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Category Archives: headline
Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Covid case at Gore school; preschool closes over scare
A Gore Main School class is self-isolating after a pupil tested positive for Covid-19 at the weekend.The news comes after Musselburgh School in Dunedin was the first school in the South to be hit by a positive Covid case among its…
Flock of birds mysteriously drop dead on street
Wildlife experts in Mexico are investigating the mysterious death of a flock of birds after they plummeted mid flight onto a city street.
The chilling incident was filmed on security camera footage in in Cuauhtémoc city, northern Mexico.
In scenes straight from a horror film, carcasses of the yellow-headed blackbirds were scattered across the street, reports local newspaper El Heraldo de Chihuahua.
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The incident happened last Monday when a security camera captured a huge black "cloud" of birds dropping from the sky and hitting the roof of a building and a street pavement.
About 100 birds died in the incident but some appeared to survive the fall and take flight again, footage showed.
But the cause of the mass bird deaths remains unclear but they could possibly have died from inhaling toxic smoke or after perching on power lines.
The birds had migrated from Canada to spend the northern winter in Mexico.
One theory is they may have suffered from high air pollution levels around Cuauhtémoc where there has been a rise in emissions from wood-burning heaters, agrochemicals as well as low temperatures.
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Zoological experts are helping local authorities investigate the cause of the mass bird deaths.
But it is not an isolated incident. Large numbers of migratory birds have dropped dead suddenly in the US state of New Mexico.
Robot ventures inside radioactive ruins of Fukushima power plant
Melted nuclear fuel has been filmed in the bowels of Unit 1 of Japan's Fukushima Power Plant as a remote controlled submarine navigated the radioactive ruins of the plant.
The remote-controlled device took to waters surrounding the plant on February 9 as part of ongoing clean-up efforts by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO).
It comes more than a decade after the plant's catastrophic meltdown in 2011.
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The nuclear accident is considered the world's second worst nuclear disaster after Chernobyl in 1986.
Disaster struck on March 11, 2011 when a magnitude 9.1 earthquake hit offshore Japan's Tohoku region.
The powerful quake caused a tsunami over 15-metres tall.
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The waves claimed the lives of more than 18,000 people with several thousand victims never found.
However a third disaster unfolded when the tsunami waves struck the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, destroying its power and cooling systems.
This triggered meltdowns at three reactors.
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Hydrogen explosions occurred in the days that followed releasing radiation into the atmosphere.
More than 150,000 residents were evacuated and a 30-kilometre exclusion zone was implemented.
In 2016 Japan Times reported the area inside the reactors were contaminated by 530 sieverts of radiation per hour.
Exposure to 10 sieverts is fatal to a human, with death occurring within weeks.
Clean-up efforts are ongoing and TEPCO has a decommissioning target of 2051.
It's been estimated it will take 30 more years and $106 billion to remove intact nuclear fuel at the bottom of the plants.
Fishermen attacked by five-metre crocodile while sleeping in tinnies
A weekend fishing trip in the Northern Territory turned into an absolute "nightmare" when a five-metre saltwater crocodile attacked two fishermen's boats.
Jason Charles and his friend Dave Miegle set out on what was meant to be a two day fishing trip on the Cato River in East Arnhem Land on Friday.
However around 5am on Saturday, Mr Charles woke to his friend screaming out to him from his boat, which was moored 100 metres upriver.
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"This crocodile was just smashing into the side of his boat," Mr Charles told 9News.com.au.
"He looked over and saw how long it was and started screaming 'there's a croc, there's a croc'.
"I woke up to that."
Sleep forgotten, Mr Charles surveyed the dark waters on alert.
Then he saw something that sent chills down his spine.
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"I was still sitting up and then there was this massive splash of water, about 10 metres away from my boat," he said, adding his tinnie is only 4.2 metres long.
"Within a couple of minutes the crocodile had grabbed my motor and started shaking it.
"It nearly pulled the motor cover off — there's teeth marks still all on it".
The crocodile then stopped the attack, and just sat watching Mr Charles.
