Month: August 2022

Categories
Entertainment

Fake wedding rings trend skyrocketing amid financial pressure

Fake wedding rings trend skyrocketing amid financial pressure

As weddings make a post-Covid comeback and cost-of-living pressures bite, couples are getting savvy about that all-important thing – the engagement ring.

Before the pandemic, many women set their sights on the idea of ​​the perfect ring, typically a big rock with an expensive price tag.

However, as couples look to break social norms and rein in spending, they are seeking an alternative.

Fake rings are making a comeback not just for fashion purposes but also to symbolize the promise of marriage as more people propose with them.

Jewelry company Sterling Forever posted a reel to Instagram explaining why more men and women are now proposing with fake rings.

The video outlined how more couples were jumping on the trend to avoid mistakes such as sizing issues and the receiver not liking the ring, as returning or exchanging it can be costly and difficult.

As weddings make a comeback post-Covid and cost-of-living pressures bite, couples are getting savvy about an all-important thing – rings.
As weddings make a comeback post-Covid and cost-of-living pressures bite, couples are getting savvy about an all-important thing – rings.
@sterlingforever

The reel concluded with the idea that once engaged, couples could go out and buy the perfect ring together.

While it may seem controversial, particularly for some unsatisfied receivers who were proposed to with a fake engagement ring, there’s plenty of support for the practice.

“I think this (idea) is so much better but honestly the fake ring could be like a ring pop or even a paper ring with a love note hidden in it, much cheaper and super cute,” one commenter said in response to the post .

Another replied: “I’d rather have a ‘fake’ and then we can save the money for something more important,”

And a third responded: “Why buy me an expensive engagement ring and an expensive wedding ring? Y’all see them (petrol) prices and the price for bread, just give me one ring.”

Other viewers of the video came up with their own suggestions as to why women may prefer fake rings over the real deal, including for practicality, for not losing an expensive ring and to avoid feeling guilty after a proposal “accident.”

“I feel like people also do it in case they lose it at the proposal sites, lots of them being at beaches or hiking spots,” one Instagram user suggested.

While the trend may be more popular now, some commenters said their parents used a similar approach in the past for personal reasons.

“My dad got my mom a garnet ring. It’s her favorite de ella and her birthstone de ella, with ‘will you marry me’ and the date engraved. They went shopping for her ring together and I think it’s pretty. I always wanted to inherit it,” one young woman commented.

“My dad proposed to my mom with a minnie mouse ring so she wouldn’t feel pressured and I think it’s the cutest thing,” said another.

But not everyone saw the convenient nature of the fake ring trend, with some saying it goes against the purpose of an engagement ring as a symbol of everlasting commitment.

Jewelry company Sterling Forever went to Instagram to explain why more men and women are now proposing with fake rings.
Jewelry company Sterling Forever went to Instagram to explain why more men and women are now proposing with fake rings.
@sterlingforever

“If she doesn’t like the ring, she isn’t the one,” one commenter said.

“That’s stupid, a real man should know what his wife likes and what kind of jewelry she wears,” posted another.

“There’s no such thing as a fake engagement ring, there is only a fake stone,” a third said.

But a fake engagement ring isn’t necessarily a sign of lesser commitment, as some proposers purchase a ‘promise ring’ or cheaper alternative, with the goal of buying a better one that meets their partner’s wishes later on. Other fake rings are homemade.

No matter the ring choice, couples who have already jumped on the buying a ring together trend said the experience is one they highly recommend.

“Choosing the engagement ring together is a whole amazing experience and shows a very high level of commitment, that’s what me and my fiance did,” one commenter said.

Another said: “My fiance and I shopped for my ring together and it was the best thing ever. We fell in love with (the) ring together.”

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Categories
Sports

Allan Alaalatoa out of Wallabies-Argentina second Test

Allan Alaalatoa out of Wallabies-Argentina second Test

“You never know what is going to happen out there, so you have to prepare for the worst. We have a strong culture here and a strong group of men that have built pretty sure strong traits. It is like a brotherhood where we will put our body on the line for each other, so i think that helps out on the field.”

Utility back Reece Hodge said he doesn’t believe the modern game is any more dangerous than usual but luck is a key factor.

