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Australian Open Nick Kyrgios takes aim at team box during first-round match

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It didn’t take long — just two games in fact — but Nick Kyrgios was back to his prickly best on John Cain Arena at the Australian Open on Monday evening [AEDT].

Down a break at 0-2 in the first set against Portugal’s Frederico Ferreira Silva, Kyrgios turned his attention to his player’s box, loudly exclaiming: “Tell your girlfriend to get out of my box!”

It’s unclear who exactly he was referring to, but it proved the catalyst for a quick turnaround in fortunes; Kyrgios quickly broke back and evened the contest at 2-2, then muttering under his breath: “Wonder why?”

From there, the Australian was well on his way to taking a 5-4 lead in the set before again halting proceedings, this time berating a member of the crowd for speaking between his opponent’s first and second serves.

“Be quiet bro, have some respect for the kid,” Kyrgios said.

He approached the chair umpire after the game, asking him loudly if he was going to do anything about it.

Kyrgios went on to take the first set 6-4 and was rarely troubled for the rest of his encounter, occasionally offering himself some advice, and at one point asking his opponent for an unused towel during a change of ends.

Kyrgios closed out the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, but said he was far from playing his best tennis.

“Honestly it was pretty average. I haven’t played a Grand Slam match in over a year. I was nervous,” he said on court following the win.

“(But) it was special; I appreciate [the crowd for] coming out. It was a strange year, and we all overcame it together to make it possible. It felt normal, to be honest, it was good to see [the crowd was] going nuts”

Kyrgios faces Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the second round.



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Australian couple accused of keeping drugged sex slaves

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An Australian couple allegedly kept several young women between the ages of 17 to 24 as sex slaves — some of whom were branded as the man’s “property,” according to a report.

Matthew James Markcrow, 35, and his girlfriend Crystal Marie Sawyer, 23, appeared in a Brisbane court Friday after police uncovered evidence to support “sexual servitude and organized prostitution” during raids in Queensland this week, news.com.au reported.

Police allege the victims were drugged while subjected to controlled living, financial and work conditions.

Photos posted on social media by Markcrow also show tattoos branding some of the women as “Property of Matt M,” the outlet said.

Markcrow was charged with conducting unlawful prostitution, making recordings in breach of privacy, contravening an order about electronic information and conducting a business involving sexual servitude of a girl under 18.

Matthew Markcrow, 35, has been charged with recruiting young women into sexual slavery in Australia.
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Sawyer was charged with conducting unlawful prostitution and contravening an order about electronic information, news.com.au reported.

Markcrow has been kept in custody, while his girlfriend was granted bail — despite allegations that she exerted control over the women and concerns she may run the business during her boyfriend’s absence.

“Police observed other girls follow Sawyer’s leadership during the search … she demonstrated a degree of control over the other girls,” said police Sgt. Mark Hughes.

Matthew Markcrow, 35, has been charged with recruiting young women into sexual slavery in Queensland, Australia. Drugs and recordings of sexual acts were allegedly uncovered by officers.
Queensland Police

Defense attorney Lily Berkeley argued that there was no firm evidence that Sawyer had been involved in the business and said the charges were brought “somewhat prematurely.”

The judge granted Sawyer bail on condition that she must not contact the witnesses and has to report to police twice a week.

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Bushfire smoke blankets Australian city under COVID-19 lockdown

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SYDNEY, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Smoke haze covered Australia’s fourth largest city of Perth on Wednesday from a fast-moving bushfire that razed dozens of homes, complicating a tight lockdown after Western Australia state’s first COVID-19 case in more than 10 months.

Authorities said the hot, dry conditions that had fuelled the fires in Perth’s northeastern suburbs had eased slightly overnight.

“We had a better night than the previous night, we haven’t had the fire impact any properties overnight and also some milder conditions have allowed us to complete some tracking,” state Fire Services Commissioner Darren Klemm told reporters.

Klemm revised up the number of homes lost from the fires to 71 from 59 while urging residents to remain vigilant as erratic winds could reignite some fires. No fatalities have been reported from the fires, the origins of which are still unknown.

“It is going to continue to be a challenging fire for us for at least the next three or four or five days,” Klemm said.

