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24.01.2022 Male workers facing 'tsunami' of unemployment after women initially worst impacted by recession Men could be facing a "tsunami" of unemployment as the prolonged impacts of the coronavirus recession transitions from female- to male-dominated industries, according to analysis released by Labor frontbencher Clare O’Neil. Ms O'Neil used a speech to the McKell Institute think tank on Monday to warn male workers are becoming increasingly impacted by the fallout of the recession as... the economic crisis evolves. But evidence shows working class men are now bearing an increasingly heavier load of job losses, spokesperson for the future of work Ms O’Neil said. While women lost more work in the first phase of the recession, the analysis I am releasing today shows ... there is a tsunami coming for workers in predominantly male industries, she said. Ms O’Neil, citing research from consultant group McKinsey, warns that some of the worst hit sectors running into March next year are set to include construction (88 per cent male), manufacturing (73 per cent male) and professional services (lawyers, consultants - of which 57 per cent are male). Female workers were initially hardest hit by business shutdowns forced by the coronavirus pandemic and government lockdowns. Source: SBS News

23.01.2022 The Liberal National Party has pledged to trial a youth curfew in Townsville to stem crime as it campaigns for the Queensland election. LNP leader Deb Frecklington says crime is out of control in the garrison city, where her party is aiming to pick up three marginal Labor seats on October 31. Under her plan, youths under 14 will have to be indoors by 8pm while youths aged 15 to 17 will need to be off the streets in the city by 10pm.... Those caught by police without a reasonable excuse will be taken to local community refuges to be supervised, potentially overnight. Parents will be fined $250 on every occasion one of their children is caught outside during curfew. The youths are laughing in the face of the police officers, they are laughing in the face of the government because Labor is soft on crime, Frecklington told reporters on Wednesday.

22.01.2022 A NSW man has spent 16 hours trapped underneath his own four-wheel-drive in what has been described as a miracle survival. Ambulance crews were called to the scene on Taylors Arm Road at Thumbs Creek, west of Macksville, just before 8.30am on Tuesday. A nearby resident discovered the 52-year-old man trapped underneath his vehicle.... Paramedics were called and arrived to find the man was suffering a serious leg injury. He was treated at the scene before being airlifted to Port Macquarie Hospital in a stable condition. NSW Ambulance Inspector Susan George said it was a miracle that the man survived.

21.01.2022 Melbourne's grinding second coronavirus lockdown began in the chill of winter. In early July, the nights were long and dark, and Australia's cultural capital was confronting the terrifying reality of another deadly wave of infections. More than 110 days later, experts say it is emerging as a world leader in disease suppression alongside places including Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Raina McIntyre, a biosecurity professor at the University of New... South Wales' Kirby Institute, told the BBC that Australia's response had been "light years ahead" of the US and the UK. "It is just thoroughly shocking. When we think of pandemics we don't think that well-resourced, high-income countries are going to fall apart at the seams, but that is exactly what we have seen," she said. At the end of Tuesday, Melbourne's five million residents will see an end to strict stay-home orders that put an entire city into a type of protective custody. When the restrictions are lifted, Melburnians will have endured one of the world's longest and toughest lockdowns. It's been controversial, calamitous for jobs and crushingly hard for many, but health specialists believe it has worked. There is cautious optimism that with very low case numbers, the worst is over. See more

21.01.2022 An Australian employer has been fined over the death of a Belgian backpacker who collapsed from heat stress while working on a farm picking fruit. Olivier Max Caramin, 27, died in a Queensland hospital in November 2017 after just three days on the job. His employer, Bradford Clark Rosten, pleaded guilty to breaking labour laws. He was fined A$65,000 (36,000; $47,000) but avoided a conviction.... Australia's fruit-picking sector has faced much criticism over conditions. The industry is often heavily staffed by overseas backpackers who can use it to extend their working holiday visa. Mr Caramin had hoped do that by working on the farm in Ayr, a town in tropical northern Queensland. On the day of his collapse, he had been picking pumpkins for hours in 35C heat with no shade. Local media reported that Mr Caramin had told co-workers he was struggling, but they were told to keep picking to meet a quota. On Friday, the Townsville Magistrates Court found Mr Rosten - who ran a labour-hire company - failed to provide proper safety training to his workers. Magistrate Ross Mack noted Mr Rosten's remorse and previously good record, but said "complacency" had contributed to Mr Caramin's death. An earlier investigation by Queensland's workplace regulator found that workers had been provided with inadequate health information and ill-considered conditions.