James O'Connor is vying with Noah Lolesio for the no.10 jersey.

James O’Connor is vying with Noah Lolesio for the no.10 jersey.Credit:Getty

“Every squad goes through periods where they are unlucky,” he said.

“Some teams get lucky through periods and they win, but the best teams win when they are going through periods that are quite tough.

We have gone through one over the last two or three months but the fact we are developing great depth in the squad, and the next-man-up mentality we are developing, that will go a long way to hopefully getting performances together that we can be proud of.

“But also the most important thing in Test match rugby is winning matches.”

The choice for Cooper’s replacement will end up being between Noah Lolesio and James O’Connor. The former has runs on the board from the recent England series but O’Connor has finally shaken off some niggling injuries and is desperate for a chance to return to the Wallabies team.

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“We have two world-class No.10s,” Hodge said. “Noah steered us to a series win against France last year and was very solid in that England series as well.

“James O’Connor has played 50-plus caps for his country and his form at the start of the season with the Reds was outstanding, he was probably one of the best players in the competition.

“So we have two really good options there.”

Watch every match of The Rugby Championship on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport. Continue this weekend with South Africa v All Blacks (Sunday 12.30am AEST) and Argentina v Wallabies (Sunday 4.45am AEST). All matches streaming ad-free, live and on demand on Stan Sport.

Categories
Australia

Pauline Hanson’s One Nation may lose website names registered ahead of Indigenous Voice referendum campaign

Pauline Hanson, dressed in a red jacket, wears a serious expression as she walks out of the Senate.

A pre-emptive strike by One Nation to register dozens of website addresses that could be used in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum campaign has backfired, with several of the party’s new acquisitions set to be suspended.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson declared last Friday her party would become the face of the “no” vote in a referendum that could give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people greater constitutional representation.

She said her campaign snatched up 46 website domains, including five that closely match ulurustatement.org, a website address already used by First Nations Australians and supporters of a constitutionally recognized First Nations Voice.

“The ‘yes’ campaign is ill-defined and ill-prepared, not even having the foresight to register the domain names we will use to good effect,” Ms Hanson said.

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Some of these websites, registered in bulk by Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and One Nation’s Queensland division, included voicetoparliament.org.au and ulurustatement.com.au.

The practice of registering multiple domain names is known as cyber-squatting and can be used to help maximize search engine traffic.

However, One Nation’s endeavor has failed foul of the entity responsible for licensing Australian domains, the .au Domain Administration (auDA).

The domain license administrator, who was made aware of the websites after the ABC uncovered 37 domains that appeared to be registered to One Nation, will suspend several of One Nation’s domains containing a .au address.

It is unclear how many domains will be taken down but auDA policy stipulates entities must typically have a “close and substantial connection” to their registered .au domain name. For example, the domain must match the name they are known by or a service they offer.

“The rules contain strict criteria that registrants must meet to hold their domain name,” an auDA spokesperson said.

“Where registrants are found not to have met the requirements of the .au licensing rules, a .au domain name may be suspended or canceled by auDA.”

The ABC was able to locate 23 domains linked to One Nation’s opposition to a Voice to Parliament with a .au address.

It found another 14 that had their ownership details redacted, but domain records showed they were registered by a Queensland entity at almost the exact same time as the others on August 2 and shared similar website address names.

None of the domains had active websites.

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Categories
Business

Commonwealth Bank profits climb to $9.7 billion

the Commonwealth Bank has announced a 9 per cent increase in profits to $9.7 billion.
Most of the bank’s profits were driven by a strong rise in lending last year when the national housing market was charging ahead, underpinned by super low interest rates.
In a note to the asxChief Executive Matt Comyn warned of difficult times ahead for many Australian households because of rising inflation and higher costs of living.
A man and woman withdraw money from a Commonwealth Bank ATM
Australia’s biggest bank has posted a $9.7 billion profit for the 2022 financial year, up 9 per cent over the full year (TheAge)

“We have seen a rapid increase in the (RBA) cash rate which is negatively impacting consumer confidence,” Comyn said.

He expected consumer demand “to moderate” as cost of living pressures increase.

“It is a challenging time, but we remain optimistic that a path can be found to navigate through these economic conditions.”

