The Government has been reviewing the future of emergency and transitional housing since June last year, with a paper detailing proposed changes likely to go to Cabinet in the middle of the year. It comes as a second review, published…

Auslan interpreter Mikey Webb may have just proved that being pooed on by a bird can bring you good luck after all.

Mr Webb copped an unlucky spray while he was assisting at Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's press conference in Brisbane yesterday.

The utter professional – who ditched his jacket, wiped his forehead and got right back to work – appears to have attracted some good luck, winning a meat tray at the pub overnight.

READ MORE: Almost 3000 homes in NSW Northern Rivers uninhabitable

"He was back on the job this morning in a fresh suit," Ms Palaszczuk said.

Mr Webb has been a silent but constant presence in official Queensland press conferences for years and kept his cool despite the less than desirable bombardment.

READ MORE: COVID-19 daily cases almost double in five days in NSW

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1501739191629012994

READ MORE: Extra disaster payments explained – How to claim

"Oh no," Ms Palaszczuk was heard saying.

"Has anyone got tissues?"

The Queensland premier later identified the culprit as an owl.

"Nothing stops our fabulous Mikey," she wrote on Twitter.

"He stands by my side, he stands by Queensland's side."

Some MIQ hotel workers are considering a strike after learning their $80 weekly allowances will be gone by the end of June.Unite Union said workers were appalled nobody in the Government told them about the detailed wind-down of…

We’re in the thick of an Omicron wave right now – but what can we expect when other, more familiar viruses return to a reopened New Zealand? Otago University virologist Dr Jemma Geoghegan answers five questions. What trends are…

The Waitangi Tribunal will be asked to consider whether the Crown is failing Māori on alcohol, as part of the evidence into WAI 2624 being heard next week.Lead claimant Rāwiri Ratū (Ngāti te Ata Waiohua, Waikato-Tainui,…

Ordinary people are being caught in the crossfire as Russian invaders have turned their sights onto civilian buildings and infrastructure.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ruthlessly pursued his country's bloody invasion of Ukraine that triggered Europe's biggest security crisis since World War II.

Recent media appearances have shown him sitting isolated from senior Kremlin ministers and advisers.

Mr Putin has known many since his days with the former KGB spy agency during the Cold War.

LIVE UPDATES: Major expansion of ADF

He also has the support of many Russian super-rich oligarchs in the business sector.

While drawn from various backgrounds, they all bring one common quality: intense loyalty to the Russian president.

Here are some of Putin's inner circle.

Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister

The 71-year-old experienced diplomat has been among Mr Putin's closest aides for years and has served as foreign minister for the past 18 years.

He doesn't mince words when defending what he sees as Moscow's interests, and that style must appeal to the tough-talking Russian president.

Like his boss, Mr Lavrov has tapped into broad public nostalgia for the country's Soviet-era clout.

READ MORE: Ukraine says children trapped under rubble after airstrike hits maternity hospital

Sergei Shoigu, Defence Minister

A long-time Putin associate, Sergei Shoigu has been Defence Minister for 10 years.

He oversaw the takeover of Crimea by Russian-backed forces and was also in charge of the military intelligence agency accused by Western governments of carrying out the deadly 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury in the UK.

Mr Shoigu is on close terms with Mr Putin.

They have been on publicised hunting and shooting expeditions to Siberia together.

READ MORE: Pentagon rejects Poland offer to give Ukraine warplanes

Vyacheslav Volodin, Duma Speaker

Vyacheslav Volodin is the speaker of the State Duma, Russia's parliament.

Before he took up the role in 2016, he had spent five years running the Kremlin's domestic policy.

Following the 2011 protests against Putin, Mr Volodin worked on consolidating the power of the ruling party and on softening Putin's image, according to the US-based Carnegie Moscow Centre.

He has been sanctioned by the US government.

READ MORE: Australia listed as 'unfriendly country' by Russia as sanctions bite

Sergey Chemezov, businessman

According to an interview Sergey Chemezov gave to a Russian newspaper, he and Mr Putin have known each other for more than 30 years.

The pair both served as KGB agents in East Germany, when their families lived in the same building, and they became "friendly neighbours."

Mr Chemezov has worked in the Russian President's administration and has held a series of top posts at state-owned companies.

Yury Kovalchuk, personal banker

Yury Kovalchuk is Mr Putin's personal banker, according to the US Treasury, which says he is known as one of the Russian President's "cashiers".

Like Mr Putin and the Shamalovs, Mr Kovalchuk is also a founding member of the elite Ozero dacha cooperative near St Petersburg.

In 2013, it was reported that he had hosted the wedding of Mr Putin's daughter, Katerina, to Kirill Shamalov at his ski resort near Ozero.

READ MORE: The weapons of the Russia-Ukraine conflict

While many of Mr Putin's inner circle have been hit with major international sanctions, there is little chance of them turning against the Russian president or moderating his stance on the Ukraine war, one expert says.

"There is no such thing as a moderate member of the Kremlin hierarchy," Matthew Sussex, a senior fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies at the Australian Defence College in Canberra.

– Reported with AP, CNN

Test your brains with the Herald’s afternoon quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz for the morning quiz tomorrow. To challenge yourself with more quizzes, CLICK HERE.

An Aussie mortgage holder with $500,000 owing could see their monthly repayments rise by more than $200 if forecasts of an earlier interest rate hike are realised.

The Commonwealth Bank is now expecting rates to be increased in June following higher than expected levels of inflation and strong employment figures.

Currently, CBA expects the RBA to lift rates by 15 basis points in June, taking the official cash rate to 0.25 per cent.

READ MORE: How war in Ukraine could speed up Aussie interest rate hikes

It will then lift rates by 25 basis points twice in the third quarter of 2022, and once more in the fourth quarter, taking the cash rate to a flat 1.0 per cent by the end of this year.

Finally, in the first quarter of 2023, the bank predicts one more rise to take the cash rate to 1.25 per cent.

Data crunched by RateCity.com.au shows that if this forecast is realised, for a borrower with $500,000 owing, monthly repayments could rise by $236 by the end of this year.

This estimate includes principal they would have paid off in this time and assumes that the borrower has 25 years remaining on their loan.

By February 2024, the same borrower could be paying $303 more a month than they currently are.

READ MORE: Top 10 NSW suburbs where owners have won 'property lottery'

Sally Tindall, Research Director at RateCity.com.au said it would be wise for borrowers on variable rates to try and negotiate with their lender prior to the RBA making a formal decision.

"Mortgage holders should heed Governor Lowe's advice and build a buffer now to help them tackle the upcoming rate hikes head on," Ms Tindall told 9News.com.au.

"People on a variable rate can also haggle with their bank or switch lenders to get themselves on a better rate now so they're coming off a lower base when the hikes come rolling in.

"If you're on a variable rate, with a steady job and have a good track record of paying down your debt, then you probably have more negotiating power than you realise."

READ MORE: How to secure better interest rates on home loans

Ms Tindall recommends borrowers checking what their options are before picking up the phone to their lender.

"Call your bank and ask for a rate cut. Before you call, check what your bank is offering new customers for the same home loan, but also find out what other lenders are likely to offer you. There are plenty of low variable rate options on the table and dozens of lenders are also offering cashback to refinancers," she said.

"If you are taking out a cashback offer make sure the numbers stack up in your favour."

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.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins today said he would be willing to have a conversation with New Zealand journalist Charlotte Bellis “if she got in touch with him”.He stated that he had never indicated that Bellis had turned…