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Two women hurled abuse at Ikea staff and told them to 'shush' after refusing to wear face masks while shopping at the furniture giant. Video footage showed the 'Ikea Karens' raise their voices at a checkout operator at the exit of an Ikea store in Sydney.  Masks were made mandatory in certain situations across Sydney to combat the coronavirus outbreak on the Northern Beaches. Masks must be worn while shopping and on public transport - among other inside settings - or Sydneysiders risk a $200 fine.   Video footage showed the 'Ikea Karens' raise their voices at a checkout operator at the exit of an Ikea store in Sydney The footage begins during an argument, where one of the shoppers tells an Ikea worker standing behind the counter to 'shut up'.  'This is the fourth time today. Enough,' the woman says. Her shopping partner, a woman who is behind the camera, then talks at the female worker, who is wearing a black face mask. 'You know people hav

Australian tennis coach Bob Brett died after a battle with cancer at the age of 67 on Tuesday morning.  Brett worked with grand slam champions Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic, Johan Kriek and Marin Cilic in his almost 50-year career.  The Melbourne-born man famously coached Becker to become the No.1 ranked tennis player in the world between November 1987 and February 1991. Becker also won the 1989 Wimbledon and US Open under Brett's guidance.  Australian tennis coach Bob Brett , who coached Boris Becker to world No.1, has died after a long battle with cancer at the age of 67 He also coached Australian players Paul McNamee and Peter McNamara. McNamee said Brett's passing left a 'big hole' in Australian tennis.  'He's one of the unsung heroes of Australian tennis, because of the impact he had around the world,' McNamee told the Herald Sun. 'He's one of our greatest-ever coaches and you'd have to put him up there with Mr Hopman, Tony Roche and Darre

A snake catcher has urged pet owners to keep a close eye on their animals after being called to a job where a carpet python killed a kitten before trying to swallow it. Stuart McKenzie, from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers in Queensland, went to the home in Buderim after the homeowners made the grim discovery. The kitten had ventured under the house only to encounter the carpet python, which Mr McKenzie said was most likely waiting for a feed.  The owners tried to intervene to save their kitten by using a broom handle to keep the snake away but the carpet python had already gone in for the kill. A snake catcher has sounded a warning  to pet owners after a carpet python killed a pet kitten on Queensland's Sunshine Coast before trying to swallow it  By the time Mr McKenzie arrived the snake was sizing the kitten up to swallow it but he was able to remove it so the family could bury their kitten.  'It's a very sad situation. It's someone's pet and they obviously want t

Victoria has recorded just one new locally acquired case of coronavirus. There were also two Covid-19 infections reported in hotel quarantine on Wednesday, after 37,509 tests were conducted.  Victoria's current coronavirus cluster is linked to a Black Rock restaurant in bayside Melbourne, which is connected to an outbreak in NSW.  But Wednesday's infection is being treated as a 'mystery' case - with no known link to another case or a high risk location.  The man in his 30s attended the Boxing Day sales at Chadstone Shopping Centre and day two of the Australia-India cricket Test at the MCG.  Victoria recorded one new locally acquired case of coronavirus on Wednesday after 37,509 tests were conducted Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said health authorities don't believe the man was infectious during his visit to the MCG on December 27. But people seated in the Great Southern Stand's zone 5 between 12.30pm to 3.30pm have been asked to get tested and self-isolate. '

Thousands of cricket fans who went to the second day of the Australia-India Test match at the MCG are being urged to get tested for coronavirus after a fan was diagnosed with the disease. The man watched the game from zone 5 in the Great Southern Stand between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on 27 December. About 8,000 fans who were in that zone are being urged via text message to get tested. Thousands of cricket fans who went to the second day of the Australia-India match at the MCG are being urged to get tested The man watched the game from zone 5 in the Great Southern Stand between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on 27 December. Pictured: Fans at the game on 29 December The man is a 'mystery case' meaning contact tracers do not know where he caught his infection. Officials do not believe he was infectious at the MCG but want fans to get tested to find out if they may be the source of his illness.  The man also visited Chadstone Shopping Centre on Boxing Day from 6am to 2pm, and may have caught his in

