Tag Archives: oceania

Fish with 'human' teeth caught in US

A bizarre fish with 'human-like' teeth has been caught in the United States.

Images of the creature have made headlines around the world after they were posted on the Jeanette's Pier Facebook page – a popular fishing destination and fishing school in North Carolina.

The intimidating creature has been identified as a sheepshead fish.

READ MORE: Rare two-headed sea turtle leaves park patrollers stunned

The species is known for its hard mouth and several rows of molars which it uses to help it crush the shells of its prey, which include oysters, clams and crabs.

The fish was reportedly caught by Nathan Martin, a regular fisherman at the pier.

He told local media he had been hoping to catch a sheepshead fish when he came face-to-face with a "mouth full of teeth".

READ MORE: Whale watchers spot two rare albino orcas in Japan

"It's a very good fight when you're fighting on the line, it's a really good catch, and it tastes very good," he told McClatchy News.

Some Facebook users commented that the fish had better teeth than they did, while others suggested the teeth could offer "a cheap dental solution".

Resurgent wildfires in Greece burn homes, threaten monuments

A resurgent wildfire burned homes north of Athens and blazes across southern Greece forced more evacuations on Thursday as weather conditions worsened and firefighters in a round-the-clock battle strove to save a former royal palace and the birthplace of the ancient Olympics.

In a dramatic scene as flames approached, fire crews went house to house to escort residents out of homes some 20 kilometres north of the capital. The fire threatened the power supply to parts of the capital after damaging the transmission network, officials said, adding that fire crews with more than 700 people were working through the night.

Greek and European Union officials described the huge fires as a consequence of climate change.

READ MORE: 'Fire working its way in all directions': Extreme Canada fires similar to devastating Australian season

Fueled by the worst heat wave in decades, the blazes drew closer to a summer palace at Tatoi outside Athens once used by the former Greek royal family, as well as a major archaeological site in southern Greece that was the birthplace of the ancient Olympics.

Late on Thursday, officials said both sites appeared to be in no immediate danger.

"Our priority is always the protection of human life, followed by the protection of property, the natural environment and critical infrastructure. Unfortunately, under these circumstances, achieving all these aims at the same time is simply impossible," Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in an evening televised address. The wildfires, he said, display "the reality of climate change."

READ MORE: Tourists, villagers flee as wildfires ravage Turkish resorts

Earlier, he visited Tatoi as well as Ancient Olympia, where flame lighting ceremonies for the modern summer and winter Olympics are held every two years. Earth movers were being used to create big fire breaks around the ancient site.

As additional support arrived from Greece's military and EU countries, water-dropping planes and helicopters swooped over blazes near the capital, in central Greece, on the island of Evia, and near Ancient Olympia to the south.

Ninety-nine new fires were reported while more than 50 villages and settlements were evacuated, including a beachside campsite and hotels on Evia, where boats were used to transport stranded vacationers to safety.

READ MORE: Record wildfire burns on Hawaii's Big Island

A heatwave baking southeast Europe for a second week has also triggered deadly fires in Turkey and Albania and blazes across the region.

North Macedonia's government on Thursday declared the country in a state of crisis for the next 30 days due to wildfires.

The EU Commissioner for the environment, Virginijus Sinkevicius, said the fires and extreme weather globally over the summer were a clear signal for the need to address climate change.

"We are fighting some of the worst wildfires we've seen in decades. But this summer's floods, heatwaves and forest fires can become our new normality," he wrote in a tweet.

"We must ask ourselves: Is this the world we want to live in? We need immediate actions for nature before it's too late."

The EU bolstered assistance from member states and partners to Greece, sending firefighters, water-dropping planes and helicopters from Cyprus, France, Sweden, Romania and Switzerland. Help from the Netherlands and other EU members was also heading to fire-stricken countries in the region.

In an emergency measure, public access to Greek forests at risk of fire will be limited through August 9.

READ MORE: California's largest fire combines to destroy dozens of homes

Greece's Civil Protection Agency said the fire threat across southern Greece would increase further on Friday, with windy weather forecast for parts of the country despite an expected slight dip in temperatures that reached 45 degrees Celsius earlier this week. The heat wave was described as Greece's worst since 1987.

