Qld lockdown to be extended in Brisbane for at least one more day.
Brisbane will remain in lockdown for another day after the state recorded three new cases of COVID-19 in the community.
The current lockdown restrictions will be lifted for the Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Townsville local government areas.
However, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Brisbane and Moreton Bay will remain in lockdown for another day after the new cases emerged.
Two of the cases are a mother and daughter from Carindale who have also tested positive after being infectious in Brisbane.
The premier says that means the lockdown can not be relaxed in Brisbane and Moreton Bay until Saturday.
"Now we will come back early tomorrow morning, once your contact tracers get on top of this, and we'll look at the case numbers overnight," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"So I want to thank everyone for doing the right thing, but as you can see we've just got a situation at the moment, that has just come in, and we really need to give the people, our contact tracers the time to do that."
Another case was reported as a contact of the Qatar Airways check-in desk staffer, who was announced as a case on Thursday, but authorities are not concerned about it.
"We remember her love." William and Harry unveil Diana statue.
Princes William and Harry have put their differences aside as they unveiled a statue to their late mother Princess Diana on what would have been her 60th birthday.
The brothers, whose falling out has been the subject of intense media focus, displayed a united front as they revealed the statue they commissioned in honour of Diana in the Sunken Garden of Kensington Palace in central London, her former home.
Diana was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997.
"Today, on what would have been our mother's 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character - qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better," the brothers said in a statement.
"Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy."
William, 39, and Harry, 36, were joined by their mother's brother Charles Spencer and her sisters Sarah McCorquodale and Jane Fellowes for the small, private event at the Sunken Garden, one of Diana's favourite places.
Read: From a close bond to "different paths": The complicated relationship of William and Harry.
Turnbull savages vaccine rollout 'failure'.
Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has lashed the Morrison government's vaccine rollout as a phenomenal failure.
In a stinging rebuke, Mr Turnbull said Australia fully vaccinating just eight per cent of its population was inexcusable.
He said the government's failure to buy enough vaccines was to blame.
"This is just a failure to do the one single most important job the Commonwealth government had which was to get the country vaccinated. It is hugely disappointing," Mr Turnbull told the ABC.
"I can't think of a bigger black-and-white failure of public administration than this."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison triggered a week of competing claims about vaccine advice after highlighting a path for younger people to receive AstraZeneca on Monday.
The expert immunisation panel on Thursday reiterated its advice that Pfizer is preferred for all people under 60 because of rare blood clots associated with AstraZeneca.
Mr Turnbull said Mr Morrison made a mistake and muddied the message around vaccines.
"I don't know whether that was just a thought bubble, I don't know if Scott had workshopped that before, I have no idea," Mr Turnbull said.
"But the fact that you've got so many other premiers and chief medical officers disagreeing with it, and very vocally, obviously undermines confidence in the vaccine."
The vaccine rollout will be high on national cabinet's agenda when state and territory leaders meet with Mr Morrison on Friday.
International passenger caps could also be reduced after premiers called for cuts of up to 80 per cent of current levels.
NSW ramps up jabs as virus hits health staff.
Three healthcare workers are among the latest COVID-19 cases in NSW as the state's premier announced plans to ramp up vaccinations.
Twenty-four new local cases were recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday, including a student nurse who worked at Fairfield and Royal North Shore hospitals in Sydney.
Two of the nurse's contacts were also deemed COVID-positive after the 8pm deadline and will be included in Friday's numbers – a healthcare worker at the RNS, Fairfield and Royal Ryde Rehabilitation hospitals and an aged care worker at SummitCare in Baulkham Hills.
Their diagnoses have sparked fears of an outbreak within the healthcare system, with hundreds of people sent into isolation and at least two hospital wards and a nursing home in lockdown.
The 24-year-old student nurse worked up to five days while infectious, but the other healthcare workers are not believed to have worked during the infectious period.
Almost all of the 149 residents at the Baulkham Hills facility are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and the home is now in lockdown after being deep-cleaned.
As the halfway mark of lockdown approaches, Premier Gladys Berejiklian renewed her plea for people to stay home as much as possible.
"People going about their business, shopping and interacting with others is causing the virus to continue to circulate," she told reporters.
"If we want the lockdown to succeed, all of us to have minimise our movements, minimise our interaction with others."
Ms Berejiklian also announced mass COVID-19 vaccination hubs would be established at Macquarie Fields in Sydney's southwest, Wollongong and the Sydney CBD.
It's hoped the hubs will boost the number of jabs administered in NSW to 200,000 a week and enable authorities to dramatically ramp up vaccinations once the government's supply of Pfizer vaccine increases.
Additionally, 22 pharmacies will administer the AstraZeneca jab in remote NSW under a pilot program to begin in two weeks' time.
End to NT lockdown in doubt because of miner 'lie.'
The Northern Territory could remain in lockdown after an infected miner breached his isolation order and allegedly lied to authorities.
Darwin and Alice Springs were locked down after a worker at Newmont's Granites Mine, in the Tanami Desert, was diagnosed with COVID-19 six days ago.
Authorities had hoped to lift the stay-at-home order on Friday until they found out the man in his 50s had misreported his movements.
He initially said he was only in the community for 36 hours before isolating at home while waiting to be moved to the National Centre for Resilience at Howard Springs, near Darwin.
But late on Thursday, it was revealed the man had visited a supermarket in Darwin hours after he was ordered to stay at home.
"I am extremely unhappy with this turn of events. Don't lie to authorities. The best way through coronavirus is to be absolutely honest," a furious Chief Minister Michael Gunner told reporters.
"This is not where I want to be tonight. He broke the law and he lied about it."
