Category Archives: headline

headline

'Not something we see everyday': Wallaby on loose in Colorado

A wallaby on the loose was the last thing Sgt Charles Searcy with the Montrose County Sheriff's Office in Colorado expected to respond to.

Nonetheless, he and a state patrol officer, as well as a couple of good Samaritans, and the wallaby's owner, chased the hopping marsupial for about 45 minutes on the night of Thursday, July 8.

Finally it jumped safely back home to his proper enclosure.

A couple driving by happened to notice the wallaby on the side of Jay Jay Road, just north of Montrose. They called a non-emergency dispatch line for help.

READ MORE: 'Utter shock': New study shows kangaroos can communicate with humans

"Um, yeah, there's a kangaroo loose on Jay Jay Road," the passerby told dispatch. "Or, a wallaby, it's much smaller than a kangaroo, I would guess wallaby… not a prank call, I swear to god I'm looking right at it."

The dispatcher laughed a little, responding, "um, okay… that's just not something that we get every day."

Sgt Searcy tells CBS4 he didn't believe it at first.

"You know, we don't have kangaroos here, we don't have wallabies here, so (I'm thinking) are there drugs involved, somebody's seeing something, we're going to a drug call, somebody's having hallucinations," Sgt Searcy recalled.

"So, when I first got there, I was even skeptical when I got out of the truck, and the reporting party came and right away was like, 'here's a picture of it, we're not crazy,' and then I actually saw it, and I was like, 'wow, okay.'"

READ MORE: Wallaby rescued after 6km ocean swim

Sgt Searcy says the wallaby is a legal pet of a nearby resident, and he had somehow gotten out of a fenced-in yard.

The wallaby's owner eventually found the responding officers and the good Samaritans, and helped coax him back home.

"It was a fun night," Sgt Searcy said.

"We don't get a whole lot of humour, and things where we can laugh it off, and still today, I went in to work for a little bit this morning, and the jokes kept coming, so I'm sure I won't hear the end of it for a while."

Sgt Searcy says once they got the animal back safe and sound, he looked around at its enclosure and living conditions, and said there were no signs of neglect or mistreatment of the animal.

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PM puts blame on ATAGI for Australia's 'glacial' rollout

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has insisted advisory body ATAGI has to shoulder blame for Australia's slow coronavirus vaccine rollout.

Speaking on 2GB with Ray Hadley, Mr Morrison said ATAGI's advice had been "very cautious" and "that had a massive impact on the rollout of the vaccine program, it really did".

"It slowed it considerably in the end," Mr Morrison said.

"It put us behind and we wish that wasn't the result but it was."

Prime Minister Scott Morrison holds a news conference in Canberra.

READ MORE: UK newspaper attacks Scott Morrison's pandemic response

Mr Morrison's government has come under intense scrutiny over the national vaccine rollout, which is one of the slowest in the developed world.

ATAGI's advice over the AstraZeneca vaccine has shifted multiple times in recent weeks, raising and lowering the minimum age.

"Those decisions are made independent of government, and should be," Mr Morrison said.

READ MORE: Airlines forced to fly cargo only to Australia after number cut

https://omny.fm/shows/the-ray-hadley-morning-show/pm-says-20-000-under-40s-received-astrazeneca-desp/embed?style=cover

"If we want a system where drug control in Australia is not run by politicians but by the professional medicos, sometimes that means they'll be very cautious in circumstances like this."

Mr Morrison also described the United Kingdom's decision to lift all major coronavirus restrictions as "quite an experiment".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has declared the UK will rely on the vaccine without imposing health orders from July 19.

The UK has almost 65 per cent of adults fully vaccinated with two shots, compared to Australia's 11 per cent.

"I still note over 200 people died in the UK last week," Mr Morrison said.

"I think 50 yesterday."

He said UK cases were running at over 30,000 each day.

"I know there's been a lot of references to the United Kingdom," Mr Morrison said.

"They've had more cases in a day than we've had in 18 months."

Australia's slow vaccine rollout has been criticised by British press in recent days, with the Financial Times describing the pace as dangerously "glacial".

Mr Morrison also called out Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly's anti-vaccination claims as "rubbish" and dangerous for Australia.

