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A week after narrowly surviving a horror helicopter crash on the Gold Coast, two New Zealand women are looking forward to continuing their recovery at home.
Elmarie Steenberg and Marle Swart suffered glass shrapnel injuries when the helicopter they were in collided with another chopper near Sea World on January 2.
Sydney woman Vanessa Tadros, 36, Britons Ron and Diane Hughes, 65 and 57, and 40-year-old pilot Ashley Jenkinson died in the accident.
Ms Tadros' son Nicholas, 10, remains in a critical condition while Geelong woman Winnie De Silva, 33, and her son Leon, nine, are recovering in hospital.
In a statement on the weekend, the Steenberg and Swart families expressed their "deepest sympathies" and condolences to the other victims and their families, saying they continued to pray for Nicholas, Leon and Winnie.
They said the reality of the crash was sinking in but the support from strangers had touched them deeply.
"Elmarie and Marle have sustained significant injuries and, at present, are feeling the weight of the recovery journey ahead of them," the statement said.
"We are willing and able to continue to assist the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) and Queensland police with their investigation as needed.
"As we return home to New Zealand, we feel eternally grateful to have been spared and thank God for every day we can spend with our loved ones."
The women, in their 40s, had been holidaying with husbands Riaan Steenberg and Edward Swart when the accident occurred.
The ATSB is probing the crash and expects to complete the investigation between July and September 2024.
Video footage from one of the choppers shows a passenger trying to warn pilot Michael James about the oncoming helicopter before the collision.
Friends and family of pilot Ashley Jenkinson are preparing to farewell him in a service on Friday in Southport.
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Thanasi Kokkinakis has kept his hopes of defending his maiden singles title in Adelaide alive after outlasting fellow Australian Alexei Popyrin in a rollercoaster round-one match.
Kokkinakis, who came flying out of the blocks in front of his home crowd, battled back from a break down in the third set to win 6-0 6-7(5) 7-5 on Monday night.
The 26-year-old was listless after dropping the second set tiebreak, in which he led 4-2 before missing a relatively easy drive volley.
He was broken early in the third but was able to regroup and book a second-round match with top seed Andrey Rublev.
"There's a curse almost when you win a set 6-0. It was almost going too smooth," Kokkinakis said on court after the match.
"I was being a bit of a softie for the end part of that match but I got it together ... and toughed it out in the end.
"I started to get a bit flat and kind of feeling sorry for myself after the second set. But I had to grow a pair and get back to it."
Kokkinakis had a dream run at the corresponding tournament last year when he beat big hitters John Isner and Marin Cilic on his way to the trophy.
The win comes after Kokkinakis bowed out of Adelaide 1 - the tournament played at the same venue last week - in the second round.
Popyrin, ranked 133, just three below Kokkinakis, was out of sorts early and a long way from the tennis that got him a win over world No.6 Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the quarterf-inals at Adelaide 1.
He won just eight points and made 10 unforced errors in a first set that lasted only 25 minutes.
But he came to life and had the running until Kokkinakis broke back to level at 3-all in the final set.
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Brazil's Supreme Court has removed the governor of Brasilia from office for 90 days due to flaws in security in the capital, after thousands of backers of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro ransacked government buildings.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes also ordered social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and TikTok to block coup-mongering propaganda.
Brazilian authorities have begun investigating the worst attack on the country's institutions since democracy was restored four decades ago, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vowing to bring those responsible for the riot to justice.
Tens of thousands of anti-democratic demonstrators on Sunday invaded the Supreme Court, Congress and the presidential palace and smashed windows, overturned furniture, destroyed art works and stole the country's original 1988 Constitution. Guns were also seized from a presidential security office.
Leftist president Lula, who took office on January 1, said the local militarised police force that reports to Brasilia Governor Ibaneis Rocha, a former Bolsonaro ally, did nothing to stop the advance of the protesters.
Lula decreed federal intervention of public security in the capital and promised exemplary punishment for the leaders of the "fascist" assault that was aimed at provoking a military coup that could restore Bolsonaro to power.
"All the people who did this will be found and punished," Lula told reporters from Sao Paulo State.
The assault raised questions among Lula's allies about how public security forces in the capital were so unprepared and easily overwhelmed by rioters who had announced their plans days ahead on social media.
