Month: August 2022

Categories
US

OnlyFans model arrested over killing of boyfriend from Texas

Courtney Clenney, 25, who goes by the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram, is under investigation for the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in Miami on April 3, 2022.

Courtney Clenney, 25, who goes by the name Courtney Tailor on Instagram, is under investigation for the fatal stabbing of her boyfriend in Miami on April 3, 2022.


Instagram

-Instagram

Courtney Clenney, the OnlyFans and Instagram model who stabbed her boyfriend to death in Miami in April, has been arrested on a murder charge, the Miami Herald has learned.

The 26-year-old Clenney was taken into custody on Wednesday in Hawaii, and will eventually be extradited to Miami-Dade County to face trial. She’s being charged with second-degree murder with a deadly weapon for the April 3 stabbing of Christian “Toby” Obumseli, who was a native of North Texas.

READ NEXT: Stab to the heart, history of violence led to arrest of Miami OnlyFans model for murder

Obumseli’s family in Richardson, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, told Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV that they set up a GoFundMe page, which described Obumseli as “extremely compassionate with a desire always to uplift those around him.” The GoFundMe had raised about $82,500 of its $100,000 goal on Thursday.

Clenney’s arrest was confirmed Wednesday afternoon by her Miami defense lawyer, Frank Prieto, who said she’d been in Hawaii while in rehabilitation for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I’m completely shocked, especially since we were cooperating with the investigation and offered to voluntarily surrender her if she were charged,” Prieto said. “We look forward to clearing her name in court.”

The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, in a press release on Wednesday evening, said the arrest warrant remained sealed. State Attorney Katherine Fernandez, along with City Police Chief Manuel Morales and South Florida US Marshal Gadyaces Serralta, were expected to detail the arrest at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

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-HawaiiPolice

The arrest caps a four-month investigation by Miami police homicide detectives and prosecutors into Clenney, whose killing of her boyfriend during a domestic dispute in a luxury Edgewater apartment garnered headlines across the world. Clenney’s defense attorney insisted that she acted in self-defense and the killing was justified.

But in the days after his death, Obumseli’s relatives called for Clenney’s arrest, saying they did not believe he was ever a threat.

Obumseli worked in cryptocurrency. Known as Courtney Tailor on her social-media platforms, Clenney boasted over two million followers on her social-media platforms.

She and Obumseli had been dating less than two years, and their relationship had been plagued by domestic strife — she’d once been arrested for domestic battery in Las Vegas, and police had been called to their home in Austin, Texas, on several occasions .

The two had only lived in Miami for a few months at the One Paraiso building, 3131 NE 7th Ave., where staff members had documented numerous domestic disturbance complaints about the couple and had even moved to evict them.

Clenney and Obumseli had broken up several times, although investigators believe that he’d moved back into the apartment by the first day of April. The Miami Herald earlier reported that Miami police responded to the apartment on April 1, two days before the stabbing, over another domestic disturbance call.

Finally on the evening of April 3, just before 5 pm, Clenney frantically called 911 to report Obumseli had been stabbed.

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-Instagram and Facebook

David Ovalle covers crime and courts in Miami. A native of San Diego, I graduated from the University of Southern California and joined the Herald in 2002 as a sports reporter.

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Categories
Business

Australia’s NAB warns of higher costs again

Australia's NAB warns of higher costs again

SYDNEY: National Australia Bank (NAB) flagged higher expenses for the second time in four months yesterday, citing higher personnel and leave costs.

NAB, Australia’s biggest business lender, bumped up its cost forecast for 2022 to between 3% and 4% from 2% to 3%.

That excludes the impact of its US$882mil (RM3.93bil) buyout of Citigroup’s local consumer business, which became effective on June 1.

Part of the cost jump comes from expected provisions of between A$60mil (RM186.6mil) and A$100mil (RM311mil) related to a previously disclosed agreement with Australia’s financial crime regulator to fix shortcomings in anti-money laundering compliance.

Cash profit at NAB did, however, come in 6% higher at A$1.8bil (RM5.6bil) for the quarter ended June 30, compared with A$1.7bil (RM5.3bil) a year ago, as it benefited from an increase in home and business lending, and growth is deposits.

The figure was in-line with Morgan Stanley’s estimate of A$1.8bil (RM5.6bil).

“As the economy changes, continued low unemployment and healthy household and business balance sheets are helping mitigate the impacts of higher inflation and interest rates,” said chief executive officer Ross McEwan.