"Just seeing the size of its head made me realise how serious this was," he said.
"I've seen crocodiles before but never this big. And never this aggressive.
"I think he was getting ready to launch himself into the boat for a second attack, so I jumped into the front, pulled the anchor up and floored it to where Dave was."
Together the pair took off to the mouth of the river, where it opens into the ocean.
"I have never been that scared in my life before," he said.
"We were pretty terrified, so we cracked a couple stubbies when we were safe."
Looking back, Mr Charles thinks the sound of his boat is what attracted the reptile's attention.
"It was really calm so he would have heard everything. I had a fan blowing so maybe he felt the vibrations," he said.
"It's also their breeding season.
"He was pretty much telling us to get out of his water. I think we were just in his territory."
A "still shaken" Mr Charles made a vow after the terrifying encounter.
"I'm not going to sleep in the boat again, I tell you that," he said.
TikTok posts glamorise deadly migrant crossings
In a photo posted in November, 18-year-old Sabee al Saidi wears bright-pink lipstick as she leans from the side of a wooden boat, a calm blue sea stretched out behind her.
In a video, she smiles alongside a dozen other migrants, gesturing to a popular rap song.
A month later, Chaima Ben Mahmoude, 21, posted a similar video, waving as she made the crossing from Tunisia to Italy with her fiance in a boat crowded with migrants.
The two Tunisian women have sparked controversy with their posts — which show them on seemingly carefree trips across the Mediterranean, landing in Lampedusa, Italy, and then travelling around Europe taking selfies next to landmarks.
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Many criticised them for “normalising” a journey that leaves thousands dead each year.
According to the Missing Migrants Project, 2048 people went missing in the Mediterranean in 2021, with 23,000 missing since 2014.
Experts warn Ms al Saidi and Ms Ben Mahmoude — social media influencers in Tunisia, with nearly 2 million followers on TikTok and Instagram between them — could inspire others to make the dangerous crossing.
“Social media is putting out a vision of Europe that is not accurate,” said Matt Herbert, research manager at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
Tunisia is a main departure point for migrants setting off from North Africa to Europe.
Once a popular tourist destination, as Tunisia’s economy deteriorated — with an 18 per cent unemployment rate exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19 — migration attempts have soared.
In 2021, authorities intercepted over 23,000 migrants trying to leave Tunisian shores.
This number is starkly higher than in 2019, when around 5000 people were intercepted.
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A report by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime pins the surge on rising unemployment and pessimism about Tunisian leaders’ ability to improve the situation.
Last July, President Kais Saied suspended parliament and took on sweeping powers, raising fears of democratic backsliding.
The journey across the Mediterranean is known locally as the “harka” — a reference to the figurative “burning” of borders and the destruction of personal documents before undertaking the perilous crossing.
While Ms al Saidi's and Ms Ben Mahmoude's posts sparked criticism, many also came to their defence, highlighting how some see the harka as the only way to escape the country amid growing frustration over European Union visa restrictions.
France recently slashed visas given to Tunisians by 30 per cent — and to Algerians and Moroccans by half — accusing the countries of failing to cooperate over the return of their nationals in France illegally.
“Shame on her? More like, it’s a shame for us!” posted one TikToker in response to criticism of Ms al Saidi’s video.
“She managed to make it to Italy, while we’re all stuck here in Tunisia.”
As she underwent two weeks’ COVID-19 quarantine at a detention centre in Italy, Ms Ben Mahmoude told The Associated Press she understood the risks of the journey.
But financial difficulties and her inability to get a visa had “forced” her to do the harka.
“I didn’t find anything for myself in Tunisia,” she said in an interview conducted through Zoom.
“I have a diploma in hairdressing and I couldn’t get any work in this field. … When I did, the monthly salary was really hopeless — around 350 dinar ($168). You cannot do anything with that. You can just use public transport and buy your lunch — that’s it.”
