Qantas won't resume international flights until July 2021.
Qantas has suffered a $4 billion revenue hit from the coronavirus crisis and warns international travel could still be a year away.
On Thursday, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the international network is unlikely to restart before July 2021, although a Trans-Tasman route could start earlier depending on the amount of community transmission occurring.
The news comes as Joyce outlined the devastating impact the pandemic has had on Qantas' revenue. He said the second half of the financial year was the toughest set of conditions the national carrier has faced in its 100-year history.
The airline's profits are down by almost 91 per cent due to a ban on international travel for Australians. The carrier says given current border restrictions, 20 per cent of pre-COVID domestic capacity is scheduled for August.
Recent sales activity shows there will be high levels of demand when those restrictions are eased.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison backtracks on "compulsory" vaccine comments.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told Sydney radio station 2GB, "It's not going to be compulsory to have the vaccine," hours after telling 3AW he would make the COVID-19 vaccine "as mandatory as you can possibly make it."
The government has signed a letter of intent with UK based drug company AstraZeneca and Oxford University to secure a free supply of the vaccine for all Australians should human trials prove successful.
"The gap between what we need to do and what's actually being done is widening by the minute," they wrote. "Effectively, we have lost another two crucial years to political inaction."
Thunberg said the group planned to tell Merkel "she must face up to the climate emergency - especially as Germany now holds the presidency of the European Council."
"Europe has a responsibility to act," they wrote, noting that EU nations and Britain were responsible for an estimated 22 per cent of "historic accumulative global emissions."
"It is immoral that the countries that have done the least to cause the problem are suffering first and worst," the activists said.
Democrats officially nominate Biden for president.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has officially been nominated by the Democrats as their presidential nominee in a virtual event.
His wife, Jill Biden, and several grandchildren joined him for the moment.
Biden’s toughest competition for the nomination, Bernie Sanders, suspended his campaign in April, giving Democrats several months to unite behind Biden as their likely nominee before it became official.
With 78 days to go until Election Day, Biden leads by 7.7 points nationally in the RealClearPolitics average, down from his largest lead of 10.2 points, held in late June.
Icy mass of Antarctic air headed for Australia.
Hobart, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Adelaide are all forecast to see drops in from today, as a large mass of Antarctic air heads for Australia.
Global weather satellites have captured images of the polar temperature air mass that's broken away from the continent.
It's likely to bring with it not just cooler temperatures, but gusty winds, snow and rain to the south-eastern states.
Around the world.
- Business leaders are demanding some certainty over when Australia's international border will re-open, saying it's crucial for our economic recovery.
- The United Nations has warned that millions of people in Yemen will suffer and could die because of a lack of funds for its aid work.
- More than 800 people have been killed in India by flooding caused by heavier than usual monsoonal rains.
- With AAP
Feature image: Getty.
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