Categories
Sports

Cricket news 2022: Beth Mooney falls short of historic century on Hundred debut, Southern Brave vs London Spirit score

Australian cricketer Beth Mooney came within touching distance of becoming the first centurion in the Hundred women’s competition on Friday, scoring an unbeaten 97 against last year’s runners-up Southern Brave in Southampton.

Fresh off her triumphant Commonwealth Games campaign, the 28-year-old smacked the highest score in the 100-ball tournament’s short history on her London Spirit debut, guiding the side to 4/155 in front of 9000 spectators at the Ageas Bowl.

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Mooney needed nothing less than a six off the final delivery to reach triple figures, but the left-hander could only muster a two.

Birmingham Phoenix young gun Will Smeed remains the only cricketer to have scored a century in The Hundred, achieving the feat against the Brave in the men’s competition on Wednesday.

Mooney, who passed 50 in just 32 deliveries, struck 17 boundaries in the 55-ball demolition, combining with New Zealand’s Amelia Kerr for an 87-run second-wicket partnership.

But the Queenslander’s heroics weren’t enough for the Spirit to secure victory, with the Brave chasing the 156-run target with six deliveries to spare, courtesy of a 34-ball 65 from Player of the Match Danni Wyatt.

It was the English opener’s third half-century in The Hundred.

“I’m really happy to have contributed to a win and just to get the win on the board is really pleasing,” Wyatt told Sky Sports after the six-wicket win.

“My job at the top is to go out there and be brave and fearless, and if it’s in my area go for it.

“It’s a great start. Beth Mooney batted exceptionally today and we knew it was going to take one of us to go out there and do what she did.”

Australian leg-spinner Amanda Jade-Wellington, the Brave’s highest-wicket taker last year, was the pick of the bowlers on Friday, claiming 3/30 from her 20 deliveries.

Southern Brave captain Anya Shrubsole continued: “Beth Mooney was outstanding, and she makes you feel as a captain and a bowler you don’t have a clue where to put your fielders out. But Danni showed what a good track it was, and I’m really pleased to get a win.

“We go again against Oval on Sunday. It’sa quick turnaround and it’s quite a warm few days as well, but it’s exciting.”

Highest Individual Score in the Hundred women’s competition

97* – Beth Mooney, LS vs. SB (2022)

92* – Jemimah Rodrigues, NS vs. WF (2021)

78 – Smriti Mandhana, SB vs. WF (2021)

76* – Shafali Verma, BP vs. WF (2021)

76 – Rachael Priest, TR vs. LS (2021)

Mooney was a crucial member of the Australian team that won a Commonwealth Games gold medal in Birmingham last week, scoring 61 (41) against India in the final at Edgbaston.

She was the T20 tournament’s highest run-scorer with 179 runs at 44.75 and a strike rate of 133.58.

Mooney currently sits at No. 1 on the ICC Women’s T20I batting rankings, narrowly ahead of Australian teammate Meg Lanning and New Zealand captain Sophie Devine.

The Spirit will next face the Northern Superchargers at Headingley on Sunday, with the first ball scheduled for 8pm AEST.

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Categories
Australia

Danny Hodgson: Perth soccer star speaks to 7News’ Flashpoint about legal action considerations

Danny Hodgson is considering what legal action he can take for compensation after he was left with catastrophic injuries when he was coward punched by a teenager who was on bail for other crimes.

Mr Hodgson made the revelation in an emotional interview with 7News’ Flashpoint, during which for the first time since the attack, he returned to the Perth Train Station pedestrian bridge where his life changed for ever on September 5 last year.

“If anything, I’m just really angry at the justice system,” he said.

“The justice system is to convict criminals, to protect citizens, and to keep order across the country.

“But again it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to say that a criminal that has 23 offenses shouldn’t stay on the streets.”

Before the attack, Mr Hodgson was a healthy, talented soccer player with ECU Joondalup. He was on his way home from end-of-year celebrations when he was punched to the back of the head.

Danny Hodgson undergoing rehabilitation at Fiona Stanley Hospital
Camera IconDanny Hodgson undergoing rehabilitation at Fiona Stanley Hospital. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

The teenager was jailed for three years and eight months over his attack on Mr Hodgson and other strangers while on bail. He was facing 23 charges relating to 13 separate incidents in the seven months prior to the attack.

Asked if legal action for compensation was being considered, Ms Hodgson’s partner, Jess Pollock, said “definitely”.

“Someone needs to be held responsible for this and why should we go through this journey and suffer in other ways as well — not being able to pay our bills when we were both working,” she said.