Comyn said, against many measures, Aussie homes and businesses remained in a relatively “strong position.”

Matt Comyn, CEO and Managing Director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). (Sydney Morning Herald)

As the property market cools, the bank’s analysts believe a correction of around 15 per cent is on the way, with perhaps an even harder fall in Sydney and Melbourne.

At 11:30 AEST, the bank’s share price was down about one per cent.

As the Reserve Bank continues to lift interest rates, more households are being pushed into mortgage stress.

Mortgage stress is the total of household income and expenditure.

If there’s more money going out than coming in, they’re classified as stressed.

Gautam Adani with Malcolm Turnbull in New Delhi in April. (APA)

World’s richest people revealed

Categories
Technology

Muon Space plans a ‘turnkey solution’ for custom Earth observation satellites

Muon Space plans a 'turnkey solution' for custom Earth observation satellites

Plenty of companies want to operate in space, but few have or need the expertise to do so. They want an eye in the sky but not a satellite company. Muon Space is one of several startups looking to put others into space but with a special expertise in Earth observation and building the full stack from satellite bus to data on the ground. It has already raised $25 million to do so and locked down a few early big customers.

“People are reinventing large portions of the stack required to collect data from space,” Muon’s CEO and co-founder Jonny Dyer explained. “When we look across the spectrum of different new phenomenologies and missions, many of these companies are developing their own spacecraft, and obviously their own ground segments and data, so they can address a particular vertical market. We think that doesn’t make sense .”

To invent an example, consider a solar farm builder. They want to use satellite imagery to monitor their work and provide a data point on the resilience of their installations over time, looking for things like hot spots, broken panels and so on. They basically have two options. One is to use imagery from existing private satellites like Planet’s, which may or may not collect the type of data they want, at the frequency they want. The other is to build their own satellite and pay to put it in orbit — probably a nine-figure endeavor.

Muon is looking to provide a third option: a specialty space data partner that helps a company build an Earth observation platform from soup to nuts. That means designing the sensors, the bus, the navigation and telemetry systems, and the downlink and ground infrastructure needed to support this data-heavy industry.

Image Credits: Muon Space

Of course this won’t be cheap either, but it’s cheaper than building a satellite division yourself, and you’d be working with a crew that’s already made and several launched satellites and has made a specialty of Earth observation. Dyer was a principal engineer at Google Geo, and chief engineer at Skybox, and the rest of the crew has been built around remote sensing as well.

“Our team is somewhat unique in the depth and breadth of our expertise in these systems,” Dyer said, “but also the data utilization component — what’s needed to make these things valuable.”

Among Muon’s early customers are Google, the Environmental Defense Fund and another undisclosed partner, all of which it must be said will probably make good use of the company’s first three spacecraft, which use a different method of imaging the Earth than you might expect: microwaves .

“It’s a class of observation we call signals of opportunity,” said Dan McCleese, Muon’s chief scientist and formerly of the same role at JPL. The sensors they’ve built capture reflected radio waves in the microwave spectrum that have been emitted by other spacecraft, meaning they don’t have to send any out themselves.

“You can think of it as a form of radar. It’s a key measurement used by NOAA and NASA for weather prediction — there’s been a lot of technological development in reducing the size and cost of these sensors, but they need to get lots of them in the air to reduce the temporal resolution,” said Dyer — meaning reducing the time between observations of a given location.

In this case the microwave land monitoring method would be useful for monitoring wildfires — everyone wants to know where they are in real time, but the gear in orbit right now simply can’t provide that information. Muon provided a simulation of how its satellites (top right) would be able to visualize a spreading fire compared with what’s up there (bottom row), which you can see below:

Simulation of monitoring a wildfire. Clockwise from top left, simulated ground truth, Muon’s satellites, GOES, VIIRS. Image Credits: Muon Space

This is just one of the many remote sensing opportunities out there relating to climate change and environmental monitoring and modeling, markets Muon is hoping to target first.

Notably, the spectrum that its first satellites monitor can be adjusted via software, much the way radios can be tuned that way — it can’t suddenly become an infrared detector, though it can change its mission to support other bands of interest. But beyond the passive microwave radar, Muon is hoping to take advantage of other technologies that have been pioneered but not yet widely deployed.

