Panic buying has seen supplies of Covid medication fly off the shelves from some Auckland supermarkets and pharmacies ahead of the looming Omicron outbreak. At 11.59pm last night the country moved back to the red traffic light setting…

Health insurer nib has announced it will postpone increasing its health insurance premiums until September to provide financial relief to Aussies struggling with the economic impact of COVID-19.

Announcing its decision to the market this morning, nib said it would defer the fee hike until September 1, 2022.

Originally health insurance premiums were approved to change from April 1, where they would increase by 2.66 per cent on average.

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After September 1, when the premiums take affect, it is estimated that the annual average premium per single unit would be $2,484.

Managing Director Mark Fitzgibbon said postponing the fee hike "was the right thing to do" given that many healthcare services were currently suspended to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

"It's a highly stressful time and I don't want to downplay the financial toll it's having on our members," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

READ MORE: Will Omicron end the pandemic?

"We also recognise that many healthcare services have been suspended or delayed which has impacted our claims experience and risk equalisation commitment.

"By deferring premium increases we're making good on our commitment to returning any permanent savings to our members."

Members of nib will be notified of the premium postponement and the changes will be automatically applied to their health cover policy.

The nib Group is one of the largest health insurance providers in the country, providing cover to 1.4 million members across Australia and New Zealand.

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.

Auckland Council may have to close or reduce services at libraries, swimming pools, leisure centres and community venues due to Omicron, council chief executive Jim Stabback says.This would happen if a large percentage of council…

After more than two years of the Covid pandemic, New Zealand has once again imposed strict restrictions over just a handful of cases, and it has the rest of the world talking.New Zealand has been praised throughout the past couple…

Saturn's Death Star-like moon Mimas could be hiding a watery secret, according to scientists.

Researchers have found "compelling evidence" the small 396 kilometre diameter moon has a secret underground ocean below its icy shell.

Suspicions were first raised after NASA's Cassini probe detected a "wobble" in the moon's rotation in 2014.

The wobble indicates Mimas' interior is not exactly uniform.

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Now a study published on January 19 in the journal Icarus posits the wobble could be due to a hidden body of water deep within the moon.

If the theory proves correct Mimas would be an entirely new type of celestial body.

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"If Mimas has an ocean, it represents a new class of small, 'stealth' ocean worlds with surfaces that do not betray the ocean's existence," geophysicist and lead author of the study Alyssa Rhoden said in a statement.

"Turns out, Mimas' surface was tricking us, and our new understanding has greatly expanded the definition of a potentially habitable world in our solar system and beyond."

Mimas was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on September 17, 1789.

It has been nicknamed the "Death Star" moon due to its uncanny resemblance to the iconic Star Wars battle station.

As millions of Australian concession card holders today become eligible for free rapid antigen tests (RATs), one expert has warned the nation does not have enough stock to meet demand.

National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Trent Twomey, told Today that pharmacies across the nation "don't have enough" to meet demand as the program goes live.

However Mr Twomey insisted this supply shortage will soon be rectified.

Here is what you need to know about the free rapid antigen test scheme.

READ MORE: Warning of rapid test 'Hunger Games'

When will rapid antigen test shortage end?

Mr Twomey said supply pressure will begin to ease by next Monday, as 13 million kits arrive on Australian shores.

"There is also another 22 million arriving just for pharmacy through those wholesalers in the first three weeks of February," Mr Twomey said.

"We will have enough over the course of the program.

"(The shortage) is going to be fixed…Today is phase 1 or tranche 1. More will come online over the coming days and weeks."

READ MORE: When to take a rapid antigen test

Who is eligible for a free rapid antigen test?

Up to 6.6 million concession cardholders will be able to access up to 10 kits, over three months.

Those with the following cards can access a free kit from today:

• A healthcare card,
• A low-income card,
• A pension concession card,
• DVA Gold card
• DVA white card

It should be noted there's a limit of one pack per purchase.

How can eligible Australians find a kit?

Mr Twomey said eligible Australians have the best chance of finding a kit at the bigger chemist chains.

It comes after the Pharmacy Guild of Australia previously told the Sydney Morning Herald the free scheme had invoked a "Hunger Games" supply battle between chemists.

"The bigger boys are getting stock before the smaller guys," Mr Twomey explained.

"That's the same with state and territories. The bigger states are getting stock before the smaller states."