"This 'the whole COVID thing is a conspiracy and it'll turn my arm into magnets' and all this sort of stuff, this is just crazy nonsense," he said.

"And it does put people's lives at risk."

headline

Wild wet weather moving over Australia's south

Much of Australia's south will be hit with rain and blustery winds in the coming days as a large low-pressure system and multiple cold fronts make their way across the area.

The low, which has been causing weather chaos for parts of Western Australia's south, will move across the Great Australian Bight and pass through Tasmania, before moving north towards South Australia, Victoria and parts of western NSW.

This will result in moderate to heavy showers for most of Australia's south and send a surge of strong winds across the same regions.

LIVE UPDATES: All the latest breaking news on coronavirus in Australia and the world

A high in the north of Australia is also likely to cause some moderate showers in Queensland while parts of the Northern Territory will continue to see a dry spell extend into the weekend with some bushfire warnings in place for the far Top End.

Dozens of communities in WA are still cleaning up after a solid week of wild weather which saw floods and hazardous surf warnings across many coastal towns.

Perth exceeded its monthly average rainfall yesterday with 148.6mm falling as compared to 142.3mm.

https://twitter.com/weatherzone/status/1414847798638366720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

READ MORE: Perth braces for more storms and damaging winds

While the west coast's wild weather has subsided slightly today, it will pick up again this evening and into tomorrow with more storms sweeping in from the sea and damaging winds predicted for Perth's south and southern parts of the coast.

Dangerous surf conditions are still in place for WA's Jurien Bay and high tides are likely for low-lying coastal areas, according to meteorologists.

headline

Matthews century seals CG Insurance ODI Series win for West Indies Women

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua– A batting masterclass from Hayley Matthews (100 not out), took the West Indies Women to an 8-wicket victory over Pakistan Women in the CG Insurance 3rd ODI at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua, sealing a series win for the home team with two matches to go.

Matthews also played a vital role with the ball as she bowled 2 maidens and took 2 wickets from her 10 overs. Speaking to CWI Media after the match, Matthews said “I’ve been working really hard over the past couple of months to improve on my batting and on my consistency and it’s really good to see it finally paying off. I don’t think nervous (knowing she can get a century) necessarily but probably when I got into the nineties and realized I was about 10 runs to win the game and 5 runs for me to get my hundred and then the rain started setting up, I felt a bit anxious about actually getting the runs but I never doubted I was going to get my hundred..”

With a 3-0 lead, the team is looking ahead for a clean sweep of the CG Insurance ODI Series as they did in the CG Insurance T20 Series, winning 3-0.

 

Pakistan Women

182 all out (49 overs)

Omaima Sohail 62                              Anisa Mohammed 10-1-25-3

Muneeba Ali      25                              Chinelle Henry 8-2-37-3

 

West Indies Women

183/2 (40.1 overs)

Matthews 100*                                     Anam Amin 10-0-35-1

Cooper 45                                              Fatima Sana Khan 6-0-42-1

 

West Indies Women won by 8 wickets

Hayley Matthews was CG Insurance Player of the Match

The post Matthews century seals CG Insurance ODI Series win for West Indies Women appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Passenger Bus Operators Highly Appreciative Of Government’S Relief Measures 

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 13, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – It has been less than a week since Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris announced the introduction of several measures that were designed to bring much needed assistance to passenger bus operations in St. Kitts and Nevis.

As part of its comprehensive and far-reaching relief measures announced on Thursday, July 08, the Team Unity-led Government reinstated the annual Import Duty exemption for 16 tyres (4 tyres per quarter), four pairs of brake pads and three pairs of brake shoes for ‘H’ passenger buses. Additionally, the Government will provide fuel subsidy of $400 per month to passenger bus operators for three months.

These measures have been welcomed by passenger bus operators with the Public Relations Officer for the St. Peter’s Bus Association, Mr. Tyrone “Granny” Browne, describing them as important benefits for all bus drivers.

“This Government is giving us duty free on 16 tyres. Under the last government we got 12 tyres and then the duty free stopped under the last government. So, this Government has brought it back to accommodate the bus drivers and for me that’s very good,” Mr. Browne said in an interview today, Tuesday, July 13.