Defence Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos said the armed forces would expand their role in fire prevention, with ground patrols, drones, and aircraft over areas vulnerable to wildfires.

Outside Athens, a forest fire that broke out on the northern fringes of the capital Tuesday and damaged or destroyed scores of homes rekindled, triggering fresh evacuations, threatening homes and sending thick smoke over the capital.

The EU Atmosphere Monitoring Service said smoke plumes from the region's wildfires were clearly visible in satellite images, adding that the estimated intensity of the wildfires in Turkey was at the highest level since records started in 2003.

The fires in Greece have not caused any deaths or serious injuries. But Greek scientists said the total destruction in just three days this month exceeded 50 per cent of the average area burned in the country in previous years. An Athens Observatory report said an estimated 6,000 hectares went up in smoke between Sunday and Wednesday, compared to 10,400 hectares in the whole of last year.

The causes of the Greek wildfires were unclear, but authorities say human error and carelessness are most frequently to blame.

Overseas-based Aussies lose travel exemption

Australians who live overseas will no longer be granted automatic permission to leave the country, in the latest Morrison government effort to curtail international travel.

Instead, they'll be forced to apply to the Australian Border Force for an exemption that can be granted in what the federal government describes as "exceptional circumstances".

The change, introduced this week to come into force on August 11, appears designed to deter overseas-based Australians from flying back for a visit, rather than a permanent relocation.

READ MORE: Prime Minister outlines Australia's pathway out of the pandemic

Singapore Airlines said it is working on how the rules will affect flights.

Until August 11, Australians living overseas don't need to apply for an exemption but generally need to show their passport to a Border Force official at the airport when leaving the country.

It's unclear how difficult it will be for Australians who normally live overseas to be granted an exemption beyond that date.

The government argues the original automatic exemption was meant to allow overseas residents to leave once, not return for a visit, and says those people have already had "substantial time" to leave.

"The exemption was not intended to enable frequent travel between countries," an explanatory statement attached to the legislation says.

"Further, as repatriation flights continue, it will be critical to manage the numbers of people leaving Australia with the intention of returning in the near future to ensure flight and quarantine availability is prioritised for individuals who have been stranded overseas for some time. 

"The amendment will reduce the pressure on Australia's quarantine capacity, reduce the risks posed to the Australian population from COVID-19, and assist in returning vulnerable Australians back home."

David Aaron, a semi-retired former Sydneysider splitting his time between the north of Portugal and the Philippines, said he understood that argument but insisted it was a problem of the government's own making, thanks to its "mishandling" of the pandemic.

"I was wrongly under the impression that being a citizen of a country gave you certain rights," he told 9News.com.au.

"And I just feel incredibly uncomfortable, that the country that I loved so much for so long, and have done so much for … that I can't go back without pulling strings and jumping through hoops makes me feel terribly uncomfortable."

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told Nine newspapers the change was made for consistency.

"This does not stop Australians ordinarily resident outside Australia from departing. However, these people will now need to apply for an exemption," she said.

"The exemption's regime is based on health advice and enables people to travel if essential, but is ultimately about keeping Australians safe from overseas COVID transmission."

There are about 34,000 Australians registered as wanting to return from overseas, a situation further worsened by a cut to flight caps in July.

Many Australians living overseas who have no desire to return home permanently have now gone years without seeing their family and friends in Australia after having flights cancelled in the early stages of the pandemic.

While many countries have imposed strict entry restrictions during the pandemic, Australia is the only one to ban its citizens from leaving.

Wind warnings for every state and territory bar one

There are strong wind warnings for every state and territory in Australia today except South Australia.

Moist, blustery southwesterly winds are directing showers and alpine snow over Tasmania, Victoria, southern South Australia and southeastern NSW.

Dry and settled elsewhere under a dry airmass and broad high.

LIVE UPDATES: Victorians wake to sixth lockdown

Surf and swell conditions will be hazardous for parts of the NSW coast today with warnings in place for Coffs Coast, Macquarie Coast and Hunter Coast today.

Another windy day is forecast in Victoria prompting gale warnings for East Gippsland Coast, Gippsland Lakes, West Coast, Central Coast and Central Gippsland Coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology has also issued a wind warnings for the far north of Queensland and Peninsula Coast.