Mr Twomey has urged those seeking a kit to first look online before heading in-store.

"Go to Find a Pharmacy," he said.

"That will be updated twice a day with the pharmacies that do and don't have stock.

"Before you waste your time putting your kids in the car and driving around, check the website before you go and pop into your pharmacy."

When should you use a rapid antigen test?

Rapid antigen tests for COVID-19 are used at home and can provide results in as little as 15 minutes.

It can be used by both symptomatic patients and asymptomatic patients .

If you take a rapid antigen test and it comes back positive, you won't need to get a follow-up PCR test to confirm the result.

In both Victoria and NSW it's a requirement by law to register a positive rapid antigen test result.

If either your rapid antigen or PCR test returns a positive result you must isolate at home.

How accurate are rapid tests?

Early research out of the US suggests a home nasal swab may not always detect the Omicron strain within the first few days of infection.

The study looked at 29 workers who had saliva PCR tests and nasal rapid tests at the same time.

The PCR test detected the virus on average three days before the rapid tests returned a positive result.

So, Australians are advised to attend a walk-in or drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic if you:

• have COVID-19 symptoms
• are a close contact of someone who has tested positive
• have been advised to do so by a health professional.

READ MORE: NSW's return-to-school plan explained

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken amplified his warning against a Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying "a single additional Russian force" entering Ukraine "in an aggressive way" would result in a severe response by the US and its allies.

"If a single additional Russian force goes into Ukraine in an aggressive way, as I said, that would trigger a swift, a severe and a united response from us and from Europe," Mr Blinken told CNN's Dana Bash on State of the Union on Sunday.

The comments from Mr Blinken further clarify the US' position on any additional aggressive military action by Russia after the country amassed tens of thousands of troops on its border with Ukraine.

Though US officials have been issuing warnings to Russia in recent days, President Joe Biden muddled the message of severe consequences last week, saying at a news conference that a "minor incursion" might not trigger the same response from NATO as an invasion.

The President later clarified that any Russian troops crossing Ukraine's border would constitute an invasion, and Mr Blinken, following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week, also warned that any Russian invasion of Ukraine would be "met with a severe and a united response."

Kremlin plot claim by UK

Russia's Foreign Ministry has rejected a British claim that the Kremlin is seeking to replace Ukraine's government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian politician Yevheniy Murayev is a potential candidate.

The UK foreign office says it has information that the Russian government is planning to "install a pro-Russian leader in Kyiv as it considers whether to invade and occupy Ukraine."

"The former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev is being considered as a potential candidate," the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a Saturday statement.

Mr Murayev told CNN Saturday "there is nothing to comment on" regarding the allegations, as he is a Ukrainian national and still facing Russian sanctions.

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The statement went on to name four other former Ukrainian officials, saying, "We have information that the Russian intelligence services maintain links with numerous former Ukrainian politicians" including Serhiy Arbuzov, first deputy prime minister of Ukraine from 2012 to 2014, and acting prime minister in 2014; Andriy Kluyev, first deputy prime minister from 2010 to 2012 and chief of staff to former Ukrainian president Yanukovich; Vladimir Sivkovich, former deputy head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council (RNBO); Mykola Azarov, prime minister of Ukraine from 2010-2014," it said.

"Some of these have contact with Russian intelligence officers currently involved in the planning for an attack on Ukraine," the British foreign office statement added. Russia has denied allegations it is planning to attack Ukraine.

Early on Sunday (late Sunday AEDT), Russia's Foreign Ministry urged the UK's Foreign Office to "stop engaging in provocations," state news agency TASS reported.

"The misinformation spread by the British Foreign Office is another evidence that these are the NATO countries, led by the Anglo-Saxons, that are escalating tensions around Ukraine. We call on the British Foreign Office to stop provocative activities, stop spreading nonsense and focus on studying the history of the Tatar-Mongol yoke," a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS.

READ MORE: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern puts wedding on hold as NZ moves into red light COVID-19 restrictions 

CNN reached out to the UK Foreign Office on Saturday for further comment on its claims, as well as supporting evidence, but it said it would not comment any further.

"The information being released today shines a light on the extent of Russian activity designed to subvert Ukraine, and is an insight into Kremlin thinking," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.

