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By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Brisbane Street in Ipswich city centre has been partially submerged with deep flood water, meaning local residents have to use boats to get about


Death toll of 22 already worse than 1974 tragedy

Disaster could cut 1 per cent off GDP

Queensland Premier says situation is 'deeply serious'


Deadly floodwaters that have cut a swath across northeast Australia shut down the centre of Brisbane, the nation's third-largest city, today, sending thousands fleeing from their homes.

Unconfirmed reports say that at least 22 people have so far died in Australia's north-eastern state of Queensland and a further 67 remain missing from tsunami-like flash floods that tore through townships west of the city this week.

Almost 20,000 homes in Brisbane were expected to be swamped in the city of about two million by the time the Brisbane River reaches its expected peak tomorrow, Mayor Campbell Newman said.

Brisbane residents today pushed food-laden shopping carts through drowned streets, others waded in shoulder-high water to rescue possessions, while boats and pontoons were ripped from moorings in the Brisbane River and smashed into bridges as the muddy brown tide gathered strength.

At flooded intersections people paddled surfboards through floodwaters, balancing their possessions on the deck of the boards, while boats ferried evacuees to dry ground.

'I am feeling a sense of horror and awe at the power of the river. Sadly in coming hours we will see bits of people's homes float down the river,' Brisbane Mayor Campbell Newman said, warning the torrent could take three to four days to subside.


Submerged: Homes near Ipswich are swallowed up by rising water. The town's mayor described the scenes as 'heartbreaking'


Rescue crews took advantage of some rare sunshine to look for the dozens still missing, feared dead in the flood waters.

'We can take no comfort from that blue sky,' Queensland state Premier Anna Bligh told reporters.

'The water and the rain have already done their damage. This is a deeply serious natural disaster.'

The peak will arrive within the next few hours in Ipswich, a satellite town to the west.

'The water is rising and swallowing up the city. It's really heartbreaking,' said Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale.


Diversion: The Ipswich motorway, west of Brisbane, is cut off by flood water. At least 22 people have so far died in the Queensland floods


Businesses in the Brisbane suburb of Milton sit under several feet of water after the devastating floods


The trouble started after drenching rains in Australia's north-eastern state of Queensland that began in November sent swollen rivers spilling over their banks, inundating an area larger than France and Germany combined.

The crisis escalated when a violent storm sent a 26-foot, fast-moving torrent - described as an 'inland instant tsunami' - crashing through the city of Toowoomba and smaller towns to the west of Brisbane on Monday.

Some 200,000 people have already been affected by the disaster, which has caused billions of pounds of damage and is already worse than the floods that hit Brisbane in 1974, killing 14.

The biggest floods in a century have crippled the coking coal industry in the mining state, destroying infrastructure, putting a brake on the economy and sending the local currency to four-week lows.



A man rescues a kangaroo that was helplessly drifting in floodwaters near the bridge at One Mile in Ipswich


Police in the Brisbane inner city suburb of West End wade through water as they check for stranded residents


Teenagers make their way through a flooded street in the Brisbane suburb of Breakfast Creek. Thousands of residents of Australia's third-largest city have been evacuated from their homes


The overall economic impact will be devastating, with one central bank board member saying today that the disaster could cut 1 per cent off growth - equal to almost $13 billion, double the previous highest estimate.

The Australian dollar sank to a fresh four-week low of $0.9803 on the comments from Warwick McKibbin, an academic and a member of the central bank's policy-making board.

Treasurer Wayne Swan in November forecast GDP growth of 3.25 per cent in fiscal 2010-11, up from a 3.0 per cent projection, but said spending would be cut to ensure a surplus of A$3.1 billion or 0.2 per cent of GDP in 2012/13.

Food prices are surging around the country as the floods ruin Queensland crops and distribution networks. Prices for tomatoes have leapt about 200 per cent in two weeks, while beef is up 11 per cent and wheat has risen 4 per cent in four months.


Watch this space: Floodwaters stretch towards the skyscrapers of Brisbane, seen in the distance, from the outer south-western suburbs


Breaking point: The swollen Brisbane River, which is struggling to contain excess water released from local dams, is ready to burst its banks onto the central business district


Some of the scenes today in Brisbane were surreal, with early-morning joggers trying to carry on as normal, even though parts of their routes were underwater. Others were distraught.

'This is my whole life, everything is gone. I never thought it would get this bad,' said Kim Hung, manager of the Salt 'n' Pepper catering business, as two friends floated a coffee machine toward higher ground.

Raw sewage began spilling into the river and creeks, prompting authorities to warn of a heightened disease risk as damaged water treatment works polluted the floodwaters.

