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Australia’s COVID crisis worsens
Australia’s battle with an outbreak of the COVID delta strain is getting more intense, as lockdowns extend in Melbourne and Sydney records its deadliest day
Australia’s biggest CBD’s are in lockdown. Sydney and the state of New South Wales has been rocked by a further eight deaths and a staggering 478 new cases of COVID today — with at least 91 of them circulating in the community for all or part of their infectious period.
As the largest state in Australia by population, all of New South Wales is now in lockdown – including rural and regional areas.
The state will continue a grim lockdown, which was hoped to end at the end of the month.
A man wearing a protective face mask waits on a Circular Quay train platform in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as the state of New South Wales experiences an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, June 22, 2021. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
Melbourne lockdown extended with rules tightened
Melbourne’s lockdown has been extended for two weeks and residents of metropolitan areas will be subject to a new 9pm to 5am curfew.
The harsher restrictions come as Melbourne recorded 22 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown would now end on September 2, meaning the state would have by then faced one month in lockdown six.
The curfew will take effect at 11.59pm on tonight, Monday 16th August.
From 9pm to 5am, residents of metropolitan Melbourne will not be allowed to leave their homes unless they have a permit to conduct essential work, among other limited reasons.
Masks will also no longer be able to be removed to consume alcohol outdoors. The strict new move comes as people were seen ordering takeaway alcohol outside inner-city pubs in an attempt to dodge restrictions at the weekend.
Darwin and Katherine plunged into three-day snap lockdown from midday today
Parts of the Northern Territory have gone into a snap lockdown from 12 noon (ACST) today.Darwin, and the town of Katherine will be in a three-day lockdown, after a new case of COVID-19 was detected.
The positive case is from a man understood to be in his 30s and it is assumed the man has the Delta variant.
Australia’s Capital of Canberra remains in lockdown
The ACT’s lockdown has been extended to September 2, after the territory recorded 19 new cases on Monday.
Among the new cases included an aged care worker and a high school student.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said this was a “serious situation.”
“Lockdowns are a proven measure to suppress chains of transmission of the virus.”
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr
The lockdown was originally due to lift at 5pm this coming Thursday.
News
Fourth death confirmed due to Optus outage issues
Fourth death confirmed following Optus outage that blocked Triple Zero calls for 13 hours during network upgrade
Fourth death confirmed following Optus outage that blocked Triple Zero calls for 13 hours during network upgrade
– A fourth death is confirmed due to an Optus network failure affecting emergency calls for 13 hours.
– Optus CEO announced an investigation after communication failures and criticism from politicians and emergency services.
He stated that approximately 600 calls to emergency services were disrupted, impacting residents across South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.
Rue confirmed that the outage stemmed from a problematic firewall upgrade and revealed details of communication failures within the company. Politicians and emergency services expressed anger at the lack of timely information during the crisis.
System Failure
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas criticised Optus for their incompetence in handling the situation.
The federal communications minister also condemned the company, highlighting that such failures are unacceptable.
The incident follows a previous outage for which Optus was fined $12 million, raising serious concerns about their emergency service handling.
News
Israel launches its new “Iron Beam” laser system
Israel’s new “Iron Beam” laser defense system to deploy by year-end, promising cost-effective missile interception.
Israel’s new “Iron Beam” laser defense system to deploy by year-end, promising cost-effective missile interception.
Israel’s Defence Ministry says its new “Iron Beam” laser system will be deployed by year’s end. The technology is designed to destroy incoming missiles, rockets, drones and mortars with precision.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in partnership with Elbit Systems, Iron Beam will sit alongside existing defences such as Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow. Unlike traditional interceptors which can cost tens of thousands of dollars per shot, the laser comes at negligible expense.
Officials call it the world’s first high-power laser interception system to achieve operational maturity, hailing it as a game-changer for modern warfare. Military leaders expect the system to reshape air defence capabilities and cut costs dramatically.
#Israel #Defence #LaserWeapons #TickerNews
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Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel
Stephen Colbert condemns censorship and calls out Trump in powerful monologue dedicated to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspended show.
Stephen Colbert condemns censorship and calls out Trump in powerful monologue dedicated to Jimmy Kimmel’s suspended show.
Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue is being hailed as one of the most powerful moments in modern late-night history. Standing on stage at the Ed Sullivan Theatre, Colbert dedicated his show to Jimmy Kimmel and his team after ABC suspended Kimmel’s programme under pressure from Washington.
Colbert called the move “blatant censorship” and directly accused President Trump of acting like an autocrat. “With an autocrat, you cannot give an inch,” he warned, making clear that the stakes reach far beyond late-night comedy.
#StephenColbert #JimmyKimmel #FreeSpeech #TickerNews
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