Coronavirus Australia live update: NSW Coalition in crisis as Covid-19 border row intensifies – latest news

NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian gave Nationals leader John Barilaro ultimatum after stoush over future of koala population. Follow live

We will get additional details, like test numbers, very soon

#COVID19VicData for 11 September, 2020.
Yesterday there were 43 new cases reported. Sadly, 9 lives were lost and our thoughts are with those affected. More information will be available later today. pic.twitter.com/Y5dxX1ixEK

It is just one week short of a year since this photo was taken – which was the last time Gladys Berejiklian’s colleagues tested her leadership over legislation. When the Ched debate happened, Tanya Davies, Matthew Mason-Cox and Lou Amato had announced they were calling a spill motion over the state’s abortion laws.

Berejiklian stared them down as well. There was no spill motion. But what there was, was a debate over whether she was carrying Saladas (as reported in the Tele) or Cheds for breakfast.

big day in NSW politics and you know what that means - the Cheds are back pic.twitter.com/rjdUatDGgV

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Coronavirus live news: record daily rise in cases in France and Greece

French cases near 10,000 in a day; single biggest rise in Greece; Portugal limits gatherings to 10 people; Mexico signs agreement for Sputnik V vaccine

Here’s a quick summary of the biggest developments before we head over to a new blog. Thanks for following along.

Brazil recorded 40,557 additional confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and 983 deaths from the disease, the health ministry said on Thursday.

The country has registered more than 4.2 million cases of the virus since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 129,522, according to ministry data.

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UK mathematician wins richest prize in academia

Martin Hairer takes $3m Breakthrough prize for work a colleague said must have been done by aliens

A mathematician who tamed a nightmarish family of equations that behave so badly they make no sense has won the most lucrative prize in academia.

Martin Hairer, an Austrian-British researcher at Imperial College London, is the winner of the 2021 Breakthrough prize for mathematics, an annual $3m (£2.3m) award that has come to rival the Nobels in terms of kudos and prestige.

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Coronavirus live news: Oxford vaccine trial on hold; Czech Republic reports 1,000 new cases a day for first time

AstraZeneca Plc and Oxford pause vaccine trial again; Czech Republic battles surging spread; China stages celebration of beating virus

In the US, Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds, is refusing to enforce a White House coronavirus taskforce recommendation to close bars and require people to wear masks after Covid-19 infections in some of the state’s cities surged.

Related: Iowa refuses to close bars and require masks as Covid-19 cases surge in cities

Russia’s sovereign wealth fund will sell 32m doses of the potential Covid-19 vaccine ‘Sputnik-V’ to a top pharmaceutical company in Mexico, Russia’s second vaccine export deal, a source close to the deal said on Wednesday.

Russia registered its first vaccine candidate, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute, in August. Late-stage trials of Sputnik-V, due to involve 40,000 participants, were launched on 26 August.

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Hummingbird’s temperature can fall to 3.3C at night to preserve energy

Researchers in Andes find temperature a record for all birds and non-hibernating mammals

Hummingbirds have scooped another record: they are not only tiny but can reach body temperatures below that of any non-hibernating mammal and any other bird.

The hummingbird is among a number of small creatures, including certain bats, that can enter a state known as daily torpor, a phenomenon where they turn down their metabolism and body temperature to save energy.

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Shorter lifespan of faster-growing trees will add to climate crisis, study finds

Rise in carbon capture as global warming speeds growth of forests would be negated by earlier deaths, say scientists

Live fast, die young is a truism often applied to rock stars but could just as easily describe trees, according to new research. Trees that grow rapidly have a shorter lifespan, which could spell bad news for tackling the climate crisis.

Trees grow faster in warmer conditions, and this should act as a natural brake on global heating, as they take up and store more carbon dioxide from the air as they grow. But the new study casts doubt on this beneficial cycle, finding that the faster trees grow, the sooner they die – and therefore stop storing carbon.

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No 10 could toughen Covid rules for social gatherings in England

Restrictions could be reimposed amid claims people have ‘relaxed too much’

Downing Street is considering whether to reduce the maximum permitted size for social gatherings in England following a sudden rise in coronavirus cases, and warnings that people have “relaxed too much” in their precautions.