It has been estimated that up to 45,000 people will be affected by the floods. The military is running relief flights with helicopters and C-130 transports.


Shelter: Flood victims evacuated to the RNA Showgrounds lie down on makeshift beds. Evacuations are underway in several towns and suburbs in and around Brisbane


Dams built to protect Brisbane and outlying towns were spilling floodwaters into swollen rivers. The Port of Brisbane was closed, shutting down Australia's third-busiest container port and a 5-million-tonnes-a-year coal-loading facility.

Australia is the world's biggest exporter of coking coal, which is used in steel manufacturing and accounts for more than half of global exports, and is also the second-biggest exporter of thermal coal used for power generation.

Power company Energex shut power to some low-lying areas of Brisbane, including parts of the financial district, for fear that live power lines could electrify floodwaters. Some 78,000 homes in the southeast of Queensland were without electricity.


Queensland's Deadly Floods



Australian Floods 2011 - Queensland is Crying



The Australia Floods - Toowoomba Flood



Brisbane Flooding: 20,000 Homes At Risk


source: dailymail

By HELEN WEATHERS

Little miracles: Vicky and Andy with their four surviving sextuplets, from left, Ellen, Eric, Layla and Rose


Sextuplets mother Vicky Lamb shares the joy - and anguish - of a tumultuous first year...

At the stroke of midnight, Vicky and Andy Lamb saw in the New Year with four bottles — not champagne, but the small plastic variety topped up with infant formula for their quartet of young babies.

Every evening the Lambs set the alarm for midnight to wake them from their bleary-eyed slumber — usually on the sofa in the living room — to give seven-and-a-half month old Layla, Eric, Ellen and Rose their ‘dream feed’, and New Year’s Eve was no exception.


Fab four: The Lamb babies when they were a few days old...


It takes a full hour to feed all four infants before these proud, but exhausted, parents can finally climb the stairs and collapse into bed before the whole feeding, burping, changing, cuddling, playing, napping and washing routine starts afresh — and Vicky and Andy wouldn’t have it any other way.


.. and happy and healthy a year on


‘When we look at them all sleeping peacefully, sometimes we just can’t believe they are finally here, home with us,’ says Vicky, 32, a former ­nursery manager from Abingdon, Oxfordshire.

‘For us, 2010 was such an emotional, life-changing, traumatic year. So what we are hoping for in 2011 is health and happiness for our children.’


Precious delivery: Vicky with newborn Ellen, at one time it was feared none of the sextuplets would survive


‘There were tears of sadness for Matthew and Pippa, tears because I felt so tired and disappointed that Christmas wasn’t how I’d hoped, but also tears of happiness and thanks that we still have Layla, Eric, Ellen and Rose.

‘But when they smile, all the pain and heartbreak has been worth it. Sometimes I just can’t believe that these four lovely babies are really ours.’


source: dailymail

By RACHEL QUIGLEY

Cars try to make their way through the centre of York in the snow at the start of December. Councils could have been better prepared for the cold snap if they had been pre-warned by the Met Office


The Met Office warned ministers to expect an ‘exceptionally cold winter’ but then kept the prediction secret from the public.

The forecaster decided not to reveal the information because it was embarrassed after wrongly predicting a ‘barbecue summer’ in 2009, BBC analyst Roger Harrabin said.

Instead of a seasonal forecast, it offered only monthly snapshots.


Snow ploughs struggle to clear the taxi ways at Heathrow Airport after heavy snowfall in late December. Thousands were stranded at the airport as flights were cancelled and the airport struggled to clear the backlog


The disclosure raises questions over whether transport authorities and councils could have been better prepared for the cold snap which brought chaos before Christmas.

As temperatures fell to a record low, train services were badly disrupted, roads were covered by snow and thousands were stranded at Heathrow as flights were cancelled and the airport struggled to clear the backlog.

Last night Mr Harrabin said: ‘With Britain shivering through a third winter in a row, shouldn’t the weather forecasters have warned us well in advance? Why didn’t the Met Office tell us?

‘The truth is it did suspect we were in for an exceptionally cold early winter, and told the Cabinet Office so in October.


A train skulks through the snow in Horley, Surrey. Train services were badly disrupted last month after transport authorities failed to prepare properly for the immense snowfall


A water fountain was frozen solid in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, after freezing temperatures in December last year


Campaigners have claimed it has become too interested in calling for action to cut carbon emissions.

They say it is in thrall to a belief that temperatures will rise in the long term, and so has neglected its focus on accurate short and medium term forecasts.