“I don’t even know if what he did was legal to let him out after breaching bail on 23 charges, I don’t even know.

“But if it is legal, and he has followed the law, then the law seriously needs to change.”

Danny Hodgson interviewed for Flashpoint
Camera IconDanny Hodgson interviewed for Flashpoint. Credit: flash point/Channel 7

Mr Hodgson spent 82 days in intensive care at Royal Perth Hospital before he underwent weeks of rehabilitation at Fiona Stanley Hospital. He was rushed back to hospital last month after suffering a 10-minute seizure at home.

Heartbreakingly, Mr Hodgson’s independence, as well as his dream of having children, has been ripped away.

“We were hoping to start a family pretty soon but now I can’t start a family because you can’t have Jess as having full responsibility for a kid,” he said.

“As a parent you’ve got to have two parents to look after you, to change your nappy, to feed the kid — it’s impossible to have a kid as one parent.

“It’s not impossible but it’s hard to have a good kid and do the right thing, and that’s been taken away from us.”

Manchester United legend Denis Irwin with Danny Hodgson, Peter Hodgson and Jess Pollock at Optus Stadium
Camera IconManchester United legend Denis Irwin with Danny Hodgson, Peter Hodgson and Jess Pollock at Optus Stadium. Credit: daniel wilkins/The West Australian

He added: “I honestly may as well be dead in my head, mate. There’s no point of being alive. I’m worthless, I’m hopeless, I’ve got no benefit of being on this earth anymore.”

Asked if he had a message for Attorney-General John Quigley, Mr Hodgson said: “He can be a hero and save people’s lives”.

“Please change the law so this doesn’t happen again,” I asked.

“You’ve got the power to change the law and you can save people’s lives.”

Danny Hodgson at Manchester United open training session at the WACA.
Camera IconDanny Hodgson at Manchester United open training session at the WACA. Credit: Andrew Richie/The West Australian

Mr Quigley did not respond to Flashpoint’s questions asking why the offender was allowed out on bail and what action he had taken to ensure that what happened to Mr Hodgson would not happen again in the future.

But he said he would meet with the family in coming weeks to discuss their concerns.

Under WA’s Criminal Injuries Compensation legislation, a victim of crime can be entitled to a one-off, maximum payment of $75,000.

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Categories
Technology

7 best Minecraft 1.19 Bedrock addons in 2022

Minecraft is a game that has thrived in popular culture for more than a decade now. A large part of this continued success is due to the many mods the community has created for the game.

From adding basic functionality like multiplayer when the game was still in beta to modpacks such as RLCraft that completely change the game, there is no shortage of new experiences.

However, Bedrock edition players have much more limited access to mods. Most of what is available is through the marketplace and microtransactions. However, there are some free mods for Bedrock known as addons. While slightly different from Java mods, there addons can add a lot to the player experience.


The seven best addons for Minecraft 1.19 Bedrock

7)Dynamic Lighting

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The dynamic lighting mod does exactly what its title says. It adds dynamic lighting to Bedrock edition, meaning that torches and other light sources, such as lanterns and redstone lamps, will continuously light up the area around their location, even if they have not been placed down.

The major benefit of this addon is the ability for the player to use a single torch to explore an entire cave as the torch will light up the surrounding area.


6) Natural Structures

The webpage for the Natural Structures addon (Image via mcpedl)
The webpage for the Natural Structures addon (Image via mcpedl)

As the name suggests, the Natural Structures addon introduces a plethora of new and interesting nature-based structures. This includes things such as new dead trees, giant poppies, pumpkins, and drying racks that can be used to turn kelp into dried kelp, or rotten flesh into leather.

This addon adds a lot of natural depth to the world, heightening world generation and adding a new flair to much of what would be an otherwise boring and average Minecraft world.


5) Mutant Creatures

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Mutant Creatures is an addon that fills the world with stronger mutant mobs. There are a total of 20 new mutants of the different vanilla mobs.

This list of mutants includes, but is not limited to, mutant endermen capable of weakening all nearby enemies through a roar, mutant skeletons that deal huge damage, and zombie mutants that are tanky and hit like a truck.

While most of the mutant mobs found in the addon are hostile to the player, there are potential allies that players can find throughout the world. Some mutant axolotls and wolves are much stronger and can be tamed by players. Mutant iron and snow golems can be created by players to help drive off the forces of evil.


