Received

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 105

An undersea volcano has erupted in spectacular fashion near the Pacific nation of Tonga, sending tsunami waves crashing across the shore and people rushing to higher ground.

The eruption cut the internet to Tonga, leaving friends and family members around the world on Sunday still anxiously trying to get in touch to figure out if there were any injuries and the extent of the damage.

Satellite images showed a huge eruption, with a plume of ash, steam and gas rising like a mushroom above the Pacific waters. A sonic boom could be heard as far away as Alaska.

Authorities across the Pacific, including in Samoa, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and the US Pacific coast issued tsunami alerts, warning coastal residents of possible strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges.

The Tonga Meteorological Services declared a tsunami warning for the whole archipelago, and data from the Pacific tsunami centre detected waves of 80 centimetres.

Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau, who chairs the New Zealand Tonga Business Council, said she hoped the relatively low level of the tsunami waves would have allowed most people to get to safety.

She said she had not yet been able to contact her friends and family in Tonga.

"We are praying that the damage is just to infrastructure and people were able to get to higher land," she said.

Tonga gets its internet via an undersea cable from Suva, Fiji, which presumably was damaged. All internet connectivity with Tonga was lost about 6.40pm local time.

The Fiji-based Islands Business news site reported police and soldiers removed Tonga's King Tupou VI from his palace near the shore.

On Tonga, home to about 105,000 people, video posted to social media showed large waves washing ashore in coastal areas, swirling around homes, a church and other buildings.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said images of the eruption were "hugely concerning" and agencies were still trying to establish full communications with the country.

In Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported waves that measured 50cm in Nawiliwili, Kauai and 80cm in Hanalei.

The tsunami advisory for the islands was lifted about 11 hours after the eruption more than 4800km away.

The explosion of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano was the latest in a series of dramatic eruptions.

Earth imaging company Planet Labs PBC had watched the island in recent days after a new volcanic vent there began erupting in late December.

Satellite images captured by the company show how drastically the volcano had shaped the area, creating a growing island off Tonga.

Following Saturday's eruption, residents in Hawaii, Alaska and along the US Pacific coast were advised to move away from the coastline to higher ground.

The first waves to hit the continental United States measured up to 59cm in Alaska.

A wave of about 79cm was observed in Monterey, California, according to the US National Tsunami Warning Center.

Residents of American Samoa were alerted of a tsunami warning by local broadcasters as well as church bells that rang territory-wide on Saturday.

As night fell, there were no reports of damage and the Hawaii-based tsunami centre cancelled the alert.

Authorities in nearby Fiji and Samoa also issued warnings, telling people to avoid the shoreline due to strong currents and dangerous waves. In New Zealand, officials warned of possible storm surges from the eruption.

Australian authorities issued a tsunami warning for parts of the east coast and Lord Howe, Norfolk and Macquarie islands.

The southern Japanese island of Chichijima recorded a 75cm wave. Japanese authorities did not expect the forecast swells to cause any damage.

New Zealand private forecaster Weather Watch tweeted that people as far away as Southland, the country's southernmost region, reported hearing sonic booms from the eruption.

Others reported that many boats were damaged by a tsunami that hit a marina in Whangarei.

Earlier, the Matangi Tonga news site reported that scientists observed massive explosions, thunder and lightning after the eruption began early on Friday.

Satellite images showed a 5km-wide plume rising about 20km.

The Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano is about 64km north of the capital, Nuku'alofa.

© DPA 2022

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 103

Australians haven't been able to drown their sorrows at a pub during the coronavirus pandemic.

Australian Tax Office figures show that pubs and clubs sold 40 million fewer pints of beer between July and September last year than they did during the same period in 2019 and before the COVID-19 hit.

Brewers Association of Australia chief executive John Preston said after a horror year in 2020 where pubs and clubs lost over $1 billion in beer sales due to lockdowns, the ATO data suggest 2021 could be worse.

The ATO recorded 903,982 litres of alcohol as having been served in beers over the counter in July-September 2021 compared to 1,993,027 litres during the same period in 2019.

"These figures show that the damage to our pubs and clubs from the pandemic actually worsened last year," Mr Preston said in a statement on Sunday.

He said on average beer sales are around 70 per cent of alcohol sales volumes in licensed premises and a drop of this severity has hit pubs and clubs incredibly hard.

The association is calling for the Australian government to use the forthcoming federal budget to reduce Australia's 4th highest beer tax in the world to give pubs and clubs a fighting chance.

He said on February 1 Australian beer drinkers will be hit with one of the biggest beer tax increases in more than a decade.

Excise rates for alcohol are indexed twice a year in line with the consumer price index.

"It's not right and it's not sustainable," Mr Preston said.

"Other countries have been reducing their tax on draught beer to give pubs and beer drinkers a break."

© AAP 2022

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 105

Novak Djokovic is back in immigration detention with his Australian Open fate set to be finally decided in the Federal Court on Sunday.

The 34-year-old's desperate quest for a 10th title at Melbourne Park goes on the line when his legal team attempts to overturn his visa cancellation and deportation orders from Immigration Minister Alex Hawke

The top seed needs to be on the tennis court on Monday for an opening-round clash with Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, while Open organisers are poised to make draw changes should Djokovic's last-ditch legal bid fail.

