source : the age
LOS ANGELES: Ten skiers were missing, and another six were stranded in an avalanche that struck a back country slope near Lake Tahoe in the midst of heavy snow in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains on Tuesday, authorities say.
The avalanche swept the Castle Peak area of Truckee, California, about 16 kilometres north of Lake Tahoe, at about 11.30am Pacific time, engulfing a group of 16 skiers, according to a Facebook statement posted by the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
The group consisted of four ski guides and 12 clients. At least six survived and remained at the avalanche site awaiting rescue, while the others were unaccounted for, the statement said.
If all 10 of the missing skiers should perish, the incident would rank among the deadliest single avalanches on record in the United States. The Colorado Avalanche Information Centre has tallied six US avalanche fatalities so far this season.
Avalanches have claimed an average of 27 lives each winter in the United States over the past decade, the centre reported.
A winter storm warning was in effect for much of northern California on Tuesday, with heavy snow forecast in the upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada.
The Sierra Avalanche Centre had posted an alert before dawn on Tuesday warning of a “high avalanche danger” in the back country ski region, the sheriff’s statement said.
Rescue ski teams were dispatched to the avalanche zone from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Centre, and dozens of emergency personnel had arrived at the scene.
Weather conditions remain highly hazardous in the Sierra back country slopes, with additional avalanche activity expected through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, according to the statement.
Reuters
Coming back to the Federal Court in Melbourne, where the ACCC’s case against Coles over alleged “illusory” discounts continues.
In the witness stand earlier was Coles’ former head of commercial strategy Rebecca Thompson, who was asked about her role in determining the price of a multipack of Arnott’s Shapes biscuits, which were sold for a long time at $5.
According to emails read out in court, Coles and Arnott’s reached an agreement that the supermarket would push through a 10.7 per cent CPI price increase to the biscuits based on a promotional plan that would ultimately change the price of the Shapes multipack box from $5 to $5.50 under the “Down Down” program, with a four-week “price establishment” period in between.
Thompson conceded that the guardrails of this four-week period had been broken.
After the product was taken off the Down Down program at $5, the biscuits were sold at a “white ticket” price of $6.50 for a week, before being put on a 30 per cent discount the following week. The Shapes then reverted back to the white ticket price of $6.50 for two weeks, before returning to the Down Down program at $5.50.
“You accept, don’t you, that that was not in accordance with the guardrails?” asked Garry Rich, representing the ACCC. “Yes, it was an error,” responded Thompson.
After the 30 per cent special, the price of the biscuits should have been held for four weeks before going back onto the Down Down program, she later explained. Thompson had been going off advice from an Arnott’s representative, who had suggested an earlier date, the court heard.
“You say that it’s his fault,” said Rich. “No, I’m saying it’s human error,” responded Thompson.
“There should have been four weeks post the single promotion that we actually put in place because we decided that that was the right thing to do,” she later explained.
The court has adjourned for lunch and will return at 2.15pm, at which point Coles’ business category manager Via Lavdas will be in the witness box.
Jim Chalmers has held a press conference after Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed two years of real wages growth has come to an end. Here’s what he said.
Of course, with inflation higher than we would like, that has implications for the real wages calculation. The overwhelming story of this Labor government has been real wages growth. We have seen two years now of annual real wages growth before this quarter, remembering that real wages were falling by 3.5 per cent when we came to office. We’ve seen annual real wages growth for two years now, but with the inflation number coming in higher than we would like in the December quarter, obviously, this has played out in the calculation of real wages.”
This number today is another strong quarterly wage price index outcome. It does reflect the fact that wages have grown strongly and in a sustainable way, under this Albanese Labor government.”
Figures from the ABS this morning showed the wage price index – which measures changes in the wage bill of businesses – lifted by 0.8 per cent in the December quarter.
Both public and private sector wages grew by 0.8 per cent.
It took the annual rate to 3.4 per cent, a 0.1 percentage lift on where it was in the September quarter.
Staying with the Queensland premier, David Crisafulli denies his state is the weakest link in Australia’s efforts to reduce guns after refusing to partake in a national buyback scheme.
