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READ MORE Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said that a desire to balance the federal budget drove a surprise decision to bestow $444 million in Great Barrier Reef funding to a private foundation, as private emails emerge showing that department officials expressed relief they were not involved in the controversial grant. Mr Morrison’s concession was leapt on by Labor, which said it shows the former treasurer is a poor economic manager and fiddled with the national accounts at the expense of the environment. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pictured on Monday with ministers Mathias Cormann and Michaelia Cash, has admitted handing $444 million to a private reef foundation without an open tender. Photo: AAP The government has been under fire since April when it announced the grant of almost half a billion dollars to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation – a small, private charity with strong corporate links. The government’s own science agencies were not consulted on the devel...

READ MORE Denis Pagan drew on the memories of North Melbourne’s 1998 disappointment when he encouraged Adam Simpson to talk to West Coast staff about ensuring they remained on an even keel during the grand final. Dual Kangaroos premiership coach Pagan presented the Jock McHale medal to Eagles coach Simpson after West Coast’s thrilling win over Collingwood on Sunday, but it wasn’t the pair’s first interaction for the day. Denis Pagan and Adam Simpson embrace on Saturday., Photo: AAP Simpson texted his old coach on Friday night, wanting to speak to Pagan ahead of the game. Simpson called Pagan on Saturday morning, with the pair having a low-key five-minute chat. They didn’t discuss tactics, but Pagan referenced the ‘98 grand final loss to Adelaide, and what happened at half-time in the North rooms after the players went down the race leading by 24 points. “All our staff were clapping and screaming, and it probably wasn’t the right sort of en...

READ MORE The drinks list starts with a list of spritz and cocktails with five versions of negroni, including barrel-aged and an excellent dark, bitter style with rosso vermouth swapped out for Averna. There are also lists of grappa, amari, vermouth and whisky. The cocktails are well made, without flash and dazzle but with good ice and glassware. The ubiquitous espresso martini gets a guernsey, as does the unjustly neglected cousin of the Manhattan, the Brooklyn. Maraschino fans will be pleased. The one-page wine list is all Italian and tops out at $68 for a sangiovese-merlot blend from Montepulciano maker La Braccesca. It’s all easy-drinking stuff and the entire list is available by the glass on the first-come, first-served system pioneered locally in bars like Gerald’s, so what’s available changes throughout the night. Reasonable bottle prices make that path tempting. There’s good snacking, too. Carnivores must not miss the meatballs, made with pork and beef mi...

READ MORE Actor Matt Damon opened the 44th season premiere of  Saturday Night Live with a political sketch of Brett Kavanaugh during his US Supreme Court nominee hearing. Mr Damon played an irate Mr Kavanaugh shouting at the Senate committee who were asking him questions. “Let me tell you this,” he said. “I’m going to start at an 11. I’m going to take it to about a 15 real quick. First of all I showed this speech to almost no one – not my family, not my friends. … This is my speech,” Damon said during the sketch. “There are others like it, but this is mine. I wrote it myself last night while screaming into an empty bag of Doritos.” Damon’s Kavanaugh went on to talk about the “con job” orchestrated by people like the Clintons, Kathy Griffin and “Mr Ronan Sinatra.” Claiming he’s usually a “keg is half-full” kind of optimist, he said that what he has recently see...

READ MORE Canadian and US negotiators reached a deal late Sunday on reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadian media reported. CTV cited a high-level American source as saying the two sides had reached an agreement and that a joint statement was expected. Another Canadian channel, CBC, said a “senior source” confirmed that a deal had been reached on significant sections of a new NAFTA. Word of an agreement followed an emergency cabinet meeting called by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at 10:00 pm (0200 GMT) — two hours ahead of a midnight deadline for getting the text of a revised agreement to the United States Congress. US President Donald Trump triggered a review of the 1994 trade pact and talks between the US, Canada and Mexico began last August, after Trump called it “one of the worst trade deals in history.”   Article source: https://www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/it-s-harder-than-it-looks-elisabeth-murdoch-s...