"Russia must de-escalate, end its campaigns of aggression and disinformation, and pursue a path of diplomacy," Ms Truss said.

"As the UK and our partners have said repeatedly, any Russian military incursion into Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake with severe costs."

On Twitter, she said "We will not tolerate (a) Kremlin plot to install pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine."

https://twitter.com/trussliz/status/1485019793879142404

British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday that Russia will face severe economic sanctions if it installs its own regime in Ukraine.

"We are standing shoulder to shoulder, saying there will be very serious consequences in Russia takes this move to try and invade, but also install a puppet regime," he told Sky News on Sunday.

CNN also reached out to the US State Department and the White House for comment.

READ MORE: EU and US cut Australia from travel lists as Omicron surges 

Source: US has 'same information' as UK

In a statement on Saturday, the White House said President Joe Biden met with his national security team to discuss "continued Russian aggressive actions toward Ukraine."

The President was briefed on the state of Russian military operations on Ukraine's borders and "discussed both our ongoing efforts to de-escalate the situation with diplomacy and our range of deterrence measures that are being coordinated closely with our Allies and partners, including ongoing deliveries of security assistance to Ukraine," it added.

"President Biden again affirmed that should Russia further invade Ukraine, the United States will impose swift and severe consequences on Russia with our Allies and partners," the White House said.

A source briefed on the US and British intelligence confirmed the US has similar evidence as the UK, regarding Russia's plot to install a friendly government in Ukraine.

"Yes, we have seen the intelligence that Russia is looking at ways to minimise a long, drawn-out war. That includes things like installing a friendly government and using its spy agencies to foment dissent," the source said.

Another source briefed said the US "has the same information."

Russia has previously been accused of attempting to sow chaos in Ukraine through cyberattacks and, purportedly, plotting to take control of the government in Kyiv. But the Kremlin has repeatedly denied it is planning to invade.

CNN previously reported the US accused Russia of recruiting current and former Ukrainian government officials to attempt to take control of Ukraine's government as it unveiled new sanctions on Thursday.

The Treasury Department rolled out sanctions against four current and former Ukrainian officials it said were involved in Kremlin-directed influence activities to destabilise Ukraine. Those newly sanctioned individuals include Taras Romanovych Kozak, Volodymyr Mykolayovych Oliynyk, Vladimir Leonidovich Sivkovich, and Oleh Voloshyn.

Mr Sivkovich was the only former Ukrainian politician named in both the US and UK announcements.

The Treasury said the four individuals — two of whom are current members of Ukraine's Parliament — were acting under the direction of a Russian intelligence service sanctioned by the US and played "various roles" in Russia's "global influence campaign to destabilise sovereign countries in support of the Kremlin's political objectives."

US National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne expressed solidarity with Ukraine as the UK Foreign Office said it had information the Russian government is planning to install a pro-Russian leader in Ukraine, calling the plot "deeply concerning."

"The Ukrainian people have the sovereign right to determine their own future, and we stand with our democratically-elected partners in Ukraine," she said.

Romania, Bulgaria slam Russia's demands to move NATO troops

That comes as NATO members Romania and Bulgaria slammed Russia's demand to remove alliance troops from both countries as "unacceptable," with each arguing that the Kremlin has no right to interfere in the foreign policy decisions of other sovereign states.

The comments from both countries came just hours after Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed its demand for NATO to pull back troops from parts of eastern Europe included Bulgaria and Romania.

The two countries are located on the Black Sea, which analysts believe Moscow sees as an important geostrategic buffer zone between itself and Europe.

Romania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday "such a demand is unacceptable and cannot be negotiated".

Bulgaria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged Moscow to "show respect to the foreign policy choice consciously made by Bulgaria".

Bulgaria's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Marin Raykov, told the BBC the Kremlin's demand is "an expression of contempt for the sovereign rights of Bulgaria to choose the sources of guarantees for national security."

Russia and NATO have been at loggerheads since late last year, when the Kremlin deployed an estimated 100,000 troops to its border with Ukraine.

That military posturing has prompted fears that Russia is planning another incursion into Ukraine after invading and illegally annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

That same year, Moscow began supporting a pro-Russian separatist movement in eastern Ukraine that's left thousands dead.

In its statement, Romania said the NATO military presence in eastern Europe is "a strictly defensive reaction to the increasingly aggressive behaviour of the Russian Federation … which started in 2014. When the Ukrainian territory Crimea was illegally occupied by Russia."

