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READ MORE Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex is soliciting donations for Labor ahead of a byelection in his father’s former seat of Wentworth, telling followers it is the “best bang for the buck you’ll get in political donations in your life”. Alex Turnbull, a Singapore-based fund manager, promised to “say what I think a bit more” following his father’s ousting as Prime Minister in last week’s Liberal Party coup, in which he was replaced by former treasurer Scott Morrison. In a wide-ranging interview with Fairfax Media this week , he said it was “impossible” to vote for the Coalition “in good conscience” because of its climate change stance, and accused the Liberal Party of being hijacked by the coal industry. Alex Turnbull (left) with wife Yvonne, daughter Isla and parents Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull. Photo: Twitter On Saturday, he plugged his friend Tim Murray, the Labor candidate for his father’s former seat o...

READ MORE Stuart said they’d managed to fix errors over the final three rounds, but he was still left disappointed by the season as a whole. Given the struggles of some of the teams in the top eight, like a sliding St George Illawarra, there’d been suggestions it would be better having an in-form team like the Raiders in the finals instead. Stuart dismissed that and said they weren’t a top-eight team, but he’s determined to turn that around next year. “It’s the best part of the season and that’s what we all play for. We’ve played 25 rounds of the season and we’re disappointed that we’re not going to be in that final eight,” he said. “People talk about the fact it’d be great to have [the Raiders] there, you’re a team that can beat teams in the top eight. Well, we’re not. We’ve got to be realistic, we’re not in the top eight. Article source: https://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/theatr...

READ MORE Jack Viney and Max Gawn get close and personal. Photo: AAP Jack Viney has taken another big stride forward in his bid to return from injury to Melbourne’s team for the club’s first final since 2006. Co-captain Viney, who has not played since round 16 because of a toe injury on his right foot, took part in full competitive training on Saturday and looks certain to be picked for Friday night’s elimination final against Geelong. The 2016 club champion ran at full speed and kicked with both feet, taking part in match practice before running laps to complete the session. “I think he has (done enough to play),” teammate Jake Melksham told reporters after training. “He trained with us for the first time today since coming out of rehab, so he’ll train with the group again all of next week and prepare for the weekend. It’s pretty big. We know what Jack is going to bring every week. There’s no doubt that every time he comes into the ...

READ MORE Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy quit university in Adelaide in 2015 and moved to Canada to try and make it as a professional video game player. Kennedy had dreamt of doing so since he began watching competitive, professional video gaming — known as esports — from the age of 16. Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy at the Melbourne Esports Open at Melbourne Park. He says he has started getting noticed more in the street as esports popularity grows. Photo: Luis Enriquw Ascui “I was doing a civil construction and engineering degree,” Kennedy, 24, said on Saturday from the Melbourne Esports Open (MEO) at Rod Laver Arena, where he was checking out the Australian competition. “I had a friend in Vancouver and I crashed in his living room, put down a mattress on the floor, set up a desk and started practising,” he said. More than three years later, after climbing the ranks from amateur to professional, Kennedy is the only Australian playing...

READ MORE A rusting cargo ship empty of crew and goods and bearing the Indonesian flag was found drifting off the coast of Myanmar earlier this week, police in Yangon said. Fisherman came across the vessel, bearing the name “Sam Rataulangi PB 1600”, floating in the Gulf of Martaban about 11 kilometres from the shore of Myanmar’s commercial capital.   State-run media reported that the ship was being towed to neighbouring Bangladesh. Authorities and navy personnel boarded the vessel early Thursday to investigate the situation, said a Yangon police statement posted on Facebook late Thursday. The ship was “stranded on the beach (and it was) bearing an Indonesian flag,” the statement said. “There was no sailors or goods on the vessel.” According to the Marine Traffic website, which lists the movements of ships around the globe, the vessel was built in 2001 and had a deadweight of 26,500 tonnes. The ship’s transponder last reported its loca...

READ MORE Matilda Hagerman laughs with her friends as she queues at a man-free music festival, which has kicked off in Sweden in protest against a wave of sexual assaults at festivals in recent years. “This festival was necessary because of everything that happened during festivals last year,” says the 27-year-old student with long pink hair and purple lipstick as her friends nod in agreement. Held in Sweden’s second-largest city of Gothenburg, the two-day Statement Festival, forbids men but not transgender people. It was announced last year after police received four rape and 23 sexual assault reports at Sweden’s largest Bravalla Festival, which was cancelled this year as a result. “What do you think about us creating an awesome festival where only non-men are welcome until ALL men learn how to behave?” Swedish comedian Emma Knyckare, who founded the Statement Festival, tweeted at the time. Located inside an industrial building in Gothenburg’s...

