ANALYSIS: NZTA Waka Kotahi doesn’t appear to share the confidence of those building Transmission Gully that the road will open by the agreed date of September 27.In a statement issued earlier this month Waka Kotahi took the trouble…

Test your brains with the Herald’s morning quiz. Be sure to check back on nzherald.co.nz at 3pm for the afternoon quiz. To challenge yourself with more quizzes, CLICK HERE.

It’s going to be a long road back to normal for flood-stricken Westport, with 1000 people unable to go home, a shortage of rental housing and streets still filled with filthy water. Some there say their houses have “had it” and…

National is calling on the Government’s spending watchdog to investigate what leader Judith Collins is calling a taxpayer-funded emboldening of gangs. Newstalk ZB can reveal National has written to the Auditor-General, asking the…

The long-lasting impacts of the Dawn Raids on Pacific families will be discussed in detail at the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry across the next fortnight. The next block of public hearings, beginning today, are focused…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will spend 10 days self-isolating after contact with a confirmed coronavirus case, his office says — reversing an earlier announcement that he would not have to quarantine.

Number 10 Downing St said on Sunday that the Prime Minister and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were both alerted overnight by England's test-and-trace phone app.

Mr Johnson had a meeting on Friday with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday.

READ MORE: UK records more new cases in one day than Australia's entire pandemic

Mr Javid, who has been fully vaccinated, says he is experiencing mild symptoms.

People who are notified through the app are supposed to self-isolate, though it is not a legal requirement. Contacts of positive cases usually are advised to self-isolate for 10 days.

But Mr Johnson's office initially said the Prime Minister and Mr Sunak would instead take a daily coronavirus test as part of an alternative system being piloted in some workplaces, including government offices.

That plan was reversed less than three hours later after an outcry over apparent special treatment for politicians.

Downing St said Mr Johnson would self-isolate at Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence, and "will not be taking part in the testing pilot." It said Mr Sunak also would self-isolate.

Britain is experiencing rising coronavirus cases, and an associated "pingdemic" of hundreds of thousands of people being told to quarantine because they have been near someone who tested positive.

Businesses including restaurants, car manufacturers and the London subway say they are facing staff shortages because of the self-isolation rules.

READ MORE: England to lift last virus restrictions on July 19

https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1416764592043315204

Jonathan Ashworth, health spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, said earlier that many people would be angry there was a special "VIP" lane to avoid self-isolation.

"Waking up this morning to hear that there is a special rule, an exclusive rule, for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, they will be saying that this looks like one rule for them and something else for the rest of us," he told Sky News.

Johnson was seriously ill with the coronavirus in April 2020, spending three nights in intensive care.

In a touch of irony, his spell in isolation comes as his government prepares to lift remaining lockdown measures on Monday.

Nightclubs can reopen in England for the first time since March 2020, sports and entertainment venues can admit capacity crowds and face masks are no longer mandatory indoors.

But the government is urging people to be cautious, as cases surge because of the highly transmissible delta variant of the virus first identified in India.

More than 54,000 new infections were confirmed on Saturday, the highest daily total since January.

Hospitalisations and deaths are also rising, but remain far lower than at previous infection peaks thanks to vaccination. More than two-thirds of British adults have had both shots of a vaccine.

British officials are looking nervously at Israel and the Netherlands, both of which opened up society after vaccinating most of the population. Both countries have recently reimposed some restrictions after new infection surges.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is on her way to Tokyo to help seal the deal for Brisbane to host the 2032 Olympic Games.

Ms Palaszczuk checked in at Sydney Airport on Sunday evening ready to depart for Japan on what has become a controversial trip out of the country.

An All Nippon Airways flight to Tokyo left Sydney shortly after 9pm, due to arrive in Japan early on Monday morning.

READ MORE: Queensland government and opposition clash over Palaszczuk's Tokyo trip

Two days ago, the Queensland opposition grilled Ms Palaszczuk over who would pay for the cost of her mandatory hotel quarantine when she returns to Australia.

"The people of Queensland expected me to go and represent their best interests. (IOC vice president) John Coates has said if I don't go, the whole bid could fail," the Premier said.

She previously said she would do the 14-day hotel quarantine as expected of all returning travellers.

There is an online petition circulating requesting that Australia deny Ms Palaszczuk's trip on the grounds that she would be taking the spot of another Australian desperate to come home amid closed international borders.

READ MORE: Palaszczuk not travelling to Tokyo 'would be a disaster'

To date the petition has collected more than 130,000 signatures.

"It has been made very clear by John Coates, that it would be a disaster if the head of Queensland did not go and it is basically to go there, to make the pitch and to come back and then spend 14 days in hotel quarantine," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"I think it is very important that we have that really strong representation of federal, state and local because even Thomas Bach, the head of the Olympic committee, has said the strongest thing going for our bid is the enormous cooperation of all three levels of Government."

READ MORE: Queensland Premier defends receiving Pfizer COVID vaccine

The Premier, who has had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, has lodged a travel exemption so she can fly to Tokyo for the meeting, then fly straight back home to hotel quarantine.