While higher rates, soaring cost of living, and weak consumer sentiment have effectuated a reversal in home prices from record levels reached last year, McEwan said 70% of customer home loan repayments were ahead of schedule.

Runaway inflation has prompted the Reserve Bank of Australia to tighten monetary policy this year, aiding margins of banks that grappled with record-low interest rates for the past two years.

“Overall, we would view this third quarter update as very much in line with consensus with few surprises,” UBS analysts said in a note.

“The commentary on net interest margin is maybe a bit disappointing in the context of some banks which have already reported, but the underlying margin trend is as expected.”

Excluding its markets and treasury business and the impact of the Citi acquisition, NAB’s net interest margin for the April-June quarter was slightly higher than the first half’s quarterly average due to higher interest rates, partly offset by stiff competition in home lending.

The country’s biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, will release annual results today. — Reuters

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Categories
Technology

Telegram CEO claims Apple is delaying update that will ‘revolutionize’ messaging

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Telegram CEO Pavel Durov claims that Apple has been delaying an App Store update to the app that will “revolutionize how people express themselves in messaging.”

In a Telegram message on Thursday, Durov says that the upcoming update has been stuck in Apple’s review process for two weeks with no explanation from the iPhone maker about the holdup.

“If Telegram, one of the top 10 most popular apps globally, is receiving this treatment, one can only imagine the difficulties experienced by smaller app developers,” Durov wrote.

The Telegram chief executive also hit Apple and Google for charging a 30% commission on app and in-app purchases. Durov says the app review delay is just another harm on the commission, which he likes to a “tax.”

“The regulators in the EU and elsewhere are slowly starting to look into these abusive practices,” he said. “But the economic damage that has already been inflicted by Apple on the tech industry won’t be undone.”

This isn’t the first time that a Telegram update has been stuck in Apple’s app review process. Back in 2018, Apple delayed global updates after Russian authorities demanded the Cupertino tech giant remove the secure messaging app from the App Store.

Other app developers and executives have complained about Apple’s App Review process in the past. In 2021, Hopscotch CEO Samantha John called Apple’s review process “Kafkaesque.”

Apple has made moves to amend its App Store policies in recent years, including updated App Review processes and rules and the introduction of a lower 15% commission for apps making less than $1 million.

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Categories
Entertainment

The Moment I Said Yes: ‘My proposal was almost upstaged by hundreds of drunk teens’

When Thomas bought an engagement ring for his girlfriend Mel, he anticipated the proposal would take place on their upcoming holiday abroad in Europe.

But COVID-19 had other plans and, after a widespread imposition of restrictions and border closures, the duo’s exciting holiday quickly turned to dust.

Mel – who, at the time, was oblivious to Thomas’ plans for a proposal – says the self-professed “nerds” had planned to trek through the picturesque Scottish Highlands and ride on the steam train that inspired Harry Potter’s Hogwarts Express.

READMORE: Kyle Sandilands welcomes first child with fiancée

Mel Buttigieg's wedding
The duo’s “epic” plans abroad were crushed by lockdown restrictions. (Supplied)

The couple then anticipated on finishing the day of adventures at the infamous “Loch Ness” lake, where Thomas planned to pop the question.

Looking back on “what should have been,” Mel tells 9Honey, “his whole proposal idea was very on brand for us because we’re kind of geeky couple.”

In the lead up to the pandemic, Mel and Thomas – who had been together for three years – had been speaking about getting married.

“I always used to say to him, my deadline is 40,” Mel jokes. “I just didn’t want to be in my 40s and getting married – I felt like there was a bit of a stigma. And we had been together for three years so I was like ‘that’s kind of a good enough time.'”

READMORE: Scammers use Dr Katrina Warren’s identity to fleece her fans

Mel Buttigieg's proposal
Mel and Thomas have spoken about marriage in the years leading up to the proposal. (Supplied)

With the seed planted in his head, and after months of conversations, Thomas finally purchased a ring for Mel and made “epic” plans for the proposal.

But while he was still waiting on the ring, COVID hit and, with the trip to Europe cancelled, there was no choice to start getting creative with different proposal ideas.

“We live in Melbourne and at the peak of COVID we didn’t know when the restrictions were going to be lifted,” Mel says. “He thought to propose in the backyard but then he thought ‘that’s not really that exciting’… He wanted a place where we could come back to in the future, a special place.”

