FELINE PRETTY GOOD ABOUT SHOW DAY
Biden says COVID-19 fight will be won by July 4
THE lead-up to the nation’s big cat show is no time for kitt-en around as Simba the ragdoll scrubs up.
The five-year-old show cat is set to put his best paw forward as he competes at Sydney’s Royal Cat Show, one of the most prestigious feline contests in the country.
The competing cats are assessed on their breed, standard, coat and temperament for the Best In Show gong.
Rebekah Darmody from
As Simba enters his fourth year of competition he is fur-milar with pre-show bath time.
“He is a chillaxed cat, he’s very affectionate, like a loyal indoor dog. He’s just so chilled in water, sitting in there, not moving,” Ms Darmody said.
Ragdolls are known for their blue eyes, placid temperament and affectionate nature and were developed by American breeder Ann Baker in the 1960s.
The Royal Cat Show takes place next month.
WASHINGTON: The US should be able to celebrate its independence from COVID-19 by Independence Day on July 4, President Joe Biden said in his first prime time address to the nation.
Mr Biden said he wanted every American eligible for COVID vaccination by May, and small group celebrations would be possible on July 4 under new federal guidelines.
He announced the bold and hastened timeline for a return to normal life from the East Room in the White House at 8pm on Thursday night (midday Friday AEDT).
Mr Biden also pledged to double the number of pharmacies giving vaccines, double the number of mass-vaccination centres, and expand the types of professions who could administer the shots. Dentists, doctors, vets and medical students are among those tasked with injections.
The President announced last week that there would be sufficient vaccine supply for every American to be inoculated by the end of May.
His speech came exactly a year after the WHO first described the coronavirus as a pandemic – and also on the anniversary of a speech by his predecessor Donald Trump, in which Mr Trump declared COVID would “go away”.
Mr Biden spoke of a “collective suffering … one year since everything stopped because of this pandemic”.
“I know it’s been hard, I truly know,” he said.
The US has suffered among the world’s worst coronavirus tolls with a continuing daily death count of about 1500. However, an improved rollout over recent weeks has allowed 18.4 per cent of the country to be vaccinated.
Mr Biden paid tribute to those who had died not just from COVID, but also deaths from other diseases, and he noted the loss of in-school education and family time. He said 527,726 Americans had died from COVID since the pandemic started.
“This virus has kept us apart. Grandparents haven’t seen their grandchildren or children, parents haven’t seen their kids, and kids haven’t seen their friends,” he said.
“The things that we used to do that always filled us with joy have become the things we couldn’t do. It broke our hearts.”