Good morning, it's Wednesday, December 15. Here's what you need to get going.
One thing to know right now: WHO says Omicron isn't mild and countries should 'do it all' to stop it
The head of the World Health Organization says Omicron is spreading at an unprecedented rate. Here's the lowdown:
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he believes the variant is now in most countries.
- He says people shouldn't be lulled into thinking it's mild (even if it's less severe than other strains), and all measures need to be employed to fight it.
"Countries can and must prevent the spread of Omicron with measures that work today. It's not vaccines instead of masks, it's not vaccines instead of distancing, it's not vaccines instead of ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all."
- In the UK, the variant is spreading so rapidly it has the potential to overwhelm Britain’s hospitals, highlighting the need to strengthen restrictions and speed up booster shots, according to their Health Minister
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: An Aussie AdBlue maker is chartering flights to deal with the crisis
Look it sounds like you shouldn't care about this, but it's a big deal. Let's break it down:
- Basically, AdBlue is an additive to diesel, which of course, powers the trucks that move everything. It's crucial to our supply chain.
- But China's put a lock on exporting urea, needed for AdBlue, sparking a global shortage. Enter the need to get it here any way we can.
- Simon Henry the boss of Queensland-based AUSblue's parent company, says they've got heavy-lift charter planes standing by to bring in 250 tonnes of urea each per flight from the Middle East and Asia.
- He says urea is now "the Achilles' heel of the Australian economy".
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- A COVID-positive passenger was on a flight from Newcastle to Brisbane and then on to Townsville on Monday. Everyone on those flights is a close contact, and will spend Christmas quarantining.
- Tasmania's borders have reopened today.
- An explosion in Haiti has killed at least 50 people — a fuel tanker crashed and people were scooping up the leaking fuel when it blew up (the country's fuel terminals have been blockaded by gangs for months).
- And the husband of Belarus's opposition leader has been jailed for 18 years in something his wife says is a 'revenge' verdict. The court found Syarhei Tsikhanouski, a 43-year-old video blogger, guilty of organising mass unrest and of inciting social hatred.
The news Australia is searching for
- NSW COVID restrictions: The state is easing restrictions further today (including for the unvaccinated). There'll be (largely) no venue limits and masks are being dropped in most indoor settings including shops — but you've got to keep them on for public transport.
- Larry Nassar: A settlement of more than $US500 million has been reached for hundreds of female gymnasts abused by the doctor for the US National Gymnastics team. The case against Larry (or Lawrence) Nassar is one of the biggest child sexual abuse cases in history.
- Fantastic Beasts 3: It's our first look at Mads Mikkelsen's Grindelwald (he took over from Johnny Depp during filming last year). Take a peek:
One more thing: Remember the Crazy Frog? Yeah its Twitter account is getting death threats
Yes, I'm talking about that weird, CGI frog thing that had a viral song in 2005 (Axel F for the record).
So its creators are selling NFTs (non-fungible tokens — it's basically selling digital items as unique pieces), and now its social media team say they're getting death threats over the move.
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more of the good stuff.
ABC/wires