In Western Australia wind warnings are being issued for the Kimberley Coast, West Kimberley Coast, Pilbara Coast East, Pilbara Coast West and Ningaloo Coast.

A cold and windy day to end the week in Tasmania with winds, showers and a low of 8C in Hobart.

In the Northern Territory the winds are expected to impact Beagle Bonaparte Coast and Roper Groote Coast with warning for both areas.

South Australia is the only state to avoid the wild and windy conditions today however drivers in Adelaide have been warned of reduced visibility with morning due to fog which could create dangerous road conditions in some areas.

Intelligence agencies scour reams of genetic data from Wuhan lab

US intelligence agencies are digging through a treasure trove of genetic data that could be key to uncovering the origins of coronavirus – as soon as they can decipher it.

This giant catalogue of information contains genetic blueprints drawn from virus samples studied at the lab in Wuhan, China which some officials believe may have been the source of the COVID-19 outbreak, multiple people familiar with the matter tell CNN.

It's unclear exactly how or when US intelligence agencies gained access to the information, but the machines involved in creating and processing this kind of genetic data from viruses are typically connected to external cloud-based servers – leaving open the possibility they were hacked, sources said.

READ MORE: Health expert slams NSW's plan for COVID-19 freedoms

Still, translating this mountain of raw data into usable information – which is only one part of the intelligence community's 90-day push to uncover the pandemic's origins – presents a range of challenges, including harnessing enough computing power to process it all.

To do that, intelligence agencies are relying on supercomputers at the Department of Energy's National Labs, a collection of 17 elite government research institutions.

There's also a manpower issue. Not only do intelligence agencies need government scientists skilled enough to interpret complex genetic sequencing data and who have the proper security clearance, they also need to speak Mandarin, since the information is written in Chinese with a specialised vocabulary.

"Obviously there are scientists who are (security) cleared," one source familiar with the intelligence told CNN. "But Mandarin-speaking ones who are cleared? That's a very small pool. And not just any scientists, but ones who specialise in bio? So you can see how this quickly becomes difficult."

READ MORE: New information on Wuhan researchers' illness furthers debate on pandemic origins

A file photo of researchers in a lab at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province in 2017.

Officials conducting the 90-day review hope this information will help answer the question of how the virus jumped from animals to humans. Unlocking that mystery is essential to ultimately determining whether COVID-19 leaked from the lab or was transmitted to humans from animals in the wild, multiple sources told CNN.

Investigators both inside and outside the government have long sought genetic data from 22,000 virus samples that were being studied at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. That data was removed from the internet by Chinese officials in September 2019, and China has since refused to turn over this and other raw data on early coronavirus cases to the World Health Organisation and the US.

The question for investigators is whether the WIV or other labs in China possessed virus samples or other contextual information that could help them trace the coronavirus' evolutionary history.

Two scientists who study coronaviruses told CNN they are sceptical that there is any genetic data either in the tranche of 22,000 samples or any other database from the WIV that scientists don't already know about.

READ MORE: China seals off city as its worst virus outbreak in a year grows

A security person moves journalists away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a World Health Organisation team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan in China's Hubei province in February 2021.

"Basically in [a 2020 research paper published in Nature], the WIV talked about all the sequences they had up until a certain point in time – it's what most scientists virologists believe, that's pretty much what they had," said Dr Robert Garry, a virologist at the Tulane University School of Medicine.

A source familiar with the US investigation would neither confirm nor deny that any of the data pertaining to those 22,000 samples is among what US intelligence agencies are currently analysing.

No 'smoking gun'

Sources familiar with the effort say filling in that missing genetic link won't be enough to definitively prove whether the virus originated in the lab at Wuhan or first emerged naturally. Officials will still need to piece together other contextual clues to determine the true origins of the pandemic.

But it is a critical puzzle piece that the Biden administration has been prioritising.

"The most prized technical data in this context are genetic sequences, database entries and contextual information about the provenance of the samples and the time and context in which they were acquired – information people would use to place them in a narrative of the origins of SARS, COVID," one source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

For now, senior intelligence officials still say that they are genuinely split between the two prevailing theories on the pandemic's origins, or some combination of both scenarios.