No 10 is looking at the current guidelines, which allow up to six people to meet outdoors, whether in a public outdoor space, or in a garden, or 30 if it is an event, to see whether the limits should be reduced, a source said.

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Coronavirus live news: France confirms 6,544 new infections; Spain reports 3,168 new daily cases

Latest figures bring France’s total cases to 335,524 and Spain’s to 534,513; concerns over spread of virus in Greek migrant camps

The UK government response to the coronavirus pandemic is on track to cost £210bn for the first six months of the crisis, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has said.

Reflecting the scale of the emergency since March, the National Audit Office (NAO) said ministers had instigated more than 190 measures in response to the crisis so far, including emergency job support, additional NHS funding, and business grants.

Related: Coronavirus bill has cost UK government £210bn, spending watchdog says

Canada is seeing a worrying increase in the number of people infected with the coronavirus as schools across the country are starting to reopen, a top medical official has said.

Chief public health officer Theresa Tam said an average of 545 new cases had been reported daily over the last week, up from around 300 in July. She told a briefing:

This is concerning and I want to underscore that when cases occur, including in schools, it is a reflection on what’s happening in the community.

This week is a really critical week.

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#NZhellhole: how Kiwis are hitting back at Trump’s Covid taunts

In August the US president said New Zealand was seeing a ‘big surge’ in cases, but it only reminded people of how well they had done

Following comments by Donald Trump that New Zealand was dealing with a “big surge” of new Covid-19 cases, Kiwis have snapped back with some light social media trolling under the hashtag #NZhellhole, which has trended at number two on New Zealand Twitter.

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Coronavirus cases rise steeply among young people in England

Rates growing fastest among those aged 10-29, and decreasing in the older age groups

The health secretary, Matt Hancock, implored young people to stick to the rules as Covid-19 infections in the UK rose to their highest levels since early May.

It is not known why case rates are higher among young people, but England-level data shows they are rising steeply.

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Coronavirus live news: France could face ‘critical’ winter, expert says; Scotland could reimpose restrictions

Leading epidemiologist warns over case rate in France; Scottish first minister said her government could ‘put brakes’ on lockdown easing

Fatigue, headache and fever are the most common symptoms of coronavirus in children, with few developing a cough or losing their sense of taste or smell, researchers have found, adding to calls for age-specific symptom checklists.

The NHS lists three symptoms as signs of Covid-19 in adults and children: a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, and a loss or change in the sense of smell or taste.

Related: Fatigue and headache most common Covid symptoms in children – study

French people who reject mask-wearing are more likely to be older, educated women who support the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protest movement and the controversial virus specialist Didier Raoult, and would refuse to have a coronavirus vaccination if one were available, according to a new study.

They also describe themselves as free-thinkers who believe the government is meddling too much in their lives, have a distrust of public institutions and often support conspiracy theories, it found.

Related: French 'anti-maskers' most likely to be educated women in 50s, says study

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Fatigue and headache most common Covid symptoms in children – study

Researchers call for age-based symptom checklists as virus presents differently in children

Fatigue, headache and fever are the most common symptoms of coronavirus in children, with few developing a cough or losing their sense of taste or smell, researchers have found, adding to calls for age-specific symptom checklists.

The NHS lists three symptoms as signs of Covid-19 in adults and children: a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, and a loss or change in the sense of smell or taste.

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High blood pressure and diabetes impair brain function, study suggests

The conditions appeared to cause structural changes that harmed memory and thinking

High blood pressure and diabetes bring about brain changes that impair thinking and memory, research suggests.

Doctors examined brain scans and medical data from 22,000 volunteers enrolled in the UK Biobank project and found significant structural changes in the grey and white matter among those with diabetes and high blood pressure.

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Political leaders are raising ‘false hopes’ about coronavirus vaccines

Drugs now under development are unlikely to end the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust’s Jeremy Farrar warns

Vaccines will not be a silver bullet to end the Covid-19 pandemic and leaders must avoid creating false hope, a key government adviser has warned.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, writes in today’s Observer that the first vaccines are likely to be only partially effective. Raising expectations and rushing new drugs into production risks damaging public trust in any vaccination programmes that eventually arrive, he said.