READ MORE Two people have been killed in a powerful typhoon that battered Japan over the weekend, officials said Monday, as the storm’s aftermath brought travel chaos to Tokyo’s morning commute. By Monday morning, Typhoon Trami had cleared Japan, but its powerful winds and heavy rainfall caused damage that blocked roads and train lines. Local officials and police said two people had been killed in the storm. One was engulfed by a landslide in western Japan’s Tottori and the another drowned in high waters in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo. Both men were believed to have died on Sunday, when the storm made landfall in western Japan. Two more people were reported missing, and more than 120 people were injured in the powerful storm, public broadcaster NHK said. Trami made landfall in western Japan Sunday night, bringing fierce winds and torrential rain to areas already battered by a string of recent extreme weather episodes. The typhoon sparked travel disruption in the world...

READ MORE Cordner was Smith’s vice-captain at last year’s World Cup – Inglis was injured for the tournament – but would not have looked out of place skippering the 19-man squad for the two Tests. “He’s been a great ambassador for our game, that’s not to say Boyd hasn’t, but from a seniority point of view, he’s been around as a captain of the South Sydney club, he’s played 39 Test matches for Australia and will play his 40th when he leads the Kangaroos on to the field against the Kiwis on October 13,” says Meninga. “He’s one of our greatest-ever players and deserves his opportunity. “I’m really proud of his evolution from a shy young 18-year-old when I first set eyes on him and worked with him to where he is now, he’s got great belief in himself and we’ve seen his leadership skills – he’ll lead the Kangaroos with great pride and pleasure.” Four debutants will feature fo...

READ MORE Late last Friday afternoon, after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne delivered his interim findings into the financial services industry, and the nation prepared for a weekend of football finals, the federal government quietly released a story that should have been front-page news. It had held onto the information for months, seemingly waiting for the right time to “take out the trash”. The news for it, and for us, was grim. Australia’s greenhouse gas pollution levels have risen yet again . Southern Australia could experience devastating bushfire conditions this season. Photo: Not for sydication The reporting of Australia’s rising emissions has been buried on a number of occasions, with data released on Christmas Eve, on weekends, holiday periods, or during major events. It’s a cynical attempt to avoid scrutiny. For climate policy to be a winner, greenhouse gas pollution levels must be trending downwards; there are no Norm Smith or Clive Churchill medals ...

READ MORE Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated a GST fix for Western Australia is well on its way, saying he expects bipartisan support when it comes to legislating for a fairer share for the state. Speaking to Perth reporters on Monday flanked by federal Minister for Finance and WA MP Mathias Cormann, Attorney General Christian Porter and MP Michaelia Cash, Mr Morrison again backed his proposed three-step GST reform. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann during a visit to Northlink WA Central Section Site on Monday. Photo: AAP The reform could see Western Australia $4.7 billion better off over the course of eight years if signed off on in parliament. “It’s great to see the WA economy starting to bounce back, it’s great to see the optimism, and it’s great to see the spirit that is here,” he said. “It’s that … great entrepreneurial spirit, which is the reason why I’ve always believed very strong...

READ MORE Since Hasina’s election victory in 2009 scores of people, including journalists, have been jailed in Bangladesh for criticising the government on the internet. A Bangladesh court this month rejected bail for prominent social activist and photographer Shahidul Alam, who was arrested last month for spreading “propaganda and false information” during widespread student protests. The proposed law has also attracted strong criticism internationally. “The United States shares the concerns of the international community that the recently passed Digital Security Act could be used to suppress and criminalise free speech, all to the detriment of Bangladesh’s democracy, development and prosperity,” the US ambassador to Bangladesh, Marcia Bernicat, said in a statement on Sunday. “We encourage the Government of Bangladesh to consider changes to the law that would bring it into conformity with the Bangladesh constitution and with Bangladesh’s ...

READ MORE Tokyo :  An opponent of the construction of a new US Marine base on the southern Japanese island of Okinawa won election as governor Sunday, beating a candidate backed by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition. Denny Tamaki, the son of a US serviceman and a Japanese mother, claimed victory over Atsushi Sakima in the closely fought race, Kyodo news agency reported. Tamaki opposes a government plan to build a new military facility, enabling the closure of the Futenma Marine base in the centre of a densely populated city. National broadcaster NHK showed a beaming Tamaki wearing a traditional floral shirt and dancing alongside his supporters as the results came in. Japan’s legislator Denny Tamaki, centre, celebrates his victory with supporters in the election for Okinawa governor in Naha city on Sunday. Photo: AP “What the Okinawan people cannot accept is the construction of the base at Henoko,” he said, referring to the new facilit...