Rising Republican star Tom Cotton, a major ally for President Donald Trump, says he will not oppose Joe Biden's election victory. On Wednesday, a joint session of Congress will count the certified electoral votes to confirm the Democrat as the new President. But at least a dozen Republican senators have signaled they will stand in the way of the President-elect. Rising Republican star Tom Cotton (pictured with his wife Anna Peckham), a major ally for President Donald Trump, says he will not oppose Joe Biden's election victory Senator Josh Hawley said he will object to the certification and was the first Republican to do so last week. He said he cannot assent to Biden's victory without 'raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws.' Ted Cruz said he would lead the objection unless there was an emergency 10-day audit of the election results by an electoral commission. The likely objections will force vo

A couple has become pen pals with a mystery neighbour thanks to their wandering cat Billy who acted as a postman between the two households.  Cat owner Olga Shipunova, 29, and her partner Zack King, 37, received their first note from their neighbour in Hackney, London, one evening last September. Billy, the curious one-year-old cat, returned home with a brightly coloured note which had been tucked under his collar and wrapped in cling film. Cat owners Olga, 29, and her partner Zack, 37, became pen pals with a mystery neighbour in in Hackney, London, thanks to their wandering cat Billy who acted as a postman between the two households Olga and Zack first received a note from their neighbour last September when Billy returned home with an orange note tucked under his collar. Olga immediately tore off a bit of paper and penned her own reply The note read: 'Your cat likes to come visit us when he is outside. He will sit at the door and meow to be let it . 'It's actually hilari

Famed investigative journalist Carl Bernstein has said that President Trump’s recorded call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, seemingly pressuring him to help overturn the state's presidential election results, is 'worse than Watergate.' Bernstein, along with Bob Woodward, helped to break the Watergate scandal that ultimately led to President Richard Nixon's resignation.  During an interview on CNN Sunday, Berntein discussed the leaked recording of Trump's call with Raffensperger - who, as Georgia's secretary of State, also serves as the State Election Board chairman.  The journalist warned the recording was 'worse than Watergate' and claimed it  revealed that the US president was a 'criminal.'   Investigative journalist Carl Bernstein said the Trump tape  seeking to overturn Georgia's presidential election results is a 'smoking gun' 'We have both a criminal president of the United States in Donald Trump, and a s

Only 4.3 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across the US almost a month into the agonizingly slow vaccination campaign - as it is revealed that Georgia and Kansas have used less than 20 percent of the vaccines distributed to them and New York City is only handing out shots during office hours. Federal officials had vowed to administer 20 million vaccine doses across the US before the New Year but, as of Monday, only 13 million doses had been distributed to states.  Just 4.3 million of those doses - or 33 percent - have been administered so far, according to a Bloomberg analysis of CDC and state government data.  It means just 1.3 percent of the US population has been vaccinated almost a month into the stumbling campaign as cases, deaths and hospitalizations continue to surge across the country.  Health officials, however, have said that the US ramped up vaccinations in the past few days and Dr Anthony Fauci said he has seen 'some little glimmer of hope' after 1.5

New York hospitals will be fined up to $100,000 and risk not receiving any further shots if they don't use up their allocated COVID-19 vaccine doses by this week, Gov Andrew Cuomo says.  Cuomo said on Monday that his state has administered almost 300,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses - or about 46 percent of its allocation - in the last three weeks.  The latest CDC data, which may lag due to delays in reporting, currently shows that New York state has administered 236,941 of its 774,075 distributed doses.   In New York City, 110,241 vaccine doses have been administered since vaccinations started three weeks ago, the city's latest vaccine data shows. The city currently has 443,000 vaccine doses available.  Cuomo on Monday addressed the slow rate of vaccine distribution across the state, saying hospitals would be fined up to $100,000 if they fail to use up their dose allocations by the end of the week.  Those facilities now also must use up their vaccine allocations within seven days or