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headline

Queensland boxers extinguish eternal flame in lockdown breach stunt

RSL Queensland have told 9News they're furious after two local boxers filmed themselves breaching the state's current lockdown and extinguishing Brisbane's eternal flame.

Tim Warburton and Ryan Mitchem have attempted to defend their actions after they broadcast the disrespectful act on social media, with Mr Warburton jumping the fence and smothering the flame with a jumper.

The incident is one of several reported occurrences of those in the southeast thinking they're above the law in the past 24 hours.

READ MORE: QLD public health alerts for two Virgin flights

RSL Queensland has told 9News they're furious after two local boxers filmed themselves breaching the state's current lockdown and extinguishing Brisbane's eternal flame. Mitchem attempted to defend the action this morning, claiming that he was "against war" and "against countries going to other countries and stealing their resources."

"It's burning and it's gone, perfect … no curfew anymore because the Olympic flame is gone," Mr Mitchem can be heard saying in the video.

Mr Mitchem attempted to defend the action this morning, claiming that he was "against war" and "against countries going to other countries and stealing their resources".

"Yes people died to make us have a better life, but really the winners rewrite history," Mr Mitcham said.

"I've got a hangover, and I don't care."

"You can have an opinion, but you don't actually have to share it."

Mr Warburton has told his followers he'll most likely be on breakfast television over the stunt.

"This guy … was watching one of my stories, and I'll probably be on tomorrow morning," Mr Warburton said.

Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewsk reported that only one other fine has been handed to one person out of 5 million in lockdown.

Queensland Police have since told 9News that they are aware of the footage and have said a $2,000 fine will apply.

Other than the stunt, Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski reported that only one other fine was issued, a man from Nambour who refused to put on a mask.

"He refused on several occasions to wear a mask at the Nambour Library and was handed a $200 penalty infringement notice."

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More than 230 deaths reported in Canada amid historic heat wave

More than 230 deaths have been reported in British Columbia, Canada since Friday as a historic heat wave brought record-high temperatures.

The province's chief coroner called it an "unprecedented time."

"Since the onset of the heat wave late last week, the BC Coroners Service has experienced a significant increase in deaths reported where it is suspected that extreme heat has been contributory," Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said in a statement.

READ MORE Unprecedented heat builds in parts of USA and Canada

A temporary misting station on Abbott Street during a heatwave in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The coroner's service normally receives about 130 death reports over a four-day period.

From Friday through to Monday, at least 233 deaths were reported, the chief coroner said, adding "this number will increase as data continues to be updated."

Coroners are now gathering information to determine the cause and manner of deaths and whether heat played a role, the statement said.

"Environmental heat exposure can lead to severe or fatal results, particularly in older people, infants and young children and those with chronic illnesses," the statement added.

Authorities earlier in the day reported a spike in sudden deaths for Vancouver and nearby Burnaby and Surrey.

https://twitter.com/VancouverPD/status/1409993640705990661?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Officers have responded to more than 65 sudden deaths since the heat wave began on Friday, Vancouver Police said.

"Today alone, officers had responded to 20 sudden deaths as of 1.45pm, with more than a dozen others waiting for police to be dispatched," the department said in a statement,

READ MORE: More than 700 unmarked graves found at school in Canada

Heat-related deaths have depleted front-line resources and severely delayed response times, officials said.

"We've never experienced anything like this heat in Vancouver," media relations Officer Sgt Steve Addison said during a press conference.

Readings in downtown Vancouver were 37C on Saturday , 37.5 on Sunday and 38.6C on Monday.

https://twitter.com/BurnabyRCMP/status/1409949679731757059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Royal Canadian Mounted Police have responded to 35 sudden deaths in nearby Surrey since Monday, media relations officer Cst Sarbjit K. Sangha told CNN.

"While the causes of death has not yet been determined in each of these cases, we can confirm that Surrey RCMP is responding to a higher than usual number of deaths since the beginning of the extreme weather conditions," Cst Sangha said.

https://twitter.com/ECCCWeatherBC/status/1410047605741166597?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In the city of Burnaby, police responded to more than 34 sudden death calls since Monday, with heat believed to be a contributing factor in the majority of the deaths, according to a release from RCMP.

