Daily News Roundup

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10 

Up to 11 Australians are believed to have died in the volcanic explosion on New Zealand’s White Island.

Three Australians are among five people confirmed dead after being caught in the eruption.

Prime  Minister Scott Morrison said eight other Australians remained missing, with authorities no longer expecting any more survivors.

He added that 13 Australians were among 31 people being treated in hospital. Some are in a critical condition with severe burns.

Mr Morrison said authorities were working to identify people who were hospitalised.

“Obviously there are quite severe burns issues and that’s why they are in so many different hospitals because they have been taken to the various burns units across New Zealand, but the full details of all of their conditions is not yet known.”

He said 24 Australians, aged between 17 and 72, were on a tour of White Island at the time of the eruption.

The Prime Minister said the rescue mission had moved into recovery mode and feared there was “worse news to come”

New Zealand police said 47 people were on the tiny island, off the east coast of the North Island, when the volcano erupted yesterday afternoon.

The blast happened at 2:11pm local time, sending plumes of white smoke, ash and debris 12,000 feet into the sky.

Twenty-three survivors were taken off the island by rescuers, but five of those died.

PHOTO: Some tourists were rescued from the island after the eruption. (Twitter: Michael Schade)

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said local teams were working to identify victims, acknowledging Australia’s offers of assistance.

“Can I say to our Australian family, there are no two countries closer,” she said.

“We’re devastated at what has happened here and particularly want to acknowledge those from Australia who have been caught up in this horrific, horrific incident.”

A geologist said there was “very little warning” that the White Island volcano was poised to erupt, despite New Zealand authorities ramping up the alert level three weeks ago from a level 1 to a level 2 volcanic alert level on November 18. 

Despite this, a geology expert said volcanic eruptions are “very, very difficult to predict”

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With more than 2.7 million hectares of New South Wales already destroyed by rampant bushfires, the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) today faced another day of extreme danger as many fires still burning were getting perilously close to densely or highly populated areas.

The state is bracing for hot and gusty winds and temperatures of up to 42 degrees Celsius in some areas.

The RFS said dry thunderstorms were expected in the afternoon, prompting fears lightning will ignite more blazes

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said it would be a “very complex, very difficult day” for firefighters who had been taking advantage of cooler weekend conditions to conduct “critical backburning”.

Mr Fitzsimmons said hot and dry winds would bring humidity down to less than 10 per cent in some areas.

“We are going to see hot conditions [and] dry atmosphere, particularly dry air mass that’s bringing this heat from the centre of Australia,” he said.

“Fortunately they’re not as strong as what we’ve been experiencing in the last month.

“The drop in wind strength is being compensated for in the increase in heat.”

He said across NSW today, nine areas would have total fire bans in place and there would be more than 2,000 personnel and over 100 aircraft fighting more than 80 fires.

“All fires … are going to be of concern to us, but there are some that are much closer and with greater potential to impact on more densely populated or highly populated areas,” he said.

The commissioner said thunderstorms were expected, but there would be little rain.

“That means a potential for lots of lightning,” he said.

The RFS said at least 2.7 million hectares, with a perimeter of 19,235 kilometres, had been burnt so far this bushfire season.

One of the blazes, dubbed the “mega fire”, had a front of more than 60 kilometres and was a result of five separate fires which merged north of Sydney on Friday.

The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said today would be a “very dangerous day” for the state and reminded residents to be vigilant.

“We can’t underestimate what it can be like over summer,” she said.

“As the conditions get hotter and drier, and also the wind picks up, this again is giving us a taste of what we’re likely to experience in the next few months.”

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Australians scored five acting nominations, with Cate Blanchett and Margot Robbie recognised in the film categories and Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman and Toni Collette earning television nods in  the 2020 Golden Globes.

The Netflix divorce drama Marriage Story led the film nominations with six nominations, followed by gangster movie The Irishman, also on Netflix, with five.

