At least 17 people have been killed in celebratory gunfire in Kabul after Taliban sources said their fighters seized control of Panjshir, the last province in Afghanistan holding out against the Islamist group. Leaders of opposition to the Taliban have denied that the province has fallen. The Shamshad news agency said “aerial shooting” in Kabul on Friday killed 17 people …

Three children with COVID-19 are in intensive care, a Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (SCHN) spokeswoman has confirmed. The children have underlying health conditions but the spokeswoman said they were being cared for due to COVID. “SCHN is currently supporting more than 2,000 children with COVID-19, including the three children who are currently receiving intensive care, through the delivery of a range …

The Taliban are due to form a government despite fighting in Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley where forces battling the hardline Islamists say they are enduring “heavy” assaults. The Taliban face the enormous challenge of shifting gears from insurgent group to governing power, days after the United States fully withdrew its troops and ended two decades of war. But they are still battling to extinguish …

Australia has secured another 4 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in a deal with the UK. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said shipments would arrive in Australia in the coming days and weeks. “The plane is on the tarmac now. It will be leaving tomorrow,” Mr Morrison said. “Those doses will be coming over the course of the next few weeks, which will see …

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says COVID-19 infections are expected to peak in the next two weeks after the state recorded 1,431 new cases and 12 deaths. Friday’s numbers were the highest daily infection figures ever recorded by an Australian jurisdiction. The 12 deaths represented the highest number recorded in NSW in a day. “The next fortnight is likely to be our worst in terms of …

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will reveal tomorrow what restrictions would be eased in Victoria when case numbers reach particular thresholds over the coming weeks. Victoria recorded 76 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases overnight. Contact tracers have linked 45 of the new cases to existing outbreaks, and 36 of the new cases were in isolation for the whole of their infectious period. Mr Andrews …

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the whole nation needs to move forward together so families can reunite for Christmas as the state records 1,164 locally new COVID-19 cases. In the latest reporting period three more people died of COVID, bringing the number of fatalities connected with the current outbreak to 96. A woman in her 50s and a man in …

At least 60 people have now died in the current New South Wales COVID outbreak. We’ve been keeping track of how old these people were, and have observed 85 per cent of the COVID deaths up to August 18 (51 out of 60) were among people aged over 60. We’ve also been taking note of reports on their vaccination status. …

Greater Sydney will remain in lockdown until at least the end of September, as NSW posted another 644 local COVID cases on Friday. Masks will also become mandatory for everyone in NSW whenever they leave home, unless they are exercising. The extension of the Sydney lockdown and compulsory mask-wearing are part of a dramatic tightening of virus rules across NSW …

Premier Gladys Berejiklian says NSW is “learning to live” with the Delta strain as she confirmed 681 new COVID-19 cases, the highest number the state has recorded in a day. Ms Berejiklian said life would “feel much better” once vaccination rates increased, with a record 110,000 jabs administered in the last 24 hours. She said 5.5 million vaccinations had now been administered in NSW, …