Tag Archives: oceania

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred inches closer to Queensland coast

2025-03-01 FreeNews

Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred is inching closer to the Queensland coast, bringing intense winds and wild surf.

The system remains over the Coral Sea, with the Bureau of Meteorology forecasting strong to gale-force winds across the southern Great Barrier Reef Islands and extending to K'gari this weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Jonathan How said yesterday there was "high confidence" the cyclone would remain well offshore over the next two days.

The cyclone is expected to move towards the coast today, before moving southeast tomorrow and Monday.

It's expected to be slow-moving by Tuesday before shifting back towards the southern Queensland coast by the middle of next week.

A severe weather warning remains in place for parts of the Capricornia, Wide Bay and Burnett and Southeast Coast Forecast Districts.

"Alfred is producing a large area of gale force winds on its southwestern flank, and there is a risk the system may approach close enough to the coast to produce a period of gales and damaging wind gusts about the coastal fringe overnight tonight and during Sunday," the Bureau said.

A separate coastal hazard warning is also current for the Wide Bay and Southeast Coast of Queensland.

Locations which may be affected include Bundaberg, Gladstone, Hervey Bay, K'gari, Miriam Vale and Rainbow Beach.

Coastal and island communities along the southern Queensland and northeast NSW coast have been urged to monitor conditions.

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Thousands line Sydney streets for Mardi Gras Parade

2025-03-01 FreeNews

Huge crowds have lined the streets of Sydney for the 47th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

Tens of thousands of people have made their way from across Australia to watch more than 10,000 participants and 180 floats.

In keeping with tradition, the "Dykes on Bikes" led the parade amongst a sea of glitter and glamour.

The parade kicked off at 7pm from Hyde Park – with the route heading up Oxford Street, through Taylor Square to Flinders Street and ending at Anzac Parade, Moore Park.

The parade is expected to wind up about 11pm but for many, the night will just be getting started.

A raft of after parties will take place around the City of Sydney.

Before the show, participants finished off their make up looks while in the marshalling area in Hyde Park.

As the crowds grew there was a sea of speedos and lycra.

Spectators got in early to nab a winning seat to watch the floats pass by.

This year's theme is Free To Be to represent the strides towards LGBTQIA+ equality.

More to come.

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Two Queensland women given wrong cancer diagnoses after ‘biopsy mix-up’

2025-03-01 FreeNews

Queensland Health has launched an investigation after an apparent biopsy mix-up led to two women receiving the wrong cancer diagnoses.

Both women had undergone biopsies in November, after their mammograms at Rockhampton BreastScreen returned suspicious results.

One patient was incorrectly cleared of cancer, with her tumour going untreated for months, while the other reportedly underwent unnecessary surgery.

Biopsy mix up

"While we are limited in what we can say due to patient confidentiality, we acknowledge the distress this incident has caused," a spokesperson for Queensland Health told 9News.

"We have met with the patients to apologise and have offered support and care."

"Work began immediately upon discovery of the error and to identify what solutions could be put in place to prevent the risk of this happening again."

Government minister Tim Mander also acknowledged the distress caused by the error.

"The government's thoughts are with those women who were affected by this, and we're providing every bit of support that we can," he said.

"Obviously, that's something that we do not want to happen again, and so there's investigations taking place at the moment."

The department is encouraging women not to be deterred from using the BreastScreen program.

"We are committed to providing the best care possible to Queenslanders, who put their trust in us to look after them," said the spokesperson.

"On rare occasions the system doesn't get it right, but the community can be confident in the care we provide and in our commitment to addressing mistakes when they occur."

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All the glitz, glamour and sparkle at Sydney Mardi Gras

2025-03-01 FreeNews

Sydney is buzzing as one of the biggest nights in the city's social calendar gets underway, with thousands set to march in the 47th annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade.

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Dozens injured when cruise ship hits rough waters after departing Sydney

2025-03-01 FreeNews

Passengers and crew aboard a cruise ship were injured when they hit rough waters in New Zealand on a 14-day round trip from Sydney.

The cruise ship Crown Princess was battered by strong winds as the ship changed course near Milford Sound.

Footage from inside the kitchen of the cruise ship showed the ship taking a stomach-turning lean, sending staff running.

Cruise Ship injuries Passengers injured after cruise ship hits rough waters

Kitchenhands had to brace for the next big lean, passengers at the buffet and dining room held on to whatever they could.

"The tables and chairs went sliding across the room, and a girl went sliding on her chair over towards the pool," another passenger said.

Pots and pans were sent flying in the kitchen, with trays of food toppling.

The pool onboard spilled onto the decks.

One passenger said they were "walking along doing my lap and all of a sudden the boat was on an angle."

"I had to hang on!" he said.

Passengers injured after cruise ship hits rough waters

In the on-board gift shops, perfume and skincare were sent flying off the shelves.

Glass displays fell apart and designer bags were scattered on the ground.

Princess Cruises says its crew responded quickly to correct the situation and at no point was the safety of the ship compromised.

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Wheelchair user left homeless after car slams into her Sydney home

2025-03-01 FreeNews

A woman has been left homeless after a car slammed into her Sydney home while she was sleeping.

The car hit Excellcia Starr's home in Seven Hills in the early hours of the morning.

The blue Skoda sedan was driving along Lucas Road when it veered off the road, went through the front yard of Starr's home, into the brick wall and into the bathroom.

Woman left homeless after car hits her Sydney home.

Starr told 9News she was sleeping at the time.

"I heard this bang and I was sleeping, I'm thinking what the hell is this?" Starr said.

Inside the car were three men who initially fled the scene.

"I said 'are you feeling alright?' He said 'yes, yes'. Then he's come out and run away," a witness told 9News.

Police and the dog squad hunted for them into the early hours of the morning before two of them, the driver and a passenger, returned.

The driver and one of the passengers were taken to hospital with back and neck injuries.

The driver has also undergone mandatory testing and both are expected to be charged once they have recovered.

The third man is still at large.

"They hit the house and ran and that's the most disgusting part about it," Starr said.

Woman left homeless after car hits her Sydney home.

This isn't the first time her home has been hit by a car. Starr says she had an almost identical incident 15 years ago.

"There's nobody in the middle of the night that can come and help," she said.

"I've been here for about five hours now since 1 in the morning.

"There's no toilet I can access, I'm in a wheelchair."

Starr is now calling for greater safety measures along this road to avoid this from happening again.

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