READ MORE The bishop who officiated Aretha Franklin’s funeral has apologised to singer Ariana Grande for how he touched her onstage and a joke he made about her name. Bishop Charles H. Ellis III led Franklin’s funeral and awkwardly greeted Grande on stage after she performed “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Images of the moment showed Ellis’ hand holding Grande well above her waist, with his fingers pressing against one side of her chest. The preacher apologised in an interview with The Associated Press at the cemetery where Franklin was interred late on Friday. “It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast. … I don’t know I guess I put my arm around her,” Ellis said. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologise.” He said he hugged all the performers during Friday’s eight-hour service. “I hug all the female artists and the male artists,...

READ MORE As attention turns to the start of the domestic one-day series this month, the national selectors will begin plotting how best to revive an Australian ODI team that has dipped to No.6 in the world rankings. At the top of their list is finding a captain. Tim Paine had the role during the mid-year series in England but his modest form with the bat, the idea that an emerging Alex Carey is best suited as a hard-hitting lower-order gloveman, not to mention the tourists were winless in the five-match series, has meant he is set to be relieved of that role. It should also be remembered that Paine had only been ratified as skipper for that England series. He will retain the Test captaincy, helping to usher in a new culture under coach Justin Langer. That leaves all-rounder Mitch Marsh and opening batsman Aaron Finch as the frontline options to lead the ODI side, while former Australian captain George Bailey has support among state players but is considered an unlikely successor. Capt...

READ MORE He couldn’t confirm reports police had been told the man was armed with a gun, but confirmed he was armed with a knife at the time of the shooting. “We believe he was armed with a knife, or a number of knives,” he said. One nearby resident told the Rockhampton Morning Bulletin  he heard a man inside his near neighbour’s house making threats, after the woman knocked on his door for help. “Don’t go there. He’ll kill you,” he heard the woman yell as her teenage son went to go inside. The officers are understood to have been wearing body cameras during the incident. Article source: https://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/theatre/obscene-madame-d-review-sudden-shafts-of-beauty-penetrate-dense-alphabet-soup-20180524-h10h1u.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Best Word...

READ MORE Canberra FC junior Marc Tokich will begin a week-long Young Socceroos camp on Saturday as they prepare for the under-19 Asian Football Confederation Cup next month. Tokich has made two appearances for the Young Socceroos and will likely add to his tally when Australia face South Korea in their opener in Indonesia on October 19. Canberra FC junior Marc Tokich could face Usain Bolt this week. Photo: Submitted. The 19-year-old came through the AIS Centre of Excellence before signing with the Western Sydney Wanderers and making his A-League debut last season. The camp will be held on the Central Coast and includes practice matches against A-League teams, which means Tokich could come up against Usain Bolt. The Central Coast Mariners star import made his debut in a trial on Friday night and the eight-time Olympic champion drew almost 10,000 fans. Bolt was enthusiastic but the general consensus is he’ll need plenty of improvement to earn an A-League cap when the seas...

READ MORE Montreal:  American farmers have been frothing against Canada’s strict management of its dairy industry for years – so it was not entirely surprising that when hopes of reworking a NAFTA deal evaporated this week, they did so over milk products. Under the dairy supply management system, Canada sets quotas for production and regulates prices. Protecting that system has always taken outsize importance in Canadian trade negotiations, but a few new circumstances brought tensions to a boil this time around. Second-generation dairy farmer David Janssens feeds his dairy cows in Surrey, British Columbia. Photo: Canadian Press/AP First, most of Canada’s dairy farms are in Quebec, a politically crucial province that traditionally makes and breaks the country’s federal elections. They also happen to be concentrated in a few swing electoral districts, or ridings, said Avery Shenfeld, a senior economist at Canadian bank CIBC. “Even though this does affect...

