TRANSCRIPT
- Firefighters in Victoria say there is much more work to do to contain the Grampians fire
- Australians planning to see the Sydney New Year's Eve fireworks warned of congestion on the train network
- Argentina pulls off a surprise win at the United Cup
In Victoria, firefighters working to contain a fire that has burnt through nearly 80-thousand hectares in the state's west says they are getting closer to fully containing it, but substantial work remains.
Warnings have been downgraded to watch and act level for the fire in the Grampians, with residents advised to monitor conditions.
Cooler weather conditions have set in and are forecast to remain for the next seven days.
Firefighter Oliver Sim, from Forest Fire Management Victoria, says the help from interstate firefighters - and preparations made by property owners - mean the damage uncovered so far is less than what it could have been.
"This is a really long process. Everyone has to be patient because this is a long process and we need to make it safe for everyone. So it is quite a period of time it will take to get those assessments. And there has been a power of work go in - since this fire started. So yeah, we're really proud of the work that has happened. But like I said, there is a lot more work to do."
**
A 46-hour timetable for train services will run in Sydney to help passengers travelling to see the New Year's Eve fireworks.
More than a million people are expected to make their way into the city and surrounds for the celebrations.
People are being warned to plan early and prepare for congestion - even though it has been confirmed there will be no workers' strikes for New Year's Eve.
The coordinator-general for Transport New South Wales, Howard Collins, says it is biggest operation of the year for the Sydney train network.
"We will be operating more than a thousand extra train services across suburban network but also the inter-city network in and out of Sydney. Those plans are in the final stages of preparation. We're confident that we'll be operating from very early on Tuesday morning through until early on Thursday morning. Forty-six hours of continuous operation, frequent services across the rail network in what will be the largest night of the year."
**
A man has died after he was attacked by a shark while fishing with his family.
Emergency services were called to Humpy Island in the Keppel Bay Islands National Park, about 18km off the central Queensland coast, on Saturday following reports a man had been attacked.
A Queensland Police spokesman says the 40-year-old was bitten by the shark while fishing with family members about 4.30pm.
Despite efforts by paramedics to save his life, the man succumbed to his injuries just before 6pm.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
**
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has apologised to Azerbaijan's president for what he called a tragic incident which happened in Russian airspace involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed after air defences were used against Ukrainian drones.
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed and 29 survived.
In a statement Vladimir Putin apologised - expressing his deep and sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
**
In India, the last rites have been performed for former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, who died earlier this week at the age of 92.
His coffin was transported to his Congress Party headquarters in New Delhi before his body was cremated, with full state honours.
He had been admitted to a hospital in the capital Delhi on Thursday, after his health condition deteriorated.
Mr Singh was one of India's longest-serving prime ministers from 2004 to 2014, and is seen as the architect of India's economic liberalisation, which changed the country's growth trajectory.
Seven days of mourning has been declared until New Year's Day.
In Mumbai, local resident Nikhil Agarwal says he is thankful for Mr Singh's contributions.
"He (former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh) was one of those guys who had the foresight to guide us in the right direction and (he) opened up the economy, whereby today we can see a different India."
**
Argentina pulled off a surprise win at the United Cup on Saturday, defeating hosts Australia 2-1 in their Group F match in Sydney.
Maria Lourdes Carle and Tomas Martin Etcheverry clinched victory for Argentina by beating Australia’s Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez 6-2, 6-4 in the decisive mixed doubles.
Earlier, Nadia Podoroska, a 2020 Roland Garros semi-finalist, dominated Olivia Gadecki to secure the women’s singles 6-2, 6-4.
Alex de Minaur briefly levelled the tie with an impressive 6-1, 6-4 win over Etcheverry.
However, Etcheverry quickly recovered, returning just 30 minutes later to partner Carle and secure the tie for Argentina.
De Minaur says he learned valuable lessons about himself this past season, which has motivated him to strive for greater success in the upcoming season
"Look, I'm extremely proud of myself how I handled certain tough situations this year. Learned a lot about myself, and it just gave me a whole lot of hunger for for this next, coming season. So I want to push for bigger and better things, and I'm going to work hard, put my head down and hopefully win a lot of tennis matches."
