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More than five million people in Greater Sydney and its surrounds will go into a 14-day lockdown as health authorities try to regain control of a coronavirus outbreak that has ballooned to 80 cases. Premier Gladys Berejiklian says residents of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong will only be able to leave home for essential purposes from 6pm on Saturday. Those reasons include work, to shop for essential items, to seek medical care, or for caregiving or compassionate reasons. Locked-down residents are also permitted to leave their home to visit their partner like with previous lockdowns. 'We always have some components which are around intimate partner visits, and that will extend in this circumstance,' Chief Health Officer Kerry said.  The snap lockdown comes after another 12 new virus cases were recorded in NSW and exposure venues spread beyond the eastern Sydney hotspots to the northern beaches and western Sydney, where people have potentially

An Australian couple aged 102 and 99 have earned a surprise congratulations from Prime Minister Scott Morrison as they celebrate their 80th wedding anniversary. Helena and Ernest Reed met in 1941 and on Saturday they celebrated the incredible milestone with 25 family and friends on Queensland's Gold Coast. They still live together, at Cypress Gardens Retirement Village at Clear Island Waters, Queensland.  Scroll down for video   Helena and Ernest Reed celebrated a remarkable 80 years of marriage on Saturday. Helena says 'fresh air, clean living' and being able to 'give and take' in order to get over disagreements are the keys to their incredible staying power  'I love him as much as I ever did', Helena Reed said of her husband of 80 years, Ernest. They are pictured together above in 1941 at their wedding The couple met in the tiny farming community of Kokotungo, Central Queensland and married in the local hall when Helena was 19 and Ernest was 22.  They li

Matt Hancock has made a grovelling apology to the public in his resignation letter to the Prime Minister,  the day after video footage emerged of him kissing an aide in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions. In the letter to Boris Johnson, he said the Government 'owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down'. Images and video showed Mr Hancock in an embrace with aide Gina Coladangelo last month, and the Health Secretary was facing increasing pressure to quit over the breaking of social-distancing rules and the hiring of Coladangelo. 'I am writing to resign as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care,' Hancock wrote, addressing Mr Johnson on Saturday. 'We have worked so hard as a country to fight the pandemic. The last thing I would want is for my private life to distract attention from the single-minded focus that is leading us out of this crisis.' Hancock, who is married with

Boris Johnson has replied to Matt Hancock's resignation today by telling him he should be 'immensely proud' of his service - despite the Prime Minister earlier labelling him as 'totally f***ing hopeless' in a private WhatsApp message sent to Dominic Cummings.   Mr Hancock resigned as Health Secretary the day after video footage emerged of him kissing an aide, Gina Coladangelo, in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions. In response, the Prime Minister wrote to him: 'You should be immensely proud of your service. I am grateful for your support and believe that your contribution to public service is far from over. ' Mr Johnson's words of encouragement come  after Mr Cummings - his former chief aide - stepped up his war with Number 10 in mid-June when he published a number of bombshell messages sent to him by the PM. In one exchange from March 27 last year, Mr Cummings criticised the Health Secretary over the failure to ramp up Covid

Casey Kasem's daughter has said she hopes to 'ruffle some feathers' with a new podcast about her father's controversial death and the bitter legal battles with his widow. Kerri Kasem, 48, told Fox News she is still hoping for her 'day in court' over the radio legend's death as she denied accusations that she and her siblings filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Casey's wife Jean Kasem because they were 'in it for the money.' 'All we wanted was to see our father… I don't care where the money goes,' she said. Kerri is the executive producer of a new Audible series called 'Bitter Blood: Kasem vs. Kasem' which promises to bring never-before-seen evidence and testimony from family friends and medical staff speaking about the circumstances surrounding Casey's death.  Kerri and her siblings accused Jean of causing their father's 2014 death aged 82 by mistreating him and refusing to allow them to see him. However, Jean claim

New York City is celebrating Pride this weekend, the first after last year's official celebrations were hampered due to the coronavirus pandemic. While Pride is back in NYC, there will still be a mix of in-person and virtual events, meaning the weekend won't be at the same level city dwellers have become accustomed to. But that didn't stop crowds taking to the street Friday night for the Drag March. Because the Drag March is unpermitted, it did place last year, albeit in a much smaller version than this year's event.  'I feel like I'm ushering in a new era tonight,' Philip from the Upper West side told Gothamist. 'This is the first time I'm out hugging people without a mask since the pandemic started, and all my friends are here... I feel like it's one big birthday party.'  The march came the day after crowds packed in to a small NYC club to see Madonna on Thursday night in unofficial kickoff to the weekend's proceedings.   People partici

Labour leader Keir Starmer has led reaction to Matt Hancock's resignation as Health Secretary, tweeting: 'Matt Hancock is right to resign. But Boris Johnson should have sacked him.' Mr Hancock resigned today the day after video footage emerged of him kissing aide Gina Coladangelo in his ministerial office in a breach of coronavirus restrictions. Images and video showed Mr Hancock in an embrace with aide Coladangelo last month, and the Health Secretary was facing increasing pressure to quit over the breaking of social-distancing rules.  Ms Coladangelo is also reportedly leaving her position on the board of the Department of Health. Labour leader Keir Starmer has led reaction to Matt Hancock's resignation as Health Secretary, tweeting: 'Matt Hancock is right to resign. But Boris Johnson should have sacked him' Mr Hancock said sorry for breaking social distancing and asked for 'privacy' for his family, but refused to resign as Health Secretary Liberal Dem