Two-time Archibald Prize finalist Julia Ciccarone has been awarded the Archibald Prize 2021 ANZ People's Choice award for a poignant self-portrait.
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Wednesday, September 1, 2021
Second man charged over disappearance of Melbourne woman
A second man has been charged over the suspicious disappearance of Melbourne woman Maryam Hamka.
A 26-year-old man was arrested this morning after police raided his Richmond home, seizing drugs believed to be cannabis, LSD and methylamphetamines.
Police interviewed the man today and charged him with assisting an offender (murder) and drug offences.
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The 26-year-old is due to appear at Melbourne Magistrates' Court this afternoon.
Ms Hamka was reported missing to police on April 15.
She was last seen leaving a Woolworths in Brunswick on Saturday, April 10.
The 36-year-old was wearing a black dress and had told family she was going to visit a friend in Brighton.
She is described as being 165cm tall, with a thin build and long black hair, brown eyes and an olive complexion.
No body has been found in the search for Ms Hamka and investigations into her disappearance remain ongoing.
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Last month, a 41-year-old Brighton man was charged over her alleged murder and remanded in custody.
Police have appealed for anyone who has information about a red 2015 Mazda 3 hatchback that has "distinctive damage" to the front left guard to come forward.
"The vehicle has been seized by investigators, however police are particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen the car between Tuesday, 13 April through to Thursday, 15 April 2021," Victoria Police said in a statement.
"Investigators believe that during this period, the vehicle made a number of trips to and from the Brighton area and was being driven by a sole male occupant during this time."
Investigators have re-released a photo of a similar vehicle, as well as photos of Ms Hamka as part of the appeal.
Detectives are appealing to anyone with information about the vehicle or regarding Ms Hamka's whereabouts to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
$1m reward to help solve 'brutal' murder of Melbourne teen
A $1 million reward has been announced to help solve the "brutal" cold case murder and sexual assault of Melbourne teenager Denise McGregor more than 40 years ago.
Denise, 13, told her 11-year-old sister she was going buy drinks from a Pascoe Vale milk bar on March 20 in 1978, but never returned home.
The pair had walked to a nearby hamburger shop in the same street on the corner of Andersen and Bell streets earlier that night about 6.15pm.
When Denise failed to return home, her sister went to look for her about 7pm.
READ MORE: Lockdown extended until Victoria reaches vaccine target
Unable to find her, she got in the car with her mother to search nearby streets.
They then reported Denise missing to Coburg Police Station.
Denise was found dead about 11.25am the next day, her body located beside the road on Merriang Road in Wallan East.
She was only partially clothed and had been sexually assaulted and "beaten to death".
Victoria Police described the attack and injuries suffered by the teenager as "sickening and graphic in nature".
"While 43 years have passed, I have no doubt that the community would expect that solving the brutal sexual assault and murder of an innocent teenage girl remains a priority for Victoria Police," Detective Inspector Tim Day said.
"This is the type of crime that really strikes at the heart of our community and the sort of investigation that stays with detectives for a long time.
"The terror Denise would have endured before her death is unimaginable.
"As homicide investigators, we are often dealing with the worst of humanity but Denise's murder is a particularly devastating case."
EXPLAINED: Full list of restrictions changing in Victoria
The fact the 13-year-old had used a CB radio on a few occasions at one of her friend's houses remains of "particular interest" to investigators.
During these calls, she had contacted an unidentified male with the call sign "Lightning One".
Denise was well known and popular among children of her age in Melbourne's north-west and was known to frequent an amusement parlour in Broadmeadows.
Police said she attended a local high school and by all accounts was a typical teenager.
Detectives believe there are people out there who know what happened to the teenager and who is responsible for her sexual assault and brutal death.
Over the past four decades, police have spoken to hundreds of people and pursued multiple leads in an effort to find who is responsible.
A number of items taken from the scene have also been forensically re-tested several times.
A $50,000 reward was offered in June 1978 in relation to the case, with a reward of up to $1 million announced today.