CNN reported last month that senior Biden administration officials overseeing the 90-day review now believe the theory that the virus accidentally escaped from a lab in Wuhan is at least as credible as the possibility that it emerged naturally in the wild – a dramatic shift from a year ago, when Democrats publicly downplayed the so-called lab leak theory.

Multiple sources told CNN that absent an unexpected windfall of new information, officials don't expect to uncover a "smoking gun" like intercepted communications, for example – that would offer definitive proof for either theory. The Biden administration's 90-day push is predicated on the expectation that science, not intelligence will be the key.

Intelligence officials are tasked with addressing several "scientific knowledge gaps" about the virus' evolution, according to the collection guidance governing the 90-day push, distributed to more than a dozen agencies on June 11 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and obtained by CNN.

The memo instructs the intelligence community to "expand its collection" and consider data already in its possession to identify both the initial host of the coronavirus and any species that it may have passed through as it adapted to humans – or to find as "any progenitor virus and/or virus that could serve as backbone for genetic engineering purposes."

But former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe told CNN that the US intelligence community already had sufficient collection on the topic of COVID-19 origins.

"Obviously the more, the better. But we've had extraordinary insight into this topic for many months, much more than has been declassified. Pretending we didn't is political theatre and a classic example of a politician trying to buy time by using the IC as a scapegoat," he told CNN in a statement.

Digging into the science

That's where the genomic data from the Wuhan lab could come in.

The genetic code of a given virus is the signature that allows scientists to tell the difference between the Delta and Beta variants of the coronavirus, for example. It can also offer clues as to how the virus has adapted or mutated over time, including whether it shows signs of human manipulation – a kind of genetic history.

Many scientists continue to believe that the most likely scenario is that the virus jumped from animals to humans naturally. But despite testing thousands of animals, researchers still haven't identified the intermediate host through which the virus passed as it adapted to humans.

But some researchers, intelligence officials and Republican lawmakers believe that researchers at the WIV might have genetically altered a virus in the lab, using a controversial kind of research known as "gain of function" that could have infected researchers who then spread it in their community.s

Several plausible theories

It's also plausible that the initial infection took place naturally outside of the lab, perhaps while a scientist was collecting a sample from an animal in the wild, and that scientist then spread the virus unknowingly when he returned to the lab with the samples, multiple sources familiar with the intelligence explained.

"If it was the latter, it was likely brought into a lab to study because someone got sick … which means there were an unknowable number of other people who were already sick," the source familiar with the probe said.

Understanding exactly which viruses researchers at the WIV were working on could provide important evidence for any one of these theories. It's one of the reasons that investigators on Capitol Hill and elsewhere have been keenly focused on the database that was taken offline in 2019.

But it might not prove anything definitively, sources familiar with the intelligence say. Even if scientists in the intelligence community are able to use the data from the lab to stitch together a complete genetic history that shows how the virus mutated, they might not have enough information about how it was handled by the Chinese lab to determine with a high level of confidence that it leaked.

"Despite having that complete history of variants, [officials might] lack the contextual information to make sense of it in a narrative way," the source familiar with the investigation explained.

"Even a complete sequence history is difficult to obtain. And doesn't really tell us anything about the origins of the pandemic itself without the context," this person added.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill have jumped into the uncertainty with their own report claiming that "the preponderance of evidence suggests" the coronavirus was "accidentally" released from a lab in Wuhan in 2019 – an assertion that goes far beyond the intelligence community's current view of the matter.

Victoria plunged into snap seven-day lockdown

Victoria will enter a "snap" seven-day lockdown after reporting seven new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

The lockdown will take effect from 8pm AEST tonight, meaning residents will have only five reasons to leave their homes.

These five reasons include purchasing foods and supplies, exercising for up to two hours, giving care, essential work and education or getting a COVID-19 test or vaccination.

EXPLAINER: Everything you need to know about snap Victoria lockdown

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Shopping and exercise must be done within 5 kilometres of your home.

Face masks will remain mandatory at all indoor and outdoor areas that are not your home.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said lockdowns were the only way to have the state open up properly going forward.

"There are no alternatives to lockdown," he said.

"If you wait, it will spread. Once it spreads, you can never even hope to run alongside it, let along get out in front of it and bring it back down to zero or a low number of cases.

