Tag Archives: oceania

Where and when you can watch the Matildas' World Cup semi-final

The nation's eyes will be on the Matildas when they take on England in the semi-final after a breathtaking penalty shoot out captivated the country on the weekend.

A win would see the side advance to their first-ever World Cup final after they already made history by making it to the semi-finals for the first time after a gripping match in Brisbane on Saturday night.

There's even a promise of a public holiday if the side win the World Cup by prime minister Anthony Albanese and NSW premier Chris Minns.

This is all the information you need to know about the crucial fixture, including when it starts, where it's being played, and how you can watch it.

READ MORE: Day off, 'ticker tape parade' in Sydney if Matildas win the Cup: Minns

When is the Matildas vs England Women's World Cup semi-final?

The Matildas' semi-final against England will kick-off at 8pm on Wednesday, August 16 (AEST) at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

This means a start time of 7.30pm in South Australia and Darwin and 6pm in Western Australia.

The match duration could finish around 9pm but it will be extended depending on extra time and penalties.

READ MORE: Matilda's create $7.6 billion economic boost across country

Matildas players pose for a team photograph ahead of their international friendly match with France.

Where can you watch it?

There are a range of live sites where fans can gather to watch the match with hundreds of other supporters on the big screen, including the official FIFA Fan Festivals in each of the tournament's Australian host cities.

In Sydney, the Fan Festival is at Tumbalong Park, while Melbourne's is at Federation Square and Brisbane's is at South Bank, Adelaide's at Festival Plaza and Perth's is held at Forrest Place.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed AAMI Park will screen the match after opening up Rod Laver Arena on Saturday night.

"Big game needs a bigger stadium," Andrews tweeted.

"AAMI Park. Wednesday night. Be there."

NSW Premier Chris Minns confirmed Western Sydney Stadium in Parramatta and Sydney Football Stadium in Moore Park would open up for fans to watch on the big screen.

The Sydney Opera House sails will also be lit up green and gold on Wednesday night from 5.50pm.

You can see a full list of places to view the Matildas vs England quarter-final below.

The World Cup has sold 1.75 million tickets across the tournament's 64 games in Australia and New Zealand.

And you can watch the match on Optus Sport, which has the rights to every game of the 2023 tournament.

Jetstar flights from Aussie city to Bali cancelled for three weeks

Jetstar confirmed today it has cancelled flights from Darwin to Bali for three weeks in October ahead of runway upgrades at Darwin International Airport.

The budget airline said it will temporarily pause flights between Darwin and the tourist hotspot Denpasar from Monday, October 9 to Saturday, October 28, 2023.

Jetstar took the decision after the Defence Department – the airport owner – announced its main runway will close from 2am to 11.30am, between October 9 and November 30.

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Jetstar plane

Jetstar was contacting affected customers, a company spokesperson said.

"We are contacting customers who are booked to travel during the three-week works period to discuss their options including indirect flights via another port, a travel credit, or a refund to their original form of payment," they said.

"We know this will be disappointing and frustrating for affected customers and we thank them for their understanding."

Jetstar halted bookings for the flights in April as it waited for confirmation of the runway works.

Defence Department officials said the runway resurfacing works will start this week and continue until late 2024.

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The spokesperson said flights on the route would restart from Sunday, October 29.

The runway upgrades at Darwin International Airport are part of a $200 million works program by the Defence Department to help support military and civilian air traffic into the Northern Territory.

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Mark Latham axed as One Nation leader in NSW

Mark Latham has been pushed out as One Nation's NSW leader, which he has claimed is a "Queensland takeover without consultation or due process".

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson confirmed a new executive was appointed on August 9 and that the position of NSW leader remained vacant, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I can confirm that the party's national executive has resolved to form a new NSW state executive for the party," the spokesperson told The Sydney Morning Herald.

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Mark Latham

"That state executive has been in place since the 9 of August this year and that includes, on the executive, senator Pauline Hanson," they said.

"Latham is not on the new executive.

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"The national party's national executive has decided to declare vacant the position of NSW state parliamentary leader."

Latham accused Hanson of spearheading the "bizarre" takeover without consultation.

"She has installed her own new State Executive with people from Queensland and Tasmania who did not lift a finger to help us during the March election campaign," Latham said on Facebook.

Pauline Hanson and Mark Latham.

"Good party members who worked exceptionally hard for One Nation have been kicked off the Executive."