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Ms Ben Mahmoude, who like Ms al Saidi grew up in a lower middle-class family in the coastal Tunisian city of Sfax, said all it took was a call to a friend of a friend.
She then paid 4,500 dinar ($2189) for a place in the boat alongside 23 others.
Despite her smiles in the photos, Ms Ben Mahmoude said the journey was terrifying.
“The fear was extraordinary, the sea was really agitated and there were lots of high waves," she said.
"In the boat, we said a prayer and prepared ourselves for death. When they told us we had arrived in Italian waters, we couldn’t believe it.”
Wael Garnaoui, a psychologist researching the harka, says the hope of a better life in Europe is largely based on “the migration lie,” which he says has been intensified by social media.
He said people see others go to Europe and observe their apparent success.
They think they can easily get papers, work and money.
The reality is often very different: 2020 data from the European Commission showed that the unemployment rate for migrants was nearly 14 per cent, compared to about 6 per cent for the native-born population.
“So they go to the Eiffel Tower and take a selfie in a Lacoste T-shirt, take photos of expensive cars. .… They tell their family back home that everything is going well,” Mr Garnaoui said.
In the weeks since Ms al Saidi and Ms Ben Mahmoude made it to Europe, they have documented their shopping sprees, rides in BMWs and picture-perfect lattes.
The photos and videos of their crossings garnered hundreds of thousands of likes and shares.
Although both women secured sponsorships in Tunisia that paid them for their social media endorsements of beauty products and local businesses, it’s unclear if they are making money from their posts in Italy and France.
But experts say their posts do have influence in Tunisia.
Posts like theirs “demystify” a journey that might otherwise be too terrifying to undertake, said Mr Herbert of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime.
"What these videos do … it confronts their fear with a visual reality that people can replace it with. It lowers the mental bar to leaving,” he said.
For many families, however, the harka has spelled only tragedy.
Chamseddine Marzouk, a volunteer in the coastal town of Zarzis, has been burying the bodies of those trying to reach Europe for years.
By building a makeshift cemetery, Mr Marzouk wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of migration.
Last summer, Mr Marzouk woke to find a letter from his wife saying that after failed attempts to get visas, she and their grandchildren had left by boat for Europe.
“Forgive me," read the note. "I have no other solution but the sea.”
“I found myself living the same situation that I’d been fighting for years” Mr Marzouk said.
If an accident happened, “I could be burying my family without knowing whose bodies they were. I was in shock for two nights, and felt such relief when they called and told me they had arrived.”
Why Horizon Forbidden West is one of the best games of the year
It's arguably one of the biggest, if not the biggest video game release of 2022. But does Horizon Forbidden West meet player expectations?
It's hard to imagine the game getting any bigger than Horizon Zero Dawn, but developers Guerrilla Games have taken everything from Zero Dawn and enhanced it to near perfection.
Horizon Forbidden West is coming to PlayStation on February 18, ahead of a dozen other AAA titles scheduled for release this year, all of which are preparing to challenge the latest in the Horizon series for the elusive game of the year title.
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It's clear that Horizon Forbidden West has the potential to claim victory. PlayStation Studios' Guerrilla Games has once again hit the nail on the head.
As is the case with most games in the past few years, the pandemic slowed development and caused the studio to announce an inevitable delay
At long last, five years since the first game was released, Forbidden West is about to touch down.
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Over 25 hours into the game and I'd barely scratched the surface. The scale of Forbidden West is of epic proportions.
Forbidden West kicks off shortly after Zero Dawn. You're an established Aloy, weapons and abilities alike, but you clearly still have so much more to learn.
There's a great intro to catch players up on the previous game: Who you are, what you've accomplished. But as we learned from the ending of the previous game, it's all far from over.
I'd still recommend playing Horizon Zero Dawn before jumping into Forbidden West.
In line with the previous Horizon game, a major event kicks things into gear. Along your journey, you'll meet many familiar faces and more than enough fresh ones.
Character voice acting and interaction are exceptional. The effort produced for even the smallest side quest should set the bar at a new high for open-world role-playing games.