She has received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine in order to travel safely to Japan.

There are calls for an overhaul of Victoria's COVID-19 vaccine booking system after some centres registered hundreds of cancellations.

No-show rates, where a vaccination is booked but nobody attends, are on the rise across Melbourne and could be slowing down the rollout.

However the uptick in cancellations is unlikely to mean the vaccines will go to waste, as they are drawn out of the vials when people arrive.

READ MORE: Aussies vaccinated with AstraZeneca face potential European travel hurdles

Emergency Physician Dr Stephen Parnis said other countries would not miss their opportunity to get vaccinated if it arose.

"These vaccines are liquid gold," Dr Parnis said.

"There are parts of the world that would sell their soul for access to our two safe vaccines. If you've got an appointment go and get it."

Victorian opposition spokesman David Southwick said a piece of technology which allowed eligible people to take the place of no-shows is needed.

"We simply need a better approach to this," Dr Southwick said.

"We know if you book a restaurant and you no-show, other people on the waiting list will get a text. Why can't the government have a similar system?"

READ MORE: Lottery for vaccinated citizens 'a good idea', Dutton says

Wastage at state-run vaccination clinics in Victoria is less than one per cent.

As at midnight last night, more than 10 million doses of the vaccine had been administered in Australia.

More than three quarters of people aged over 70 are now protected while more than 59 per cent of those aged over 50 are now protected.

A spearfisher has been hassled by what is believed to be a mako shark in a terrifying encounter off one of Sydney's most popular beaches.

Footage from a drone shows the spearfisher approaching a bait ball off Tamarama before he is circled by the shark.

READ MORE: Spearfishers attacked in shark feeding frenzy

The shark edges closer and closer until the man appears to poke it with his speargun, fending it off in the process.

Moments later the shark can be seen aggressively attacking the man's dive float, which is typically kept away from the diver by as much as 30m.

The man operating the drone alerted nearby lifeguards, who came out on a jet ski and helped the diver return to shore.

READ MORE: Jackass stunt ends in real shark attack

Far-right commentator Katie Hopkins is being investigated by the Australian Border Force after allegedly breaching hotel quarantine rules in Sydney.

Earlier this morning, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews confirmed she had directed the Australian Border Force to "urgently review" Hopkin's visa after she admitted to deliberately flouting infection control while in hotel quarantine in Sydney.

In a post on Instagram, Ms Hopkins said she was taunting the hotel guards by answering her door naked and not wearing a mask.

READ MORE: Major tightening of Sydney lockdown restrictions: Here's what you need to know

"The police officer who checked me in told me when they knock on my door I have to wait 30 seconds 'til I can open the door [to collect food]," she said in the Instagram Live video which is no longer viewable on her account.

"Then I can open the door but only if I wear a face mask.

"What I want is the sergeant in the foyer to come up and tell me off so that I can stand there naked while he tells me off."

Ms Andrews condemned the posts which come as New South Wales and Victoria battle outbreaks of the highly-transmissible Delta strain.

"It is despicable that anyone would behave in such a way that puts our health officials and community at risk," Ms Andrews said in a statement.

"I have directed Australian Border Force to immediately consider the facts of this matter and urgently review whether this individual is complying with the requirements of her visa."

READ MORE: NSW records 105 local COVID-19 cases and one death

https://twitter.com/andrewjgiles/status/1416216739852038149

Hopkins arrived in Australia last week after being granted a travel exemption and it was widely reported she would appear as a contestant on the Seven Network show Big Brother.

A statement released by Seven and Endemol Shine today said: "Seven Network and Endemol Shine Australia confirm that Katie Hopkins is not part of Big Brother VIP.

"Seven and Endemol Shine strongly condemn her irresponsible and reckless comments in hotel quarantine," it said.

Ms Hopkins' Twitter account was permanently suspended last year for violations of its 'hateful conduct' policy.

She was fired from her UK radio show after calling for a "final solution" following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 and has compared migrants to cockroaches.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt described Ms Hopkins' actions as "dangerous and irresponsible".

"These actions if accurately reported are dangerous, irresponsible, and apparently deliberate," he said.

"We know that at the moment, the UK has the highest reported daily case numbers in the world. And so this is a particularly dangerous and irresponsible action. Katie Hopkins has called it out herself she's boasted of this.

"Instead of Big Brother watching Katie Hopkins, Katie Hopkins should be watching Big Brother from a long, long way away."

READ MORE: Regional NSW on edge, as removalists 'face full brunt of the law'

Shadow Home Affairs Minister Andrew Giles has condemned the Morrison Government for "rolling out the red carpet" for Ms Hopkins while thousands of Australians remain stranded overseas.

"This is grossly disrespectful to frontline workers who are only trying to keep us safe," he said.

"Contestants on Big Brother received an exemption based on support by the NSW Government," a Home Affairs spokesperson said.

"The NSW Government approved quarantine for Big Brother contestants above the quarantine cap."