As weeks went by, Thomas waited until the metro and regional border restrictions eased and then promptly booked a romantic trip to the countryside.

READMORE: Single act hairdresser warns women to ‘never’ do

Mel Buttigieg's wedding
Thomas waited for border restrictions to ease and then booked a romantic trip to the countryside. (Supplied)

“I’ve booked a weekend away to Phillip Island, and planned to propose on a walk along the beach at a really picturesque area. What could possibly go wrong?”

However, life had other plans for the couple and Mel laughs as she recalls, “the trip ended up being a comedy of errors.”

“We drove about two hours from our place to Phillip Island and I got a little bit carsick so I wanted to have a lie down before any beach stroll,” Mel says. “So we checked into the room and I was like ‘can I just lie here for a bit’ but he was really keen to get moving, and I just was not in the mood.”

As it started to get dark outside, Thomas eventually managed to persuade Mel to go for a walk on the beach, but the obstacles didn’t stop there.

“When we went to the beach there were all these drunk teens and we realized it was schoolies weekend,” Mel recalls. “We were just walking around and we were getting pranked by all these teens who were trying to tick things off their bucket list… One guy even went asking for my number.”

Mel Buttigieg's proposal
Thomas took Mel for a coastal walk where he was finally able to get down on one knee to propose to her. (Supplied)

In a panic, Thomas tried to find a more secluded beach, but the only one he could find nearby on Google Maps was under maintenance and didn’t have lighting.

“The vibe at the time was more befitting of a horror movie than a rom-com,” Mel jokes. “So I have decided to wait until the morning.”

The next morning, the sun had come out and Thomas took Mel for a coastal walk at Cape Woolami, when he was finally able to get down on one knee to propose to her.

“It was no Nessie or Harry Potter, but the proposal was still just as magical,” Mel says.

In February this year the couple tied the knot, in a “special” ceremony surrounded by their family and friends.

Mel Buttigieg's wedding
The couple tied the knot in a ceremony surrounded by their family and friends. (Supplied)

“It was special for a lot of reasons. Due to COVID, we hadn’t had a chance to see all of our friends and family for a very long time, and aside from obviously celebrating us and our relationship, it was a chance to come together with our favorite people.”

Despite all the obstacles they faced in the lead up, Mel couldn’t be happier with he outcome and wouldn’t change anything for the world.

“I can’t think of my life being without him. Especially going through the pandemic as well, it really tested how much we wanted to be with each other and just highlighted the support that we gave each other through the ups and downs.”

A huge thank you to online wedding directory and planning service Easy Weddings for their assistance with this story.

For more moments from Honey’s series ‘The Moment I Said Yes’, click here.

Relationship advice Stan and Joan

Eight seniors share their best relationship advice

Categories
Australia

Work on national approach to coercive control to begin at attorneys-general meeting in Melbourne

Sue and Lloyd Clarke speak outside court

State and territory attorneys-general are to meet with federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Friday to debate whether to criminalize coercive control across the nation.

Coercive control — a form of domestic and family violence — refers to patterns of abusive behaviors used by one person to dominate and control another in a relationship, which can leave victims feeling powerless, isolated and a hostage in their own home.

Families of those victims and case workers have welcomed the federal government’s push for a national understanding of the term.

States and territories are at different stages of considering whether to criminalize coercive control in their own jurisdictions.

Mr Dreyfus said Friday’s meeting of the nation’s first law officers in Melbourne would see the first steps towards a nationally consistent approach.

“We know from early research that coercive control is an extremely common feature of abusive relationships, but it is not always well understood across the community,” Mr Dreyfus told the ABC.

“There are some differences [between jurisdictions]which is why reaching agreement — at least at a draft level — on what are national principles to address coercive control, is a really good step forward.”

Queensland and New South Wales have already moved to criminalize coercive control, while Victoria and Tasmania say existing laws cover the offences.

Other states have expressed in-principle support for new laws or a nationally consistent approach.

Mr Dreyfus said having a national consensus would lead to a higher level of understanding and the possibility of remaining jurisdictions criminalizing the behaviours.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus speaks to the media.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus wants a national consistency approach. (AAP: Lukas Coch/File)

“We are hoping that, at [Friday’s] meeting, we are going to be able to approve for release national principles to address coercive control and we think that will help get to a coordinated national approach,” he said.

“It won’t necessarily be that every state will get to criminalizing this behaviour, but if we can get to a much wider understanding in the community of what this is, that will help our ultimate aim of keeping women and children safe.”