Along Aloy's journey, she learn new abilities, acquires new gear and meets several characters with which she will form strong new bonds.
I'll be honest, I can't speak to the game's story conclusion as I haven't made it that far just yet. Forbidden West is truly epic in scale. I'll be sure to update my article should anything change dramatically.
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The first question I asked before starting the game is: is there an ability reset of sorts? Will I be back to square one?
It wasn't long before I found out. Aloy is just as tough, just as powerful, and still has her classic drive to not let anything stand in her way.
From the beginning, Aloy's place in the world has been set, and she has so many more incredible abilities to learn as well as new challenges and enemies to defeat.
Traversing the world is easier than ever, with new tools at your disposal to make your way across the land. Aloy now has a grappling-hook-like weapon to access high areas faster, as well as a glider to float across the landscape and land safely.
But that's not all. For the sake of spoilers, I won't mention it in detail but there's another huge game-changer enabling you to go from A to B, and it's not fast-travel.
Six new skill trees
There are six new skill trees for Aloy to invest in, each with their own various special valor moves. Aloy earns skill points by levelling up or completing certain quests:
Warrior: This skill tree focuses on melee abilities and combos.
Trapper: Specialise and master various traps, as well as upgrade specific weapons such as the classic trip caster.
Hunter: Here's where you'll be able to upgrade your bow to its full potential. Including Aloy's ability to slow time while concentrating.
Survivor: Increase Aloy's effectiveness with healing items, potions, and low-health abilities.
Infiltrator: This is where you'll be able to train Aloy's stealth ability and master moves to escape large groups of enemies.
Machine Master: Upgrade your mounts to run faster, do more damage to machines and improve abilities relating to machines.
Gameplay
Puzzle mechanics are back, some similar to Zero Dawn, many unique in their own right.
The addition of swimming underwater has created several new and exciting challenges, while I'm certain I have many more to find.
The puzzles in Horizon Forbidden West aren't anything that Uncharted or Tomb Raider have not done in the past — or even Assasin's Creed Valhalla for that matter — yet in such a unique world, each puzzle offers a new and rewarding experience.
The mechanics beneath the surface are a welcome addition. Some games don't do underwater swimming well, often making it difficult to navigate. But Forbidden West's underwater exploration is user-friendly and fluid (no pun intended).
We've come a long way since Clanker's Cavern.
Performance, graphics and bugs
Throughout my review period I experienced minimal bugs and graphical interruptions, but it wasn't quite perfect.
Let's talk about Horizon Forbidden West's performance and graphics.
Players can choose from two visual settings, one of which favours performance and frame rate, the other focusing on resolution and visuals. For the primary duration of my review, I chose performance and frame rate.
It's clear the main focus has been to make the world look as good as possible, and lighting plays a starring role.
The game's lighting and shadows are on another level, even on performance mode. Different colours from various light settings are reflected across Aloy as she ventures throughout the world. Light pours through cracks in walls and reflects naturally off water and other surfaces.
It takes about two seconds on the PlayStation 5 to fast travel to another location. The game still feels the need to display game tips during this process, players needing to press X to move on.
During my time reviewing Forbidden West, I didn't come across too many bugs, but on two occasions I did experience a significant drop in frame rate. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what triggered this to happen but on one occasion I was forced to reboot the game to continue playing — not something I've had to do with many games.
A day-one patch was applied for reviewers a week ago but I'd expect another in the coming days to rectify any further issues.
Animations in cutscenes are hard to fault, lip-syncing is on point and character movements look natural.
It's incredible to think this game also runs on PlayStation 4 just as well as the first game but it's PlayStation 5 players that will experience the finer details, from including individual peach fuzz hair on Aloy's skin, to natural elements like moss and grass throughout the world — a feat which the developers thank the PS5 hardware for.
Extra good-looking grass isn't a selling point by any means, but it's that extra mile, that obvious attention to detail, that cements Forbidden West as one of the best games of the year.
It's near impossible not to respect the intricate work at play.
