An elephant herd that fascinated locals and people around the world by making a year-long journey into urbanised southwest China, raiding farms and even a retirement home for food, appears to finally be headed home.

Local authorities have deployed trucks, workers and drones to monitor the elephants, evacuated roads for them to pass safely and used food to steer them away from populated areas. Despite their entrance into villages and a close approach to the Yunnan provincial capital of Kunming, no animals or humans have been injured.

LIVE UPDATES: Potential for Moderna to be used to vaccinate teenagers

READ MORE: China elephant herd take adorable nap after 500 kilometre trek

The 14 Asian elephants of various sizes and ages were guided across the Yuanjiang river in Yunnan last night and a path is being opened for them to return to the nature reserve where they lived in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture.

The elephants left the reserve more than a year ago for unknown reasons and roamed more than 500 kilometres north. After reaching the outskirts of Kunming, a centre for business and tourism, they turned south again, but still are far from the reserve.

One male that separated from the herd was subsequently tranquilised and returned to the reserve.

Asian elephants are among the most highly protected animals in China and their population has grown to around 300, even while their habitat has shrunk because of expanded farming and urban growth.

READ MORE: China's wandering elephants becoming international stars

As of last night, the herd was still in Yuanjiang County, approximately 200 kilometres from the reserve.

However, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said the animals were in a “suitable habitat” after crossing the river.

A notice issued by provincial government said the herd's progress was significant and it would continue to work on getting the elephants back in their natural habitat soon.

Power failures are affecting large swathes of the North Island tonight.The Herald understands up to 20,000 households are without power after high winds brought down lines and cold weather saw power use surge tonight beyond generation…

A symbolic climate change threshold that’s formed the focus of New Zealand’s latest policy stocktake may be crossed within little over a decade, as scientists report the damaging consequences of global warming have arrived. Arguably…

By Liu Chen of RNZ Port of Tauranga workers are angry and disappointed they were brought back to work after being in contact with a ship with Covid-19 infected crew members, and say the handling of the vessel is shambolic, the…

Australia will expand the use of rapid testing for coronavirus, officials have announced.

The fast-turnaround rapid antigen tests, which are used in many other parts of the world, give results in just minutes.

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) leader Professor John Skerritt said a trial has been done in aged care homes.

Some businesses, such as Commonwealth Bank, have also used the tests in Sydney hotspots.

READ MORE: Moderna vaccine provisionally approved in Australia

While they are not quite as accurate as the regular tests known as PCR tests, they do have a high degree of accuracy.

If people test positive, they can then go and have a PCR test.

"As many of you know these are not the gold standard PCR test, but they are a useful adjunct," Professor Skerritt said.

"We're working on wider availability of these tests, but clearly, there are a range of things that have to be resolved such as collection and recording of the data.

"We are working on a number of things such as can these tests be used more widely, but clearly, recording of data and making people go and have that positive test and making sure the tests are used at the appropriate time.

"They work most reliably when there is a concentration of positive cases or when you're immediately infectious.

"We expect while they will never replace a PCR test, they will continue to have an increasing role in testing for Covid-19 infection."

Professor Skerrett also announced the provisional approval of the Moderna coronavirus vaccine in Australia.

By RNZ Police are urging caution as the friends of the five teens killed in a crash at the weekend plan a car meet-up in their honour.The boys, all aged between 15 and 16, died when an overloaded car smashed into a power pole…

By RNZ Months into the vaccine rollout, the number of Māori and Pacific people vaccinated against Covid-19 remains well down on the rest of the population.Only 8.9 per cent of Māori and 13 per cent of Pasifika are…

Byron Bay and surrounding LGAs will enter a seven-day lockdown from 6pm tonight amid fears COVID-19 may be circulating in the regional areas.

The stay-at-home orders come after a man in his 50s – who travelled from locked down Sydney to Byron Bay – tested positive to COVID-19.

The NSW Government this afternoon confirmed the LGAs of Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina will enter lockdown until 12.01am Tuesday, August 17.

https://twitter.com/cokeefe9/status/1424621689019637762

The restrictions for the areas will be the same as those already in place across Greater Sydney, as well as Tamworth, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie. Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock.

"Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave," the NSW Government statement read.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant today said officials did not have any information from the infected man's QR check-ins, which are compulsory when visiting venues.

LIVE UPDATES: Regional Victoria's lockdown release as another NSW town shut down

Dr Chant said the Byron case is understood to have travelled from Sydney at the end of July, at a time when five million people in Greater Sydney were in lockdown.

"Unfortunately this gentleman was infectious in the community for a while, he had symptoms for several days," she said.

"The gentleman himself is actually admitted to hospital at the moment."

The man and his family are being interviewed to ascertain where he travelled and visited, Dr Chant said.

READ MORE: Four new cases in Queensland as driver infection linked to pilot

READ MORE: Victoria records 11 new local cases of COVID-19

Earlier today, when asked about the potential development in Byron Bay, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: "We're starting to hear some issues around that."

She said her team was waiting to "get more information" from their NSW counterparts.

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1424536077688217600

During the Queensland media briefing it was suggested a traveller from Queensland may have spent time in Lismore, a NSW town 45 kilometres west of Byron, while they were infectious.

No details of a Queensland traveller were mentioned in the NSW briefing.

There’s a new currency operating in the country’s prisons – nicotine lozenges.Habitrol is at the centre of most of the fights one former prisoner saw during his time in four of the country’s prisons, Waikeria, Spring Hill, Mt Eden…

Australia now has a third COVID-19 vaccine available to combat the surge of the Delta variant, with Moderna joining AstraZeneca and Pfizer.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has provisionally approved the Moderna vaccine for use in Australia.

Moderna has been provisionally approved as safe to use for Australians aged 18 and over.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the Moderna vaccine

The Australian government has secured 25 million doses of Moderna.

Mr Morrison confirmed the Moderna vaccine will be available for use from next month. 

The first one million doses of Moderna will arrive in early September and will go to pharmacies. By the end of the year, 10 million doses of Moderna will be in the country. 

Health Minister Greg Hunt described Moderna as "the next vaccine to save lives". 

The Head of the TGA, Adjunct Professor John Skerritt, said the data for the Moderna vaccine for use in people under the age of 18 is promising. 

Provisional approval has currently only been given for Moderna's use in adults, but Professor Skerritt said this was done to speed up the rollout in Australia.

Use of Moderna for teenagers aged 12 and over is expected to be approved in the next three to four weeks. 

The vaccine requires two doses, administered 28 days apart. 

Moderna is technically the fourth vaccine to be approved. Johnson and Johnson was approved by the TGA – but Australia won't be getting sent any does.

Despite the introduction of a third vaccine, the prime minister has reiterated getting vaccinated in Australia will remain "non-mandatory".

"The vaccination service is free and it is not mandatory. That's an important principle," Mr Morrison said.  

"We are not going to seek to impose a mandatory vaccination program by the government by stealth."