READ MORE Tehran :  Iranian state media say the country’s Revolutionary Guard has fired missiles into eastern Syria in response to a recent attack on a military parade in Ahvaz. State television and the state-run IRNA news agency said the attacks “killed and wounded” militants, without elaborating. The report on Monday specified the missile launches came after the Ahvaz attack, which killed at least 24 people and wounded over 60. A Revolutionary Guard member carries a wounded boy after a shooting during a military parade marking the 38th anniversary of Iraq’s 1980 invasion of Iran. Photo: AP Iran has blamed Arab separatists for the attack. The Islamic State group also released footage of several men that Iran later identified as the attackers. AP Article source: https://www.watoday.com.au/business/companies/it-s-harder-than-it-looks-elisabeth-murdoch-s-startup-reaching-the-masses-20181001-p50715.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

READ MORE A young actor with a bushy goatee, cast as a Satanist on a murder-mystery show called “Solve,” sat facing a camera on a stuffy, no-frills set in July. Six tenderfoot crew members stood sweating in the shadows nearby. One was staring at his iPhone’s stopwatch. “Now give me a take where you’re exhausted,” the director, doubling as a camera operator, told the actor. “You’ve been up all night worshipping Satan in this one. Ready? Action!” Elisabeth Murdoch with her grandmother Dame Elisabeth and brother Lachlan in 2012. Photo: Pat Scala It was no good. “Too long,” the iPhone guy said glumly. “That was 22 seconds.” Orders were given to redo the scene — preferably in an 18-second take. Perhaps try a “jittery” Satanist. This is the down-and-dirty future of television as practiced by Vertical Networks, a startup founded by Elisabeth Murdoch, the media entrepreneur whose father is Rupert Mur...

READ MORE A man has reportedly been crushed between two trucks on a property in Logan Reserve, south of Brisbane, on Monday afternoon. The man, in his 60s, suffered chest injuries and neck pain after being crushed between the two trucks and was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a serious but stable condition before 1pm. The man was taken to hospital before 1pm with serious chest injuries. Photo: Jorge Branco A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said paramedics were called to the Bayes Road property just after midday to reports of an incident. QAS could not immediately confirm if the property was a private residence or a workplace. The incident followed another machinery accident in the Gold Coast hinterland earlier on Monday morning. Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sbsnews-topstories/~3/oetxxBnX7mM/first-hijab-wearing-barbie-honour-us-fencer-ibtihaj-muhammad Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new win...

READ MORE Weaker house prices in Sydney and Melbourne have continued to drag down the national market, with a 0.5 per cent drop in September marking 12 months of consistently falling prices. Property consultant CoreLogic’s national hedonic home value index showed a broadening of the housing market correction, with national values down 2.7 per cent since peaking 12 months ago, and regional markets also slowing down. House values were lower in five of the eight capital cities last month. Photo: Louie Douvis House values were lower in five of the eight capital cities last month, but analysts said it was weakening conditions in Melbourne and Sydney, down 0.9 and 0.6 per cent respectively for the month, that continue to weigh heaviest. “While the housing market downturn is well entrenched across Darwin and Perth where dwelling values remain 22.1 per cent and 13.2 per cent lower relative to their 2014 peak … Sydney and Melbourne are now the primary drag on the national housi...

READ MORE A royal commission has received 10,140 submissions from the public about misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industries.  Public submissions about their past experiences with banks and other financial services providers have closed, although the inquiry is still accepting responses to the policy issues outlined in Friday’s interim report. The banking industry dominated the public submissions, accounting for 61 per cent of the documents, updated figures released on Monday show. Royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s interim report blamed greed and the pursuit of profit for the widespread misconduct in the financial services sector. Mr Hayne said the culture and conduct of the banks was driven by and reflected in their remuneration practices that emphasised sales and profit. “Changing culture in Australian banks may not be easy and may take time,” he warned. “It cannot be assumed that entities will embrace change willi...

READ MORE Indonesian authorities are expecting the death toll to climb into the thousands as a result of an earthquake that struck Sulawesi island in Indonesia on Friday.  The 7.5 magnitude quake also triggered a tsunami that ripped apart the coastline of the city of Palu.  The death toll currently stands at more than 800 people, as emergency services continue to search for survivors. Rescuers are struggling to access some remote communities and are working with limited equipment. Details of how to donate to Australian NGOs and non-profit organisations who plan to send emergency response teams to Indonesia are below.  CARE Australia CARE Australia is dedicated to ending poverty and achieving social justice. The charity focuses on women and girls, fighting for equal rights and opportunities. Donate  online . CARITAS The Catholic Agency for Aid and Development, Caritas began in Australia in 1964. Australian supporters who would like to help Caritas Australia res...

