Received

A speeding SUV has ploughed through a Christmas parade in the US state of Wisconsin, killing at least one person and injuring more than 20, including a group of young dancers waving pompoms.

Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said a person of interest was in custody and a vehicle had been recovered after the incident in the town, about 32 km west of Milwaukee.

"The vehicle struck more than 20 individuals. Some of the individuals were children and there are some fatalities as a result of this incident," Thompson told reporters.

Asked about the fatalities, Thompson said: "I don't have an exact number at this time."

Authorities said they had taken 11 adults and 12 children to six area hospitals, with more transported to hospitals by family and friends.

It was not known whether the incident was related to terrorism, but there was no further danger and an earlier shelter-in-place order in the town of around 72,000 had been lifted, Thompson added.

A video posted online showed a red sport utility vehicle ploughing through the parade, appearing to run over more than a dozen people before crowds ran from footpaths to offer assistance.

Thompson said an officer fired shots at the vehicle and no bystanders were injured. Police did not believe shots had been fired from the vehicle, contrary to earlier reports, he added. Video on social media appeared to show police firing on the vehicle as it crashed through street barriers.

A woman told Milwaukee's Fox6 TV station that the SUV hit a dance team of girls between 9 and 15 years old. She said the immediate reaction was silence, followed by screaming, running and checking on those injured, Fox6 reported. Video on social media showed small groups surrounding injured girls with white pompoms scattered around.

One witness said the driver also hit a group of "Dancing Grannies" and at least one person flipped over the hood of the SUV, according to Milwaukee's WISN-TV, an ABC affiliate.

"Members of the group and volunteers were impacted and we are waiting for word on their conditions," the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies said on their Facebook page. "Please keep the Grannies, all those injured, and all those who witnessed this horrible event in your thoughts and prayers."

Another witness estimated the SUV was going about 64 km/h when it hit the crowd parading down the street, the TV station said.

"As we were walking back in between the buildings ... we saw an SUV cross over, just put the pedal to the metal and just zooming full speed along the parade route. And then we heard a loud bang, and just deafening cries and screams from people who are struck by the vehicle," Angelito Tenorio, an alderman in nearby West Allis, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The local CBS affiliate later showed a picture on Twitter of what appeared to be the red SUV involved with its hood crumpled and front fender hanging off, parked in a driveway.

President Joe Biden was briefed by aides about the events, a White House official said.

"The White House is closely monitoring the situation in Waukesha and our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by this terrible incident. We have reached out to state and local officials to offer any support and assistance as needed."

In 2015, four people were killed and 46 injured in Stillwater, Oklahoma when a woman drove into a crowd watching the homecoming parade for a football team.

A truck was deliberately driven into a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany in 2016, killing 12 people in an attack linked to Islamic State.

© RAW 2021

Visa holders will be allowed to come back to Australia as early as next week, after the government cleared the way for skilled workers and students to return.

Fully vaccinated visa holders will be allowed to travel to Australia without needing to apply for an exemption from December 1

The move has been welcomed by business groups and the university sector, indicating the decision would lead to an economic boost.

It comes just weeks after international borders reopened for Australian citizens, permanent residents and their families.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia's strong vaccination rates had allowed for more people to come back to the country.

"It means we can open safely so we can stay safely open," Mr Morrison told parliament on Monday.

"Australians have had to sacrifice much and they have earned being able to regain the many liberties that they had to forfeit over these past few years."

The government estimated more than 235,000 visa holders would be able to return to the country from December.

They include people on humanitarian visas, student visas, economic visas as well as those on temporary and provisional family visas.

The government has forecast an additional one million visas will be made available for all other travellers, at a date yet to be specified.

Those on eligible visas looking to travel to Australia will need to be fully vaccinated with a vaccine recognised by the medical regulator, provide proof of their vaccine status and have had a negative PCR test within three days of departure.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the arrangements would also allow for tourists from Japan and South Korea to travel to Australia without the need to quarantine from December 1.

"This is safe, it's important, and it's fair that we go through this process of reopening our borders," Ms Andrews said.

"We are taking this one very important step at a time."

Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson said the decision would allow for a $3.1 billion increase to the national economy.

"This is great news which will give heart to more than 130,000 international students with visas waiting to return to Australia," Ms Jackson said.

"We look forward to further detail so we can work quickly to get students back for first semester next year."

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said multiple sectors would be able to benefit from the return of skilled workers.

"Business large and small have been crying out for these highly skilled workers," she said.

"This will be critical relief for businesses who are struggling to find workers just to keep their doors open and for those who need highly specialised skills to unlock big projects."

The latest vaccine statistics revealed 85.1 per cent of those over 16 have been fully vaccinated while 91.5 per cent have had one dose.

There were two new cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Territory, with authorities easing restrictions in locked down areas.

Fully vaccinated people in the remote community of Robinson River will no longer be subject to restrictions, with only the unvaccinated ordered to stay home.

Victoria reported 1029 new cases on Monday and a further three deaths, while NSW had 180 infections and one death .

In the ACT there were 11 cases registered.

© AAP 2021

Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai's video call with the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not address or alleviate the Women's Tennis Association's concern about her well-being, the WTA says.

The whereabouts of former doubles world No.1 Peng have been a matter of international concern for nearly three weeks after she alleged that a former senior Chinese government official sexually assaulted her.

She appeared at a dinner with friends on Saturday and at a children's tennis tournament in Beijing on Sunday, photos and videos published by Chinese state media journalists and by the tournament's organisers show. But they have done little to quell concerns.

"It was good to see Peng Shuai in recent videos, but they don't alleviate or address the WTA's concern about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion," a WTA spokeswoman said in an e-mail.

Asked about the call with the IOC, the spokeswoman said: "This video does not change our call for a full, fair and transparent investigation, without censorship, into her allegation of sexual assault, which is the issue that gave rise to our initial concern."

The IOC said in a statement that Peng held a 30-minute call with its president Thomas Bach on Sunday and thanked the Olympic organisation for its concern.

"She explained that she is safe and well, living at her home in Beijing, but would like to have her privacy respected at this time," the IOC's statement said.

"That is why she prefers to spend her time with friends and family right now. Nevertheless, she will continue to be involved in tennis, the sport she loves so much."

The concern over Peng comes as global rights groups and others have called for a boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing in February over China's human rights record. The WTA has also threatened to pull tournaments out of China over the matter.

On November 2, Peng posted on Chinese social media that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had coerced her into sex and they later had an on-off consensual relationship.

The post was quickly deleted and the topic has been blocked from discussion on China's heavily censored internet.

Neither Zhang nor the Chinese government have commented on Peng's allegations.

The United States and Britain subsequently called for China to provide proof of Peng's whereabouts and leading tennis players expressed concern about her well being..

© RAW 2021