21.01.2022 The federal government is investing almost $6 million in additional research and development for three Australian COVID-19 vaccines. Under the funding from the Medical Research Future Fund, the University Of Melbourne will receive almost $3 million to develop two vaccine candidates. The University of Sydney will also receive almost $3 million for a clinical trail to test the safety and effectiveness of a novel DNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.... The rapid development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines is a critical Australian government priority, Health Minister Greg Hunt said in a statement on Sunday. Subject to further work, the resulting vaccines could eventually be deployed in Australia and around the world.

20.01.2022 Seven people have been detained in connection with an attack outside the former offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris, officials say. A man armed with a meat cleaver wounded two people in the attack on Friday. The main suspect, identified as an 18-year-old man of Pakistani origin, was arrested near the scene. Police said six others were in custody and being questioned. The attack is being treated as a terrorist incident. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said i...t was "clearly an act of Islamist terrorism". He said police had underestimated the threat level in the area. The attack came as a high-profile trial was under way of 14 people accused of helping two jihadists carry out the 2015 attack on Charlie Hebdo, in which 12 people were killed. Charlie Hebdo vacated its offices after the 2015 attack, and the building is now used by a television production company. The two victims of Friday's attack have not been officially named but police said they were a man and woman who worked at the production company. Prime Minister Jean Castex told reporters at the scene - near Boulevard Richard-Lenoir - that their lives were not in danger. See more

19.01.2022 Another Sydney school has been evacuated after a "copycat" bomb threat, interrupting HSC exams for the third day in a row in NSW. North Sydney Boys was the target of a threatening phone call this morning, interrupting 13 students in the middle of their test. Hundreds of students were forced to leave the school grounds.

19.01.2022 Australia's most prestigious award for portraiture has been won by an Aboriginal artist for the first time in its 99-year history. Vincent Namatjira, 37, claimed the annual Archibald Prize for a painting of himself and Adam Goodes, a champion Aboriginal Australian Rules footballer. Last week another painter, Meyne Wyatt, became the first Aboriginal artist to win a secondary prize. Namatjira is the great-grandson of celebrated artist Albert Namatjira. Previous Archibald winner...s include some of Australia's most acclaimed artists, including Brett Whiteley, John Olsen, Wendy Sharpe and Ben Quilty. "To be the first Aboriginal artist to win is really special," Namatjira said after the announcement. "I feel like this is a very important moment in Australian art." His entry, titled Stand Strong For Who You Are, was chosen by the Art Gallery of New South Wales' board of trustees from a record 1,068 submissions. "Vincent's work shows how much portrait painting still has to say and what strong voices our Indigenous artists have," said gallery director Michael Brand on Friday. His co-subject Goodes, a former Australian of the Year, took an early retirement from Australian Rules football in 2015 following persistent racial abuse from fans during games. See more

18.01.2022 Australia must prepare for an "alarming" future of simultaneous and worsening natural disasters, says a long-awaited report into the country's bushfires. A royal commission inquiry examined Australia's Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20 - which ravaged vast swathes of the nation - and other disasters. At least 33 people died in what was by many measures an unprecedented season.... The report made more than 80 recommendations to the government. They included detailed proposals to improve national response efforts, tools and climate data, among many other areas. It also reiterated that climate change had exacerbated the extreme conditions which caused the fires, but that future projections were more grim. The Australian government said it would "carefully and methodically" consider the proposals.

18.01.2022 Officials are easing tight coronavirus restrictions in the state of Victoria after more than 100 days of lockdown. From Monday, people will be able to travel further and meet up with more friends without a time limit on how long they spend outside the home. But strict measures remain in place for restaurants and retailers, limiting them to takeaway and delivery options. The city of Melbourne, which has been under stricter lockdown, will also have rules eased. As of 19 October..., in Melbourne: People can travel up to 25km (15 miles) from their home for exercise or shopping Gatherings of up to 10 people from two different households are allowed There will be no more time limit on outdoor socialising and exercise Hairdressers, tennis courts, golf courses and skate parks reopen, subject to Covid-19 restrictions In addition, in regional Victoria: Two adults and two children will now be allowed to visit another person's home Hospitality venues will be allowed to accommodate 70 patrons outside and 40 inside "I know these changes can't be absolutely everything everyone wants," State Premier Daniel Andrews said. "But they are the steps we can safely take that will make life a little bit easier. "Follow the rules and get the numbers in Melbourne as low as they are in regional Victoria. Then we will all be able to move freely around our state." See more