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As other cities go into lockdown, why isn’t London having a second wave?

Experts suggest the capital’s previous exposure, and capacity to embrace home working, may now be inhibiting the virus

It is a question that puzzles both those on the front line fighting Covid 19 and the experts developing strategies to combat its next move: why has London not seen a second flare-up when other parts of the UK are now having to introduce new lockdown restrictions?

“It’s a bit of an enigma, given that London very definitely led during the initial peak,” said Professor David Alexander, who is based at the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction at University College London.

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Coronavirus live news: nearly 3,000 people in UK test positive in 24 hours

Significant rise in UK with 2,988 new cases; Netanyahu backtracks on lockdowns for cities with high infection rates; thousands attend protests against measures in Croatia and Italy

More than 200 UN employees have been infected with Covid-19 in Syria, medical workers and UN officials have said.

UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Imran Riza, last week told UN heads of agencies that the global body was close to securing a medical facility for treatment of coronavirus cases.

Up to 300 people who attended a charity football match at a working men’s club on the border of Sunderland and Durham have been asked to self-isolate after 28 tested positive for Covid-19.

Those who attended the event at Burnside working men’s club on 30 August are being told to self-isolate until 13 September.

Breaking: Up to 300 people who were at a charity football match asked to self-isolate, after 28 test positive for #Covid_19

Event was on 30 August at Burnside working men’s club (border of Sunderland and Durham)
 
Durham & Sunderland Council & @PHE_uk managing response.

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Are aliens hiding in plain sight?

Several missions this year are seeking out life on the red planet. But would we recognise extraterrestrials if we found them?

In July, three unmanned missions blasted off to Mars – from China (Tianwen-1), the US (Nasa’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover) and the United Arab Emirates (Hope). The Chinese and American missions have lander craft that will seek signs of current or past life on Mars. Nasa is also planning to send its Europa Clipper probe to survey Jupiter’s moon Europa, and the robotic lander Dragonfly to Saturn’s moon Titan. Both moons are widely thought to be promising hunting grounds for life in our solar system – as are the underground oceans of Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus.

Meanwhile, we can now glimpse the chemical makeup of atmospheres of planets that orbit other stars (exoplanets), of which more than 4,000 are now known. Some hope these studies might disclose possible signatures of life.

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Coronavirus live news: India cases pass 4m; anti-lockdown protesters arrested in Victoria

India adds 86,432 cases in the past 24 hours; arrests made after hundreds gather for Melbourne anti-lockdown rallies

The UK government will deliver 250,000 clear face masks to frontline NHS and social care workers to help them communicate with people with conditions such as hearing loss and dementia.

The transparent masks are made from plastic with an anti-fogging barrier, meaning patients will be able to see the mouth of the wearer as they speak. The Department of Health and Social Care said this would help the millions of people with hearing loss who needed to use lip-reading to communicate.

In England, coronavirus restrictions are to be eased in Greater Manchester, Lancashire and West Yorkshire, Matt Hancock has said.

Casinos, skating rinks, bowling alleys, exhibition halls, conference centres and indoor play areas, including soft play areas, will be able to lawfully reopen on Tuesday in all three places, apart from Bolton in Greater Manchester.

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Melbourne anti-lockdown protests: at least 15 arrested in violent clashes with police

Protesters seen chanting ‘freedom’ and hurling abuse at police and media while not wearing masks

At least 15 people have been arrested at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance and Albert Park after at least 200 protesters defied the city’s stage-four lockdowns to hold an anti-lockdown rally on Saturday.

Police in New South Wales also arrested three people at an unauthorised protest in Sydney’s Hyde Park while another protest was held at Sydney’s Olympic Park. Smaller protests were also held in Townsville, Brisbane and Byron Bay.

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UK police deal with thousands of potential Covid-19 quarantine breakers

Exclusive: Britain approaching ‘pivotal moment’ in attempt to avoid surge in cases, scientists say

Police forces across the country are dealing with thousands of potential violations of quarantine rules involving holidaymakers who may not be self-isolating after trips abroad, the Guardian can reveal.

The requests for “further action” have been raised by Border Force officials and public health authorities, who have been tasked with ensuring that people returning from abroad are abiding by regulations designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

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