4)MoreTools

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The More Tools addon adds a plethora of new tools to Minecraft. The addon adds more than 900 new tools and tool variants. While the addon focuses mainly on tools, it does add other things, such as more than 20 decorative blocks and more than 35 new types of armor.

These tools are mostly made up of new types of weapons that players can use to defend against the forces of the night. This includes battle axes, karambits, scythes, and maces. The battle axes tend to have powerful right-click effects. This addon can add dozens of hours to the longevity of a survival world just through experimentation and exploring new options.


3) More Bosses

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The More Bosses addon adds many new and exciting bosses for players to fight on their survival worlds.

Some of these bosses include:

  • The sea guardian: a high-health armored drowned
  • The old one: the old Minecraft creepypasta Herobrine turned into a boss fight
  • Tower of Flesh: a reference to one of Terraria’s most iconic bosses: The Wall of Flesh.

These bosses all have unique drops. The most interesting of these drops are unique trophies for each boss, which players can use to decorate their base and prove that they bested the boss in combat.


2) World Animals

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The World Animals addon adds a total of five dozen new animals. These animals come from totally different areas of the planet and range in size from tiny to huge, adding a huge amount of variety and life to the environment of Minecraft. For example, there are mobs as small as butterflies, shrimp, and kiwis to as large as elephants.

The addon also adds golden bones, which can be used to tame many of the addon’s animals, and a lot of the large mobs, including the elephants, have saddles available so players can ride them. New ores, including ruby ​​and citrine, and new food items such as rat tacos are also included.

This addon puts the Wild in the Wild Update, addressing some of the major complaints from the community.


1) Better Survival

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The Better Survival addon is focused on revamping and overhauling Minecraft’s core survival experience.

This is done in many ways, such as changing vanilla items to give them a purpose. For example, in the base game, there is no reason to craft cookies as they are one of the worst foods in Minecraft. However, for better survival, they grant speed. Additionally, dried kelp can grant players water breathing.

There are also several parity changes, which help bring the two versions of Minecraft in line with one another. This includes being able to trap endermen in boats or zombies dropping cooked potatoes when they die while on fire.

Fishing loot and piglin bartering have also been updated to offer better and more useful items. New structures and terrain generation features are present for players to discover and explore. The most recent version of the addon has added a new feature where players are given the coordinates of their last death, making retrieving loot dropped on death much easier and more convenient.


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Categories
Sports

Tom Lynch kicks Richmond Tigers into the finals, booting eight goals against Hawthorn Hawks at the MCG

“Scores in particular were concerning but I think they’re [Richmond] playing some good footy, winning a lot of statistics over the last four to six weeks. I think they’re going to be formidable in the next few weeks as well.”

Some poor defensive structure from Hawthorn leaked goals to Richmond’s potent and crafty forward line, with nine different Tigers players contributing majors. They had no answers to Lynch’s height and damaging kicking boots.

When the Tigers moved the ball quickly, the Hawks struggled to get back and set up behind the ball fast enough. This was a particular issue in the opening term before Hawthorn tightened up in the second quarter, where each side kicked three apiece, but Richmond had already established a 28-point lead.

Jack Riewoldt flies high for the Tigers.

Jack Riewoldt flies high for the Tigers.Credit:AFL Pictures

From halfway through their nine-goal third quarter, Richmond seemed to just be having some fun, seeing how far they could push the margin, while Hawthorn were on damage control.

James Sicily was everywhere, applying defensive and offensive pressure, spending time at the coalface and kicking his first of the season. Jai Newcombe also finished the day was 29 disposals.

Dion Prestia was crafty as ever in the midfield and registered two goals, youngster Tyler Sonsie was impressive and Maurice Rioli did a lot with the ball whenever he got hands on it, but it really was all the Lynch show.

Can’t give Lynch an inch of space

Richmond’s key forward proved once again he can’t be given even a sliver of space, finishing the afternoon with eight goals, never missing once from a set shot. The tall marking target was a thorn in Hawthorn’s defensive side, able to repeatedly get his hands on the ball, taking seven contested marks and then finishing the job.

“There’s a reason key forwards are highly regarded,” said Hardwick. “You know, you’ve got to remember it’s the first full pre-season he’s had since he’s been at our footy club. Like he’s played off basically zero prep the other seasons we’ve had him, and it’s really significant that he does get the work in, comes in, and you see how big and strong he looks in the contest today … really pleased with his reward .”

Hardwick also said he was really pleased with Jack Riewoldt, acknowledging Lynch was on and allowed him the space to shine. “[Jack] got the hell out of his way, which is significant leadership shown by Jack but also the other forwards as well.”