17.01.2022 The operator of Australia's Dreamworld theme park has been fined A$3.6m (2m; $2.5m) over the deaths of four people on a malfunctioning water ride. Kate Goodchild, Luke Dorsett, Roozbeh Araghi and Cindy Low died in October 2016 when their raft crashed into another and overturned, crushing them. Park operator Ardent Leisure admitted in July to breaching safety laws. The company said it accepted responsibility and had worked to improve safety standards. The four victims - all a...dults - died almost instantly after the Thunder River Rapids Ride rafts collided, an inquiry heard in 2018. Two children were also on board but survived. The accident at Australia's biggest theme park was caused by a pump that malfunctioned near the end of the ride. On Monday, a court said the company had failed in its duty of care and should have taken steps to make the ride safer. "Steps were not that complex or burdensome and only mildly inconvenient and really were inexpensive," Magistrate Pamela Dowse said. "They operated the most iconic amusement park in the country, which targeted and attracted families. "There was complete and blind trust placed in the defendant by every guest who rode the Thunder River Rapids Ride." See more

17.01.2022 Two of the nation’s major airlines have slashed fares on flights around the country following news on state borders. Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the captain’s call on Tuesday, with Greater Sydney’s hotspot declaration to be revoked on December 1. The premier said Queensland will also reopen to Victoria next Tuesday, assuming the state surpasses the 28-day threshold on Wednesday.... Families and travellers from NSW and Victoria can finally swap border passes for boarding passes, allowing them to make their plans for the upcoming holiday season.

17.01.2022 The South Australian government is introducing a tough six-day lockdown as the state fights to stamp out a coronavirus cluster that has grown to 22 cases. Residents won't be able to leave home for anything but essential services under wide-ranging restrictions announced on Wednesday, which come into effect at midnight tonight. Schools, universities, pubs, cafes, food courts and takeaway providers will be closed. Weddings, funerals, regional travel and outdoor sport won't be p...ermitted, and aged care and disability residential care will be put into into lockdown. Face masks will be required outside the home.

16.01.2022 The CEO of Village Entertainment says the cinema industry faces an uncertain future in Victoria after being left out of the state's reopening roadmap. The criticism comes as Melbourne's lockdown lifted overnight, with the retail, hospitality and beauty industries reopening today. Village Entertainment CEO Kirk Edwards said he was yet to hear from the Victorian Government on when cinemas could reopen, with the arts and entertainment sector excluded from announcements this week.

15.01.2022 Victoria has recorded another day of zero COVID-19 cases after the state’s most recent case was deemed a false positive. One new infected was recorded on Saturday in a person already in hospital. That person had previously tested negative multiple times, sparking suspicious the weak positive test was merely remnants of the virus.... Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton revealed the news on Twitter, saying a review of the test had come back negative. So that’s a donut day, he wrote.

15.01.2022 Concerning photos of commuters standing shoulder to shoulder on a Sydney bus have emerged. Only hours after crowds flocked to the beaches, forcing one beach to close altogether, passengers were seen standing in the aisles on a bus as all seats were occupied. Many were not wearing masks.... One commuter photographed crowds packed into the 257 bus from Balmoral Beach to Military Road on Monday afternoon. She said she was shocked to see the complacency on the public transport system. There were about 60 to 80 people in the bus standing shoulder to shoulder, the woman told.

13.01.2022 India's Adani Enterprises has changed the name of its Australian unit to Bravus Mining and Resources. The rebrand comes as the miner readies to ship out its first coal next year in the face of years of vocal opposition from climate change activists, whose catch cry Stop Adani became a marketing slogan emblazoned on t-shirts and earrings. That opposition ultimately helped swing Australia’s national election last year towards a conservative coalition victory, as workers in co...al-producing regions voted to support new jobs. We will continue to stand up and deliver for the good of our community, no matter how courageous it requires us to be, and Bravus, our new name, reflects this intent, Chief Executive David Boshoff said in a statement. Bravus is building its 10 million tonne per year mine and rail line in Queensland, even as climate change activists continue to target its bankers, insurers and suppliers.

11.01.2022 New Zealanders are to be granted access to Australia in the first opening of international borders by either nation since Covid restrictions were imposed. People will be able to fly from New Zealand to New South Wales and the Northern Territory - and avoid mandatory quarantine - from 16 October. The nations closed their borders in March in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus.... Officials say the risks are now low enough to justify a "travel bubble". "The establishment of a travel zone between Australia and New Zealand has been finalised," said Australian Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack. "This is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries, stopping not just at that state and that territory." At first, travel will be limited to New Zealanders. Mr McCormack said a decision on when Australians may be able to visit New Zealand would be up to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

11.01.2022 CHENNAI: Legendary playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, popularly known as Balu and SPB, who enthralled millions of people with his youthful voice, died at 1.04pm on Friday while undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at a Chennai hospital. He was 74.