However, favourable weather could bring some respite with rains possible over the weekend and temperatures expected to drop to around 28 degree Celsius (82 degree Fahrenheit) over the next few days from the mid-30s, authorities said.

A tropical low in the state’s north has brought heavy rains and gusty winds there and the system could move south bringing wet weather over the next few days, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said.

Two million residents of Perth, the state capital, are under a five-day lockdown until Friday after a hotel quarantine worker tested positive to the highly contagious variant of COVID-19 first detected in Britain.

Residents must stay home, except for essential work, healthcare, grocery shopping or exercise, with visits to hospitals and nursing homes banned.

But state authorities said fire evacuation orders will take precedence over COVID-19 lockdown rules and residents should plan to shift to alternative places if emergency evacuation orders are issued.

“What we don’t want is indecision from people about whether they should evacuate or not when we require them to evacuate, so that evacuation overrides any quarantining requirements that people may have,” Klemm said. (Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)

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30 homes estimated to have been lost in Australian wildfire

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PERTH, Australia (AP) — An out-of-control wildfire burning northeast of the Australian west coast city of Perth has destroyed an estimated 30 homes and was threatening more Tuesday, with many locals across the region told it is too late to leave.

The 7,000-hectare (17,000-acre) blaze, which has a 75-kilometer (47-mile) perimeter, began on Monday and raged through the night near the town of Wooroloo, with the shires of Mundaring, Chittering, Northam, and the city of Swan impacted.

Swan Mayor Kevin Bailey said more than 30 homes are believed to have been destroyed.

“We are just waiting for confirmation of the numbers but we’re looking somewhere in the vicinity of 30-plus homes lost,” Bailey said.

Bailey said one firefighter had been treated for smoke inhalation. There had been no other injuries.

Western Australia’ state’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services Deputy Commissioner Craig Waters said the fire had doubled in size overnight and burned through 7,366 hectares (18,202 acres) of farm and woodland.

“Strong winds are hampering us getting in and containing the fire and bringing it under control,” he said.

State Premier Mark McGowan said 80% of all properties near Gidgegannup on Perth’s northeast rural fringe have been lost.

Firefighters would investigate whether there had been any loss of life, he said.

McGowan said a large aerial tanker was flying from the Australian east coast to help fight the blaze.

“This is an extremely dangerous fire and a serious situation. Weather conditions are extremely volatile,” McGowan said.

“Please do everything you can to keep you and your family safe and look after each other,” he added.

People in a 25-kilometer (16-mile) stretch west from Wooroloo to the Walyunga National Park northeast of Perth had been told Tuesday it had become too dangerous to leave their homes.

“You must shelter before the fire arrives, as the extreme heat will kill you well before the flames reach you,” the latest warning said.

Roads out of semi-rural suburb The Vines on Perth’s northern outskirts were bumper-to-bumper with traffic, making some people choose to stay.

Melissa Stahl, 49, heeded a text telling her to evacuate.

“I could smell the fire and went out the back and the whole yard was filled with smoke,” she said. “We grabbed bedding, photos, the two kids and the dog and got out of there,” she added.

A warning to other threatened areas told people to leave if they are not prepared to fight the blaze. The bushfire is unpredictable and weather conditions are rapidly changing, the warning said, urging people to stay vigilant.

The cause of the blaze is unknown.

Department of Fire and Emergency Services Superintendent Peter Sutton said about 250 firefighters had been battling erratic fire behavior.

“It has made it very hard, near on impossible … to suppress this fire,” Sutton said.

Wildfires are common during the current South Hemisphere summer. However the season has been mild on Australia’s southeast coast which was devastated by massive fires last summer.

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Australian man escapes crocodile by prizing jaws off his head

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The 44-year-old Queensland man fought off the creature while swimming at Lake Placid, near Cairns, on Thursday.

He had puncture wounds on each side of his face but was “very, very calm” when health care workers arrived to treat him.

“A crocodile had bitten his head, and in his effort to remove the jaws of the crocodile he put his hands in to try and prize the jaws apart,” paramedic Paul Sweeney told reporters. “In the process of trying to remove his hands, the jaws snapped shut on his forefinger. He’s a remarkably lucky gentleman.”

“Just a few centimeters lower and we have major blood vessels … had one of those been punctured, then it would have been a very different story,” Sweeney said.