National push welcomed by father of domestic violence victim

The move towards a national framework has been welcomed by the father of Hannah Clarke, who was murdered, along with her three children, by her estranged husband.

Lloyd Clarke said he always knew something was wrong, but wasn’t familiar with the term coercive control at the time.

“There were no physical marks but we knew there were mental marks,” Mr Clarke said.

Hannah Clarke with Aaliyah and Laianah at the beach
Hannah Clarke and her children were murdered by her estranged husband in 2020. (Supplied: Lloyd Clarke)

“He was trying to control her mentally. Wanting to know where she was, even asking the children.”

When he was subsequently told this amounted to coercive control, Mr Clarke and his wife, Sue, launched a campaign for Queensland to criminalize the behaviour.

“We thought, ‘Well, we didn’t know about it so there must be a lot of people out there who don’t know about coercive control and we need to educate people on that’,” Mr Clarke told the ABC.

After the Clarke family’s campaign, Queensland committed to criminalizing coercive behavior with a pledge to have laws in place by 2023.

Mr Clarke said he was “ecstatic” to hear that state and territory attorneys-general were willing to work together on the issue.

“It’s another step ahead of our [state-based] campaign and that’s great,” Mr Clarke said.

Coercive control often hard to provide to authorities, counselor says

Kirrilly Salvestro — a domestic violence counselor working in western New South Wales — said a national approach would improve clarity between states.

However, she said, providing evidence of coercive behavior was notoriously difficult, particularly in states that are looking to criminalize and punish the behaviour.

“For example, isolation from friends and family: How do you prove that to authorities?” Ms Salvestro said.

“How do you prove that your partner may have been monitoring your activity unless you have a way to prove that they have been bugging your phone or putting trackers on your vehicles?”

Ms Salvestro — who is deputy chief executive officer of the Linking Communities Network — said it was important for any national definition to reflect the scale of the damage caused.

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“In any discussion, we need to make sure that we get it right the first time,” Ms Salvestro said.

“[We need] to include everything that needs to be encompassed and the recognition that children are involved in coercive control as well, all that needs to be included.”

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Categories
US

Trump Hires #BillionDollarLawyer – The New York Times

Trump Hires #BillionDollarLawyer - The New York Times

ATLANTA — Amid a deepening swirl of federal and state investigations, former President Donald J. Trump has hired a prominent Atlanta lawyer to represent him in a criminal inquiry into election interference in Georgia.

The lawyer, Drew Findling, has represented an array of rap stars including Cardi B, Gucci Mane and Migos, and is known by the hashtag #BillionDollarLawyer. But he is also well regarded for a range of criminal defense work that he has done in Georgia, and his hiring of him underscores the seriousness of the investigation — as well as the potential legal jeopardy for Mr. Trump.

The investigation is being led by Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, which encompasses much of Atlanta. At least 17 people have been designated as targets who could face criminal charges. Mr. Trump is not among them, but a special grand jury is continuing to consider evidence and testimony, with several top Trump advisers still to appear. Ms. Willis has said that she is weighing a number of potential criminal charges, including racketeering and conspiracy.

In a hearing on Tuesday, a state judge told lawyers for Mr. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, that their client needed to travel to Atlanta to testify next week. On Wednesday, lawyers for Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina faced a skeptical reception from a federal judge to their efforts to quash a subpoena from Ms. Willis’s office seeking the senator’s testimony. The lawyers for Mr. Graham who appeared in court included Donald McGahn, former White House counsel for Mr. Trump.

Mr. Findling brings decades of trial experience ranging from high-profile murder cases to local political corruption scandals. But in the past, he has been openly — indeed, scathingly — critical of the former president.

2018 post on Twitter, after Mr. Trump criticized LeBron James, Mr. Findling referred to Mr. Trump as “the racist architect of fraudulent Trump University.” In 2017, after Mr. Trump fired the US attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, Mr. Findling said on Twitter that the firing was “a sign of FEAR that he would aggressively investigate the stench hovering over this POTUS.”

I have also called Mr. Trump’s history of harsh comments about the five Black and Latino men who as teenagers were wrongly convicted of the brutal rape of a jogger in Central Park “racist, cruel, sick, unforgivable, and un-American!”

In a phone interview on Thursday, Mr. Findling explained his decision to take on Mr. Trump by referring to John Adams, who took the unpopular position of representing British troops after the Boston Massacre.