This is one of those epic games that you'll need to set aside a couple of hundred hours to platinum and every second will be worth it.
Horizon Forbidden West: 4.5/5 stars.
PlayStation Australia supplied 9News with an early access copy of the game for the purpose of this review.
Winter Olympics: American Erin Jackson, 1st Black Woman to Win Speed Skating Gold
Gold medalist Erin Jackson celebrates on the podium during the flower ceremony on Feb. 13, 2022.Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters
NBC
A 29-year-old Florida native and lifelong rollerblader became the first Black woman to win Team USA a gold medal in speed skating Sunday.
Erin Jackson earned her first Olympic medal in the women’s 500- meter speed skating race at the Beijing Games, an event Team USA has not won since 1994. Jackson finished her lap in a mere 37.04 seconds.
It may seem unlikely that a skater who spent her life on rollerblades would be an Olympian on the ice, but Jackson quickly became a gold medal favorite. She made her Olympic debut four years ago in Pyeongchang, having switched to ice skating roughly a year earlier.
She was the first Black woman to make it on to Team USA as a speed skater.
Despite being ranked No. 1 in the world, Jackson’s return to the Olympics was not guaranteed. She stumbled during the Olympic trials, putting a hiccup in her chase for gold.
Brittany Bowe, a fellow skater and good friend, offered Jackson her spot in Beijing, calling it “the right thing to do.”
“There’s not a doubt in my mind that she wouldn’t do the same thing for me,” Bowe told NBC Sports last month.
Jackson said she lost sleep over her mistake at the Olympic trials and said it was devastating to have potentially lost out on a chance to bring home a medal.
“Just for her to do something like this for me, it’s amazing,” Jackson said at the time. “I’m just incredibly grateful. I’m really humbled, and she’s just an amazing person.”
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NFL-Rams Beat Bengals in Super Bowl Thriller on Home Field
INGLEWOOD, Calif., Feb 13 (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Rams rallied late to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday to deliver a Hollywood ending to the Super Bowl, securing the franchise’s first championship since returning to the West Coast six years ago.
With his back against the wall, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford kept his poise to engineer a 15-play drive that ended with a one-yard touchdown pass to Super Bowl MVP Cooper Kupp with 1:25 left to play.
Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald wrapped up Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on the final play to seal the win under the lights of the team’s home field.
“I’m just so happy,” an emotional Donald said after the game.
“I wanted this so bad. I dreamed this, man. I feel amazing. It’s surreal, look at this,” he said as confetti rained down on the veteran lineman and his teammates.
RESILIENT RAMS
The Rams were forced to dig deep after they lost star wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. to a knee injury in the second quarter and fell behind 20-13 in the third.
The ability to overcome setbacks is what makes the team special, head coach Sean McVay told reporters.
“I can’t say enough about the resilience of this team,” McVay said.
“Guys stepped up when they had to. That’s what makes this team great. That’s why they are world champs.”
With the victory, the Rams joined last year’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the only teams to win a Super Bowl on their home field.
The franchise’s only other Super Bowl championship came 22 years ago when they were based in St. Louis. The win also helps ease the pain of finishing runner-up to New England three years ago.
The Rams drew first blood on Sunday when Beckham made a leaping grab in the end zone for a 7-0 lead to ignite the blue-and-gold clad Rams fans on a hot day in Inglewood.
American Football – NFL – Super Bowl LVI – Cincinnati Bengals v Los Angeles Rams – SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California, United States – February 13, 2022 Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay lifts the Vince Lombardi Trophy as they celebrate after winning Super Bowl LVI REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
The Rams added to their lead when Stafford found Kupp in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown in the second quarter, but a bad hold by Johnny Hekker denied the team the extra point as the Rams took a 13-3 advantage.
The Bengals responded with a 75-yard drive capped when running back Joe Mixon threw a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins over the fooled Rams secondary to cut the deficit to 13-10, a score that held until halftime.
BENGALS BOUNCE BACK
The second half could not have started any better for the Bengals as Burrow uncorked a 75-yard touchdown strike to Higgins on the first offensive play after the break.