He said the unnamed man estimated the saltwater crocodile was between a meter and a half and two meters (4.92 feet to 6.56 feet) in length.

Sweeney said the man had been swimming in that area three times a week for about eight years. “Certainly not a place I’d choose to swim,” Sweeney said, describing him as a “very fit individual” and saying “his vital signs were remarkably calm when you consider the ordeal he’d been through.”

“I would not be surprised if he ventured into those waters again for further exercise,” Sweeney added.

The Queensland Environment Department sent a team to the site and said a “search for the crocodile responsible for the attack is now underway.”

“Once rangers are at the site, any crocodile found to be present will be targeted for removal,” they said.

Crocodile attacks in Australia are rare, but Queensland officials run a public safety campaign to alert residents to the risks of swimming or relaxing near croc-infested waters.

In 2019, a Queensland fisherman narrowly escaped an attack by poking a crocodile in the eye. And last year, a massive 14-foot crocodile was captured at a tourist spot in neighboring Northern Territory.

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Coronavirus live news: US nears 25m cases as three infections linked to Australian Open confirmed as UK strain | World news

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21:17

Melissa Davey

In December, the UK reported a Covid-19 variant of concern, commonly referred to as the B117 variant, which appeared to be more transmissible. Since then, scientists have established that B117 is somewhere between 50% to 70% more transmissible than other variants. If more people are getting sick, there is more pressure on health systems, and in the UK health services are so overloaded a country-wide lockdown has been enforced.

While many scientists say B117 does not appear more deadly, researchers on the UK government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group found it may increase the death rate by 30% to 40%, though their sample size was small and they said more research is needed. With B117 now detected in more than 50 countries, understanding the variant is urgent.

But other variants of concern have also been identified, including in California, South Africa and Brazil.

So exactly what is a variant, and how many are there? And why are some variants of more concern than others?

Answers at the link below:













20:56

Helen Sullivan

And what a year it has been. In just over a month’s time, I will have been liveblogging international developments in the coronavirus pandemic for eight hours a day, every day on the global blog – which has been running non-stop around the world almost uninterrupted for more than a year.

This time last year, I was living in Beirut, having just returned from reporting on the bushfires in Australia.

Where were you at the end of January 2020? Let me know on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Updated


20:53

Monday marks one year since first cases in Australian state of New South Wales

In Australia, the state minister for health in New South Wales has noted that Monday will mark a year since the state confirmed its first four cases of coronavirus.

Today marks a week with no new local cases confirmed in the state:

Brad Hazzard
(@BradHazzard)

Tomorrow is one very challenging year since NSW had first 4 Covid19 cases. But today, with incredible support of our community (testing)& stellar work of front line @NSWHealth (inc⭐️Tracers),@nswpolice @NSWHPathology it is one week since our last local transmission of Covid19.

January 24, 2021













20:50

Summary

Here is a summary of the key developments from the last few hours:

