Monday, December 22

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Racy photos of Bashar Assad discovered after his fall spark ridicule – National
Politics

Racy photos of Bashar Assad discovered after his fall spark ridicule – National

Bizarre and personal photos of ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad have surfaced from his abandoned residences, sparking ridicule among Syrians who only until recently were persecuted for criticizing his leadership. The images, reportedly discovered in photo albums from Assad’s mansions in the hills of Damascus and Aleppo, painted an unflattering portrait of Bashar and his father, Hafez Assad, who had ruled Syria with an iron grip for decades. They stripped away the carefully constructed image that the Assad family had cultivated for decades.One photo featured Hafez Assad in his underwear, striking a bodybuilder-like pose. Other images showed Bashar Assad in a Speedo flexing his biceps; astride a yellow motorcycle in his briefs; perched on a handcycle, also in his briefs; and staring blan...
NSW Premier Chris Minns condemns Islamophobic graffiti in western Sydney
World News

NSW Premier Chris Minns condemns Islamophobic graffiti in western Sydney

By Ethan Rix, ABC Australian police are investigating what they described as "offensive graffiti" that appeared on each side of a railway underpass on Hector Street, in the western Sydney suburb of Sefton. Photo: ABC News - Thorsten Joses The premier of New South Wales has condemned Islamophobic graffiti seen in western Sydney. Australian police are investigating what they have described as "offensive graffiti" - found under a bridge in the suburb of Sefton, after they received reports on Sunday morning. Images published by The Guardian show the words "F**K ISLAM", tagged on each side of a railway underpass on Hector Street. In another image, the words "CANCEL ISLAM" can be seen partially covered with white paint on an advertising sign. In a statement provided to the ABC, Premier Chr...
Andrew in the spotlight: inside the Prince’s long history of dubious relationships
Life Style

Andrew in the spotlight: inside the Prince’s long history of dubious relationships

Prince Andrew is back in the spotlight once more this week after news has emerged of his alleged friendship with a Chinese spy, codenamed H6.Though his name hasn’t been reported, the businessman was banned from Britain twice by the government, but apparently managed to grow close to Andrew - to the extent that he visited Buckingham Palace and was also invited by the Prince to St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle.Though Andrew says he “ceased all contact” when concerns were first raised - and that “nothing of a sensitive nature [was] ever discussed” - it’s not the first time that he’s found himself in hot water about whom he chooses to spend time with.From dictators to the infamous Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew’s list of former acquaintances is long and many of them date back to the time he was m...
New Plymouth man Blair Campbell’s UK electrocution was preventable, according to inquest
World News

New Plymouth man Blair Campbell’s UK electrocution was preventable, according to inquest

By Ben Leahy of Blair Campbell's wife Tina Liu Campbell said at the time of his death that he was "the best husband and daddy we could've ever asked for". Photo: Supplied / NZME Taranaki couple Debbie and Carlyle "Buzz" Campbell's phone rang in the middle of the night in October 2022. It was their son Blair's wife Tina calling from the UK - but she could barely talk because Blair had died. "It was unbelievable" to get the call all parents dread Buzz said. "It felt like your heart was being ripped out." His 35-year-old landscaper son had been electrocuted while pruning a garden hedge, just south of Manchester in the UK. He had sliced into a wire running from an electrical substation. Airlifted to hospital, he died shortly after, leaving behind a young daughter and so...
France has a new prime minister but Macron has the same old problems
World News

France has a new prime minister but Macron has the same old problems

By Michel Rose, Reuters New French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou speaks to media in Paris on 14 December, 2024. Photo: AFP/ Stephane de Sakutin Francois Bayrou, 73, named prime minister of France, to replace Michel Barnier A veteran centrist, he is a consensus seeker Analysts expect little progress on reducing deficit Analysis - When veteran centrist Francois Bayrou, France's new prime minister, was education minister in the 1990s, his plan to increase subsidies for private schools led to nationwide protests. He quickly caved in and would stay in the post for four more years. Three decades later he will face a different force in the shape of a fractured and fractious parliament where one of his earliest tasks - as President Emmanuel Macron's fourth prime minister of the year - ...
Australians critical in hospital in Fiji after suspected alcohol poisoning
World News