“I do not believe that we choose our client or clients based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, political belief or the substantive issues involved in the crime,” he said. “We have our personal lives and we have our personal politics, and I don’t apologize for my personal politics,” he added.

Mr. Findling also drew upon the kinds of First Amendment issues that often arise in criminal cases at the nexus of hip-hop and crime and maintained that Mr. Trump had done nothing improper in Georgia. He mentioned Mr. Trump’s infamous taped phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, and specifically addressed the moment when Mr. Trump pressed Mr. Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes that could overturn Mr. Biden’s victory in Georgia, which some legal experts say may amount to solicitation to commit election fraud under Georgia law.

“Somebody listens to a rap song that lasts for four minutes and 11 seconds and pulls one verse out and tries to conjure up some type of criminal case out of it,” said Mr. Findling, who said that in both the phone call and a rap song, context was crucial.

The conversation with Mr. Raffensperger, he added, amounted to an effort to “negotiate a resolution” to a civil legal matter.

Mr. Findling said he was part of a Georgia-based legal team now working for Mr. Trump that includes Jennifer Little, a former DeKalb County prosecutor, and Dwight L. Thomas, a veteran defense lawyer who previously worked with the Office for Civil Rights at the US Education Department.

“The presence of this high-priced and high-powered legal talent signifies the exceptional national importance of the fast-moving investigation and the likely imminent charges against the former president and possibly others in his circle,” said Norman Eisen, who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment. Mr. Eisen was a co-author of a 114-page Brookings Institution analysis of the Georgia case last year that found Mr. Trump “at substantial risk of possible state charges predicated on multiple crimes.”

That Mr. Trump would choose a lawyer well known in the hip-hop world is not out of character for the former president, who has a long and complicated history of interacting with famous rap figures. Mr. Trump earned the support of Kanye West and pardoned or commuted sentences for a number of influential rap figures, including Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.

Mr. Findling has previously been sharply critical of a crackdown by Ms. Willis on rappers and those accused of being gang members; he represents YFN Lucci, an Atlanta rap artist who was indicted on murder and racketeering charges in Fulton County last year.

Mr. Findling also has extensive experience with political clients. In 2013, he helped win the acquittal of Victor Hill, the sheriff of Clayton County, Ga., who had been indicted on a host of corruption-related charges after an investigation by a special grand jury. Mr. Hill also retained Mr. Findling after he was federally indicted last year on numerous civil rights charges for the alleged mistreatment of detainees at the local jail. He has been suspended from his position pending a trial set for October.

Mr. Findling also recently represented Mitzi Bickers, who once worked in the administration of the former mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed, a Democrat. Ms. Bickers was convicted in March on nine federal corruption counts as part of a multimillion-dollar contracting and kickback scandal.

And he is representing John Oxendine, the former insurance commissioner of Georgia, a Republican who was indicted in May on federal charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Esther Panitch, a veteran Atlanta-area criminal defense lawyer and Democratic nominee for a state House seat, has known Mr. Findling for years. She called him “brilliant.”

“That being said, he needs a client who will listen to him,” she said, adding: “You can’t hold Drew responsible if his client refuses to take his advice. And Trump is the kind of client that lawyers fear. Because he can’t be controlled.”

Joe Coscarelli contributed reporting.

Categories
Business

Goldman Sachs gives its verdict on the CSL share price

Goldman Sachs gives its verdict on the CSL share price

A doctor appears shocked as he looks through binoculars on a blue background.

Image source: Getty Images

the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has been on a decent run over the last couple of months.

Since the middle of June, the biotherapeutics company’s shares have risen to a sizeable 14%.

This compares to a gain of approximately 6% for the benchmark ASX 200 index.

Why is the CSL share price on a roll?

Investors have been bidding the CSL share price higher due to the release of very positive industry data.

That data shows that plasma collection levels are now back to pre-COVID levels in the United States at long last.

This is a big positive for CSL as plasma is a key ingredient in many of its most lucrative therapies. When it was in short supply, the company was paying more than normal for donations, which was putting pressure on its margins. With supply now back to normal and collection prices reducing, CSL should soon start to see its margins improve again.

All in all, the general consensus is that CSL is now over the worst of its issues, and it is onwards and upwards from here. But will it be onwards and upwards for the CSL share price?

Where are its shares heading?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe CSL’s shares may be close to peaking for the time being.