Authorities will now work to contact trace anyone who visited the Stuart Park Corner Store between 12:18pm and 12:35pm on Sunday.
These people must isolate and contact authorities for a COVID-19 test, with the results set to determine if the lockdown is lifted as planned.
WA awaits end to latest COVID-19 lockdown.
More than two million West Australians are set to learn when they will be freed from lockdown as the state grapples with its latest coronavirus outbreak.
Premier Mark McGowan will reveal on Friday whether the four-day lockdown in Perth and the Peel region will end as scheduled.
The restriction will be enforced until at least 12:01am on Saturday but could be extended depending on the latest case numbers.
No new cases were reported on Thursday from about 15,800 tests, a result the premier described as "amazingly encouraging".
"It puts WA in the best possible position, especially as our contact tracers continue to find potential contacts," he told reporters.
"When it comes time to lift restrictions we want to be confident this incredibly infectious virus, the Delta variant, is not still in the community.
"The next 24 hours are crucial ... we hope to have more to say about the next steps we are going to take tomorrow."
Temporary step-down restrictions including limits on gatherings and venue capacities will be enforced if the lockdown is lifted.
The outbreak has been traced to a 51-year-old physiotherapist who recently returned to WA from NSW, where she contracted the Delta variant.
Joyce's Nationals ministry to be sworn in.
Scott Morrison is set to make his first public appearance alongside Barnaby Joyce since his return as deputy prime minister when new Nationals ministers are sworn in.
The prime minister was allowed to leave The Lodge on Thursday night after spending a tumultuous two weeks in politics quarantining at his official residence in Canberra.
The 14-day spell included Mr Joyce replacing Michael McCormack as Nationals leader during a partyroom spill last week.
Mr Joyce's frontbench picks will officially be sworn in on Friday afternoon at a Government House ceremony.
Bridget McKenzie is returning to cabinet less than 18 months after quitting during the so-called sports rorts saga.
Little-known NSW MP Andrew Gee will be elevated to cabinet as the veterans' affairs minister with Darren Chester dumped. Mr Chester penned an opinion piece pleading with the Nationals to modernise their attitudes to reducing carbon emissions.
Mr Joyce also rewarded supporter David Gillespie with a promotion to the outer ministry, while Keith Pitt's resources portfolio has been dumped from cabinet.
Wounds from the Nationals' turmoil remain open with the debate about climate change policy cited as a crucial sticking point with the Liberals.
The prime minister and his deputy are set to further thrash out a new coalition agreement in face-to-face talks.
Malcolm Turnbull, who governed alongside Mr Joyce, warned his return could make it impossible for the government to move towards the stance of key allies on climate.
Trump firm CFO pleads not guilty to fraud.
Donald Trump's namesake company and long-time financial chief has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges in a sweeping indictment from a probe by Manhattan's district attorney into the former US president and his business practices.
The Trump Organisation and its chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg were charged with having schemed since 2005 to defraud federal, state and local tax authorities by awarding "off the books" benefits to company executives, enabling them to avoid paying taxes.
Weisselberg, who has worked for Trump for 48 years, was able to avoid paying taxes on more than $US1.7 million ($A2.3 million) of income from tax authorities, including rent for a Manhattan apartment, tuition and car lease payments, according to prosecutors.
The charges include tax fraud and falsifying business records.
They were announced one day after a grand jury indicted Trump's company and Weisselberg.
The indictment could undermine the relationships of Trump's company with banks and business partners. It could also complicate Trump's political future as he resumes holding rallies and mulls a 2024 White House run.
Spears' father asks for abuse claims probe.
Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, has asked for an investigation of the pop superstar's claims she has been mistreated under a legal conservatorship by being denied the ability to make her own medical decisions.
In a court filing late on Tuesday, lawyers for Jamie Spears said he was "greatly saddened to hear of his daughter's difficulties and suffering" and "believes there must be an investigation into those claims".
Britney Spears has been under a conservatorship since she suffered a mental health breakdown in 2008. The Stronger singer told a Los Angeles judge last week that she had been forced to take the drug lithium against her will and was prohibited from marrying or removing a birth control device, and that she wanted the "abusive" conservatorship to end.
Jamie Spears is a joint conservator of his daughter's finances and also was in charge of her personal affairs until he stepped down from that position in September 2019. Care manager Jodi Montgomery, a licensed fiduciary, was appointed temporary conservator of personal affairs. Last year, Britney Spears began a legal process to prevent her father from ever returning to that role.
Lawyers for Jamie Spears say in the new filing that he has no intention of trying to reclaim the position and is not involved in her "personal care or medical or reproductive issues".
"Mr Spears has been unable to hear and address his daughter's concerns directly because he has been cut off from communicating with her," the filing in Los Angeles Superior Court says.
The lawyers are also asking the court to hold a hearing to investigate whether Montgomery should continue to oversee the singer's personal affairs given Britney Spears' court testimony.
Read: Britney's full testimony.
Around the world.
- Turkey has formally withdrawn from a landmark international treaty protecting women from violence, with the country's president insisting that it won't be a step backwards for women. Protests have been held in reaction.
- The US has shipped fewer than 24 million COVID-19 vaccines by the end of June, short of a vow to deliver 80 million doses to the rest of the world.
- A day after his shock release from prison Bill Cosby is exploring legal options, including potentially suing the county in Pennsylvania where he was tried.
- TikTok says it will introduce an option over the next few weeks to let users on its platform create longer videos of up to three minutes.
- With AAP
Feature image: Dominic Lipinski - WPA Pool/Getty/Brendon Thorne - Pool/Getty/Instagram @britneyspears.