Meanwhile, police have confirmed a fifth body has been recovered from the scene.
Tag Archives: oceania
Pacific leaders arrive in Port Moresby ahead of Modi and Blinken Papua New Guinea visit
Pacific leaders are tricking into Papua New Guinea for two high-level meetings.
Bunnings to trial four day work week for thousands of employees
Thousands of Bunnings workers will be part of a new four-day working week trial in a first for the retail industry.
The workers will get a pay rise, have more holidays and have a shorter working week after the agreement was reached yesterday.
The full-time workers will still have to reach their 38 hours but they will be able to do that over four days or a nine day fortnight.
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They are also going to get an annual leave increase from four weeks to five and get a pay rise of 10.5 per cent over three years.
The pay increase will be spread out so workers receive 4.5 per cent this year and 3 per cent the year after.
The only obvious catch is workers will be required to work weekends in some of the hours.
The agreement will effect approximately 4000 workers.
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The cities around the world shrinking in population
As Australia facing a growing housing crisis, overseas many cities have been in population decline, in some cases for decades.
Ukraine's president takes his diplomatic campaign against Russia to Arab summit, G7
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed a summit of Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia on Friday before what a senior official said would be a trip to Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the world's most powerful democracies.
Zelenskyy has in recent months made foreign trips to shore up diplomatic support for Ukraine's fight against Russia's full-scale invasion almost 15 months ago and solicit more military support.
He earlier this week returned from a three-day trip to Italy, the Vatican, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.
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Ukraine and Russia are squaring up for a major and potentially decisive phase in the war as Kyiv prepares an expected counteroffensive. The conflict has been bogged down in a war of attrition in recent months amid bad weather.
Zelenskyy's office said he was invited to attend the Arab League summit in Jeddah where he met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before holding other bilateral meetings.
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They discussed Zelenskyy's peace plan, the security situation in Ukraine and possible investments in the reconstruction of the country, a presidential statement said. Zelenskyy also invited Prince Mohammed to visit Ukraine.
Zelenskyy urged leaders at the summit to resist Moscow's influence and consider his peace proposals, which include the withdrawal of the Kremlin's forces from occupied areas of Ukraine.
"I'm more than sure that none of you will agree to surrender a third of your country to the invaders," Zelenskyy said in English.
"Another priority is the protection of the Muslim community of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. "Crimea was the first to suffer from the Russian occupation, and most of those who suffer repression in occupied Crimea are Muslims."
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev accompanied Zelenskyy on the visit.
Zelenskyy will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan where leaders of the world's most powerful democracies aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
However, Danilov's office later posted a statement backtracking on his announcement and saying Zelenskyy would appear at the G-7 summit via video link. Zelenskyy's movements are kept secret for security reasons.
Meanwhile, Russia's forces kept up their long-range bombardment of Ukrainian targets while drones reportedly damaged train lines behind their front line.
About 130 meters of railway track were damaged and trains were halted for hours after an explosion derailed eight cars of a freight train carrying grain in Russia-occupied Crimea, Russian state media reported on Friday.
Thursday's blast prompted renewed suspicions about possible Ukrainian saboteur activity behind Russian lines.
Train traffic was also halted in northern Crimea on Thursday night after a drone hit a railway track near the town of Dzhankoi, Russia's Baza Telegram channel reported.
Sergei Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said in a separate post that four Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight in the peninsula's north. Aksyonov claimed there was no damage or casualties.
Russia overnight fired cruise missiles, drones and artillery at targets across Ukraine, killing two civilians, officials said Friday.
The attacks included an air assault on Kyiv for the second straight day and the 10th time in three weeks. The Kremlin's forces also took aim at central, eastern and southern Ukraine, and the western Lviv region near the border with Poland.
Russia launched 22 Iranian-made Shahed drones and six Kalibr cruise missiles during the night, the Ukrainian Air Force said. It said air defenses downed 16 drones and three missiles.
The Russian shelling killed two civilians and wounded nine others in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, its Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
The missile attacks that have intensified recently aim to "disrupt Ukraine's plans and preparations for active military operations during the spring-summer campaign," according to a statement from Ukraine's intelligence agency, published on Telegram.
The targets are Ukraine's military control points and barracks, supply routes and the places where ammunition, equipment, fuel are stored, it said.
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Man fights off intruders with scooter after being stabbed in Queensland
A car has driven through the front of a house and a man has been stabbed during a home invasion in Queensland, after he fought off the intruders with a children's scooter.
Three men can be seen entering the Bahrs Scrub home in Logan on CCTV footage on Thursday, at 2.15pm.
The homeowner's brother confronted the trio with a children's scooter after he received a notification from the home's security system that someone was in the house.
READ MORE: Tsunami warning for Australian island after powerful quake
He was allegedly stabbed in the abdomen during the confrontation but did not realise until later on.
The trio's getaway car, a Ford Ranger, then rammed through the living room wall as the trio struggled to get away from the homeowner's brother. The group then fled the home as a nearby witness ran to help.
Brett Huxstep attempted to record the group as they drove away and then attended to the man who was stabbed.
"The adrenaline was still going and then we noticed that he had been stabbed. We lifted up his shirt and went geez and started first aid and put pressure on it," he said.
"110 per cent (respect) to him, he just kept going at them. I suppose he thought he was fighting for his life.