  • The US is nearing 25m cases. I’ll post a summary shortly. For now, the US is nearing an astonishing 25 million cases of coronavirus – a quarter of the global total and one in every thirteen people in the country. There are currently 24,985,689 confirmed infections, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
  • UK to quarantine arrivals from high-risk countries – reports. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to force travelers from countries where there is a high risk of Covid to go into quarantine for 10 days after arriving in Britain, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday.
  • Three infections linked to Australian Open confirmed as UK strain. Coronavirus infections linked to the Australian Open are continuing to emerge, with a further three non-players – two men in their 30s and one in his 50s confirmed to have the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.
  • Mainland China confirmed 80 new coronavirus cases on 23 January, down from 107 cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Sunday. The National Health Commission, in a statement, said 65 of the new cases were local infections. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 92 from 99 cases a day earlier. The total number of confirmed cases in Mainland China now stands at 88,991, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,635.
  • A possible community case of Covid is being reported in the northernmost New Zealand province of Northland. The “probable” case is in the community, a ministry of health spokesperson said, rather than a managed isolation facility. The director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, and the minister of covid-19 response, Chris Hipkins, will hold a media stand-up at 4pm to share the latest information.
  • It has been a year since the Wuhan lockdown. The Chinese city of Wuhan marks one year since the start of its traumatic 76-day coronavirus lockdown. On 23 January 2020, Wuhan shocked the globe by confining its 11 million anxious citizens to their homes, starting a cycle that would spread across the world. But China largely brought its outbreak under control and Wuhan is nothing like the ghost town of a year ago, with traffic humming, sidewalks bustling, and citizens packing public transport and parks.
  • Hong Kong and Oslo tightened measures. Thousands of people in one of Hong Kong’s poorest and most densely packed districts have been ordered to stay in their homes. Norway’s government, meanwhile, has imposed the strictest restrictions seen in the region of the capital, Oslo, since March after the discovery of the British variant in a retirement home.
  • A French lockdown ‘likely’. A French government source has told AFP that “the hypothesis of confinement is more and more likely,” citing projections of a surge in cases due to the more transmissible British strain.
  • Fabric masks still work, said the WHO. The World Health Organization says it has no plans to change its guidance recommending fabric face masks as new coronavirus variants spread because the mutated strains are transmitted in the same way. The statement comes after Germany and Austria made medical masks mandatory on public transport and in shops, allowing only surgical or FFP2 masks rather than fabric.
  • There is a shortage of vaccines in Brazil. Brazil has just started its vaccination campaign but scientists are already warning the hard-hit country will quickly run out of doses and even syringes, some blaming the government for the shortages.


20:38

Possible community case in New Zealand

Eleanor de Jong

An update on New Zealand now, where a possible community case of Covid is being reported in the northernmost province of Northland.

The “probable” case is in the community, a ministry of health spokesperson said, rather than a managed isolation facility.

The director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, and the minister of covid-19 response, Chris Hipkins, will hold a media stand-up at 4pm to share the latest information.

The last case of covid-19 in the community was recorded in Auckland on November 18 and contained within a matter of days after central Auckland was shut down.

Overall less than 2000 people contracted coronavirus in 2020, and 26 people died. New Zealand is pursuing an elimination strategy towards the disease.


20:27

Mexico’s Health Ministry on Saturday confirmed 20,057 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 1,470 additional fatalities, bringing the country’s total to 1,752,347 cases and 149,084 deaths, Reuters reports.

The government has said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases.


20:07

Mainland China reports 80 new cases vs 107 a day earlier

Mainland China confirmed 80 new coronavirus cases on 23 January, Reuters reports, down from 107 cases a day earlier, the country’s national health authority said on Sunday.

The National Health Commission, in a statement, said 65 of the new cases were local infections. The number of new asymptomatic cases, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, fell to 92 from 99 cases a day earlier.

The total number of confirmed cases in Mainland China now stands at 88,991, while the death toll remained unchanged at 4,635.


19:58

No new local cases in Australian state of Victoria

Victoria has recorded its 18th straight day without a local coronavirus case as the state’s residents enjoy greater freedom to gather indoors, AAP reports.

The zero cases recorded on Saturday – as well as one case in Victoria’s hotel quarantine system – came from just under 12,000 tests.

Only 30 active coronavirus cases remain in the state.

It comes as more visitors are allowed in Victorian households, with the indoor gathering limit at homes doubled from Saturday from 15 to 30.

The smaller limit on home gatherings had been introduced on New Year’s Eve as the state battled a cluster linked to a Black Rock Thai restaurant.

More Victorians stranded interstate will also be able to return home, thanks to a further easing of interstate border restrictions.

Updated


19:56

UK to quarantine arrivals from high-risk countries – reports

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is preparing to force travelers from countries where there is a high risk of Covid to go into quarantine for 10 days after arriving in Britain, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday.

Via Reuters: Travellers from Brazil and South Africa, and neighbouring countries, will be met on arrival and escorted to hotels to quarantine, under plans being discussed by UK ministers, the Daily Mail said.

Johnson favoured a more targeted approach than making all air passengers go into quarantine, said the report, which added that the quarantine decision would be taken on Monday.

Britain has recorded more than 3.5 million Covid infections – the fifth-highest in the world – and nearly 96,000 deaths.













19:54

Three infections linked to Australian Open confirmed as UK strain

Coronavirus infections linked to the Australian Open are continuing to emerge as the states and territories continue their run of no new locally acquired cases.