READ MORE The Indonesian government on Monday called for international help to deal with the aftermath of a devastating series of earthquakes and a tsunami in the island region of Sulawesi that killed at least 832 people. President Joko Widodo “authorised us to accept international help for urgent disaster-response,” the government’s head of investment Tom Lembong said, as dozens of aid agencies and NGOs lined up to provide life-saving assistance and the government struggled to come to terms with the sheer scale of the disaster. The death toll from the quake and tsunami disaster nearly doubled on Sunday and was expected to rise further, prompting authorities to announce mass burials in a desperate attempt to stave off disease. As shattered survivors scoured make-shift morgues for loved ones, and authorities struggled to dig out the living or assess the scale of the devastation beyond the city of Palu, grim warnings came that the eventual toll could reach thousands...

READ MORE Triumphant European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn said his 12 players had made his job an “easy one” during a weekend in which they comprehensively outplayed the United States in France. While Francesco Molinari and rookie Tommy Fleetwood were Bjorn’s top dogs, winning four points as a pair, every member of the side contributed to the tally as Europe regained the trophy they lost at Hazeltine in 2016 with a 17.5-10.5 win on Sunday. Dominance: Members of the victorious European side. Photo: AP His four picks – Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey – earned a total of 9.5 points. As the celebrations began in earnest, however, Bjorn said the key to victory had been about the collective rather than any individuals – especially against an American side laden with current and former world number ones and multiple major winners. “I felt all along that this was a good group of guys,” Bjorn, who in 1997 became the fir...

READ MORE More than 3500 exhibits make up the evidence facing Australia’s former Aboriginal leader Geoff Clark and his three family members over a string of historical alleged fraud offences. Mr Clark, 66, from Framlingham, his wife Trudy Clark, 62, and their sons Jeremy Clark, 45, and Aaron Clark, 37, appeared in Warrnambool Magistrates Court for a filing hearing on Monday. Geoff, Trudy and Jeremy Clark are facing more than 25 police charges relating to spending close to $500,000 on legal fees. According to charge sheets, the Clark’s claimed that the payment of legal fees was authorised by the Committee of Management of Kirrae Whurrong Community Inc. and the Committee of Management of the Framlingham Aboriginal Trust. Geoff Clark. Photo: Angela Milne The alleged conduct dates from 2000 until 2015. Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sbsnews-topstories/~3/oetxxBnX7mM/first-hijab-wearing-barbie-honour-us-fencer-ibtihaj-muhammad Share this: Click to share on Twitter...

READ MORE In 2018 a mixture of form, injury and personal tragedy restricted him to 11 games. He did not feature in the back end of the season, including the club’s elimination final loss to GWS. Geelong have shown interest in him in the past and he will likely join the club along with Luke Dahlhaus from the Western Bulldogs, who is also a former Falcons TAC Cup player. Gieschen also manages Swan Dan Hannebery, who is likely to be traded to a Victorian club, with St Kilda leading that race. Hannebery and Rohan are still contracted to the Swans. Gieschen also gave an update on GWS’ Rory Lobb and Melbourne’s Dom Tyson. “Dom has predominantly played his best footy as an inside mid [but due to others’ form] he has been pushed out to the wing,” Gieschen said. Article source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sbsnews-topstories/~3/oetxxBnX7mM/first-hijab-wearing-barbie-honour-us-fencer-ibtihaj-muhammad Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new wi...

READ MORE Sao Paulo:  Thousands of people have flocked to one of the main avenues in Brazil’s biggest city in support of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right presidential front-runner in next week’s election. Supporters of Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, rally along Paulista Avenue in Sao Paulo on Sunday. Photo: AP Waving Brazilian flags, the crowd in Sao Paulo cheered loudly as leaders of his Social Liberal Party promised them victory in the October vote. It came a day after thousands crowded the streets in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to protest against Bolsonaro’s candidacy. He was released from hospital on Sunday, after being stabbed at a campaign rally last month. People protest against leading presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro, at Cinelandia Square in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday. Photo: AP Bolsonaro has long been known for offensive comments about gays, women and black people, and he hasn’t tempered his rhetoric during the campaign. He has...