The BBC announced last year that it was considering dropping the Met Office as its official forecaster after 87 years. But in July it decided to extend the contract for a further five years.


Ducks waddle across a completely frozen River Ouse in York on Christmas Day


The Cabinet Office said that Met Office forecasts are shared ‘as appropriate’ but could not say if roads authorities, airports and water companies had been passed the explicit deep freeze alert.

A spokesman said: ‘The Met Office provides the Government with regular updates throughout the year to inform short, medium and longer term planning. This information is shared as appropriate between departments and with local responders.

‘Government departments have, since winter 2009, continued to enhance preparedness and build resilience, informed by Met Office advice as well as the recommendations from David Quarmby’s review into last winter’s disruption and Dame Deirdre Hine’s review of the 2009 swine flu pandemic.’


source: dailymail

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Full of the joys: The penguin dances around the compound, much to the bemusement of his friends


It's normally little children that get excited at the sight of their first snowflake.

As permanent residents of the chilly, snow-covered South Pole, you'd think for penquins it would all be a bit, well, mundane.

Not so for this little chap who clearly couldn't control his excitement as the white stuff started to fall.

Looking like the real-life star of animated film Happy Feet, the baby penguin tears up and down while his bemused friends look on.

Or maybe he's a fan of penguin-suited dance legend Fred Astaire, who often went through his paces wearing a top hat and tails.

The clip was posted on YouTube two days ago and has already attracted thousands of views.


Inspiration: Is our dancing penguin a film fan? If so he might have seen Happy Feet or one of Fred Astaire's many films


In the Happy feet film, Mumble the penguin is cast as an outsider because he has a terrible singing voice. But he soon becomes the star of the show when he discovers he has talent for something none of his friends has seen before - tap dancing.







source: dailymail

Fireworks are seen above Jakarta's downtown on January 1, 2011 marking the New Year. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Jakarta to mark the New Year.



Fireworks explode over the Las Vegas Strip casinos just after midnight in Las Vegas, Nevada January 1, 2011. An estimated 320,000 people came to Las Vegas to celebrate the new year, tourism officials said.




Fireworks burst above Yangon's landmark Shwedagon pagoda as Myanmar people gather to welcome the New Year 2011 at Kan Daw Gyi park in Yangon late on December 31, 2010. Democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, released in 2010 after more than seven years of house arrest, called for the country's people 'to struggle together with new strengths, new force and new words in the auspicious New Year'.



People gather to watch fireworks during the New Year at Old Town Market Square in Wroclaw, southern-western Poland January 1, 2011.



People gather to celebrate the New Year in front of Sukiennice building at Old Town Market Square in Krakow, southern Poland, January 1, 2011.



Revelers gather New Year's Eve in New York's Times Square as they wait for the traditional ball drop to celebrate the new year December 31, 2010.



Indian Sikh devotees wait for their turn to pay homage at a fog-shrouded Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 1, 2011. Thousands of Sikh devotees from across India and abroad are preparing to pay obeisance on the occasion of New Year at the temple in northern India.



Indian Bollywood actress and singer, Raageshwari Loomba poses as she pays her respects at the Sikh Shrine, The Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 1, 2011. Raageshwari along with her family, visited the city and payed on the occasion of the New Year 2011.



Some of the 100 people of 'Cercle des Nageurs' take part in a traditional New Year's bath, held annually in Marseille, on the first Saturday of January, on January 01, 2011 at the Catalan beach of Marseille, southern France. Ancient tradition in Marseille, bathing the New Year, has long held in the Vieux-Port, before being moved because of pollution.




NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A view of the atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 with Carson Daly at Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A view of the atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 with Carson Daly at Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Singer Ke$ha celebrates New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Singer Joey McIntyre of the New Kids On The Block performs while celebrating New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.




People dressed in festive costumes wave during a street procession as part of the "Street of Open Heart" festival in Belgrade January 1, 2011. All proceeds of the yearly traditional New Year's festival go to the project Doctors Clowns aimed at cheering up and helping children in hospitals.




People buy candied apples during the "Street of Open Heart" festival in Belgrade January 1, 2011. All proceeds of the yearly traditional New Year's festival go to the project Doctors Clowns aimed at cheering up and helping children in hospitals.



People take part in the traditional New Year's day swim on January 1, 2010 at Scheveningen beach near The Hague.




source: Daylife
photo: Gettyimages

Revellers cheer as confetti falls during New Year celebrations in Times Square in New York January 1, 2011.



Confetti is dropped on revellers at midnight during New Year celebrations in Times Square in New York, January 1, 2011.




NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 01: Fireworks go off at the strike of midnight in Times Square January 01, 2011 in New York City. This year a 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball descended a 141-foot tall flagpole to mark the beginning of 2011.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Singers Taio Cruz and Ke$ha celebrate New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: A general view of atmosphere during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.



NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Singer Ke$ha performs during New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.




NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 31: Miss USA Rima Fakih celebrates New Year's Eve 2011 in Times Square on December 31, 2010 in New York City.


Midnight - New Years Eve 2010 / New Years Day 2011



Times Square New Years Eve 2011 ( New York)



source : Daylife
photo: Gettyimages

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Masses gathered in London to see in the New Year in front of the London Eye where up to 250,000 people enjoyed the carnival atmosphere


Hundreds of thousands of revellers took to the streets tonight to begin saying goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.

Masses gathered in London to see in the New Year in front of the London Eye where up to 250,000 people were expected to enjoy the carnival atmosphere.


And festive organisers in Edinburgh prepared for up to 80,000 partygoers to enjoy the Hogmanay street party and festival, which began last night with a torchlight procession along the Royal Mile.


Red sky at night: The London Eye sparkles in one of its finest-ever displays


Fireworks explode behind the Big Ben clock tower during New Year celebrations


During the early evening, crowds gathered along the banks of the River Thames and spilled into Trafalgar Square and central London.

BBC Radio 1 DJ Nihal hosted the event, drawing cheers from the crowds after the music started at 10pm accompanied by lasers and lights from the Eye.

Peter and Harriet Hughes travelled from Cardiff in Wales to see the firework display with 18-month-old daughter Phoebe.

Mr Hughes, 28, said: 'It's amazing. We see it on the TV quite a lot and my wife has never been so we decided to come down. Plus we couldn't find a baby-sitter.'

First aiders were already out on the streets by 10pm as the party geared up for the climax at midnight, while security teams had to ask some high-spirited partygoers to get down from traffic lights along Victoria Embankment.


Throng: Revellers wait on the Embankment along the River Thames for the fireworks


Under a crimson sky: Hogmanay festivities in Edinburgh (left) and Big Ben flanked by the London Eye


Petra Stolfa, 20, travelled to London with her friend Krista Likar, 19, from Slovenia for the celebrations.

'We came here last Friday and we came to see New Year because of the fireworks. We have been here since 7pm,' she said.

'We don't have the big fireworks at home and so this is something we usually see on the TV.'

Many said they were hoping for a better year in 2011.


Scotland the rave: The party gets into full swing in Edinburgh as people celebrate the new year


Michelle Burns, 30, from Canvey Island, said: 'We come just for a change because we usually spend New Year with family.

'It's been good. It's been a rough year so hopefully next year will be better.'

In London, 3,000 police officers were on duty.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the crowds were larger than last year but so far there were only five arrests for minor offences.


Happy New Year! Revellers take to Princes Street in Edinburgh for the fireworks display to celebrate


Weather forecasters said as the clock struck midnight - and we moved to 'all the ones', 1/1/11 - the nation's enjoyment of firework displays might be marred by patches of fog, cloud and mist.

Most of the UK was expected to have a covering of cloud with some drizzle although the evening should remain dry.

After weeks of Arctic temperatures and a year of economic belt-tightening for most, revellers were keen to welcome in a new year.

Tonight's Concert in the Gardens, in Edinburgh, features top bands The Charlatans, Biffy Clyro and Billy Bragg and sold out along with the Keilidh in Resolution Square.

Meanwhile, around the world...

Thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin tonight to welcome in the New Year with a dazzling light show.

And while revellers lapped up the atmosphere in the German capital, crowds gathered in Moscow's Red Square as Russia celebrated the arrival of 2011.

The chilly night sky was a sea of red and green as the fireworks complemented the colourful domes of St Basil's Cathedral.

Meanwhile, Dubai held a stunning fireworks display at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building - the 2,717ft structure seeing pyrotechnics seemingly shoot from every storey.

And earlier this evening, Malaysia celebrated New Year's Eve with a light show by the Petronas Twin Towers in the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Auckland, New Zealand, was the first major city to celebrate the New Year before Australia, Singapore and China followed suit later today.


Thousands of people gathered at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin tonight to welcome in the New Year with a dazzling light show


Red sky at night: Crowds have gathered in Moscow's Red Square as Russia welcomes in the New Year


Fireworks lit up the sky in Dubai tonight as the Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building - formed the centrepiece of New Year's Eve celebrations



Spectacular: Fireworks light up the sky near the landmark Petronas Twin Towers during new year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


'Reddy' for the New Year: Celebrating in Malaysia by the iconic towers


Singapore: Fireworks explode over Marina Bay in front of the Marina Bay Sands casino and resort during a pyrotechnic show


Roads were due to be cordoned off in London as the capital prepared itself for its own fireworks display tonight.

Australia has welcomed 2011 with a spectacular fireworks display over Sydney Harbour. Despite losing the Ashes this week, thousands of party-loving Aussies had camped out for hours at parks alongside the Sydney Harbour Bridge to win the best view of today's spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks.

As the clock ticked closer to 2011, Europeans were looking forward to celebrations that could help them forget their economic worries.

Japan and South Korea both celebrated New Year at 3pm GMT - and India was readying itself for its celebrations in the next few hours.

In New York City, nearly a million revellers were expected to cram into the streets around Times Square to watch the traditional midnight ball drop several hours after the UK has marked the start of 2011. The 20-inch snowstorm that blanketed the city will be just a memory thanks to work crews and warmer temperatures.

At least 1.5 million people lined the harbour in Sydney, the first major city where the new year arrives after 2011 hit New Zealand. Celebrations began with aerial displays by vintage aircraft and a parade of boats around the harbour.

In Christchurch, New Zealand, two minor earthquakes on Friday did not shake plans for all-night celebrations.

'There is more reason than ever for people to get together and celebrate the beginning of a New Year,' Christchurch's acting mayor Ngaire Button said, urging residents to celebrate in the central Cathedral Square, where workers were removing loose masonry after the quakes.

A powerful 7.1-magnitude quake wrecked thousand of buildings in Christchurch on September 4, but nobody was killed.


Ready for 12: Revellers in Hong Kong, China, prepare for the New Year


This year marks the first time Vietnam's capital, Hanoi, officially celebrates the new year with a countdown blowout, complete with a light show and foreign DJs in front of the city's elegant French colonial-style opera house.

Vietnamese in the past paid little attention to the changing of the calendar, instead holding massive celebrations during Tet, the lunar new year that begins on Feb. 3. But in recent years, the Western influence has started seeping into Vietnamese culture with teens, who have no memory of war or poverty and are eager to find a new reason to party in the Communist country.

In South Korea, up to 100,000 people went to a bell-ringing ceremony in central Seoul, with officials and citizens striking the large bronze bell hung in the Bosingak bell pavilion 33 times at midnight.

Some South Koreans also go to the mountains or beaches on early Saturday to watch the first sunrise of the new year.

At midnight in Taipei, Taiwan, fireworks will form a spiralling dragon climbing up the city's tallest skyscraper. Some 50 dancers will beat drums in the freezing cold river in a dance to underscore how people should live with nature in harmony.


Happy New Year! Sydney Bridge is lit up as Australia becomes the first country to welcome 2011


In Japan, New Year's Eve is generally spent at home with family but those who venture out go to temples to pray for good luck in the new year. At Zojoji, a 600-year-old Buddhist temple in central Tokyo, thousands were expected to release balloons at midnight carrying notes with their hopes for 2011.

In Beijing, about 500 people were expected to gather at the Ancient Bell Museum for the chance to ring in the new year on the 46-ton bell. The city is also trying to start a new tradition, with an orchestra playing a 'Hymn to China' at the China Century Monument just two minutes before midnight.

While many Asian countries famed for their firework displays were planning to light up the night skies, Myanmar's military government banned all fireworks for New Year's Eve and said severe action would be taken against anyone selling or using them.


First New Year: Auckland was the first major city to celebrate the start of 2011


A local news journal, Modern, noted that last year 62 people were given six to 12-month prison terms for violating this ruling.

The government gave no reason for the ban but in the past has said that it feared 'unscrupulous persons' might take advantage of the fireworks to create disturbances.

In Europe, many people will be partying simply to forget their economic woes after a year that saw Greece and Ireland needing financial bailouts and others, such as Spain and Portugal, battling speculation that they will need similar aid.

If not at home or at private parties, Spaniards traditionally gather in their main town squares to eat 12 grapes one by one as the bell in the square marks the countdown to 2011.

In the Irish capital of Dublin, people will flock to the Christchurch cathedral to listen as the bells chime in the new year.

In London, thousands will witness a musical and firework display at the 135-meter high London Eye, located on the southern banks of the Thames River. The Eye, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, lies almost opposite the Big Ben clock tower at Parliament that will chime in 2011.

In Paris, tens of thousands are expected to pack the Champs Elysees and the area around the Eiffel Tower for dazzling light and firework displays.






source: dailymail