The relief measures were put in place after passenger bus owners and operators were asked to limit the seating capacity to 50 percent of the established capacity to facilitate physical distancing. This resulted in passenger buses having to make additional trips, which led to higher gas usage and increased wear and tear on tyres and brakes.

Speaking specifically of the fuel subsidy, Mr. Browne said that alone “will be of great, great help” for all of them as passenger bus drivers.

He added, “Most of the guys are excited about this and want to know when it’s going to start. The Government knows that gas is one of the main things that we spend money on every day and to be getting one hundred dollars every week for the next three months is a really, really big help for us. For instance, I’ve had my second bus for six years now and over the last two weekends that was the first time I’ve ever seen my gas lights on, so definitely I’m grateful for the fuel subsidy.”

The Government has since extended the maximum capacity on buses to 10 passengers.

Mr. Browne, who is also a member of the Traffic Safety and Public Service Drivers Board, used the opportunity to urge his colleagues to continue adhering to the established COVID-19 regulations and protocols as they relate specifically to public transportation.

“I’ve been observing the St. Peter’s bus drivers for a while now and I can say that they are really complying with the rules and regulations. There is one particular bus driver who stands outside his bus in the afternoons and sprays the hands of everyone who enters his bus and makes sure that they’re wearing their masks. And so, I would always encourage each and every bus driver out there to do the same thing,” said Mr. Browne.

 

The post Passenger Bus Operators Highly Appreciative Of Government’S Relief Measures  appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Severance payments on Nevis so far exceed $11million, Labour Minister Brand says

NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (July 13, 2021) — Hon. Spencer Brand, Minister responsible for Labour in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), has assured that severance payments to workers who lost their jobs on Nevis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to roll out and so far in excess of $11 million has been settled in claims for 2020 and 2021.

 The minister made the disclosure while addressing the status of the severance payments at a sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly at Hamilton House on July 13, 2021.

 “In 2020 we saw some 759 claims submitted for severance payment. That was to the extent in 2020 of the impact of COVID on the island of Nevis. In 2021 thus far we have seen some 69 claims for severance payment.

 “Of the 759 claims of 2020, we have seen some $5,067,772.72 paid. We still have some 184 claims of 2020 still outstanding. In 2021 thus far, we have seen some $6,530,268.24 paid in severance payment. That gives a combination of 2020 and 2021 of some $11,598,040.96 up until July 12, 2021,” he said.

 

Mr. Brand added that to date 740 claims have been approved. There are 83 claims pending and five have been disqualified. Also, all claimants who were receiving instalments of $20,000 have been paid in full.

 

The Minister of Labour also noted that 18 of the 69 applications submitted in 2021 have already been approved, and most of the 184 pending applications for 2020 have been processed in 2021.

 Mr. Brand indicated that the volume of claims has undoubtedly been a shock to the severance system, and the numbers are indicative of what has transpired so far regarding severance claims on Nevis.

 He called on those who are awaiting settlement to be tolerant since it has been a tedious, meticulous and time-consuming process.

 

Mr. Brand also used the opportunity to say to those who have already received payments to use it wisely and spend it carefully in light of the looming uncertainty COVID-19 has brought.

The post Severance payments on Nevis so far exceed $11million, Labour Minister Brand says appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Man extradited to NSW on murder charge

A 23-year-old man will face a murder charge in a New South Wales court today after being extradited from Queensland.

The charge stems from a May 12 incident in Coonabarabran, about 340km north-west of Sydney, when a 53-year-old man was found at the front of a house with serious injuries to his head and face.

Emergency services were called to the Nandi Street home about 7pm and police were told a group of people had gathered when the man was found.

READ MORE: Outrage after hefty parking fines issued at Sydney mass vaccine hub

Police have described the incident as a fatal assault.

The older man, who knew the younger man, was airlifted from Coonabarabran Hospital to St George Hospital but later died.

Detectives investigating the alleged murder eventually applied for the 23-year-old's extradition and Queensland police arrested him at home in the north Brisbane suburb of Carselding early on Monday morning.

NSW police said the man yesterday faced Brisbane Magistrates Court, where his extradition just across the border to Tweed Heads was granted.

He's due to front Tweed Heads Local Court today after being taken to the local local police station and charged with murder.