"This thing moves so fast. There is no debate or discussion about this – the Delta variant moves at lightning speed and by the time you get the people they have already infected, all the people they live with, all the people they work with, all the people they spend time with. 

"We can't allow that to happen otherwise we are locked down until Christmas."

Delta forced lockdown decision

Mr Andrews said the rapid spread of the Delta variant was behind a sixth lockdown for Victoria.

"My fear is if we were to wait a few days – and the advice to me from the experts, is if we were to wait even just a few days, there is every chance, instead of being locked down for a week, this gets away from us," he said.

"And [then] we are potentially locked down until we all get vaccinated. That's months away."

Mr Andrews also said unlinked cases were a major concern for the state.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

"(There were) six reported this morning and two of those cases will be reported tomorrow – only three of those can be linked to a known outbreak," he said.

"The mystery cases, we don't know how they got it, who they have given it to or how many people they have given it to."

The premier said coronavirus fragments have also been detected in regional Victoria, meaning the entire state would be under lockdown.

Mr Andrews said the five kilometre travel radius and gathering limits was critical to reduce case numbers.

"Some people have been visiting family and friends, and all it does is it spreads the virus," Mr Andrews said.

"I just say – not to any group or part of Melbourne, not any particular community – I think there are many people who are perhaps not doing as they should. We are all tempted to do that but we just have to find it within ourselves, to do the right thing.

"I plead with all Victorians, please don't go and visit family and friends, because you might well be contributing to the spread of the virus … that won't be good for your family and friends or any of us. The rules are there to keep us open."

READ MORE: Victoria exposure sites continue to climb as more cases emerge

Desperate race to track contacts

Two of the latest cases are close contacts of a footballer which will be included in tomorrow's numbers.

COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said authorities identified two additional cases linked to a Hobsons Bay couple in Melbourne's west.

"We have also tested some of the man's wider household contacts … family relatives who do not live in the same household, but nearby," Mr Weimar said.

READ MORE: Five deaths, 262 new COVID-19 cases in NSW as lockdown extended

"I can confirm that two of those household relatives have also turned positive," he said.

The man plays football for Newport Football Club and his partner is a teacher at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina who was confirmed to be a positive case yesterday.

Health Minister Martin Foley said one of the latest cases is a man in his 20s who lives in the City of Maribyrnong with a housemate.

The source of his infection is under investigation.

Mr Foley said three of the state's latest cases are linked to the Moonee Valley cluster and have been isolating for their entire infectious period.

Schools close as areas of concern grow

Two schools in Victoria remain closed today as Melbourne tries to squash the outbreak.

Mr Foley said the list of exposure sites continues to climb, and includes supermarkets and a gym. Al-Taqwa College has been listed as a Tier One exposure site.

Almost 2500 students and staff from, Al-Taqwa College, an Islamic primary and secondary school in Truganina outside of Melbourne, are in isolation after the teacher tested positive yesterday.

READ MORE: COVID jab incentives still on the table, but not yet, commander says

It is understood the teacher may have been infectious while at the school last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

A pop-up testing site has been established at the school today and will be open from midday until 8pm tonight.

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A designated testing lane was set up at Melbourne Showgrounds yesterday for the school.

A second school, Ilim College, in Melbourne's north, last night announced it would close its three campuses from Thursday.

A Facebook post from the school said the closure was a "precautionary measure" and no positive cases had been detected inside the school community.

"Ilim College is taking precautionary measures with the current COVID outbreak announced this evening and will CLOSE all campuses tomorrow, Thursday the 5th of August 2021, with a further announcement pending advice from the DHHS," the Facebook post said.

"We must reiterate that Ilim College has not had any positive COVID results from this outbreak.

Health authorities have been working with Newport Football Club after the Hobsons Bay man tested positive.

"We have been in contact with the club," Mr Foley said.

"Can I thank the club for the proactive way in which it has shared that risk with its members and the wider community."

READ MORE: Queensland bracing for lockdown extension

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1423055629774589955

Search for link to new case

COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said the man in the City of Maribyrnong who tested positive is in his 20s and works in a warehouse. He also lives with a housemate.

There is no information yet as to the possible source of acquisition, which is part of the ongoing investigation.