This morning the broker has summarized coverage on the company with a neutral rating and $307.00 price target. This implies potential upside of just 5% from the current CSL share price of $292.35.

Goldman believes that the company’s shares are about fair value now based on multiple historic earnings. It explained:

Valuation of 34x NTM P/E has now recovered to the 5yr avg, and is back above the 10yr (29x). We believe risk-reward is once again well-balanced, and reinstate our rating at Neutral, with a 12-month TP of A$307.

Categories
Technology

How to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 in Australia

How to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 in Australia

SamsungGalaxyWatch5_Supplied_1800x1000

Pick up Samsung’s latest foray into the wearable world while maximizing value thanks to these pre-order offers.

Samsung Unpacked was not the most surprising tech reveal ever, as it was well-known ahead of time that we’d be seeing the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip 4, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro. Anticipation has been building for months now, so we’re plenty excited to see these devices finally up for grabs.

Here’s where you can pre-order the Galaxy Watch 5 and its Pro edition in Australia, ahead of their release on 2 September. For information on pre-ordering the new Samsung Z series phones, check out our complete guide here. For a comprehensive rundown of everything we saw unveiled at Samsung Unpacked, click here.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5

Pre-order Galaxy Watch 5 on Samsung
Pre-order Galaxy Watch 5 on Amazon

It’s evolution rather than revolution when it comes to the Galaxy Watch 5. You’ll get to choose between 40mm and 44mm sizes and Bluetooth and LTE connection types. The polarizing rotating bezel is out, replaced by a virtual equivalent.

As you would expect for a new generation, the Galaxy Watch 5 comes with additional health-tracking features. The 3-in-1 “BioActive” sensor which measures optical heart rate, electrical heart signal and bioelectrical impedance has been made larger and Samsung claims it will be more accurate than ever.

Sleep tracking is more advanced and will measure your rest journey over time. Another prominent feature is Glow Fertility, which provides advanced data regarding menstrual cycles including fertility windows and ovulation days. Battery has also been boosted and if you make your pre-order with Samsung you’ll get a free fast wireless charger.

In the 40mm size, the Galaxy Watch 5 carries an RRP of $499 for the Bluetooth edition and $599 for the LTE edition. In the 44mm size, you’ll be paying $549 for Bluetooth connectivity and $649 for LTE functionality.

Interested in the entire suite of new Galaxy devices? Take advantage of Amazon’s ecosystem bundle deals on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4, including the Galaxy Watch 5.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 Pro

Pre-order Galaxy Watch 5 Pro on Samsung
Pre-order Galaxy Watch 5 Pro on Amazon

What sets the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro apart? Firstly, it comes with a larger 45mm display and a larger 590mAh battery, which Samsung claims will afford a whopping 80 hours of “general use”.

Durability is also a major component of the watch, which features a sapphire crystal display and titanium casing to ensure it can survive the most rugged conditions. So if you’ve been dreaming of a smartwatch that can accompany you into the deepest valley or on top of the highest mountain, you’ve just found it.

In keeping with this focus on outdoor functionality, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro features GPX tracking, allowing users to share geographic information, reliably track routes and retrace their steps with a Track Back feature.

The Galaxy Watch 5 Pro also distinguishes itself in another major area: price. It’ll set you back $799 for the Bluetooth version and $849 for the LTE edition.

It’s an eye-watering figure and if you’re on a tighter budget it’s definitely worth waiting for the reviews to come in before blowing that much on a wearable. But if you’re a diehard Samsung fanatic and you’re sure you’ll fall in love with this resistant wristwatch, grab it from Samsung or Amazon now.

Need more info on the latest and greatest tech? Head over to Technology Finder.

Categories
Entertainment

Frederick Waite Jr dead at 55: Tributes paid to drummer of Pass the Dutchie band Musical Youth

Frederick Waite Jr dead at 55: Tributes paid to drummer of Pass the Dutchie band Musical Youth

One of the stars of a hit British band that produced one of the 1980s most seminal reggae songs has died at the age of 55.

Frederic Waite Jr was the drummer in Birmingham band Musical Youth.

The band performed their defining song, Pass the Dutchiejust days ago at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

In 1982, the cannabis inspired anthem went to number one on the charts in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland and reached the top 10 of the US Billboard chart.

It also had a recent resurgence after featuring in the hit Netflix show Stranger Things.

On Wednesday, the ban announced the death of Waite Jr on social media.

