G'day. It's Tuesday, November 16 and here's a quick wrap-up of news from today to keep you in the loop.
One thing you should know about
A cluster of COVID cases in Katherine has grown to 11, with nine people testing positive for the virus today.
- All nine of the new cases are Aboriginal people and a woman in her 60s has been taken to hospital
- The other positive cases will be transferred to government quarantine facilities
- MacFarlane Primary School and Wurli Wurlinjang Health Service have been listed as exposure sites
Katherine's lockdown has been extended and mask mandates expanded, and NT Police Commissioner has told anti-vax protesters to "hold your peace" until after those restrictions ease.
"You are going to place the lives of vulnerable Territorians at risk," he said.
What else is going on?
- NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says there is "one person in particular" detectives are focusing on as their investigations into three-year-old William Tyrrell's disappearance continue
- Nursing home workers at the centre of Australia's deadliest coronavirus outbreak, at St Basil's Homes for the Aged in Melbourne, have told an inquest they did not use PPE or socially distance until the first positive case was detected
- A Perth family, including two young kids, stranded in the Simpson Desert since late last week have been rescued. They were winched to safety by a police helicopter and will undergo precautionary medical checks
News alerts you might have missed
- A former Broome tourism operator who fled Australia a decade ago has been sentenced to nine years in jail for sexually abusing two girls
- Katrina Powell has been appointed Hockeyroos head coach ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. She's the first permanent female head coach since 1978
- All school, preschool and early childhood staff and volunteers in SA must be fully vaccinated for COVID before the start of the 2022 school year
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What Australia has been searching for online
Justin Bieber. Yep, that's one of the biggest searches of the day. He's bringing his JUSTICE world tour to Australia next year and fans are, not unexpectedly, losing their minds.
Liverpool bomb. UK authorities confirmed early this morning that an explosion outside a maternity hospital was a terrorism incident, and have hailed a taxi driver as a hero amid reports he prevented the attacker from getting into the building by locking him in the cab.
Adele. Her CBS special, One Night Only, aired in the US overnight and it had everything from new music to a marriage proposal.
One more thing
Nick Kyrgios has called for the Australian Open to be cancelled in solidarity with the people of Melbourne but said that if it does go ahead, unvaccinated players should be welcome at his home grand slam.
The 26-year-old told his podcast that "you've got to send a message" to the residents of one of the world's most locked-down cities — but that message was not necessarily that athletes should have to be vaccinated to travel and play.
Victoria's Sports Minister Martin Pakula says he "really likes" Nick Kyrgios, but reiterated that unvaccinated players (and staff, and fans) would be banned from the Australian Open.
"We've had a long lockdown so the Australian Open shouldn't proceed? I'm not sure I follow that. I think the opposite applies."
You're up to date
Thanks for reading.
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