READ MORE Sao Paulo : Brazil’s jailed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the front-runner in the country’s election, will be struck from the ballot, an electoral court has ruled, reshaping Brazil’s election one month before voters cast their ballots. The much-anticipated decision brings some clarity to a chaotic campaign season in which the man who had been favoured to win Latin America’s largest election was sitting behind bars. Former Brazilian president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, centre, leaves the metal workers union headquarters before his arrest. Photo: AP Lula, who ruled Brazil between 2003 and 2011, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for money laundering and corruption in April. Yet, running a campaign largely from his jail cell, he has been able to capture nearly 40 per cent of prospective votes for October’s presidential elections, according to the latest polls. The decision, while long expected, leaves tens of millions of voters without...

READ MORE “It would never be my intention to touch any woman’s breast. … I don’t know I guess I put my arm around her,” Ellis said. “Maybe I crossed the border, maybe I was too friendly or familiar but again, I apologise.” He said he hugged all the performers during Friday’s eight-hour service. A person holds a program during the funeral service for Aretha Franklin. Photo: AP “I hug all the female artists and the male artists,” Ellis said. “Everybody that was up, I shook their hands and hugged them. That’s what we are all about in the church. We are all about love.” He added: “The last thing I want to do is to be a distraction to this day. This is all about Aretha Franklin.” Article source: https://www.watoday.com.au/entertainment/theatre/obscene-madame-d-review-sudden-shafts-of-beauty-penetrate-dense-alphabet-soup-20180524-h10h1u.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed Share this: Click to sha...

READ MORE The state government will spend $30 million to form a ‘Team Perth’ with the goal of attracting new airline routes into Perth and grow its reputation as Australia’s western gateway. The partnership between Tourism Western Australia and Perth Airport regularly meets with airlines, shares information and seeks opportunities to grow aviation access to WA. ‘Team Perth’ is trying to secure more direct flights to city like the Perth to London flight that started earlier this year. Photo: Supplied. The team is investigating increased capacity from China and new direct routes from Japan, India and Europe. Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said the combined funding contributions of $30 million would be used for destination marketing agreements with individual airlines to help drive demand for the new routes. “Increasing the number of direct air routes into WA is critical if we are to grow the number of visitors coming to WA and help drive our to...

READ MORE Milking it: Nick Kyrgios is known for his temper tantrums. Photo: John Shakespeare And while Roger Federer was right to say – when consulted on the issue – that “conversations can change your mindset”, it is also true that anything can change a player’s mindset. A shout from the crowd, a code-violation warning, a seagull feather floating down and interrupting a second serve. Tennis is a game of tiny margins and matches often turn on a single incident. While sport might aspire to a Platonic ideal of fairness, it never achieves it. Every top rugby referee spends his afternoons telling players not to transgress. To keep the game moving, these officials are constantly intervening to save players from themselves – rather as Lahyani did on Thursday. From the fans’ perspective, you could argue that he was doing the US Open a favour. Who would want to have missed out on tonight’s marquee showdown between Federer and Kyrgios – a mat...

READ MORE “We absolutely support a trial. As to whether or not this increases safety generally on the roads, you’ve got quite a few phenomenon here [to consider],” he said. “There’s no magic in 40km/h. [For the same road rule] it’s 25km/h in South Australia, for example.” The South Australian law was introduced in 2014, and Victoria introduced a 40km/h limit in July last year, although that state’s motorists only face on-the-spot fines of $277 if they break it, and don’t lose demerit points. The decision to implement the rule in NSW was based on input and advice from a working group involving Transport for NSW, Road and Maritime Services, NSW Police, NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire Rescue NSW, NSW State Emergency Service, Ambulance Service of NSW, the Volunteer Rescue Association, the NRMA and industry representatives. It also requires that motorists give way to any person on foot in the vicinity of a parked emergency vehicle flash...

READ MORE As of Saturday, September 1 NSW motorists will be required to slow down to 40km/h near emergency vehicles. The 40km/h slow down rule currently applies to school zones, many work zones and high pedestrian activity areas. Transport for NSW said from Saturday, the slow down rule will be extended to motorists passing a parked emergency services vehicle with blue or red flashing lights on all roads. The rule is being trialled for 12 months to ensure “emergency workers can do their work without worrying about being struck by a passing vehicle”. Those drivers found violating the rule will be lose three demerit points and receive a $448 fine. There is also a maximum court penalty of $2200. “This is comparable with the current penalty when it is determined that a motorist has driven negligently in the presence of obstructions or hazards, including stopped emergency vehicles and personnel,” Transport for NSW said in a statement. ‘Responsibility of all driv...

