.
Samad Howladar had spent five years inside Australia’s offshore detention regime, held within the Manus Island detention centre until he was deported, in handcuffs, back to Bangladesh in March 2018.
Continue reading...The year that lasted centuries is finally coming to a close – and we need some music to bid good riddance to the horrors of 2020.
Last week Guardian Australia asked our readers what song they’d add to the ultimate New Year’s Eve playlist: one that represents the year we’ve had, the year we’re hoping for, or just the way we’ll feel (and the words we’ll be screaming) at midnight.
Below are all the songs that were nominated, and now we need you to vote so we can build the perfect soundtrack for your night. Voting closes on Wednesday 16 December – and we’ll launch the playlist of the top 20 songs on Friday
Continue reading...Boosted iron ore prices due to anxious markets are likely to help federal budget’s bottom line, Deloitte says
Australia’s losses from trade tensions with China are being offset by rising iron ore prices, according to new analysis, which also predicts the Morrison government will announce a smaller budget deficit than originally forecast.
Deloitte Access Economics said Chinese government moves against wine, beef, barley, lobsters and thermal coal have cost Australia money “but we’ve more than made that up in overall terms thanks to iron ore – and the taxman will be a considerable beneficiary of that”.
Continue reading...Germany introduces new restrictions to combat spread of virus; Turkey changes counting method, almost doubling cases
Here are some striking images of Dr. Luigi Cavanna visiting his patients in their homes in small towns and rural areas in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.
He checks his patients’ oxygen levels, uses ultrasound to scan their lungs and tests them and their relatives for coronavirus.
Residents in Jersey care homes are receiving Covid vaccinations a day earlier than expected, the island’s government has announced.
Officials said the government made the call to start on Sunday rather than Monday “in view of the positive Covid cases in care homes”, which have seen a recent 400% surge, from four on Thursday to 19 by Saturday.
Continue reading...Nick Martin was killed and another man and eight-year-old boy suffered injuries during a shooting at a motorsport event
Senior Western Australia Rebels bikie Nick Martin has been shot dead in front of multiple witnesses at a motorsport event in Perth.
WA Police on Sunday said there was a shooting at Perth Motorplex in Kwinana Beach just after 8.30pm local time on Saturday, with the 51-year-old Martin and a 31-year-old man shot.
Continue reading...Authorities urge people to brace for more heavy rain, gales and dangerous surf as some areas record more than 300mm of rain since Saturday
Heavy rain across south-east Queensland and the north of New South Wales has prompted flood warnings as authorities urge motorists not to drive into floodwaters.
Some areas, in the Gold Coast hinterland and northern NSW border, have recorded more than 300mm of rain since Saturday.
Continue reading...While Covid-19 has revealed weaknesses in the mental health system, unemployment for young people poses a threat to wellbeing
Lauren McNamara* says the last year feels something like a dream.
The 22-year-old from Werribee graduated university in 2019 with a degree in game design and were looking for work in their field. They had started a new relationship and had a holiday to Europe planned.
Continue reading...