Whanganui District Council is urging visitors to Aramoho Cemetery to lock their vehicles after several thefts were reported.The council’s general manager of property and open spaces, Sarah O’Hagan, said it was disappointing to learn…
Tag Archives: oceania
Cyclone Cody: Hawke's Bay developer warns tenants council stormwater systems may not cope with cyclone
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Western Australia locks out every Australian state and territory
Western Australia has now locked out travellers from every Australian state and territory due to growing concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant.
It comes as Premier Mark McGowan today deemed the Northern Territory an "extreme risk" zone from 12.01am Thursday, January 13.
"We have moved swiftly on Northern Territory, to reduce the risk of more Omicron cases in self-quarantine," Mr McGowan said.
"We know the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly around much of the country and unfortunately the Northern Territory is now too seeing an accelerating caseload in the community."
LIVE UPDATES: Nearly 75k new cases across Victoria and NSW
https://twitter.com/MarkMcGowanMP/status/1481117611174019072
Under the "extreme risk" border restrictions, travel is not permitted into Western Australia except under "the most exceptional circumstances".
"Exemptions for approved travellers will be further restricted to Commonwealth and State officials, Members of Parliament, Diplomats, and specialist or extraordinary circumstances determined by the State Emergency Coordinator or the Chief Health Officer," the Western Australian Government said in a statement.
READ MORE: Half of Europe could have COVID-19 in two months
It is the latest move by the Western Australian government to block the spread of the Omicron variant into the state.
All other states and territories – Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the ACT – are already "extreme risk" zones.
Western Australia will open its border to all states and territories on February 5.
From that date, international and domestic arrivals will no longer have to quarantine, provided they have been double vaccinated.
International arrivals will still be required to return a negative PCR test 72 hours prior to travel and then require a second PCR test on day two and six on arrival in Perth.
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Unvaccinated travellers must still quarantine in a hotel facility on arrival.
All domestic arrivals into Western Australia must be double-dose vaccinated.
Western Australia is now working to boost their vaccination rates ahead of the February 5 reopening.
"Our controlled border remains a vital tool to protect Western Australia as we work to push our vaccination rates as high as possible towards February 5, including third doses and vaccinations for five- to 11-year-olds," Mr McGowan said.
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Meanwhile, the state recorded four new local COVID-19 cases yesterday and 11 were interstate or internally acquired.
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said yesterday one of the four new community cases is a family member of a returned traveller from Tasmania, and was infectious in the community.
At least three Omicron cases have been detected in Western Australia in recent days.
Djokovic admits to leaving isolation while COVID-19 positive
In a statement released to address "continuing misinformation" about his activities around the time he tested positive for COVID-19, Novak Djokovic has admitted to attending a photoshoot despite knowing he had the virus.
In the statement released on Instagram, the tennis star said he attended a photoshoot and interview with French publication L'Equipe on December 18, even though he knew he was positive on the 17th.
He said he did not know of his positive diagnosis when he attended a tennis event earlier on the 17th, and that attending the photoshoot was an "error of judgement".
The statement has left some questions unanswered about the Serb's activities following his PCR test.
READ MORE: Novak Djokovic blames critical immigration form error on support team
According to the statement, Djokovic did not find out about his positive result until after he attended the tennis event on December 17.
However, in a sworn affidavit, he said he was "tested and diagnosed" on the 16th, although it is not known when he was actually notified of his positive diagnosis.
Djokovic also addressed speculation he lied on his visa application, which stated he had not travelled in the two weeks prior to arriving in Australia, when he had travelled between Serbia and Spain in that time.
Djokovic said his support team completed his travel declaration, and they ticked the incorrect box in an act of "human error".
READ MORE: Half of Europe could have COVID-19 in two months
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is likely to make a decision tomorrow if the Australian government wants to cancel Djokovic's visa, after the Serbian won his appeal in court, securing his liberty from a detention centre.
Djokovic's admission that he knew he had COVID-19 before attending the photoshoot could draw the ire of Serbian authorities.
Earlier today, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the BBC leaving isolation after testing positive is a "clear breach" of local rules, saying "If you're positive, you have to be in isolation."
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She later added there is some "grey area".
"I do not know when he actually got the results, when he saw the results, so there is some grey area… the only answer to this can be provided by Novak."
Djokovic said he caught COVID-19 after attending a basketball game in Belgrade on December 14.
He took a rapid antigen test, which came back negative, and a PCR test on December 16.
He returned another negative rapid result before attending the tennis event on the 17th, and cancelled all his other events after receiving his diagnosis later that day.
However, he said he went ahead with the interview and photoshoot with L'Equipe due to a sense of obligation.
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"I felt obliged to go ahead and conduct the L'Equipe interview as I didn't want to let the journalist down, but did ensure I socially distanced and wore a mask except when my photograph was being taken.
"While I went home after the interview to isolate for the required period, on reflection, this was an error of judgement and I accept that I should have rescheduled this commitment."
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Inflatable water park closes in Auckland after alleged attack on lifeguard
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The $1b San Francisco tower sinking underground
When San Francisco developers built the luxury 58-storey Millennium Tower, they hoped the rich and famous would come.
And come they did.
Launched in 2009, the tallest residential tower in San Francisco was a hit, with sports stars and Silicon Valley tech execs throwing down millions to snap up their glamour residences.
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The tower's 400 apartments quickly sold out, clocking up just over $1 billion in sales.