READ MORE In his first overseas trip as Prime Minister, Scott Morrison has committed to finalising a free trade this November. The deal , which has been negotiated over eight years, covers five pillars including co-operation on economic affairs, education, counter-terrorism and maritime issues.  A major feature of the deal is a reduction in tariffs with all Indonesian goods exports to enter Australia duty free. Ninety-nine per cent of Australian goods exports will enter Indonesia with no tariffs or under an improved preferential arrangement.  A joint statement released by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the deal recognised the greater role being played by Indonesia “on the global stage, particularly in the areas of economy and security”.  The pair said Australian farmers and Australia’s vocational training providers are expected to benefit. “A renewed economic partnership with Indonesia is particularly a majo...

READ MORE A buoyant Bill Shorten saved his biggest opening zinger for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton during a speech in Queensland on Saturday. The Labor leader said much had changed since his last speech to the Queensland Labor annual state conference: Malcolm Turnbull had left the building, Julie Bishop was on the backbench, and Mr Dutton is in “all sorts of trouble.” “I mean seriously, what is the go with the au pairs?” he quipped. “Who would have thought such an arch-conservative, inspiration to the Institute of Public Affairs, was secretly working towards a nanny state?” Mr Dutton’s intervention to save two au pairs from being deported has been savaged as “unprecedented” and “an appalling breach of standards” , according to migration agent Julie Williams. Later the same year, he granted a visa to Italian au pair Michela Marchisio who was facing deportation for reportedly planning to work for a fo...

READ MORE Indigenous Health Minister not convinced on Tony Abbott as special envoy Indigenous Health Minister Ken Wyatt hit the airwaves with a lukewarm response to the PM’s new job as indigenous affairs “special envoy” for Tony Abbott. “Look, Tony has been offered something by the Prime Minister, whether I agree or disagree doesn’t matter,” he said. “If Tony accepts that, then he’s going to have to work with Aboriginal people, listen to them, accept their perspectives and then bring that back. “What I liked about Malcolm [Turnbull] was that he kept reminding all of us that we have to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to find the solutions, not do things to them. Article source: http://smh.com.au/nsw/woman-25-found-dead-in-alley-near-chatswood-train-station-20171008-gywrz5.html

READ MORE Riding her booming serve, Barty dictated from the get-go, breaking the world No.202 in the second game and charging to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. She had another break-point chance to go up 5-1 and all but seal the set. But after missing the moment, Barty was broken out of nowhere to allow the Czech briefly back on serve at 3-4. The revival didn’t last long, with Barty claiming a second break, then the first set in 33 minutes on court five after the match initially scheduled for The Grandstand was moved to avoid a potential midnight start at Flushing Meadows. There was little respite in the second set as Barty raced to a 4-0 lead before finally clinching victory on her fourth match point after one hour and 25 minutes. Article source: http://smh.com.au/nsw/woman-25-found-dead-in-alley-near-chatswood-train-station-20171008-gywrz5.html

READ MORE Grade: C- Record: 8-14 The Dogs will enter 2019 with a vastly different list to the one Luke Beveridge started with in 2015. Photo: AAP What went right?  The Dogs became one of the youngest sides in the competition, and there were positives with many of the kids. Ed Richards looks a serious player off half-back, Billy Gowers was regularly a forward threat and ended up topping the goalkicking, Patrick Lipinski emerged as a likely type, and Aaron Naughton performed solidly in an often-undermanned and inexperienced defence. Meanwhile, Toby McLean continued to establish himself and Josh Schache showed glimpses to suggest he could still live up to the expectations of being a No. 2 draft pick. What went wrong?  This was the year it became clear 2017 wasn’t just a premiership hangover. Having already lost a handful of 2016 premiership players through retirement and trading, the Dogs were unable to get several more on the park for much of the season. Liam Picken didn...

READ MORE “What we’re seeing right now is a capricious move that has a very high risk of unsettling the region,” Harden said, noting that the relief agency supported about 5 million refugees. Girls sit inside a classroom at an UNRWA school during the first day of a new school year in Gaza City this week. Photo: AP Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, said the cuts could destabilise refugee camps not only in the West Bank and Gaza, but also in Jordan and Lebanon. “If you deprive people of their education, their health — their future — this is extremely serious and dangerous,” she said. “Who is going to step in? If you want to hand them over to the religious schools, to Hamas, then you have to live with the consequences.” UN Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA, currently provides aid mostly in the form of education, healthcare, food security and other essentials, to some 800,0...