Major twist in search for missing millionaire Melissa Caddick as the accountant's colleagues hand some VERY interesting information to police - and she could soon be NSW’s ‘most wanted’

Missing financial adviser Melissa Caddick could soon be one of 'New South Wales' most wanted woman' as police move one step closer to placing her on the notorious list.

The 49-year-old Sydneysider is alleged to have stolen about $25million from investors in a pyramid scheme before vanishing without a trace from her Dover Heights mansion one day after fraud investigators raided her home in November.

Her disappearance has been shrouded in mystery but NSW Police are growing more certain the alleged conwoman is still alive and on the run.

In the past week former colleagues claimed to police she went on a shredding spree after learning she was under investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, reports say.

It is understood police are preparing to open a criminal investigation alongside the missing persons probe, and even add her to NSW's most wanted list. 

Read More

Melissa Caddick’s trail of ‘emotional and financial devastation’

Missing Dover Heights woman Melissa Caddick left behind a trail of emotional and financial devastation, according to Bruce Gleeson who has been appointed by the court to unravel her complex financial affairs.

After reviewing thousands of pages of financial documents, Mr Gleeson, a principal of insolvency firm Jones Partners, said he could not identify a single genuine document Ms Caddick provided to her investors.

The 49-year-old vanished in mid-November, hours after the Federal Police raided her eastern suburbs home on behalf of the corporate watchdog, ASIC. Court documents have since revealed that Ms Caddick allegedly misappropriated millions of dollars from her clients. 

Investors, most of whom knew and trusted Ms Caddick, were suffering “emotional and financial devastation” with many of them losing their life savings, said Mr Gleeson.

Read More

‘We are not paying that bill’: Queensland holds PM to ransom for quarantine hub

Queensland will refuse to cough up cash it owes New South Wales for hotel quarantine stays until Prime Minister Scott Morrison approves a proposed pop-up quarantine hub near Toowoomba.

The quarantine mega-hub on the outskirts of Toowoomba, which would be built and paid for by local construction firm Wagners, needs federal government approval to go ahead. 

Applying pressure on Mr Morrison to move ahead on the pitch, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the Queensland government would refuse to pay a $30 million quarantine bill issued by NSW until the federal government allowed repatriation flights to land at Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport.

Mr Miles said his state was “stepping up where the Commonwealth have failed” by proposing the national quarantine facility in southern Queensland. 

Read More

Doctor who administered incorrect dose of COVID-19 vaccine had not been trained

The doctor who administered incorrect doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to two aged care residents in Queensland had not completed the compulsory vaccination training.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has asked the Department of Health to take action against the doctor and Healthcare Australia, the company tasked with providing vaccinations within aged care facilities.

The aged care provider that runs the Brisbane facility where the incident occurred said they will also report the doctor to the medical regulator.

Mr Hunt on Wednesday morning said the doctor had trained in Australia, was registered with the medical regulator and had undertaken the necessary COVID vaccination training. 

Read More

Facebook brings back news after Australian government amends upcoming law

Facebook will restore news content to its platform in Australia after the government agreed to amend its proposed News Media Bargaining Code. In an update posted today, Facebook’s William Easton, managing director of Australia and New Zealand, said that the company is “satisfied that the Australian government has agreed to a number of changes and guarantees that address our core concerns.” News content will return to the platform “in the coming days,” Easton said.

Facebook and Google have been at loggerheads with the Australian government about an upcoming law that will require them to pay publishers for content shared on their platforms. In response to the proposed bargaining code, Facebook took the extreme measure last week of blocking news from being shared on its platform by Australian users and publishers.

Read More

Facebook v Australia: Who blinked fir

Australian news will return to the social media giant's platform, and it will reach deals to pay news groups for their stories. So, who won this titanic battle and how will that play out around the world?

The former boss of Facebook in Australia is pretty clear.

"I'd say Facebook may have blinked a bit here," Stephen Scheeler told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "I think there's no question that global backlash against this was pretty stern.

"And I think Facebook probably observed that governments around the world were taking a harder line maybe than they had anticipated." 

Read More

Fauci says he sees U.S. CDC relaxing some COVID-19 guidelines soon: CNN

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S. infectious disease official Anthony Fauci on Tuesday told CNN that he expects the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to soon relax some COVID-19 recommendations aimed at curbing its spread for people who have been vaccinated.

“I believe you’re going to be hearing more of the recommendations of how you can relax the stringency of some of the things, particularly when you’re dealing with something like your own personal family, when people have been vaccinated,” Fauci said, adding he expected the new guidance “pretty soon.” 

Read More

U.S. House plans vote on COVID-19 aid bill on Friday

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Friday on legislation to provide $1.9 trillion in new coronavirus relief, Representative Steny Hoyer, the chamber’s No. 2 Democrat, said.

“The American people strongly support this bill, and we are moving swiftly to see it enacted into law,” Hoyer said on Twitter on Tuesday.

The House Budget Committee approved the measure on Monday. Passing more relief to ease the economic effects of the pandemic is a top priority of Democratic President Joe Biden. 

Read More