“I dispute the ‘weak link’ term,” he said.
“It’s quite the opposite. We’re dealing with it like no one else is, and we’re taking on terrorists and criminals and if you want to ask me why I’m so determined to go our own way on that – and I should say, obviously the prime minister and I have a very different view on this and that’s OK, that should be part of a democracy to be able to have different views – but if you want my answer on the number of guns that an individual should have, the answer is zero, if they are a criminal or a terrorist.
“I don’t think allowing that person to have four, three, two, or one gun is acceptable, so our laws that we put into place deal with that front and centre including laws to be able to intercept people before they do one of those attacks.”
He said the Bondi terror attack “shook us all to the core”, and that no one with terrorist affiliations or sympathies should be able to own a gun.
“Reducing the number of guns someone like that should have, I just don’t believe that’s a part of the conversation. What we’re doing is we’re making sure that we’re dealing with people who want to print 3D guns, we’re putting that front and centre,” Crisafulli said.
“We’re making sure where people fail, for example, mental health checks, and we have put in place a system to deal with that as well. If people go into an emergency department, we have better sharing of information. We don’t believe if you’re not an Australian you shouldn’t own a gun. We don’t believe somebody who displays aggressive behaviour, for example, with weapons and crimes should have a gun.
“We’re putting all that on the table. I just have a very different view about a number of guns because I think the number should be zero where somebody’s inappropriate to have one.”
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli says he doesn’t agree with the controversial comments made by Pauline Hanson, who earlier this week claimed there were no good Muslims in Australia.
“I don’t agree with them, and I never engage in the extremes of politics,” Crisafulli told the National Press Club earlier today.
“When you have blanket statements, it never works. No blanket statement is ever true, so the best thing do is explain to people, through what we’re doing, about the importance of living and breathing our values.
“Our values are making sure that we do the things we say, that we’re a tolerant state and a tolerant place for people to come.”
He said conversations around migration across the country were happening because people were “feeling the pressure in getting a house, pressures on hospitals, roads that are congested”.
“And I think that’s a very fair and reasonable conversation. That’s the conversation we have to have,” he said.
“I’m the product of multiculturalism. My father’s a migrant. It was the opportunity to go and swing a cane knife in the fields of north Queensland that brought my grandfather here when he was 40. If you’re asking me whether or not migration is an important part of our story as a country, the example is absolutely yes.
“But if you’re asking whether or not there should be a conversation around the numbers and the delivery of infrastructure to make sure that Australians can benefit from that migration, of course there is. But there’s a different conversation.”
Sydney-based fintech youX has confirmed a significant data breach after a hacker released stolen data allegedly containing the personal and financial records of more than 444,000 Australian borrowers.
The attacker claims to have stolen 141 gigabytes of data including 629,597 loan applications, 229,236 drivers’ licences, and data belonging to 797 broker organisations across approximately 90 downstream lenders. More than 8000 broker employee password hashes were also compromised. YouX provides a technology platform used by finance brokers to manage and submit loan applications to lenders.
“We have identified that personal information may have been compromised,” youX said in a statement on its website. “In accordance with our legal obligations, we have kept the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner informed throughout this matter.”
The company said it has implemented additional security controls and is notifying affected individuals.
The attacker is threatening to release further data tranches to the dark web unless a ransom is paid. “We gave youX a chance,” they wrote in a post to the dark web. The investigation continues.
Thank you for following our national news live blog today. Here’s what we have covered so far.
- Tributes have flowed for the charismatic US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, who became a close associate of Martin Luther King Jr and twice ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, after news broke that he has died at age 84.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has maintained his insistence that the government was not aiding the IS-linked women and children seeking repatriation to Australia, saying it was following the nation’s laws after this masthead revealed officials had seen government-issued passports and travel documentation. Calls are growing from the opposition for the government to enact temporary exclusion orders for the women and their children, which would stop them being able to come home to Australia while investigations into their activities and backgrounds are conducted.