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Hawthorn defenders rotated matching up on Lynch, including Sicily, Emerson Jeka, James Blanck and Denver Grainger-Barras all having a go on the big man and attempting to put some bodywork on him. But whenever he was able to get in front, the ball was his.

With Richmond away from the main break onwards, the narrative of the day quickly became: just how many could Tom Lynch get?

RICHMOND 6.2 9.3 18.5 20.8 (128)
HAWTHORN 1.1 4.5 5.10 9.13 (67)

GOALS
Richmond: Lynch 8, Cumberland 2, Prestia 2, Rioli 2, Edwards 2, Cotchin, Castagna, Bolton, Miller.
Hawthorn: Breust 2, Gunston 2, Koschitzke, Sicily, McEvoy, Serong, Shiels.
BEST
Richmond: Lynch, Prestia, Rioli, Short.
Hawthorn: McEvoy, Sicily, Newcombe, Mitchell.
INJURIES
Richmond: Graham (Ankle).
CROWD 59,338 at the MCG.

VOTES

T. Lynch (Richmond) 9
J. Sicily (Hawthorn) 8
D. Prestia (Richmond) 8
T. Cotchin (Richmond) 7
J. Newcombe (Richmond) 7

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Categories
Australia

West Australians embrace clothes swaps, dress hiring and upcycling amid concerns about fast fashion

In a world of mass-produced fast fashion, West Australians are increasingly turning to new initiatives to give their clothes a second life.

With each Australian throwing out more than 20kg of textile waste a year, some individuals, councils and companies in Western Australia are trying to reduce the amount of clothes being sent to local landfills.

Among the initiatives taking off in WA is trading garments through community clothes swaps, hiring outfits rather than buying them and upcycling or re-fashioning old clothes.

WA style counselor Ciara Lowe-Thiedeman said the second hand economy was booming.

“The number of people interested in these kinds of initiatives, in second-hand, in understanding how to get the best garments at the best price and how to keep things in circulation and how to earn money from your bad decisions as well – is hugely on the rise,” she said

A woman in a green dress sorts through a suitcase of clothes
Councils and communities are holding clothes swaps to cut back on textile waste.(ABC News: Jacqueline Lynch)

“Teenagers and young people are hiring much more often because hiring is also much more affordable.

“Lots of people are doing it, it’s becoming rife and I applaud it.”

Ms Lowe-Thiedeman said she was glad to see people moving towards greener fashion choices at a time when many were still embracing mass-produced, low-cost clothes known as fast-fashion.

“I think slowly but surely we are becoming more aware. [But] we’re not becoming aware fast enough,” she said.

“We’ve got this rise of little industries, you know, your clothes swaps, your second-hand shops and your op shops – because they’re making money off peoples excess or people’s bad mistakes.”

WA councils lend a hand

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council, which handles waste for several Perth councils, started holding community clothes swaps in an attempt to stop textiles ending up in landfill and recycling bins.

Vintage clothing on a rack.
Community clothes swaps are becoming increasingly popular.(ABC News: Kerrin Thomas)

Waste education coordinator Isabelle Marie said it was about getting more people interested in re-using garments and breaking down the stigma of second hand clothes

“People always proudly tell us when they’re wearing something that has come from the swap,” Ms Marie said.

She said the swaps were becoming more popular.

“From the very first swap, when we’re looking at our numbers, we have started to see them increase,” she said.

“More people are aware and more people are attending.”

It’s ‘cool’ to thrift and upcycle

However, the rise in popularity of these new thrifty initiatives had not dimmed visitation to local op shops.

Good Sammy chief executive Kane Blackman said stores were full of people buying clothes for themselves and even re-working them for a profit.

“It’s very cool to thrift right now,” he said.

“We’re seeing about 30,000 Western Australians coming into our stores every week.

“People come in and they see opportunities in some clothing, to make a small amendment, to make it into something new – we’re seeing a great demand for that.

A man in a blue jacket stands between two clothes racks
Good Sammy CEO Kane Blackman says customers often bought clothes and upcycled them into something new.(ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)

“Some of them do upcycle it and a number of people do sell those items online. So we’re creating secondary employment for people across the state.”

Mr Blackman said people were becoming more socially aware of the impacts of textile waste.

Textile waste rotting away in landfill

Data from Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water showed the average Australian bought 27kg of new clothes each year and discarded about 23kg into landfill.

Curtin University School of Design researcher Dr Anne Farren said that it was “a massive amount” of textile waste to deal with locally.

