Live breaking news: Trans-Tasman bubble between Australia and New Zealand to be announced today; Shocking fight at NRL Tigers vs Eels match; New Covid-19 strain three times more deadly - NEWS.com.au

Quarantine-free travel is expected to start on either April 12 or 19, federal government and industry sources told The Australian.

New Zealand’s Cabinet is meeting today to confirm a start date for the two-way travel bubble, with Ms Ardern expected to make the announcement this afternoon.

Follow our live blog below for updates. You can find yesterday’s blog here.

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is expected to give the green light to the trans-Tasman bubble today – and Aussies could be holidaying in the country by the start of next week.

Quarantine-free travel is expected to start on either April 12 or 19, federal government and industry sources told The Australian.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry tourism chief John Hart told the publication the “19th was pretty much definite”, adding that is the date most airlines have been given.

New Zealand's Cabinet is meeting today to confirm a start date for the two-way travel bubble, with Ms Ardern expected to make the announcement this afternoon.

People can already travel from New Zealand to Australia without having to undergo mandatory quarantine, but the trans-Tasman bubble will allow people from both countries to be exempt from quarantine restrictions.

Last month Ms Ardern outlined a number of concerns she said needed to be resolved before the bubble opens, including the response to potential outbreaks, how contact tracing between the two countries will work and being provided with an up-to-date risk assessment from New Zealand’s director-general of health.

Police are searching for two men after several people were seriously injured in a road rage rampage in Sydney's southwest overnight.

Emergency services were called to Henry Lawson Drive, Georges Hall, at about 10.45pm yesterday following reports of a serious assault and motor vehicle collision.

Police were told a silver Honda civic containing two men, both aged in their 20s, were travelling along Henry Lawson Drive when they have become involved in a confrontation with two males from a ute.

The ute allegedly forced the Honda off the road and into bushland, causing the car to roll onto its roof.

The driver and passenger exited the car and were allegedly assaulted the two men from the ute, with one of the men getting stabbed in the left leg.

The men from the ute then got back in their car and drove away at "high speed" before allegedly colliding with a motorcycle and a silver Toyota Camry. The ute did not stop, police claim.

The men from the Honda were treated at the scene, with the one who had been stabbed taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The 24-year-old motorcycle driver was taken to hospital in a critical condition and the driver of the Camry was also taken to hospital with chest injuries.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, with police appealing to the public for assistance in identifying the two men from the ute.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage of the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Angry rugby league fans have been filmed throwing punches at each other in a wild fight in the stands during Parramatta’s win over the Wests Tigers on Easter Monday.

Footage of the shocking incident was posted online on Monday evening, showing two Eels fans and a Tigers supporter involved in a violent altercation.

One man, wearing a Parramatta jersey, approaches another man, who is sitting in his seat and also wearing blue and gold. The person standing up then punches the other male in the head with his left hand.

That prompts the man who was hit to stand up and grab the other spectator by the throat, before both throw punches.

A supporter in a Wests Tigers jersey enters the picture, and takes a swing at the man who threw the first punch seen in the video clip.

A security guard then intervenes to break up the fight and separate the men.

The new coronavirus variant sweeping through Brazil, and spreading to other nations around the world, is proving to be up to three times more deadly for young people, according to research.

It is also spreading more quickly among younger people with cases among Brazilians in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are up by 565 per cent, 626 per cent and 525 per cent respectively since the beginning of January, according to Brazilian public health institute Fiocruz.

In comparison, during the same periods the increase in the overall population was much lower at 316 per cent, suggesting the virus infections are making “a shift to younger age groups”.

There is also growing evidence shows that young people are not only more likely to get infected with the new strain – dubbed P. 1 – but also to die from it.

The Brazilian Association of Intensive Care Medicine said that the number of 18 to 45-year-olds requiring intensive care for COVID-19 in February to March this year was three times greater than in September to November 2020, and coronavirus-related deaths in that age group have almost doubled.

– Ben Graham