He said he remained leader of the parliamentary team and claimed the decision was justified by a one per cent drop in the party upper house vote in March.

"Over the past five years we have built up into the largest One Nation parliamentary party in the country – so where's the problem?

"The Queensland takeover is not about performance. It is about money."

He claimed he previously stopped the misuse of party funds.

The One Nation spokesperson said a comprehensive review of the NSW division would take place.

"In particular with respect to future campaigns and the relationship between the party organisation in NSW and the NSW parliamentary wing of the party."

Previously Latham quit the upper house to recontest the top One Nation spot in March to increase the party's MP numbers in the lower house.

In late March, Hanson condemned an offensive tweet Latham aimed at NSW independent MP Alex Greenwich, who is gay. 9News has chosen not to publish the words contained in the tweet.

Greenwich launched a defamation suit which remains before the court. 

Endangered lioness killed after escaping farm in South Korea

An endangered lioness was shot dead in South Korea on Monday, an hour after escaping a private farm, according to local officials.

The lioness escaped its cage Monday morning in Goryeong county, in North Gyeongsang Province, about 300 kilometres south of the capital Seoul, according to a county official.

It's a mountainous area with just over 30,000 residents.

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The escape prompted a search operation involving 127 police officers and 26 fire department personnel, according to the regional fire service. Authorities issued an alert urging residents to stay away from nearby Bukdu mountain.

About an hour after the escape was reported, the lioness was shot dead in the woods, about four to five kilometres from the farm, according to the county official.

Photos released by the fire service show the lioness before she was killed, peering out from a tangle of bushes and leaves.

The private farm also owns cows, but has no other lion or lionesses, said the county official.

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The lioness had been registered with the Daegu Regional Environmental Office as an international endangered species, an official from the agency confirmed to CNN.

Any transfer and death of a registered animal needs to be reported to the office, which also conducts inspections of their living facilities, the official added.

It is unclear when the last inspection of this lioness was conducted.

Lions are currently listed as "vulnerable" under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, with the population continuing to decrease due to habitat loss, the decline of prey species, trophy hunting and conflict with humans.

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Russia fires warning shots and boards cargo ship

A Russian warship fired warning shots and boarded a cargo ship it claims was headed to Ukraine in the Black Sea, according to Russia's Defence Ministry.

Russia pulled out of a UN and Turkish-brokered deal in July that allowed Ukraine to move its grain via the Black Sea and warned that any ships headed to Ukraine would be treated as potentially carrying weapons.

Ukraine made a similar threat to ships travelling to Russian ports.

READ MORE: Russian fighter jet 'drops like bullet' and crashes at US airshow

Russia said the warship fired warning shots on Sunday when the captain of the Palau-flagged dry cargo ship failed to respond to a request to stop for an inspection.

"The Russian warship opened warning fire from automatic small arms fire to forcefully stop the vessel," the statement said.

The ministry claimed the ship – named Sukra Okan – was headed to the Ukrainian port of Izmail.

Marine traffic websites currently show the cargo vessel's destination as the Romanian port of Sulina which is close to Izmail.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on whether or not the ship was headed to one of its ports.

"In order to inspect the bulk cargo ship, a Ka-29 helicopter with a group of Russian servicemen was hoisted from the patrol ship Vasily Bykov," the ministry said.

"Following radio conversations, the ship stopped its course and the boarding team landed on the bulk cargo ship," the statement said.

This week Ukraine announced that it would open up a temporary humanitarian corridor for ships to sail to and from its ports and has opened up registration for merchant vessels to use the sea route.

READ MORE: Baby girl killed in Russian shelling of Ukrainian village

Both Russia and Ukraine are major grain producers and their deal – a rare point of agreement in the middle of a war – did much to stabilise prices.

Kyiv argues that Russia's withdrawal amounts to a blockade of Ukrainian products. Russia long complained that it had been unable to export its own foodstuffs.

A Ukrainian Navy spokesperson, Dmytro Pletenchuk, said the temporary routes aim to overcome the global food security crisis and added that they would allow shipowners and companies to "finally take back their merchant vessels that are in humanitarian captivity due to the constant threats of Russians at sea".

Pletenchuk said ship owners and captains have been warned of the existing danger and said Ukrainian Armed Forces will help to ensure the security of the merchant ships sailing through the corridors, with the Navy "doing everything we can to ensure security."

It remains unclear when ships might use the route given the potential dangers there.

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