- One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is back in the headlines, facing widespread condemnation for remarks she made on-air on Monday night claiming there were no good Muslims in Australia. She refused to apologise for the remarks, and also singled out the suburb of Lakemba in south-west Sydney as a place “people can’t go to”. She told ABC TV: “I’ve been there myself and you feel unwanted, you do not want to be there.”
- Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has again defended her government’s action in addressing alleged corruption by the CFMEU on Labor infrastructure projects, including by referring the matter to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog, but left the door open to give the state’s corruption watchdog greater powers to follow taxpayer dollars.
- Two years of trending real wages growth has come to an end, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed today, with inflation outpacing wage growth for the first time since 2023.
Stay with us as we continue to bring you rolling news updates throughout the afternoon. I’m Emily Kaine, handing over now to Isabel McMillan.
A DNA profile recovered from a glove found near the home of missing 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie produced no matches when entered into the FBI’s national database, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has said.
The glove, discovered about 3 kilometres from Guthrie’s residence in the Catalina Foothills north of Tucson, Arizona, appeared to match those worn by a masked individual captured on surveillance footage at her front door the morning she vanished. Additional DNA evidence recovered from the residence itself is still being analysed, the sheriff’s department said.
Investigators are now working with the manufacturer of Guthrie’s pacemaker and other experts to attempt to locate the medical device, which could help determine her whereabouts.
Separately, authorities are working with Walmart management to identify who purchased the backpack seen in the FBI’s doorbell surveillance video, in which the suspect approached Guthrie’s door armed with what appeared to be a holstered handgun.
The sheriff’s department said the Guthrie family, including siblings and spouses, have not been identified as suspects. Evidence is being examined to either build a case or clear individuals, a standard process in criminal investigations, the department said.
The mother of NBC Today host Savannah Guthrie was reported missing from her Tucson-area home on February 1 after spending the previous night with family, police said. Her blood was detected on the porch.
Bloomberg
Santos, the second-largest Australian oil and gas producer, is planning to cull one in 10 jobs and launch a strategic review of its assets after a year of lower fossil fuel prices contributed to a steeper-than-expected profit fall.
The Adelaide-based energy giant, which is under pressure to lift shareholder returns following the collapse of a $30 billion takeover offer from an Abu Dhabi-led consortium last year, today revealed its net profit had declined by a third to $818 million over the 12 months to December, a weaker result than most analysts had been forecasting.
Managing director Kevin Gallagher told investors Santos now intended to target a headcount reduction of “around 10 per cent”, a move he said would “rightsize” the business as it moved out of a period of high capital expenditure on growth projects in the Timor Sea and Alaska to focus on cutting costs.
With a workforce of around 4000 employees, a 10 per cent headcount reduction at Santos could amount to as many as 400 jobs.
Santos also said it would carry out a strategic review of its Australian oil and gas operations. Investment analysts said this may suggest the possible sale of some assets or plans to spin off its non-liquefied gas business.
Opposition spokesman for housing Andrew Bragg has condemned One Nation leader Pauline Hanson for remarks she made on Monday claiming there were no good Muslims in Australia.
Speaking to Sky News just now, he said, “Leadership is not about bashing up on diverse groups in our community. It’s not about bashing up on the Muslim community, and the Muslim community should not be attacked like it has by Pauline Hanson.
“I think these remarks from One Nation are absolutely disgusting and outrageous. The Muslim community in Australia is patriotic, loyal Australians. They’ve made a great contribution to our community, and this is the last thing that we need.
“Elected officials have a responsibility, and it is not leadership to be bashing up on minority interests. I mean, the mark of our society, the mark of the quality of our society, is how it treats minority interests. And so those are disgusting comments, and I think that, frankly, rules One Nation out of being taken seriously.”
Hanson refused to apologise for the comments this morning, telling ABC TV: “In general, that’s what [Muslims] want, a world caliphate, and I’m not going to apologise … So I won’t apologise for any of that. I love this country, I love our culture, I love our way of life, and a lot of these people don’t, and would dearly love to change it.”