Victorian authorities on Saturday reported one new case linked to the Open, a man in his 20s who is not a player.

A further three non-players – two men in their 30s and one in his 50s – have meanwhile been confirmed to have the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.

Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria said all three had been in hard lockdown since they landed in Melbourne.

“The residents arrived in Melbourne on a dedicated Australian Open charter flight on 15 January and returned their first positive tests on 15, 17 and 18 January,” a spokesperson said.

There are 10 active cases linked to the Open and 970 people associated with the tournament in quarantine.


19:48

Eleanor de Jong

A possible outbreak of Covid-19 is being reported in New Zealand, in the northernmost province of Northland.

The probable case has emerged in the community, but is NOT a probable case of community transmission, according to the New Zealand Department of Health.

The outbreak – if confirmed – is said to be related to a person recently released from a managed isolation facility, the New Zealand Herald reports.

The director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield, and the minister of covid-19 response, Chris Hipkins, will hold a media stand-up at 4pm to share the latest information.

Updated


19:46

Australian state of New South Wales confirms zero local cases

Calla Wahlquist

New South Wales has recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 on Sunday and three in hotel quarantine. It brings the number of new cases listed in Australia today to four, all in hotel quarantine, after Victoria reported one new case in Melbourne’s quarantine hotels. Queensland has recorded no new cases on Sunday.

Health officials in NSW have urged people to get a Covid-19 test if they have any cold or flu symptoms, however mild, after just 11,344 tests were conducted in the 24-hours to 8pm last night – well below the daily target of 30,000 tests.




Arriving passengers at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith International airport are sent onto buses for mandatory 14 day quarantine on January 22, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images

Authorities say they have also detected fragments of the virus in sewage tests at the Warriewood and North Head treatment plants,. The former covers about 70,000 people in the Northern Beaches area, and the latter has a catchment of 1.3 million people from a large chunk of Sydney extending north of the Parramatta River from Western Sydney to Manley.

NSW Health said the detection “likely reflects known recent confirmed cases in those areas,” but urged anyone living in those areas to get tested if they had any symptoms.













19:43

Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic with me, Helen Sullivan.

I’ll be bringing you the latest developments from around the world, with a focus on Australia, for the next few hours.

I’ll post a summary shortly. For now, the US is nearing an astonishing 25 million cases of coronavirus – a quarter of the global total and one in every thirteen people in the country. There are currently 24,981,398 confirmed infections, with

In Australia, meanwhile, the states of New South Wales and Victoria have recorded zero local cases. We’re awaiting the numbers from Queensland.

And three infections in hotel quarantine linked to the Australian Open have been confirmed to be the UK strain of the virus.

As always, you can say Hi (or shout at me) on Twitter @helenrsullivan.

Updated



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Tennis legend Margaret Court to receive top Australian honor; faces massive backlash over anti-LGBT views

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Margaret Court, a tennis legend who won each of the sport’s four major tournaments multiple times and has created controversy over her anti-LGBT views, is set to be honored on Australia Day.

However, the decision to give her the Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia, which is “awarded for eminent achievement and merit of the highest degree in service to Australia or humanity at large,” sparked a massive backlash. The award is set to be given Tuesday, on Australia Day.

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Views on Court have changed since her playing days on the tennis courts. Court, now a Pentecostal minister, has been outspoken about her disagreement with LGBT rights and same-sex marriage in Australia. Her criticisms sparked calls for Australia to rename the Margaret Court Arena, which is one of the venues for the annual Australian Open.

The decision to award Court the honor on Australia Day received criticisms from Australian politicians. Former tennis star Martina Navratilova didn’t outright criticize the decision but retweeted Court scrutiny.

“I don’t give out those gongs. That’s not a matter for me; that’s for others. You might want to speak to them about why they think those views, which are disgraceful, hurtful and cost lives, should be honored,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Friday, via The Guardian.

SPANISH TENNIS PLAYER SAYS SHE TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19

Andrews added more in a tweet.

Anthony Albanese, of the Australian Labour Party, also tweeted about the decision.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison didn’t comment on Court’s honor.

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“I can’t comment on an award that is done through an independent process that hasn’t been announced or I have no official knowledge of those things,” he said.

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