MONDAY, JUNE 1
Three people have been shot, one person killed and hundreds arrested as protests continue to spread across the United States following the death in custody of black man George Floyd.
And as authorities braced for yet another day of protest chaos, people around the globe have begun marching in solidarity with American protesters
Twelve US states have activated their state national guards as vandalism, looting and fires spread across multiple cities.
More than 10,000 National Guard members are expected to be deployed in Minneapolis as other states brace for another night of unrest.
The turbulence sparked by the death of Mr Floyd — who died after being pinned under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer — made for the most significant night of protests in the US in a half-century and the damage extended to buildings near the White House.
Curfews were imposed around the country, including in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
The images of burning cars and riot police in the US featured on newspaper front pages around the world on Sunday — bumping news of the COVID-19 pandemic to second-tier status in some places.
It was the latest in a series of deaths of black men and women at the hands of police in America stretching over decades.
Thousands gathered in central London on Sunday to offer support to American demonstrators.
President Donald Trump appeared to cheer on the tougher tactics, commending the National Guard deployment in Minneapolis and declaring “No games!”
He said police in New York City “must be allowed to do their job!”
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden condemned the violence as he continued to express common cause with those demonstrating after Mr Floyd’s death.
“The act of protesting should never be allowed to overshadow the reason we protest,” Mr Biden said in a late-night statement.
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Queensland is on the way back from its COVID-19 ravaging with regional tourism bosses saying the new move to allow people in the state to travel anywhere within its borders will help the industry claw back hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue lost from the COVID-19 shutdown.
From midday today, Queenslanders can travel and stay overnight throughout the state, as part of next stage of restrictions easing.
Townsville Enterprise CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said she met with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last week and told her some of the recovery measures needed to be fast-tracked.
“The tourism and hospitality industry has been essentially shut down, the numbers here in the north show that we were losing up to $90 million a week that domestic travel was prohibited,” she said.
“I think that the message has been clear all over the state — we want to get back to work. We want to put people back in jobs.”
From lunchtime today, hotels, pubs, restaurants and cafes previously limited to 10 patrons will have their capacity lifted to 20 people.
From Friday, that would be extended to allow 20 people per section, for larger establishments.
In NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will this week announce a timeframe to reopen gyms shut during the coronavirus lockdown.
While several social-distancing restrictions will be eased in NSW today, including limits on people allowed in restaurants and bars, gyms have been off limits since March.
Speaking on radio station 2GB this morning, the Premier also said an update on children’s community sport and dance studios was imminent.
“We’ll have something to say about that in the very near future and we thank everybody for their patience in that regard,” she said.
In Victoria, restaurants and cafes will be allowed to open but patrons you will have to leave their contact details.
That’s one of the new measures coming into effect as part of the gradual easing of restrictions.
Restaurants can now have up to 20 people dining in. But social distancing has to be maintained.
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Damaging winds, showers, thunderstorms, hail and even snow are set to hit parts of the country in the coming days as the Aussie winter begins with an icy blast.
Today is officially the first day of winter and the nation’s south and eastern states are set to shiver.
From early this afternoon a low-pressure system will move across Victoria bringing rain and potentially dangerous winds.
Sky News Weather meteorologist Alison Osborne described the front as an “icy blast” that has already brought 90km/h winds to parts of South Australia this morning.
“We’ve also had rain exceeding 30mm over the Adelaide Hills overnight,” she said.
It’s already pretty soggy in Melbourne this morning with widespread rain falling, but Ms Osborne says this is forecast to become wilder as the day goes on
“There’s still the chance of gusty showers with areas of small hail as well,” she said.
She said the cold front will begin to creep up towards and through NSW where it will bring snow and hail to inland areas.
Snow is forecast to hit the Central Tablelands in NSW by this evening.
Back in Victoria, a severe weather warning is in place for coastal locations in the state’s southwest and central districts.
The Bureau of Meteorology says damaging south-westerly winds, averaging 50km/h to 60km/h with peak gusts of 90km/h to 100km/h are expected to develop from the west this morning.
It says they will move eastwards and impact the Melbourne metro area during the late afternoon or early evening.
“Peak wind gusts are more likely to be experienced in coastal areas and along elevated terrain,” the warning reads.
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