"We are seeing this weather can be deadly for vulnerable members of our community, especially the elderly and those with underlying health issues. It is imperative we check on one another during this extreme heat," Cpl. Mike Kalanj with Burnaby RCMP said.

https://twitter.com/CityofVancouver/status/1409991342520942602?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Many of the deceased have been senior citizens, RCMP said, and police are urging people to check on loved ones and neighbours as the heat wave bringing record-breaking temperatures to the region continues.

The RCMP in Surrey is encouraging all residents, especially the elderly, to take precautions to protect themselves from heat injuries.

Lytton, British Columbia, registered 117.5 degrees on Monday– the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, and around 48 degrees above what's normal for this time of year.

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Canada: Dozens Dead as 121 Degree Heatwave Shatters Records

A woman enters a cooling centre during the scorching weather of a heatwave in Vancouver
A woman enters a cooling centre set up in Vancouver

Dozens of people have died in Canada amid an unprecedented heatwave that has smashed temperature records.

Police in the Vancouver area have responded to more than 130 sudden deaths since Friday. Most were elderly or had underlying health conditions, with heat often a contributing factor.

Canada broke its temperature record for a third straight day on Tuesday – 49.6C (121.3F) in Lytton, British Columbia.

The US north-west has also seen record highs – and a number of fatalities.

Experts say climate change is expected to increase the frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves. However, linking any single event to global warming is complicated.

The heat over western parts of Canada and the US has been caused by a dome of static high-pressure hot air stretching from California to the Arctic territories. Temperatures have been easing in coastal areas but there is little immediate respite for inland regions.

Before Sunday, temperatures in Canada had never passed 45C.

British Columbia Premier John Horgan said the hottest week the province had ever experienced had led to “disastrous consequences for families and for communities”.

The number of heat-related fatalities is likely to rise as some areas say they have responded to sudden death incidents but have yet to collate the numbers.

In Vancouver alone, heat is believed to have been a contributing factor in the unexpected deaths of 65 people since Friday.

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“I’ve been a police officer for 15 years and I’ve never experienced the volume of sudden deaths that have come in in such a short period of time,” police sergeant Steve Addison said. Three or four a day is the normal number.

He said people were arriving at relatives’ homes and “finding them deceased”.

Dozens of officers have been redeployed in the city, while the increased volume of emergency calls has created a backlog and depleted police resources.

British Columbia Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said 100 more deaths than normal had been reported in the period from Friday to Monday.

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The tiny village of Lytton, about 155 miles (250 km) east of Vancouver – and not much further south than London – has recorded all of Canada’s recent record highs.

Resident Meghan Fandrich said it had been “almost impossible” to go outside.

“It’s been intolerable,” she told the Globe & Mail newspaper. “We’re trying to stay indoors as much as possible. We’re used to the heat, and it’s a dry heat, but 30 [degrees] is a lot different from 47.”

Many homes in British Columbia do not have air conditioning as temperatures are usually far milder during the summer months. Temporary water fountains and cooling centres have been set up in the Vancouver area.

The country’s weather service, Environment Canada, has issued heat warnings for the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, along with areas of Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba.

Records fall in western US

In the US Pacific Northwest on Monday, temperatures hit 46.1C in Portland, Oregon, and 42.2C in Seattle, Washington, the highest levels since record-keeping began in the 1940s, the National Weather Service said.

At least a dozen deaths in Washington and Oregon are believed to be linked to the heatwave.

A doctor in a Seattle hospital told the Seattle Times the number of patients streaming in with heat stroke was comparable to the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Jeremy Hess said some had kidney or heart problems, and one man had third-degree burns from walking on asphalt.

The heat has been intense enough to melt cables, shutting down the Portland Streetcar Service on Sunday.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
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An electrical utility in Spokane, Washington, has also introduced rolling blackouts to cope with huge power demand as residents run air conditioners.

Agricultural workers are often now being given the option to start at dawn and finish at noon. But labour contractors say that some stay regardless of the heat.

One worker was found dead in a field at the end of his shift at a farm in Oregon.

One Seattle resident told the AFP news agency that the city felt like a desert: “Normally… 60, 70 degrees [farenheit] is a great day – everybody is outside in shorts and T-shirts – but this is… ridiculous”.

Amazon allowed members of the public into areas of its Seattle headquarters as a cooling-off location on Monday, while people in Portland also flocked to cooling centres.

People rest at the Oregon Convention Centre cooling station in Oregon, Portland
Portland residents have flocked to cooling centres
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The post Canada: Dozens Dead as 121 Degree Heatwave Shatters Records appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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'The only winners out of today are the anti-vaxxers': Chris Uhlmann

Nine News Political Editor Chris Uhlmann has taken aim at Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young's stance on the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Today the pair told a press conference that people under 40 should not get that vaccine, despite it being made available to younger Australians this week.

It sparked chaos and confusion between state leaders, health professionals and the public.

Watch the full video above.

READ MORE: War of words as vaccine, border tensions erupt between governments

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has lashed out at the federal government's vaccine rollout plans.

"What the Queensland Premier and her Chief Health Officer did today was simply astonishing," Uhlmann said tonight.

"If they wanted to shift blame for their lockdown onto the Prime Minister there was plenty of fertile ground on which to work.

"They could say the vaccine rollout is too slow, which is true.

"They could flog Scott Morrison for bad communication with doctors, or for his slow conversion to the idea of purpose-built quarantine.

"But they didn't do that.

"Instead, they attacked the quality of a vaccine that we desperately need to dig our way out of this prison.

"They played up the vanishingly small chance of dying from AstraZeneca and became the latest loud voices adding to fear and confusion in the community.

"It was breathtaking and the only winners out of today are the anti-vaxxers."

The AstraZeneca debate

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's call to extend eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine for anybody aged over 18 prompted alarm in some quarters.

Advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), as the government has acknowledged, has not changed, and the AstraZeneca vaccine continues to be recommended for use by over-60s only.

Queensland Premier takes swipe at PM

Ms Palaszczuk said National Cabinet did not make the decision to widen the availability of AstraZeneca to under-40s.

"National Cabinet did not make that decision," she said at her COVID-19 media briefing today.

"I'd like to ask the prime minister, did his cabinet make that decision?"

She called into question whether it was wise for the prime minister to allow younger Australians to get AstraZeneca.

"We want Queenslanders to get vaccinated," she said.

"But there is some clear guidelines that have been put in place by the chief health officer, ATAGI, and the AMA."

She urged Queenslanders to listen to the advice of health experts, including Dr Young.

Dr Young was clear in her thoughts on the prime minister's decision to allow younger Australians to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.

"I do not want under-40s to get AstraZeneca," she said.

"I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got COVID, probably wouldn't die."

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Aussie shares record best result in 21 years

The Australian share market has closed trade on its best year since the current index was launched in 2000.

At the close of trade the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.2 per cent to 7313 points, capping off a financial year in which the market gained a staggering 23.9 per cent.

Incredibly, the index closed out a financial year in which it recorded a positive rise 11 out of 12 months.

READ MORE: Aussie sharemarket breaks all-time high record

The performance of the S&P/ASX 200 in FY20-21 even beat that of the mining boom in 2006-07.

Among today's biggest winners were Telstra (up 4.44 per cent), mining outfit Iluka Resources (up 11.72 per cent) and travel firm Webjet (up 3.59 per cent).

Some of the day's notable losses came from AGL Energy (down 9.99 per cent), Origin Energy (down 2.59 per cent) and the a2 Milk Company (down 1.80 per cent).

READ MORE: Aussie shares hit fresh 11-month high as dollar, Bitcoin boom

In cryptocurrency, one Bitcoin is currently worth $46,672 while one Ether is worth $2,855.

The Aussie dollar is currently buying 0.75 US cents.

You can find out more details about how to book your vaccine through the Federal Government health site here.

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

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Interactive: Track the vaccine rollout

With COVID-19 vaccinations underway in Australia, and around the world, 9news.com.au has put together an interactive collection of state-by-state and nationwide graphs, maps and tables, which, together, will show where we are at in terms of the rollout.

These will be continually updated as official data is released. If you using the app and unable to view the content below please follow the link to be taken to our mobile site.

Global vaccination numbers will be a crucial determinant in how quickly the world re-opens.

Track the international effort below.

Eligibility rules are different depending on what the jurisdiction is.

Find out if you are able to get your jab using the table below.

You can find out more information on the vaccine rollout and eligibility via the Federal Government's health site here.