Australians critical in hospital in Fiji after suspected alcohol poisoning

By Fiji reporter Lice Movono, ABC Two of the seven who fell ill have been transferred from Sigatoka Hospital, to Lautoka Hospital (shown), due to the seriousness of their conditions. (File photo). Photo: Supplied/Fiji MOH Local health officials say guests staying at Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast fell ill after consuming a cocktail prepared at the resort on Saturday night. It is understood four of the seven affected tourists are Australian. What's next?: Fijian police and health inspectors are investigating the incident. A number of Australian tourists are in critical condition in hospital in Fiji after what authorities say is a suspected case of alcohol poisoning. Local health officials say seven guests staying at the Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast fell ill after consu...
New study warns that consuming ultra-processed foods may make you age faster
Health

New study warns that consuming ultra-processed foods may make you age faster

Love to binge on ultra-processed food (UPFs) like chips, biscuits, sausages, burgers, soft drinks, and instant noodles? Beware, these can make you age faster biologically, warned a study.  A person`s biological age is a relatively new way of measuring a person`s health. It refers to how old a person seems based on various molecular biomarkers. A person with a healthy lifestyle may have a biological age younger than their chronological age, while poor lifestyle choices, such as a diet high in UPFs, can accelerate biological ageing, said researchers from Monash University in Australia The study, published in the journal Age and Aging, involved 16,055 participants from the US aged 20-79 and showed that for every 10 per cent increase in UPF consumption, the gap between biological and chrono...
Bandish Bandits actor Divya Dutta: ‘There is so much to do for 40-plus women’
Entertainment, Movies

Bandish Bandits actor Divya Dutta: ‘There is so much to do for 40-plus women’

Landing the second season of Bandish Bandits was a “surreal experience” for Divya Dutta. The actor, who plays a music teacher in the Prime Video series, says director Anand Tiwari offered her the role in the middle of a casual conversation. “Anand and I were just chatting, and this role came up. I’ve been an ardent admirer of season one. When something is resonating with you, you don’t want to ask too many questions. You just flow with it,” she smiles. In the musical drama led by Ritwik Bhowmik and Shreya Chaudhry, most of Dutta’s scenes are with younger co-stars, including Yashaswini Dayama and Rohan Gurbaxani. Tell her that the actors have praised her nurturing approach, and she replies, “I still remember who was nice to me on the sets [in my early days].” One of them, she reveals, was ...
Remaining Bali Nine members return to Australia after 19 years in Indonesian prison
World News

Remaining Bali Nine members return to Australia after 19 years in Indonesian prison

By Jake Evans for the ABC A collage of pictures from 2006 showing the Australian 'Bali Nine' (from top, L to R): Myuran Sukumaran, Scott Rush, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, Renae Lawrence. (Lower row, L to R): Si Yi Chen, Matthew Norman, Michael Czugaj, Martin Stephen and Andrew Chan, on Bali island during their trials. Photo: AFP/ Jewel Samad The remaining five members of the Bali Nine have returned to Australia after spending two decades in an Indonesian prison for their roles in a botched drug smuggling operation. Australians Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj were serving life sentences in Indonesia for their roles in the 2005 smuggling plot. The two ringleaders of the plot, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, were executed in 2015; Renae Lawrence's...
Downtown San Francisco experiences first tornado warning in recorded history
World News

Downtown San Francisco experiences first tornado warning in recorded history

Downtown San Francisco. Photo: 123rf For the first time in recorded history, downtown San Francisco was issued a tornado warning as severe storms swept through the city, just one week after a tsunami warning triggered widespread panic in the region. The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management confirmed the tornado threat ended around 3.14am NZT after the storm moved northeast of downtown. "Take shelter now in a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. If you are outdoors, in a mobile, home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from debris," SFDEM urged residents in an earlier tweet. The National Weather Service (NWS) also issued a flood advisory and high wind warning, with sustained winds of up to 64km/h exp...