“We also have longer-term interest in other parts of the spectrum,” said Dyer. “Multispectral, hyperspectral, infrared … and there are optical architectures that allow a similar approach to collecting very broad bandwidths and then selecting what you need.”

Their plans include using instruments developed by agencies like NASA that have no active mission.

“It’s interesting,” put in McCleese, “NASA is putting a lot of effort into coming up with the means and technology of doing smallsats, but they’re largely in the field of demonstrations. There is an enormously rich area of ​​instruments demonstrated by NASA, JAXA, etc. that are not being picked up for continuing observation. The demonstration was the focus, then the project comes to an end.”

A bunch of cutting-edge Earth observation tech sitting on a shelf just waiting for a tech transfer application is certainly a good place to start. Dyer said they will combine this with the company’s own accumulated expertise in the area and advances to “start from first principles in the ecosystem.”

“We want to provide a turnkey solution to formulate a set of sensors to address their problem, and go with them to full deployment of operations and data to meet their business needs. In many ways we think of the question of deploying sensors in space inside out,” he said, designing the satellite and data handling around the use case rather than vice versa.

The $25 million A round was led by Radical Ventures, with participation from Costanoa Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Space Capital and Ubiquity Ventures. “It definitely gets us to space, easily through the first three spacecraft, and it gets us to an MVP level on the support structure for those missions,” said Dyer.

Expect Muon’s first spacecraft to go up starting in November of next year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 ride-share mission if all continues to go well for them.

Categories
Entertainment

Commonwealth Games 2022 closing ceremony: Ozzy Osbourne appears, performs

Commonwealth Games 2022 closing ceremony: Ozzy Osbourne appears, performs

Birmingham: Victoria has officially taken hold of the Commonwealth Games baton in a star-studded celebration in Birmingham which included a surprise performance by legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne.

Australia’s all-conquering Commonwealth Games team have let their hair down for the two-hour closing ceremony at Alexander Stadium which also marked the official handing over of the baton to Victoria ahead of the Games to be held in four regional venues – Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland in 2026.

Rock star Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

Rock star Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.Credit:AP

In a contemporary take of the old fashion British pomp and circumstance, the Games flag was folded up and formally given to athletes from Team Australia to hand to the Governor of Victoria, Linda Dessau.

During the handover, 18 contemporary Indigenous dancers performed against a video backdrop that displayed Australian athletes and the breadth and depth of everything regional Victoria has to offer.

Baker Boy, the 2019 Young Australian of the Year, took center stage with his unique style of rap which he performed in both English and the Indigenous language of Yolnu Matha.

The 25-year-old was followed by Melbourne-born Vanessa Amorosi, who performed at the Sydney Olympic opening ceremony in 2000, and Geelong singer-songwriter Taylor Henderson.

Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Closing Ceremony for the Commonwealth Games at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.Credit:AP

To start the epic finale, Birmingham band Dexys Midnight Runners performed their legendary worldwide hit Come On Eileen to kick off the evening, where five-time Commonwealth Games diver Melissa Wu will carry the Australian flag, having won gold in the 10m platform synchro in Birmingham with 14-year-old Charli Petrov.

The Aussie team added a gold medal in men’s hockey to its tally on the final day of competition to finish the 11-day event with 67 gold 57 silver and 54 bronze – a total of 176 medals.

Categories
Sports

ABs’ failure to cope with Boks’ pressure ‘a bit of an uppercut’

ABs' failure to cope with Boks' pressure 'a bit of an uppercut'

Richie Mo’unga, a good chance to start for the All Blacks in the second Test against the Springboks, has hinted at the frustration being felt in the camp after the Mbombele Stadium defeat, saying his team’s inability to cope with South Africa’s defensive pressure was “a bit of an uppercut.”

Richie Mo'unga, a replacement for the All Blacks last Sunday, gets the ball away under pressure from Boks Eben Etzebeth, left, and Damian de Allende.

Richie Mo’unga, a replacement for the All Blacks last Sunday, gets the ball away under pressure from Boks Eben Etzebeth, left, and Damian de Allende. (Source: PhotoSport)

Mo’unga went further about the All Blacks’ near constant stream of mistakes during their 26-10 loss, their third consecutive reverse and their worst in 94 years against the Boks, when saying it didn’t take confidence or a good mindset to do the bare minimum on a rugby pitch.