"You hear about it, you see it on TV but you don't think it's going to happen to you, just around the corner on the job site."
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The man was taken to Logan Hospital with injuries to his liver and stomach. He's in a stable condition.
A money box containing hundreds of dollars was one of the items stolen, it's believed to have belonged to a teenager who lived in the home.
A missing wall from the front of the home has been temporarily patched up by local tradies to provide the family with privacy following the invasion.
The family are currently too shaken to speak about the incident.
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AFL fans to be able to grab drinks at Marvel Stadium in a 45-second goal break
Half-time queues for hot chips or a beer at the footy could soon be a thing of the past at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium, with new technology to roll out from tomorrow.
The new Amazon technology system, called 'Just Walk Out', will allow fans to get food and drinks within the space of a 45-second goal break, according to AFL technology chief Rob Pickering.
"That means getting what you need and getting back to your seat in a goal break of 45 seconds," he said.
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Two food and drinks outlets at the stadium called 'The Runner' have been fitted with the technology, which has not previously been used in the Southern Hemisphere.
The system will see customers scan their bank card or mobile wallet when entering one of the stores.
It then detects what food and drinks are selected and charges customers when they leave.
It will debut during this weekend's match between North Melbourne and Sydney tomorrow afternoon.
The technology is currently in use at sports venues across the US, including TD Garden, home of the Boston Celtics (NBA) and Boston Bruins (NHL), and Climate Pledge Arena, home of the Seattle Kraken (NHL).
Fans buying alcohol will still be required to show their ID to a worker for age verification.
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Ex-Liberal leader's son charged in dark web drug supply
The son of former Liberal Party leader Kerry Chikarovski has been charged over allegedly supplying drugs on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrency.
Mark Chikarovski, 37, was arrested at an apartment complex in Bondi Junction in Sydney's east on Thursday.
Detective Superintendent Matthew Craft said Chikarovski was shocked when police arrived at his home, claiming he was wearing gloves and packaging illicit drugs ready to post at the time of his arrest.
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"We don't believe that he was even aware that law enforcement had an interest in his activities at the time," Det Supt Craft said on Friday.
"He was packaging, illicit drugs ready to post …
"He was taking precautions, he was wearing gloves at the time he was actually arrested."
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Chikarovski was later charged with 31 offences including supplying prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis, knowingly dealing with proceeds of crime and 16 counts of supplying a prohibited drug (indictable and commercial quantity).
He appeared at Waverley Local Court on Friday where he was granted bail on the condition he reports daily to police, surrenders his passport and does not access or use electronic devices.
Chikarovski's mother led the NSW Liberal Party from 1999 to 2002 as the state's first female opposition leader.
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She has since founded her own consultancy firm Chikarovski & Associates.
Police allege the 37-year-old received cryptocurrency in exchange for prohibited drugs on thousands of occasions since 2017.
Detectives began an investigation in January probing the supply of prohibited drugs across NSW using dark web marketplaces.
"During the course of the investigation, detectives identified a marketplace facilitating the supply of cocaine, methylamphetamine and MDMA in exchange for cryptocurrency," NSW Police said in a statement.
Officers carried out search warrants at a Bondi Junction apartment as well as a house in Vaucluse about 1.30pm on Thursday.
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"Investigators located prohibited drugs, computers, $30,000 cash, approximately $269,000 worth of varying cryptocurrency and two Porsche SUVs," police said.
Det Supt Craft said a large quantity of cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine were all located at the property as well as restricted prescription substances.
These items were seized to undergo forensic examination.
Chikarovski will next appear in court on July 13.
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Car flips onto roof during crash on busy Melbourne road
A car flipped onto its roof on a busy Melbourne road after colliding with another car on Friday lunchtime.
Neither drivers were injured despite the black Honda hatchback flipping on its front windscreen after the collision on Commercial Road in Prahran about 1pm.
Paramedics and firefighters rished to the scene.
Firefighters were also on scene to help safely move the car.
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Anyone who witnessed the collision or with dashcam footage is urged to contact police.
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Tsunami warning for Aussie island after 7.7 magnitude quake
A tsunami warning has been issued for Australia's Lord Howe Island after a 7.7 magnitude undersea earthquake struck southeast of New Caledonia.
Geoscience Australia reported the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck at 1pm south east of the Loyalty Islands which includes New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a tsunami warning for Lord Howe Island, a popular holiday destination east of Australia with 300 residents.
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"So far, a 22-centimetre tsunami wave has been observed near New Caledonia," the BoM said.
"A tsunami warning for the marine environment is current for Lorde Howe island with an expected arrival time of 4:15pm local time (3:45pm AEST).
"There is no land threat to the Australian mainland or Australian territories."
The bureau also warned of the tsunami generating dangerous rips, waves and currents, as well as small localised flooding near the shore.
"While evacuations are not necessary for Marine Threat areas, people in these areas are advised to get out of the water and move away from the immediate water's edge," the bureau said, adding that "tsunami waves are more powerful than the same size beach waves".
"There will be many waves and the first wave may not be the largest."
The US Tsunami Warning System said tsunami waves could reach between one to three metres above tide level in Vanuatu.
Waves could reach up to one metre above tide level in New Caledonia, Fiji and New Zealand, the authority added.
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