READ MORE: Two women with COVID-19 die in Victoria
"Today's reward announcement is testament to our commitment to find answers for Denise's family and to make every possible attempt to hold those responsible in any way accountable," Detective Inspector Day said.
"Police want to hear from anyone who has any piece of information about what happened to Denise 43 years ago and who is responsible.
"We would ask that the public come forward with any information they think might assist police, even if they think that the person or persons involved in this horrific crime may have since passed away.
"As much as this is about holding those responsible accountable, it is also about giving Denise's desperate family answers that they haven't had for over four decades."
Any information given will be treated as confidential and may be given at any time to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
More than 3000 Woolworths employees in isolation
More than 3000 Woolworths employees have been forced into isolation due to local health advice, but the supermarket giant has pledged to ensure no customer will miss out.
In an email to customers, Woolworths CEO Brand Banducci said more than 3300 team members are currently in isolation on the advice of local health authorities.
As a result, Mr Banducci said customers may have noticed "some gaps on shelf this week" or have been unable to get their preferred home delivery slot.
READ MORE: Stock down as supermarkets hit by COVID-19 and industrial action
"You may have noticed some gaps on shelf this week, or substitutions in your online order," Mr Banducci wrote.
"Unlike 18 months ago, this is less to do with surges in customer demand (aka 'the toilet paper wars') and more because of the extra pressure on our Distribution Centres, with over 500 of those team members needing to self-isolate as close or casual contacts.
"The good news is that these team members, having tested negative, are starting to be cleared to come back to work."
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The CEO said customers who are online shopping in NSW and the ACT will be automatically allowing substitutions on all orders given the demand pressure.
"We know this isn't ideal, but it does mean there's less chance of missing out on an essential item," Mr Banducci said.
"We'll revert to your preference as soon as we possibly can."
READ MORE: Supermarket employees call for respect during pandemic
Woolworths is also prioritising close to one million customers who registered for its "Priority Assistance" program, which sees vulnerable community members such as the immunocompromised or those in mandatory isolation receive their grocery deliveries first.
Since July this year, more than 330,000 have chosen to shop online with Woolworths for the first time.
Mr Banducci said the "sense of frustration due to Delta is palpable" and the supermarkets understands the challenges the pandemic is producing for the nation's collective mental health.
New Zealand records 75 new coronavirus cases
There are 75 new cases of COVID-19 linked to the Delta community outbreak in New Zealand, bringing the total number of cases to 687.
COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield gave the update in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
All but one case reported on Wednesday is in Auckland, the other being a household contact of a Wellington case who had returned three negative tests and remains asymptomatic.
READ MORE: NZ man has spent pandemic living in a cave, surrounded by multimillion-dollar homes
The latest "bounce" in numbers was "not unexpected", Dr Bloomfield said, but "we will be watching closely".
Dr Bloomfield announced that 40 Auckland supermarkets would be listed as locations of interest on Wednesday, out of an abundance of caution.
These were considered "low risk" but people were urged to check the times and dates, and to watch for symptoms.
Of the 49 cases reported on Tuesday, 57 per cent were household contacts of an existing case. Of these, 75 per cent did not lead to any transmission events.
Based on the latest modelling, there was a 90 per cent probability the R value (the number of people on average a person with COVID-19 will pass the virus on to) remains under one, "which indicates we are successfully breaking the chains of transmission", Dr Bloomfield said.
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Thirty-two people with COVID-19 are in hospital across the Auckland region. Eight are in intensive care and three are on a ventilator.
There continue to be seven sub-clusters in the outbreak, the largest of which remain the Assembly of God Church in Māngere (320 confirmed cases) and the Birkdale social cluster associated with Case A (73 cases).
As of 9am on Thursday, 34,832 contacts had been identified linked to the outbreak. To date, 85 per cent of these had been contacted to confirm testing and isolation requirements.
Of these, 91 per cent had at least one test result back.
Of Wednesday's 75 reported cases, 25 have been epidemiologically linked to the cluster. There are 50 cases continuing to be investigated.
To date, 671 of the cases in the Delta community outbreak have been in Auckland and 16 have been in Wellington.