10.01.2022 Australia looks set to record its lowest daily coronavirus increase for three months, with just 18 new cases reported so far. The state of Victoria - the epicentre of the country's Covid-19 outbreak - recorded 14 new infections to Sunday morning, down from 21 the day before. New South Wales and Queensland reported two cases each. The remaining states are yet to report their figures, but rarely record any new cases. Figures were last this low on 23 June.... Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said the numbers were "cause for great optimism". His state, which has accounted for 75% of Australia's 26,900 cases and 90% of its 849 deaths, has been under lockdown since early July. Melbourne, the capital, has been under tighter restrictions than other areas, including a curfew and stay-at-home orders. Anti-lockdown protests in the city have become a regular sight. On Sunday, demonstrators gathered in the central business district, according to local media. Saturday's protest, in a park, saw protesters being dispersed by police on horseback. However, Mr Andrews has defended the state's strict lockdown, pointing to rising cases in Europe.

10.01.2022 Speaking to reporters later on Sunday, Mr Morrison said the relationship between Australia and the US was bigger than any individual. "This relationship is bigger than all of us and the time we have in the roles that we have the privilege to serve in we have custodianship over the roles and I have every confidence because it is based on more than 100 years of successful partnership, that this partnership will only go from strength to strength under the new shared stewardship... that President-elect Biden and I will share going into the future," he said. Labor leader Anthony Albanese also congratulated Mr Biden on a victory with record support with a progressive agenda based on decency, honest government, creating opportunity and dealing with the pandemic and the challenge of climate change. Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said it will be a "relief" to have a return to "normal transmission" with President-elect Biden. "An administration that is going to be consistent, that isn't going to be making decisions by wild Tweets in the early hours of the morning, that isn't going to be walking out of global treaties and alliances," he told Insiders.

10.01.2022 An Australian man who punched and stomped on a pregnant woman in a suspected Islamophobic attack has been jailed for three years. Stipe Lozina, 44, attacked Rana Elasmar, 32, in Sydney last November. Ms Elasmar, then 38 weeks pregnant, had been with friends in a cafe when Lozina entered and approached their table, asking for money. When she refused, he launched into a "vicious" assault fuelled by religious prejudice, a trial heard. Prosecutors said he had yelled "you Muslims ...wrecked my mum" before leaning over and punching Ms Elasmar to the ground. He struck her at least 14 times and stomped on the back of her head before other customers managed to pull him away. Security video of the attack caused wide outrage in Australia. See more

09.01.2022 The virus responsible for Covid-19 can remain infectious on surfaces such as banknotes, phone screens and stainless steel for 28 days, researchers say. The findings from Australia's national science agency suggest SARS-Cov-2 can survive for far longer than thought. However, the experiment was conducted in the dark. UV light has already been shown to kill the virus. Some experts have also thrown doubt on the actual threat posed by surface transmission in real life. The coronav...irus is mostly transmitted when people cough, sneeze or talk. But there is also evidence that it can also be spread by particles hanging in the air. It is also possible someone could get Covid-19 by touching infected surfaces such as metal or plastic, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. This is believed to be much less common, however. Previous laboratory tests have found that SARS-Cov-2 can survive for two to three days on bank notes and glass, and up to six days on plastic and stainless steel, although results vary. However, the research from Australian agency CSIRO found the virus was "extremely robust," surviving for 28 days on smooth surfaces such as glass found on mobile phone screens and both plastic and paper banknotes, when kept at 20C (68F), which is about room temperature, and in the dark. See more

07.01.2022 Australian police have arrested 44 men across the nation on suspicion of possessing and producing child abuse material. Sixteen children had been "removed from harm" in the process, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said. The arrests followed a year-long investigation into images and videos that were shared online. Arrests of the suspects - all aged between 19 and 57 - were made in every Australian state. Police laid a total of 350 charges, all related to possessing or prod...ucing child exploitation material. The men had allegedly used a cloud storage platform to share the abuse. The AFP described some evidence as among "the most abhorrent produced". Commissioner Reece Kershaw said identifying and rescuing victims was a "race against time" in such cases. See more