“I wouldn’t say it’s mental, I’d say it’s skill error,” he told reporters in Johannesburg ahead of Sunday’s Test at Ellis Park.

“You don’t have to be in the right frame of mind to catch a ball or to complete your job or to do the basics well and I think not executing those put us under pressure.”

Mo’unga is a chance to start at No.10 should Beauden Barrett either not be available after landing on his neck after a horrific high-ball challenge from Kurt-Lee Arendse late in the Test or, if he is passed fit, moved to fullback to cover for brother Jordie, who has an ankle injury.

Readmore: Foster’s ‘massive concerns’ about hit on Barrett by serial offender

A message from Barrett posted on the All Blacks’ social media accounts saying: “my neck’s feeling good and I’ve bounced back really well from the collision at the weekend. I’m good to go”, bodes well for Barrett being involved in some capacity.

Mo’unga, who served his Crusaders apprenticeship under Dan Carter, has long been known as a hard taskmaster at that level and it appears he is increasingly comfortable asking for higher standards to be applied at Test level, as a team’s navigator should. I did not mince his words from him on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old, who has played 35 Tests, should also have relatively fond memories of Ellis Park. It was there that he led the Crusaders to their first Super Rugby title under Scott Robertson in 2017.

Five more championships have followed for Mo’unga under a head coach denied the All Blacks job in 2019 but who is increasingly likely to replace Ian Foster and sooner rather than later.

All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho attempts to tackle outstanding opposite Malcolm Marx at Mbombele Stadium.

All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho attempts to tackle outstanding opposite Malcolm Marx at Mbombele Stadium. (Source: PhotoSport)

Mo’unga said it was key the All Blacks found a way to break out of the “cycle” of pressure the Boks exerted via their set piece, big ball runners around the fringes, and penalties. By way of contrast, the All Blacks failed to build any of their own during the entire 80 minutes.

Asked about the recent criticism aimed at the team after five losses in their last six Tests, a run which has dropped the All Blacks to a lowly fifth on the world rankings, Mo’unga said it was “fair”.

“We’ve got younger guys in the squad who haven’t experienced that before so it’s tough on them,” he said. “It’s tough on our families. But as someone who has been around for a little while, my mindset doesn’t change, my energy doesn’t change … the outside noise doesn’t matter to me or affect me.

“I can understand that the fans and people out there can get frustrated but we’re trying our best. We know it’s not up to All Blacks standard. Our preparations will be very deep to get a result this weekend.

Readmore: Opinion: Time up for Foster – small ‘improvements’ aren’t enough

“It’s very fair. The team they support that usually gets results is not getting results at the moment. It’s fair for the fans to care, because they do… but it’s also fair on us to not care what they think because we have a role to play and a job to do, and hearing that isn’t going to help us at this moment .”

Foster’s team announcement, likely to come on Thursday night, will be highly anticipated as he shuffles his cards for what may be his final hand as All Blacks coach.

Mo’unga, who hasn’t started a Test since he ran out against France in November last year, may be elevated but so too may prop Ethan de Groot and possibly loose forward Shannon Frizell.

“I’m capable of a start as well,” Mo’unga added. “I’m capable of being the guy if the team needs me to be that guy. I also understand I have a role to come on in the last 30 or 20 to try to change a game around. I’m ready.”

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Categories
Australia

Albanese government kills COVIDSafe app, calling it a ‘colossal waste’ of money

the Albanian government has scrapped the COVID-Safe app after it lay dormant for almost two years.
Health minister Mark Butler released a statement claiming his government has “acted to delete the wasteful and ineffective” app.

The COVIDSafe app was introduced during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 by the Morrison government with hopes it could contact trace close contacts.

The COVIDSafe App – once touted as a must-have for all citizens – is being decommissioned. (Supplied)

In April 2020, former prime minister Scott Morrison described the app as “Australia’s ticket to a COVIDSafe Australia”.

However, after the app launched concerns were raised about its privacy, security and effectiveness.

Butler claims the app has cost taxpayers more than $21 million while it lay unused for the better part of two years.

