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headline

Dangerous tides, severe weather to lash Queensland

Enormous tides and dangerous surf will continue to batter south-east Queensland and northern New South Wales over the next two days, as the aftermath of ex-tropical cyclone Seth sweeps the coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted these regions will see the worst of extreme weather warnings today, with dangerous tidal conditions continuing into the week.

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Queensland's Gold Coast region and surrounds have been warned to brace for gale force winds of 90 to 100km/hour tonight and 50 to 100mm of rain was expected.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1477818379968860165

"Ex-tropical cyclone Seth is currently sitting about 350 km off Brisbane at the moment bringing fairly dangerous coastal conditions over the last 24 hours and into tomorrow," BoM Meteorologist Harry Clarke said.

"The main threat will be those dangerous coastal conditions both today and tomorrow and through the rest of the week."

On Stradbroke island, off the coast of Brisbane, a house has been dangerously impacted by erosion caused by the tides, and the BoM has recorded waves of up to eight metres.

On the Gold Coast, in Currumbin, abnormally high tides have been seen encroaching on coastal communities, washing away a shipping container on the shore.

The BoM warned extreme tides would continue over the next two days, and subside towards the end of the week.

Northern New South Wales will continue to experience similar conditions, dangerous surf and abnormally high tides.

Several beaches in both states were closed today, as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urged Queenslanders to avoid the water.

"The cyclone has been downgraded to a tropical low but we are seeing extremely rough weather from Hervey Bay to Coolangatta. Now is not the time to go in the surf," she said.

"Beaches are closed. Please don't put your lives at risk or the lives of lifeguards trying to get you out of the water. They are closed for a reason."

Despite the warnings, several have been spotted in the water, with experienced surfers braving the conditions.

https://twitter.com/BOM_Qld/status/1477795677375717376https://twitter.com/lifesavingqld/status/1477783131230855168Ex-tropical cyclone Seth is moving closer to the coastline.

Heat wave predicted for central Queensland

For Queenslanders in the central-east regions, an extreme heatwave is approaching, expected to break heat records in the coming days before cooling over the weekend.

Mr Clarke predicts temperatures around the state will be five to six degrees hotter than average, continuing into the week.

Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton will be particularly impacted.

"Definitely a significant period of heat," he said.

"Keep an eye out for your vulnerable friends and family."

https://twitter.com/miaglover_9/status/1477727636310802432The heatwave is expected to last for three days.

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Unidentified person crosses border into North Korea from the south

South Korea's military said on Sunday that an unidentified person crossed the heavily fortified border into North Korea.

The person was earlier spotted by surveillance equipment at the eastern portion of the border, known as the Demilitarised Zone, but avoided capture by South Korean troops on Saturday night. The surveillance later detected the person crossing the border, Joint Chiefs of Staff officers said.

South Korea sent a message to North Korea on Sunday morning to ensure the safety of the person, but the North hasn't responded, the officers said requesting anonymity citing department rules.

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It was unclear if this was a rare case of a South Korean hoping to defect to the North, or it could be a North Korean who briefly entered the South Korean territory for some reason before returning to the North.

In September 2020, North Korea fatally shot a South Korean fisheries official found floating in its waters along a poorly marked sea boundary. South Korea said that North Korea troops were under orders to shoot anyone illegally crossing the border to protect against the coronavirus pandemic.

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Earlier in 2020, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un placed a border city under total lockdown after a North Korean defector with COVID-19-like symptoms sneaked back home. The fate of that defector, who had lived in South Korea, is not known.

On Saturday, North Korea announced it had decided to place top priority on strict virus restrictions at a high-profile ruling party meeting last week.

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The two Koreas are split along the world's most heavily armed border, called the Demilitarised Zone. An estimated two million mines are peppered inside and near the 248-kilometre-long, four-kilometre-wide DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides.

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North Korean soldiers ride atop armoured vehicles during a mass military parade at Kim Il-Sung square in Pyongyang on October 10, 2015.

Defecting via the DMZ is rare. At the height of their Cold War rivalry, both Koreas sent agents and spies to each other's territory through the DMZ, but no such incidents have been reported in recent years.

About 34,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea since the late 1990s to avoid poverty or political oppression, but a vast majority of them have come via China and Southeast Asian countries.

READ MORE: Large swells, dangerous winds for two states as ex-tropical cyclone bears down

North Korea has yet to report any cases of the coronavirus while experts have questioned its claim of a perfect record.

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Wife-murdering cop asks for conviction to be overturned

Drew Peterson, the former Chicago-area police sergeant who was convicted in 2012 of killing his third wife, is set to return to court this month after a judge agreed to hear his motion to vacate the verdict.

Will County Judge Edward Burmilla scheduled the January 21 hearing after finding a "gist of a constitutional" claim in Peterson's six-page handwritten motion, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Judge Burmilla assigned Peterson a public defender and two investigators from the public defender's office.

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READ MORE Hospitalisations jump as 20,794 new COVID-19 cases recorded in NSW

Peterson, from the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, is serving a 38-year prison sentence in the 2004 killing of Kathleen Savio.

He will follow that sentence with 40 more years after he was convicted in 2016 of plotting to kill the prosecutor who put him behind bars.

Ms Savio's body was found in a dry bathtub in 2004, weeks before a scheduled hearing to determine money and child custody issues related to her divorce from Peterson.

Her death was initially ruled an accident, but her remains were exhumed after the 2007 disappearance of Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy. Ms Savio's death was subsequently ruled a homicide.

Stacy Peterson is presumed dead, although her body has never been found. Drew Peterson is a suspect in her disappearance, but has never been charged.

In his motion filed in October, Peterson argues that his lead attorney, Joel Brodsky, did not provide effective counsel.

Peterson contends that Brodsky threatened other attorneys with removal from the case if they disagreed with him, and that he wanted to testify in his own defence but that Mr Brodsky would not allow it. Peterson also alleges prosecutorial misconduct and witness intimidation.

Further, he argues that two key witnesses who were allowed to testify under the state's hearsay law should not have been permitted to testify.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in a unanimous 2017 decision that hearsay testimony from Ms Savio and Stacy Peterson did not violate Drew Peterson's constitutional right to confront his accusers because of evidence that killed he them to prevent their testimony.

READ MORE: Large swells, dangerous winds for two states as ex-tropical cyclone bears down

The Will County State's Attorney's office said in a 23-page written response that there was no merit to Peterson's claims, and denied any misconduct or witness intimidation.

Prosecutors pointed out that the state's higher courts, including the Supreme Court, ruled against Peterson, and provided court transcripts in which he told the judge that he chose not to testify but never mentioned that Mr Brodsky prevented him from taking the witness stand.

Mr Brodsky agreed that Peterson's claims were or could have been raised in previous appeals and that higher courts have already ruled that there was nothing improper about the trial.

"There's nothing here," said Mr Brodsky, whose law licence was suspended for two years in 2019.