Higgins appeared to pull Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey down by the face mask before making the catch but no flag was thrown and the Bengals took their first lead of the game, 17-13.
Moments later, Stafford’s pass bounced off the hands of receiver Ben Skowronek and ended up in the arms of Chidobe Awuzie for an interception that led to a Bengals field goal and a 20-13 lead.
A Matt Gay field goal cut the Cincinnati advantage to four points and the high-powered Rams defense finally began to put pressure on Burrow, sacking him for a seventh time in a play that saw the young quarterback come up hobbled and holding his right knee.
Burrow remained in the game but was unable to outduel Stafford down the stretch.
“It hurts,” Burrow told reporters.
“We put a lot of work into going out and executing and performing well, and it didn’t turn out the way we wanted, so it’s disappointing.”
The action played out in front of a full house of more than 70,000 fans. Last year’s Super Bowl in Tampa was limited to 25,000 spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The game also marked the coming out party for the new $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium, which is set to host major sporting events including World Cup matches in 2026 and the Olympics in 2028.
The temperature at kickoff was 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 degrees Celsius), two degrees short of the record for a Super Bowl. Inside the unique stadium, which has no walls or air conditioning but does have a semi-translucent roof, it was toasty but pleasant.
Next year’s Super Bowl will be held on Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Reporting by Rory Carroll; Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Inglewood and Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Tom Hogue
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Beware: SV&G PM Warns Overseas Child Minding Jobs Could Lead to Human Trafficking
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves is warning Caribbean nationals that offers of babysitting jobs in England could put them at risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.
Speaking on state-owned NBC radio, Gonsalves said he had asked Police Commissioner Colin John and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit to “get involved” in addressing the issue.
“It has come to my attention that some persons — it hasn’t become a flood yet — but it may become if we don’t put a stop to it, and it deals with some persons who are holding out promises to young ladies to go to England to be babysitters,” said Gonsalves, who is also Minister of National Security.
He said some of these women go to the Office of the Prime Minister seeking help in getting to England.
“And our office is telling them very simply… because you are a Vincentian, you can get to go there (England) without a visa and stay up to six months, provided that you have somewhere you are staying and all the rest of it. But you can’t go to England to go work unless you have a work permit.”
Prime Minister Gonsalves said some people who travel to England in these circumstances work illegally as babysitters at below minimum wage.
“Then they get abused in one way or the other, things are difficult, they do not have anybody — friends or family — up there to help them, they may overstay, they get deported, they get locked up, or sometimes they get pushed into things which are worse.
“Look, these promises which are held by some individuals who do not have your interest at heart. And I know the Labor Department has given out information on these things already,” Gonsalves said, adding that some countries have lost the privilege of their passport holders traveling visa-free to England.
“Because either the persons who going become involved in some criminality or there are persons who abuse this particular privilege of going without a visa.
“Now, as I say, I am openly alerting people, especially the young women — some young men, too, but mainly young women, overwhelmingly — to this particular problem. And some persons are anxious just as they leave, and they don’t think it through.
“And if you hear about it and I hear about it, other people hearing about it, we can’t just remain silent on it, we have to talk about it, to advise people not to do this, you’re harming yourself, and you’re harming the country.”
Prime Minister Gonsalves pleaded with nationals to listen to him, adding, “all I can do in these circumstances is to give sensible advice here.
“And they have done it in other countries in the Caribbean before you know, and we have had problems, and I believe that the police may know at least one group or at least a couple individuals who were involved in it. Not Vincentians, some persons who come and live among us. So, I’m just advising this.”
In 2012, Canada imposed visa restrictions on St. Vincent and the Grenadines and several other countries.
“A key reason why the government has imposed visa requirements on St. Lucia and St. Vincent is unreliable travel documents. In particular, criminals from these countries can legally change their names and acquire new passports. In some instances, people who were removed from Canada as security risks later returned using different passports,” Ottawa said then.
CMC/
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