Sunday's proceedings will be heard by a full bench of three judges, which was the preference of Djokovic's legal team, rather than by a single judge which can be appealed.

With the case heard by the full court there is no avenue to appeal any decision made.

The tennis superstar was on Saturday afternoon returned to the Melbourne immigration detention hotel where he has already spent four nights.

Wearing a green tracksuit and a white face mask, he appeared composed in the back seat of a vehicle.

Earlier on Saturday his lawyers fronted a brief procedural hearing before Justice David O'Callaghan in the Federal Court, after the case was transferred from the Federal Circuit Court in a late-night hearing on Friday.

In an 268-page affidavit released on Saturday by the Federal Court, Hawke's detailed reasons for using his discretionary power to cancel Djokovic's visa a second time were outlined.

In it, Hawke suggested the unvaccinated world No.1's presence during the tournament could encourage residents to shirk COVID-19 isolation rules, given he's acknowledged doing so last month, and foster "anti-vaccination sentiment".

Djokovic's lawyers flatly rejected the claim in their grounds for appealing the visa cancellation, saying the minister had not cited any evidence to back up his view.

They argued that booting Djokovic out of the country could excite similar anti-vaccination sentiments.

Djokovic came under added scrutiny this week when he admitted in a statement he had provided false information on his travel declaration, blaming his agent for the error.

He also admitted attending a media interview in Serbia while knowingly COVID-19 positive and when he should have been self-isolating, calling it an "error of judgement".

Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic has accused the Australian government of "harassing" and "maltreating" Djokovic, suggesting it was indulging in political point-scoring before the election.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists Djokovic's visa cancellation was done in the public interest.

Daniil Medvedev will take over as top seed should Djokovic's be ruled out.

The Russian world No.2 lost the Australian Open final to Djokovic last year but then defeated the 20-time grand slam champion in the US Open final.

While his chances of a second grand slam title would increase in the Serb's absence, Medvedev wanted to know more about the procedure and reasons behind his rival's expulsion.

"I want to say about Novak's situation that we're in Australia, it's their rules," Medvedev said on Saturday.

"If he has a valid exemption to be in this country and to do what he wants, then he should play and if the exemption is not valid or something else is not valid, well, any country can deny your entry

"I know yesterday the Prime Minister ... said no and I didn't really read anywhere why -- that's what interests me to know, the reason.

"Is it just he said, I don't want? Is there a real legal reason behind this?

"I guess we're going to know a little bit more tomorrow at the appeal."

Spanish great Rafael Nadal also stands to benefit, as an Australian Open crown would move him clear of his long-time rivals Djokovic and the absent Roger Federer with 21 grand slam titles.

"Australian Open is much more important than any player," Nadal said.

"If he's playing finally, OK.

"If he's not playing, Australian Open will be great Australian Open with or without him."

© AAP 2022

Details
Category: Received
Hits: 104

Tennis star Novak Djokovic will spend his fifth night in a detention hotel in Melbourne as he fights a federal government decision to cancel his visa for a second time.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke used his discretionary powers late on Friday afternoon to cancel the world No.1's visa, after considering evidence from Djokovic's lawyers, along with advice from federal agencies.

"I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was held in the public interest to do so," Mr Hawke said in a statement.

His full list of reasons was published as part of a 268-page affidavit released by the Federal Court on Saturday.

In it, Mr Hawke suggested the unvaccinated Serbian's presence during the Australian Open could encourage residents to shirk isolation rules, given the tennis star's concession to having previously done so, and foster "anti-vaccination sentiment".

This, the minister said, could lead to civil unrest akin to previous anti-vaccination protests and fewer people getting their booster jab.

Djokovic's law firm Hall & Wilcox flatly rejected the claim in its grounds for appealing the visa cancellation, saying the minister had not cited any evidence to back it up.

The firm argued Mr Hawke's contention could "not logically, rationally and reasonably be assessed" without considering whether booting Djokovic out of the country would excite similar anti-vaccination sentiments.

Further, it was argued the world No.1 had garnered support in Australia and abroad to remain in the country and compete at Melbourne Park, pointing to a petition with 96,000 signatures and an online poll run by a news outlet.

Djokovic was on Saturday afternoon driven from his lawyer's office to the Park Hotel in Melbourne's Carlton, which is being used as an immigration detention centre.

Wearing a green tracksuit and a white face mask, he appeared composed in the back of a vehicle.

The 34-year-old was detained at the hotel for four nights when his visa was first cancelled and will spend a fifth there before a scheduled hearing in the Federal Court on Sunday.

Djokovic arrived in the country late on the evening of January 5. He was detained by border officials and his visa was cancelled at 7.29am the next day.

Australia's pandemic response has included an insistence a visa holder must be double-vaccinated or show acceptable proof they cannot be vaccinated to enter quarantine-free.

While that decision was later overturned by a federal court on fairness grounds, the Australian government immediately foreshadowed the possibility of a second visa cancellation.

The Australian Open begins on Monday, with the world No.1 looking to secure his 10th title at the event.

Djokovic was named in the draw on Thursday, and is slated to face Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic in round one.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused the Australian government of "harassing" and "maltreating" Djokovic, suggesting it was indulging in political point-scoring ahead of the election.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists Djokovic's visa cancellation was carried out in the public interest.

© AAP 2022