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On Wednesday, Minister Hipkins announced the Government was extending the pause on issuing new MIQ vouchers for a few more weeks.
The pause came after MIQ (managed isolation and quarantine) had been under pressure in recent weeks, as facilities are needed to isolate growing numbers of COVID-19 cases and their close contacts.
"I acknowledge that it is not easy for New Zealanders abroad who are looking to come home," he said.
The pause on vouchers did not pause emergency allocations.
When officials do release vouchers, this would operate differently – a "virtual lobby" would be introduced, removing the need for people to be the fastest person to hit the button.
Demand would still be high but this would make bookings easier and more transparent, Mr Hipkins said.
Meanwhile, more than 50 per cent of eligible New Zealanders have now received a first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Thirty-seven per cent of eligible Māori and 47 per cent of Pasifika have received one dose.
Nineteen per cent of Māori and 26 per cent of Pasifika people are fully vaccinated.
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This suggested ''we still have an ethnicity challenge", Mr Hipkins said, however the age profile was younger among these groups.
There are currently 1.9 million future bookings in the Book My Vaccine system, with 68 per cent of eligible Kiwis over the age of 12 either booked in or have had a jab.
All of New Zealand south of Auckland moved to alert level three on Wednesday, marking the 14th day of lockdown.
Northland will remain at alert level four until 11.59pm on Thursday, pending the results of further testing.
The Auckland region will remain in lockdown for another 14 days.
So far, more than 3300 companies have been granted exemptions to cross the Auckland boundary for essential travel, covering about 23,500 employees.
This story originally appeared on stuff.co.nz and has been republished with permission.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Father Mbaka Speaks On Bandit Attack On Nigerian Defence Academy, Predicts What Will Come
The Spiritual Director, Adoration Ministry Enugu Nigeria (AMEN), Rev. Father Ejike Mbaka, has said Nigeria is sinking with worsening insecurity.
And according to him, the situation may get worse except President Muhammadu Buhari takes drastic steps to address it.
Mbaka said the recent attack by bandits on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) was just the beginning of calamities that can befall Nigeria if Buhari did not change and God did not intervene.
Gunmen had last Tuesday attacked the Afaka campus of the NDA, which is Nigeria’ foremost military training school, killing two officers and abducting one Major Christopher Datung.
Another officer was hospitalised within the institution as a result of gunshot wounds.
The bandits later reportedly reached out to the military, demanding a ransom of N200 million for the release of the abducted officer.
Mbaka, however, said the arrest of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) Nnamdi Kanu, who has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), would not solve the problem of insecurity in the country.
He, therefore, called for his release, saying Kanu was not the cause of insecurity in the country.
Mbaka said this during Sunday Mass, describing the recent attack on the NDA as a preamble.
Mbaka said, “Did you not hear that yesterday (Saturday), bandits entered into our most secured place in this country, Nigerian Defence Academy? The NDA, the impenetrable place in Nigeria and killed some Nigerian military officers.
“And people are still talking of Father Mbaka and Adoration. And some Catholics are still attacking the worship of Blessed Sacrament through adoration; what are they going there to do? The country is sinking just as I told them last time. The arrest of Nnamdi Kanu; will it solve any problem? Will it stop any agitation? Now, the attack on the NDA; is it Nnamdi Kanu now?
“Is it not better he is released? Since he is still under their custody and NDA could be perforated, violated and mesmerised, what is the hope of this country if it can happen in Nigeria Defence Academy? Where else is safe?
“As I told you people last two months that what you are seeing is just the beginning of the trouble and that the main trouble is coming. This one that they did (NDA attack) is just the elementary part of it. The secondary part of it is still coming.
“I am only asking God to intervene because what is happening in Afghanistan right now; if God is not ready to help us, Nigeria’s situation will be worse in the future. You are free to attack Father Mbaka and criticise me, that one is your problem.
“I am doing my prophetic work, and I don’t need apology or affirmation or support or approval from anybody apart from the Holy Spirit who sent me on this risky assignment. Even if I want to stop it, I can’t even stop it.”
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