"This behaviour continues to intensify in the present, despite NATO's attempts to engage in constructive dialogue," the statement read.

The United States and its NATO allies have repeatedly warned Russia any movement of its troops into Ukranian territory would be met with what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called "a severe and a united response."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has argued in recent weeks that his country is the aggrieved party, and is responding to NATO's cooperation with Ukraine and the alliance's eastward expansion since the fall of the Soviet Union — which Russia views as an existential security threat.

Diplomats from all sides have been attempting to negotiate a peaceful settlement, though one of Russia's core demands — that NATO withdraw foreign military forces and equipment from members of the alliance who joined after 1997 — was quickly deemed a non-starter by Western diplomats.

"NATO allies are ready to engage in dialogue with Russia, but we will not compromise on core principles," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier this month.

"We will not compromise on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of every nation in Europe, and we will not compromise on the right for all countries to do, to choose their own path, including what kind of security arrangements they want to be part of, and will not compromise on the right for allies to protect and defend each other."

Weaponry sent to Ukraine

NATO members have, in recent days, deployed military equipment and personnel to eastern alliance members in response to Russia's troop buildup in Ukraine.

The Dutch Defence Minister said the Netherlands would deploy two F-35 jets, along with support staff, to Bulgaria in April or May, while the Spanish Defence Minister offered to send fighter jets and a warship to the Black Sea.

The alliance has also begun sending weaponry to Kyiv to deter a potential Russian invasion and strengthen Ukraine's defensive capabilities.

Light anti-tank weapons from the United Kingdom have already arrived in the country, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday, while the Czech Republic plans donate 152mm caliber artillery ammunition to Ukraine in the coming days, Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová said Friday.

Germany will supply a fully equipped field hospital to Ukraine, according to the German Defence Ministry.

The country has traditionally avoided exporting arms to crisis areas since World War II, but German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said earlier this week that "all measures" will be on the table if there is further Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The US Embassy in Kyiv said on Friday that the first shipment of American-directed materiel — 200,000 pounds of lethal aid, including ammunition for fighters on the front lines — has arrived in Ukraine.

Though US President Joe Biden ruled out sending American combat troops to Ukraine, Washington has approved the shipment of US-origin weapons to Kyiv — including highly sought-after American anti-aircraft systems from Latvia and Lithuania.

Those armaments would help Ukraine fend off Russian aircraft that, some officials and experts believe, would lead the way in the early stages of a Russian invasion.

Estonia was given approval to transfer anti-tank Javelin guided missile systems, which the US has provided Ukraine with in the past.

You've heard of blizzards and maybe even the polar vortex, but have you heard of ice pancakes?

What about ice bites or ice jams? These unique names sound fascinating but require specific weather conditions.

This week ice pancakes were found along Chicago's shoreline of Lake Michigan.

READ MORE: EU and US cut Australia from travel lists as Omicron surges

Sharan Banagiri's photos were taken at Loyola Beach at Rogers Park about 1.6 kilometres north of downtown.

Mr Banagiri told CNN these photos were taken on a walkway on the way to a lighthouse.

Mr Banagiri noted that the temperature at the time the photos were taken was around -6C (21 degree Fahrenheit).

Great Lakes ice coverage is currently at 21.9 per cent which is the highest (tied with 2019) for this date in the last six years.

Lake Michigan is also hovering at around 20 per cent ice coverage, near the average to date.

This time of year, because of the bitter cold temperatures across much of the northern US, peculiarities such as ice pancakes, ice bites, and ice balls pop up.

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Ice pancakes, much like their namesake, look exactly like you think they would — round flat discs made of ice.

They are common in the Arctic but typically only start making an appearance in the Lower 48 states once the temperatures get well below freezing for several days.

The phenomenon is limited strictly to bodies of water such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.

Once those bodies of water are cold enough, the chunks of ice that have started to form will knock against each other forming elliptical-shaped discs with rounded edges.

"A signature feature of pancake ice is raised edges or ridges on the perimeter, caused by the pancakes bumping into each other from the ocean waves," the National Snow and Ice Data Centre explains.

Ryan Alioto also took advantage of the cold temperatures moving across the Great Lakes region by taking photos and video with his drone on Thursday, while flying it over Lake Michigan in Chicago.