Lula blamed Bolsonaro for inflaming his supporters after a campaign of baseless allegations about election fraud after the end of his rule marked by divisive nationalist populism.
From Florida, where he flew 48 hours before his term ended, Bolsonaro rejected the accusation, tweeting that peaceful demonstrations were democratic but the invasion of government buildings "crossed the line".
The invasion, which recalled the assault on the US Capitol two years ago by backers of former president Donald Trump, was quickly condemned by world leaders, from US President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron to Latin American heads of state.
Police retook the damaged public buildings in the iconic futuristic capital after three hours and dispersed the crowd with tear gas.
Justice Minister Flavio Dino said 200 demonstrators had been arrested, but governor Rocha put the number at 400.
Dino said investigations will aim to uncover who financed the several hundred buses that brought Bolsonaro's supporters to Brasilia and also probe Rocha for not preparing security.
The occupation of the government buildings had been planned for at least two weeks by Bolsonaro's supporters in groups on social media messaging platforms such as Telegram and Twitter, yet there was no move by security forces to prevent the attack, called by one group "the seizure of power by the people".
Messages seen by Reuters throughout the week showed members of such groups organising meeting points in several cities around the country, from where chartered buses would leave for Brasilia, with the intention to occupy public buildings.
The plan included camping in front of the army command's headquarters, where groups of coup-mongers had camped out since Lula narrowly won the election in October.
In the early afternoon of Sunday, when the protesters began to arrive on Brasilia's esplanade, instead of being contained, they were escorted by military police cars with flashing lights.
Riot police only arrived on the scene two hours after the invasions began.
Bolsonaro faces legal risks from several investigations before the Supreme Court in Brazil and his future in the US, where he travelled on a visa issued only to sitting presidents, is in question.
"Bolsonaro should not be in Florida," Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro said on CNN. "The United States should not be a refuge for this authoritarian who has inspired domestic terrorism in Brazil. He should be sent back to Brazil."
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Novak Djokovic feels like he has enjoyed the ideal preparation for the Australian Open after downing a series of high-calibre opponents on the way to winning the Adelaide International 1.
In his first tournament in Australia since being deported from the country last January, Djokovic beat American Sebastian Korda in an epic three-set thriller in Sunday's final.
Djokovic produced a nerveless overhead smash while moving backwards to save championship point during the second set, and he was cool as ice too late in the match to seal the contest 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in three hours eight minutes.
The 21-time grand slam champion will spend this week practising, including playing a ticketed exhibition match against Nick Kyrgios at Rod Laver Arena on Friday night, before attempting to win a 10th Australian Open crown.
Kyrgios was among Djokovic's supporters during last year's saga.
Djokovic loved his experience in Adelaide, and feels the tournament was the perfect preparation for the first major of the year.
"Absolutely. Five great matches," Djokovic said.
"The second round it was 7-6, 7-6 - tough two tiebreakers against (Quentin) Halys, who is playing very well.
"Then I had (Denis) Shapovalov, (Daniil) Medvedev and Korda, who is on fire, playing some high-level tennis, striking the ball amazingly.
'I couldn't ask for a better preparation and lead-up to Australian Open.
"I have a week off for recovery now and working on specific things in terms of my game, my body, getting my mind in the right state for the best-of-five and two long weeks hopefully."
The only hiccup Djokovic faced last week was a hamstring scare in his semi-final win over Medvedev.
The 35-year-old revealed he'd worked "deep into the night" with his physio after the match and was able to shake off the niggle in time for the final the following day.
"It was all right," Djokovic said, adding that he's confident it won't affect him at the Australian Open.
"There were a few times in the match I felt was tightening up, the muscle, but nothing that would worry me for my performance."
Djokovic's tournament win in Adelaide was also an important step towards putting the dramas of last January behind him.
The Serbian became worldwide news when he was deported from Australia for refusing to have the COVID-19 vaccine.
Djokovic says he holds no ill feelings towards Australia.
"I don't hold any grudges," he said.
"I told you I had far many more positive experiences in Australia to throw that away just because of what happened last year.
"I feel very comfortable with people, normal people, that follow sport, that I encounter on an everyday basis.
"I haven't had any negative experience so far. So every person that I met, whether it's in the city or in the woods - I actually met a few kangaroos as well, had a chat with them - everyone was very kind, very supportive.
"So there is no reason for me to feel differently than what I'm receiving from them."
© AAP 2023
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