“We are sad to announce the passing of Musical Youth’s drummer Frederick Waite Jr.

“Our thoughts go out to him and his family during this sad time. We have lost a musical legend, who inspired many young musicians over the last 40 years,” the tribute stated.

Rest in Eternal Peace.

Waite, known as “Freddie” died on July 20 in Birmingham with details only being announced now. It is not known what caused his death.

The British-Jamaican band formed in the UK’s second city in 1979.

They first performed for students at their own school, Duddeston High, in the city, reported website Birmingham Live.

Pass the Dutchie was the first single after the group signed to a major label, in their case MCA Records.

Musical Youth was the first black act to have a music video played on the then new music channel MTV.

Debut-album The Youth of Today, also released in 1982, was certified gold in the UK and Canada and spawned a number of further hit singles. Musical Youth were also nominated for a Grammy Award for best new band in 1984.

The band disbanded in 1985. Two of the band members, Dennis Seaton and Michael Grant, resurrected the band as a duo in 2001.

The band came back together for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in on July 20 as part of a celebration of Birmingham culture alongside singer Beverley Knight, the band UB40 and a TV show Peaky Blinders.

However Waite did not appear with another drummer taking his place.

Tributes have poured in for Waite with people saying it was “beyond sad,” and remembering his youth in Birmingham.

“How incredibly sad, Freddie, you inspired so many black British teenagers in the 1980s and made them realize their dreams could come true,” one said.

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Categories
Australia

Baby Pacific oysters offer long-term solution for QX-disease-affected farmers

Baby Pacific oysters offer long-term solution for QX-disease-affected farmers

Millions of baby oysters have been shipped from Tasmania to offer hope to New South Wales growers whose harvests have been decimated by QX disease.

The parasite, which essentially blocks an oyster’s gut and “starves it to death”, was first detected in Sydney rock oysters at Port Stephens last year.

It has crippled local businesses and had a wider impact on the state’s $50 million oyster industry.

“Farmers in Tilligerry Creek have seen some pretty significant losses there,” Port Stephens oyster grower Matt Burgoyne said.

“Mortalities of up to 90 per cent of their stock, from their baby stock right through to stock that they’re ready to sell. It’s really devastating.

“As of February this year the parasite seems to have spread rapidly throughout the whole of Port Stephens and there are really not any areas, harvest areas or growing areas, that are free from it.”

Port Stephens is renowned for producing Sydney rock oysters, but the Tasmanian deliveries will offer growers a chance to grow a different species — the Pacific oyster.

A man on a boat looks out to sea.
Matt Burgoyne’s farm has been operating in Port Stephens for more than 60 years.(Supplied: XL Oysters)

The Tasmanian Pacific oysters will also go to producers in the Hawkesbury region.

“[They are] disease resistant, they’re not susceptible to the QX parasite and so we see it at the moment as really our only way forward to keeping farms viable and being able to trade into the future,” Mr Burgoyne said.

Pacific oyster farmer Ellen Duke is the third generation of growers from southern Tasmania.

After hearing of the Port Stephens QX outbreak, she said it really hit home.

“These growers were going through such a hard time… the floods and now QX,” she said.

“We really feel their pain because we went through something really similar with [Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome] down in Tasmania.”

Spat welcome but no quick fix

Millions of baby oysters, or spat, have been sent in what Ms Duke said was only the first batch.

But they would take about 12 months to grow to a sellable size.

Tiny, baby oysters in a lady's hand. There are more in a bucket below.
It will take 12 to 18 months for these baby oysters, or spat, to grow to a saleable size.(Supplied: Yumbah Aquaculture)

“Farmers are still up against a year without income,” Mr Burgoyne said.

“The mood in Port Stephens is very sombre.

“We’ve got generational oyster farms, farms that have farmers who are ready to retire and reap the rewards of many years of hard work, and a lot of that at the moment has lost value and seems to have come to nothing.”

The Pacific oysters mature twice as fast as Sydney rock oysters and Ms Duke said many farmers produced both.

“What the Pacifics can do, hopefully, is give them a bit of risk diversification,” she said.

Research is underway in a bid to breed QX-resistant Sydney rock oysters but little progress has been made to date.

Mr Burgoyne held on to hope that the region would get back to producing its high-quality oysters in the coming years.

“We pride ourselves in NSW on being able to grow Sydney rock oysters and it’s obviously an oyster that is a point of difference and traditionally has always been sought after,” he said.

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