Mr Weimar said the Hobsons Bay couple were in their 20s and contact tracing was underway.

"The male in that partnership is somebody who works in Caroline Springs. He is also the individual who plays for the Newport footy club," he said.

"We have now tested both his workplace colleagues in Caroline Springs and are awaiting test results of that today."

'Twenty-four hours is a long time'

Mr Weimar said the two cases to be included in tomorrow's numbers were close contacts of the Newport Football player.

"Two of those household relatives have also turned positive, they are not in today's numbers but will be in tomorrow's report," he said.

"Twenty-four hours is a long time in a pandemic."

The Western Region Football League earlier confirmed a local player has returned a positive coronavirus test.

"The player participated in the West Footscray vs Newport senior men's match at Shorten Reserve in West Footscray on Saturday 31 July at 2.15pm," a statement read.

"The player began to feel unwell this week and did not attend club training on Tuesday, and was confirmed as having COVID-19 on Wednesday."

A full list of Victoria's current COVID-19 exposure sites can be found here.

New reward for couple who disappeared 40 years ago

One Friday night in the late 1970s, a young Sydney couple had dinner with family – not knowing it would be the last time they would ever see them.

Stephen Lapthorne, 21, and his 18-year-old girlfriend Michelle Pope shared a meal with Stephen's family at their house in West Pymble.

The plan was for Stephen to drop Michelle off at her parents' place in Berowra – about a 20-minute drive away – before he headed off on a snow trip with his mates.

READ MORE: Renewed appeal after Melbourne teen missing for two months

Michelle Pope (left) and Stephen Lanthorpe (right with Michelle) were last seen on August 25, 1978.

They jumped into his lime green 1977 Bedford CF van and hit the road.

But Michelle never made it home, and Stephen didn't get to the snow. After August 25, 1978, they were never seen again.

In 2005 an inquest found the pair died, but how or when remains a mystery to this day.

In January of this year, the case was referred to the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad, and a formal review was conducted.

A re-investigation was launched which involved a two-day search in the Ku-Ring-Gai National Park in June for vehicle parts after a tip-off.

These parts were found but were not linked to the couple.

Today, NSW Police has announced the reward for information about the couple has been upgraded from $100,000 to $1 million.

Michelle's brother Jeff Pope said his sister was "full of life" and had "lots of plans for her future" when she disappeared.

This tragedy was particularly difficult for their mum.

Michelle's brother, Jeff Pope, said the impact his sister's disappearance had on his family was immense, particularly for their mum. Michelle Pope Stephen Lanthorpe

"Unfortunately, our mother, Veronica, passed away without ever knowing what happened to her beloved daughter Michelle," Mr Pope said.

"Not a day goes by where we don't think about Michelle and the life she could have led.

"We hope this reward will encourage someone to come forward with information – no matter how small. It's possible that it could help detectives and finally allow Michelle to rest in peace."

Stephen's sister Kerrie Coy said the family was not able to fully grieve their loss because their bodies had never been found.

"Forty-three years is almost a lifetime for some, and during that time many of our combined family members have grown old and parents have passed not knowing what happened to their son and daughter," she said.

"We are hoping there is someone out there that may be able to help police with their investigations, so we may finally have some answers about what happened that Friday afternoon."

Stephen's sister, Kerrie Coy, said there had been no opportunity for family and friends to fully grieve the loss of her brother and Michelle. Michelle Pope Stephen Lanthorpe

Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott said the NSW Police Force is determined to find answers for the couples' families despite the passage of time.

"Michelle and Stephen disappeared when their adult lives were just beginning, their families have missed out on seeing them grow and mature and have children – everything most of us take for granted.

"I am pleased that the NSW Government is doing what we can to support the Homicide Squad investigation by offering $1 million as an incentive to anyone with information to come forward and speak with detectives," Mr Elliott said.

At the time of his disappearance, Stephen was described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 175-180cm tall, with light brown shoulder-length hair and a moustache, blue eyes and of a medium build.

He was last seen wearing a yellow and white-coloured chequered shirt, cream-coloured trousers and brown shoes.

At the time of her disappearance, Michelle was described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 175-180cm tall, with brown hair, blue eyes and of a medium build.

She was last seen wearing a bone-coloured dress and red sandals.