06.01.2022 Defence chief handed report into alleged Afghanistan war crimes by Australian troops The head of the defence force has received a report into alleged war crimes by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. The inspector-general of the Australian Defence Force has conducted an inquiry into the alleged war crimes committed by special forces troops between 2005 and 2016.... Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell on Friday night, as people across the world were watching for a result in the US presidential election, confirmed he now had the report. "I intend to speak about the key findings once I have read and reflected on the report," he said in a brief statement. "Welfare and other support services are available to those affected by the Afghanistan Inquiry." The federal government has promised to release the report amid concerns it could be heavily redacted when it is finally published. There are also fears the soldiers involved could be denied procedural fairness. "These reports are troubling and the claims are exactly why this process was set up," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last week. "This is a very serious inquiry, it's done by people who are highly skilled in handling what are very sensitive matters. "I have no doubt they are very aware of the careful way they need to conduct this inquiry." Attorney-General Christian Porter said people could "expect to see a very, very detailed and substantive report". Source: SBS News

05.01.2022 An unexploded 45kg bomb has been towed into deep waters five months after being found off the NSW coast. The weapon was found in late April by an unsuspecting fisherman on Lord Howe Island’s Elizabeth Reef, with Defence personnel admitting the item could have posed a significant risk to the general public. The local angler was visiting the reef, about 550km off the NSW coast, with his wife. He photographed his discovery and reported it to authorities.... Navy divers aboard HMAS Adelaide carefully removed the abandoned explosive on September 25 by floating it to the surface and towing it further out to sea where it was dropped into 550-metre-deep waters.

04.01.2022 The global death toll from COVID-19 could double to 2 million before a successful vaccine is widely used and could be even higher without concerted action to curb the pandemic, an official at the World Health Organization said on Friday. "Unless we do it all, (2 million deaths) ... is not only imaginable, but sadly very likely," Mike Ryan, head of the U.N. agency's emergencies programme, told a briefing on Friday. The number of deaths about nine months since the novel coronav...irus was discovered in China is nearing 1 million "We are not out of the woods anywhere, we are not out of the woods in Africa," said Ryan. He said young people should not be blamed for a recent increase in infections despite growing concerns that they are driving its spread after restrictions and lockdowns were eased around the world. "I really hope we don't get into finger wagging: it's all because of the youth," said Ryan. "The last thing a young person needs is an old person pontificating and wagging the finger." See more

04.01.2022 Up to 3,000 people will be allowed to gather outside in NSW in a move to accommodate New Year's Eve celebrations. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said a swathe of rules will be relaxed so people can arrange their Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations. "This can only work if all of us stick together and do the right thing," she told reporters on Thursday.... She was speaking as NSW Health announced a 12th straight day of zero local COVID-19 cases in the state. "Even though we're easing these restrictions as one-offs, it doesn't reduce how contagious the virus is or how concerned we might be if suddenly an outbreak consumed a large number of people in a particular location," she said.

03.01.2022 Australia has recorded its first day with zero locally acquired coronavirus cases in almost five months. Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt made the announcement on Twitter, thanking people across the country. Advice just in from the National Incident Centre - Zero community transmission cases today Australia wide- the 1st national zero community transmission day since June 9, he said.... Thankyou to all of our amazing health & public health workers & above all else the Australian people. NSW on Sunday recorded four new cases of COVID-19, all of which were detected in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. Victoria recorded no cases at all and Queensland recorded one new case in hotel quarantine.

01.01.2022 People urged to get tested after coronavirus fragments detected in Melbourne sewage Victoria has one active COVID-19 case but authorities are concerned about traces of the virus unexpectedly found at a Melbourne waste water facility. The state has gone 22 days with no new cases.... One patient was cleared in the past 24 hours, leaving just one active case, that of an immunosuppressed person Health Minister Martin Foley said on Saturday was making a "slow and steady" recovery. A weak-positive case that was under review, that of an elderly woman, has been ruled negative. Authorities meanwhile have issued a plea for residents and visitors to Altona in Melbourne's southwest from last Monday to Wednesday to get tested if they have even mild symptoms. Virus traces have been detected in a wastewater sample collected from the Altona sewage catchment on Wednesday. The result is unexpected because it has been about eight weeks since someone in the area tested positive. Suburbs in the catchment include Altona, Altona Meadows, Laverton, Point Cook and Sanctuary Lakes. "It could mean there is somebody in the community that we have missed," Mr Foley said. He added the detection could have come from someone travelling through the suburbs or virus shedding from an old case. Mr Foley said the government would say more about the state's border arrangements with South Australia on Saturday. Victorian communities reliant on SA for shopping and business have lamented separate detections of COVID-19 in sewage which prompted a border closure. The state's "hard border" with SA came into effect on Thursday night in response to an outbreak in Adelaide, where a cluster now numbers 25 cases. The closure will be replaced on Sunday by a permit system, however border communities have no idea how it will operate. Source: SBS News