“This failed app cost taxpayers more than $10 million in developing the app, a further $7 million on advertising and marketing, $2.1 million on upkeep and more than $2 million on staff,” Butler said.

“The failed app was a colossal waste of more than $21 million of taxpayer’s money.”

The new government has scrapped the COVIDSafe app. (Alex Ellinghausen/Sydney Morning Herald)

Not only did it cost taxpayers a significant amount over its two-year duration, but Butler also claimed the app failed to do what it was intended to – identify COVID-19 cases and close contacts.

“Since it was launched in April 2020 only two positive COVID-19 cases were identified through the app, which were not found by manual contact tracers,” Butler said.

“The app only identified 17 close contacts that hadn’t already been identified through manual contact tracing.”

Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday 3 August 2022. fedpol Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said the app was a waste of taxpayer’s money. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Butler said there were 7.9 million registrations on the app between April 2020 and May 2022 but fewer than 800 registrants consented to the government using their data for contact tracing.

Now that the app has been scrapped the health department will no longer collect data from it and it will be removed from app stores.

“The Department is working to delete all COVIDSafe app data as soon as possible, and no COVIDSafe app data will be retained,” the statement said.

The subvariants and mutations of COVID-19

Categories
Business

Coles receipt acknowledgment of country ‘unnecessary’, Indigenous leader says

Coles receipt acknowledgment of country 'unnecessary', Indigenous leader says

Coles has stood by its inclusion of an “acknowledgment of country” on its receipts despite the move being slammed as “unnecessary” by an Indigenous leader.

“Coles Group acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia. We recognize their strength and pay our respects to Elders, past, present and emerging,” the message says.

“Coles Group extends that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognize their rich cultures and consulting connection to land and waters.”

It comes after Channel 9’s The Block and Channel 10’s The Masked Singer also featured acknowledgment to country messages.

Wurundjeri elder Ian Hunter told the Herald Sun on Wednesday the Coles receipt message was “unnecessary”.

“For it to have more meaning, it would be better for Coles to locate the message on receipts for specific areas, for example Coles in Darebin could acknowledge the Woiwurrung people,” he told the newspaper.

“The acknowledgment of country shouldn’t be taken lightly. I’m getting fed up with this; it’s a real overreach.”

But in a statement, a Coles spokeswoman defended the move.

“With more than 2,500 stores nationally and as one of Australia’s largest employers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Coles Group is proud to include an acknowledgment of country on our receipts,” she said.

“We work hard to create opportunities for Indigenous peoples, organisations, communities and customers to engage with our business and continue to increase understanding, value and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge and rights.”

She also shared a Coles Group document titled Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement.

“Our purpose at Coles is to ‘sustainably feed all Australians to help them lead healthier, happier lives’,” a message from Coles Group chief executive Steven Cain says.

“This purpose is underpinned by our strategy to win together with our team members, suppliers and communities, and includes a commitment to diversity and inclusion for all Australians – including Indigenous Australians.”

The document states that over the past 10 years, Coles has increased its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team member representation from 65 to more than 4,400, representing 3.8 per cent of employees.

Last month, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson dramatically stormed out of the Senate during the routine morning acknowledgment, yelling, “No, I won’t. I never will.”

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, slammed the move as “disrespectful” and “racist”.

But Indigenous Senator Jacinta Price from the Country Liberal Party said she “understands” why Ms Hanson stormed out.

“While I understand the need for acknowledgment is important, we’ve just been absolutely saturated with it,” she said at the time.

“It’s getting to the point where it’s actually removing the sacredness of traditional culture and practices. It’s become almost like a throwaway line. We don’t want to see all these symbolic gestures, we want to see real action.”

[email protected]

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Categories
Technology

Tower of Fantasy launch times and preload – here’s when you can play

Tower of Fantasy

Tower of Fantasy launch times have been set as the sci-fi MMO gears up for its global launch.

Tower of Fantasy’s global release date is August 10 in most regions, but exact times differ slightly. Here’s a quick breakdown of the launch timing:

  • US Pacific Time – August 10, 5pm
  • US Eastern Time – August 10, 8pm
  • UTC – August 11, 12am (midnight launch)
  • British Standard Time – August 11, 1am