He told CNN that at the time he took the footage the temperature was around 17C.

Other phenomena such as ice balls, ice jams, and even ice bites can also be seen in and along the Great Lakes during winter months.

Authorities have confirmed the last of the monkeys that escaped from a ute towing a trailer load of 100 of the animals in the United States have been found.

Several monkeys had escaped following Friday's (Saturday AEDT) collision between a ute and a dump truck on a Pennsylvania highway, state police said.

Only one had remained unaccounted for as of Saturday morning (Sunday AEDT), prompting the Pennsylvania Game Commission and other agencies to launch a search for it amid frigid weather.

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Kristen Nordlund, a spokesperson with the federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said in an email on Saturday evening (Sunday evening AEDT) that all 100 of the cynomolgus macaque monkeys had since been accounted for.

Three were dead after being euthanised.

The email did not elaborate on why the three were euthanised or how all came to be accounted for.

But Ms Nordlund said those euthanised were done so humanely according to American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines.

The shipment of monkeys was en route to a CDC-approved quarantine facility after arriving on Friday morning at New York's Kennedy Airport from Mauritius, an Indian Ocean island nation, police said.

The Atlanta-based CDC said the agency was providing "technical assistance" to state police in Pennsylvania.

The collision occurred on a state highway near an Interstate 80 exit in Pennsylvania's Montour County, Trooper Andrea Pelachick told The Daily Item newspaper of Sunbury.

The location of the quarantine facility and the type of research for which the monkeys were apparently destined weren't clear, but cynomolgus monkeys are often used in medical studies.

A 2015 paper posted on the website of the National Center for Biotechnology Information referred to them as the most widely used primate in preclinical toxicology studies.

Earlier, police had urged people not to look for or capture any monkey.

"Anyone who sees or locates the monkey is asked not to approach, attempt to catch, or come in contact with the monkey. Please call 911 immediately," troopers tweeted.

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https://twitter.com/PSPTroopFPIO/status/1484867249223745540

Trooper Lauren Lesher had said the concern was "due to it not being a domesticated animal and them being in unknown territory. It is hard to say how they would react to a human approaching them."

Ms Lesher said state police secured the scene for the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the CDC.

The drivers of the trucks weren't harmed and a passenger was transported to a medical centre for treatment of suspected minor injuries, according to the state police's crash report.

A crash witness, Michelle Fallon, told the Press Enterprise newspaper of Bloomsburg that she spoke with the ute driver and a passenger after the crash. The driver appeared to be disoriented, and the passenger thought he might have injured his legs, she said.

READ MORE: CCTV footage of a ute flipping over after crash

Crates littered the road as troopers searched for monkeys, rifles in hand.

Valley Township firefighters used thermal imaging to try to locate the animals, and a helicopter also assisted, the Press Enterprise newspaper of Bloomsburg reported.

The ute was heading west on I-80 when it got off at the Danville exit and then immediately tried to get back on, driving across the other lane, the newspaper reported.

Ms Fallon told the Press Enterprise that she was behind the pickup when it was hit on the passenger side by the dump truck, tearing off the front panel of the trailer and sending more than a dozen crates tumbling out.

She and another motorist who stopped to help were standing near the scene when the other driver said he thought he saw a cat run across the road, Ms Fallon said.

She peeked into a crate and saw a small monkey looking back at her, she told the newspaper.

"They're monkeys," she told the other motorist.

Tighter gathering rules under New Zealand's newly implemented COVID-19 "red light" rules will impact the country's most high-profile upcoming wedding.

The irony was that it was Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who had to make the final call on a decision to clamp down on the Omicron variant spread, and it was her big day that had to be put on hold, like so many other plans of everyday New Zealanders.

Ms Ardern was circumspect about the turn of events saying "such is life" and many other people had suffered much worse effects from the pandemic than a wedding disruption.

READ MORE: COVID-19 cases grow in WA as 24 new local infections recorded

"My wedding will not be going ahead, but I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic," she said.

"And to anyone who's caught up in that scenario, I'm so sorry, but we're all so resilient and I know we understand that we're doing this for one another.

"I am no different to… thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic."

Ardern and fiancé Clarke Gayford planned to get married over the summer, though she had not released any details of when or where.

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This story first appeared on Stuff and is republished here with permission.