But that was literally the high point for the prestige building, which has been slowly sinking into the San Francisco earth ever since.
In court papers filed by some unhappy residents, they claim their multi-million-dollar apartments are now worth nothing, or a couple of dollars at best.
Since the problem first came to light, developers have been trying to work out how to keep the building upright and up.
Apartment values aside, residents are anxious.
San Francisco sits on one of the world's most notorious fault lines, the 1200 kilometre-long San Andreas Fault.
In 1989, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake rocked the San Francisco Bay Area, killing 67 people and causing more than $5 billion in damages.
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According to a structural engineer now charged with combating Mother Nature and fixing the gargantuan problem, the Millennium Tower is steadily sinking, and tilting to the side by about 7.5 centimetres every year.
If the problem is not rapidly fixed, engineer Ron Hamburger believes the building may tilt to such an angle that elevators will not run and the building's extensive plumbing could stop working.
Last week Mr Hamburger told city supervisors the building remained safe, and that 18 steel piles hammered into bedrock under the tower would stop it tilting further.
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READ MORE: Novak Djokovic blames critical immigration form error on support team
Engineers have calculated that for every 2.5 centimetes the tower sinks into the ground, it tilts almost 13cm to the side at the top.
NBC reported last year the tower was now tilting 66cm at the top.
The current project to fix the tower is estimated to cost $138 million.
Last year the fix-it project and efforts to drill into the bedrock was temporarily halted after engineers noted the tower had sunk 2.5cm in a matter of weeks, just after work had begun.
Djokovic visa decision delayed after lawyers submit more evidence
Any decision to cancel Novak Djokovic's visa won't be made until at least tomorrow, as the Australian government wades through pages of new evidence provided by the tennis star's lawyers and a fresh claim from Djokovic that he did not personally tick a critical box on his immigration application.
Rejecting the assertion he deliberately misled border officials, Djokovic today declared that his "support team" was responsible for completing the immigration paperwork which contained an error that could now seem him deported from the country.
In response to a question asking if he travelled in the 14 days before his flight to Australia, the Djokovic application ticked "no".
LIVE UPDATES: Nearly 75k new cases across Victoria and NSW
But the world No.1 and nine-time Australian Open champion was seen in Spain and Serbia in that two-week period, casting doubt on the veracity of that answer.
"On the issue of my travel declaration, this was submitted by my support team on my behalf," Djokovic said in a statement posted to his Instagram account this afternoon.
He said he told Australian Border Force officials about this during his interview at Melbourne Airport.
"My agent sincerely apologises for the administrative mistake in ticking the incorrect box about my previous travel before coming to Australia," he continued.
"This was a human error and certainly not deliberate."
He said travel during the pandemic was extremely challenging, and honest mistakes could be made.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYnO7cDqbdj/?utm_source=ig_embed&
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke this afternoon said there would be no decision on Djokovic today.
"Mr Djokovic's lawyers have recently provided lengthy further submissions and supporting documentation said to be relevant to the possible cancellation of Mr Djokovic's visa," he said in a statement.
"This will affect the timeframe."
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Australian government weighs up action and fallout
After the scenarios and political fallout have been crunched and calculated, the Federal Government is unlikely to try and boot Novak Djokovic from Australia and will instead let him defend his Australian Open title, a former senior immigration official believes.
Mr Hawke is right now considering whether the Australian government wants to dig its heels in and cancel Djokovic's visa, after the Serbian won his appeal in court, securing his liberty from a detention centre.
If his visa is cancelled, Djokovic will be promptly escorted back to a Melbourne detention centre, however former Immigration Department deputy secretary Abul Rizvi believes the government will shy away from that confrontational option while the world's media is hovering.
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"I think we're in real trouble here if cancellation is pursued," Mr Rizvi said.
"Just imagine the media crew that would be outside Mr Djokovic's hotel when Australian Border Force arrive to take him to a detention centre."
All eyes are now on Hawke and in particular an Australian immigration form signed by Djokovic, ahead of his arrival.
Hawke could conceivably deport Djokovic if the government finds and decides that form was filled in incorrectly.
But, Mr Rizvi said, the government would need to be ready for the ensuing media circus.
Some critics have argued Djokovic has become a convenient scapegoat for an Australian government facing criticism for its recent handling of the pandemic.
Mr Rizvi said any notice of cancellation would be delivered to Djokovic by Australian Border Force officers.
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The ABF would then take Djokovic from his hotel and escort him to a place of detention where he would be held until his next appeal is considered by the courts.
Mr Rizvi said the government faced "enormous difficulties" if they decide to pursue the cancellation option.
"If I was the decision maker I would not place a huge amount of emphasis on that little mistake," he said.
"But these things are viewed increasingly through a media and a public presentation prism and people make decisions that are sometimes not very logical."
It would be better, he said, for the government to sit down with Djokovic and work out ways to keep him and other players safe from infection, and how to present that to the public.
After winning his court battle and freedom, Djokovic held a practice yesterday afternoon at Rod Laver Arena.
Soon after, tournament organisers made him the top-seeded player in the men's singles draw.
The athlete was seen hitting shots from behind the baseline, taking feedback from his coach, and stretching beside the court with a trainer.
He spent four nights confined to an immigration hotel and now is getting back into the swing less than a week before the Grand Slam tournament starts.
The Australian Open is set to begin on January 17.
With Associated Press
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