The two movies will also compete in the best drama category with war drama 1917, comic book villain film Joker, and papal story Two Popes.

The TV series Game of Thrones picked up just one nomination via its star Kit Harington for its eighth and final season. 

The films nominated for best comedy or musical were Dolemite is My Name, Jojo Rabbit, murder mystery Knives Out, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Elton John biopic Rocketman.

Apple’s streaming service landed its first major award nomination for The Morning Show, along with its stars Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon.

British comedian Ricky Gervais will host the Golden Globes, which will take place on Monday January 6 Australian time.

Below is a list of nominees, with Australian nominees highlighted with an asterisk.

Best motion picture — drama

1917

The Irishman

Joker

Marriage Story

The Two Popes

 Best performance by an actress in a motion picture — drama

Cynthia Erivo, Harriet

Scarlett Johansson, Marriage Story

Saoirse Ronan, Little Women

Charlize Theron, Bombshell

Renee Zellweger, Judy

 Best performance by an actor in a motion picture — drama

Christian Bale, Ford v Ferrari

Antonio Banderas, Pain and Glory

Adam Driver, Marriage Story

Joaquin Phoenix, Joker

Jonathan Pryce, The Two Popes

Best motion picture — musical or comedy

Dolemite Is My Name 

Jojo Rabbit

Knives Out

Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood 

Rocketman

 Best performance by an actress in a motion picture — musical or comedy

Ana de Armas, Knives Out

Awkwafina, The Farewell

Cate Blanchett, Where’d You Go, Bernadette*

Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart

Emma Thompson, Late Night

Best performance by an actor in a motion picture — musical or comedy

Daniel Craig, Knives Out

Roman Griffin Davis, Jojo Rabbit

Leonardo DiCaprio, Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood 

Taron Egerton, Rocketman

Eddie Murphy, Dolemite Is My Name 

Best motion picture — animated

Frozen 2

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

The Lion King

Missing Link

Toy Story 4

Best motion picture — foreign language

The Farewell (USA)

Les Miserables (France)

Pain and Glory (Spain)

Parasite (South Korea)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (France)

 Best performance by an actress in a supporting role in any motion picture

Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell

Annette Bening, The Report

Laura Dern, Marriage Story

Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers

Margot Robbie, Bombshell*

Best performance by an actor in a supporting role in any motion picture

Tom Hanks, A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

Anthony Hopkins, The Two Popes

Al Pacino, The Irishman

Joe Pesci, The Irishman

Brad Pitt, Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood

Best television series — drama

Big Little Lies

The Crown

Killing Eve

The Morning Show

Succession

Best performance by an actress in a television series — drama

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show

Olivia Colman, The Crown

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies*

Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show

Best performance by an actor in a television series — drama

Brian Cox, Succession

Kit Harington, Game of Thrones

Rami Malek, Mr Robot

Tobias Menzies, The Crown

Billy Porter, Pose

Best television series — musical or comedy

Barry

Fleabag

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

The Politician

 Best performance by an actress in a television series — musical or comedy

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

Kirsten Dunst, On Becoming a God in Central Florida

Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

Best performance by an actor in a television series — musical or comedy

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Bill Hader, Barry

Ben Platt, The Politician

Paul Rudd, Living With Yourself

Ramy Youssef, Ramy 

Best Television Limited Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television

Catch-22

Chernobyl

Fosse/Verdon

The Loudest Voice

Unbelievable

Best performance By An Actress In A Limited Series Or A Motion Picture Made For Television

Kaitlyn Dever, Unbelievable

Joey King, The Act

Helen Mirren, Catherine The Great

Merritt Wever, Unbelievable

Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon

Best Performance By An Actor In A Limited Series Or A Motion Picture Made For Television

Christopher Abbott, Catch-22

Sacha Baron Cohen, The Spy

Russell Crowe, The Loudest Voice*

Jared Harris, Chernobyl

Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon