Government to Fly Aussies Home From S. America

Federal COVID-19 Benefits Open for Application, Payments Will Be Made Within 3-5 Days

The Canada emergency response benefit (CERB) became open for application starting at 6 a.m. ET on April 6. Applicants will receive the payments within three to five days by direct deposit, or within 10 days by mail. The government is expected to make further adjustments to encompass a broader range of applicants in the coming weeks. Announced last month as part of the COVID-19 Economic Response Plan, CERB provides a temporary relief payment of $500 per week for up to 16 weeks to people who lost their source of income due to the virus pandemic. The benefit is available to workers who did not voluntarily quit their jobs or who are already eligible for employment insurance (EI). To prevent overloading the website, applications are accepted on specific weekdays based on…

Australians in South America have been thrown a lifeline after the government organised special commercial flights to rescue travellers stranded by the (Chinese Communist Party) CCP virus,聽commonly known as the novel coronavirus.

The first flight will depart from the Peruvian city of Cusco for Chile’s capital Santiago before travelling on to Melbourne.

A second journey will start in Peru’s capital Lima and stop in Iquitos en route to Melbourne.

Demand is expected to outstrip the number of seats available after more than 400 Australians registered with the consulate to get on the next plane home.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has signalled another flight would be arranged in coming days.

“Australians in Peru will be able to book for an Australian government-facilitated commercial flight to Australia this Wednesday out of Lima, Cusco & Iquitos,” she posted a tweet on April 6.

Australia’s ambassador to Peru and Bolivia Diana Nelson said she was delighted to confirm the flights.

“Working hard to get you home,” she said in her tweet.

Sydney man Thomas Curnow is among hundreds of people hoping to get on one of the flights.

“It’s 11 p.m. now and I’m filling out details and stuff for the flight,” he told AAP from Peru.

In an email to Australians in Peru, the consulate said a seat would cost $1,539 (AUD $2550) a person.

Australian tourists in Cusco and Iquitos will be given priority, along with vulnerable travellers, the elderly and families with children.

Those not in priority groups will be placed on a waiting list.

“We … expect this flight will be oversubscribed, and encourage Australians who wish to return to Australia to book as soon as possible,” the consulate’s email reads.

Reporting by Caroline Schelle and Christine McGinn

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Man Shoots, Kills 5 People for ‘Talking Too Loud’ in Russia

A man was arrested in Russia on suspicion of shooting and killing five people for “talking too loud” amid Russia’s CCP virus lockdown, according to investigators. The suspect was arrested over the weekend after he argued with his neighbors while he stood on the balcony of his apartment, the Russian Investigative Committee told state-run TASS. The incident took place in Yelatma in western Russia, which is under a stay-at-home order. “Police officers arrived at the scene promptly. A resident of that building born in 1988 was detained by police officers near that building where five bodies were found,” the Interior Ministry’s regional department told TASS. It added that four men and one woman were found dead, the outlet reported. “The incident occurred in the settlement of Yelatma in the Ryazan…