“If we are all producing that level of waste and we just look at the WA situation, we’re getting up to around 60 million tonnes of garment waste produced in WA,” she said.

A woman in a green jacket at an opp shop
Experts say people are becoming more aware of the environmental impacts of fast fashion.(ABC News: Ashleigh Davis)

Dr Farren said anything that could be done to stop textile waste going to landfill was fantastic.

“A lot of the textile waste unfortunately doesn’t break down … synthetic material often has a plastic component to it and they just take forever to break down,” she said.

“It’s as bad as and similar to a plastic.”

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Categories
Technology

Security Researcher Raises Alarm After Detecting Possible Threat To macOS Version Of Zoom / Digital Information World

A security researcher has reportedly raised the alarm about a possible threat to the macOS version of Zoom.

The researcher claims to have found a new means through which attackers would now be able to enter into the whole operating system, thanks to a number of loopholes in the security offered by the platform.

New details surrounding the exploitation had to do with a presentation provided by Mac’s renowned security specialist named Patrick Wardle. He shed light on the matter in Las Vegas’s recent hacking conference that was held last Friday.

While some of the vulnerable bugs are gone, thanks to a quick interception by Zoom in this regard, it doesn’t mean everything is back to normal. The researcher has noted that there still remains one unresolved vulnerability that continues to affect all systems today.

As far as how the threat works are concerned, well, it has been detailed to target the installer involved in downloading Zoom. This is only possible when users give consent to allow a new Zoom to come forward or the old one to be removed from their device.

The installer needs the users to plug in their password when including the app in the system for the first time. When this occurs, Wardle realized that there was one function for auto updates that was continuing to run in the background after being given some great privileges.

When the app was seen releasing an update, the vulnerability would also get on board with the new version after making sure it was related to Zoom cryptographically. But the fact that there was now a bug being incorporated in the whole checking order means that if any file was provided with a similar name as that seen across the certificate of Zoom, it would pass this test with ease.

This way, so many attackers get the chance to replace any program on the app with malware and make it work thanks to the updater that gave it special privileges. And in the end, what you get is a privileged attack. This automatically thinks the attacker has entered the system and in the end, exploitation is conducted to get further access across the app.

At first, attackers start off as restricted users but within a short timeframe, they’re elevated to higher or superior statuses that are also commonly called superusers. This enables file addition, removal, and even deletion along the way.

Wardle was seen mentioning how he had warned Zoom last year in December regarding the major security threat. But to his dismay, their attempts at fixing it resulted in the addition of another major bug. This means there was still a bigger vulnerability at hand that could be exploited.

For this reason, I have waited for a good eight months, before publishing his recent research. This is after he told Zoom about the presence of a second bug.

Zoom provides a defense statement claiming that it gave a patch that would help rid the app but little did they know at the time that it wasn’t good enough to prevent the app from being exploited.

At the moment, the bug is definitely still working on Zoom but Wardle has mentioned how simple it is to fix. And that’s why his hopes of talking about it publicly can make all the difference.

As far as the latest update from Zoom is concerned, they have acknowledged the news with the firm’s head of security making claims of how they’re working hard to fix it diligently.

H/T: The Verge

Read next: Black Hat 2022 Security Researchers Reveal Hidden Loopholes In Tracking Devices

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Categories
Sports

Bombers-Hawks AFLW match moved to Docklands following ‘unprecedented’ ticket demand

The AFLW first-round match between Essendon and Hawthorn has been moved to the 53,359-capacity Docklands stadium due to a massive demand for tickets.

The historic match between the two AFLW newcomers — to be played on August 27 — was to be held at the 12,000-capacity North Port Oval in Melbourne, but the initial allocation of tickets sold out within 24 hours.

AFL general manager of women’s football Nicole Livingstone said the venue relocation was an indication of the increasing interest in AFLW.

“We’re in an incredible place coming into our seventh season and I couldn’t be prouder of every single person who got us here,” she said.

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AFL executive member Travis Auld said the demand for tickets was “unprecedented.”

“Quite simply the fans of both clubs, and supporters of women’s footy in general showed why we needed to move to a bigger venue by selling out the game so quickly,” he said.

“Two proud clubs, a historic occasion for them and another historic moment for the AFLW competition.”

Port Adelaide and Sydney join Essendon and Hawthorn as the new AFLW teams, meaning the competition will feature all 18 AFL clubs.

The AFLW season begins on August 25, with Carlton hosting Collingwood at Princes Park.

Adelaide and Melbourne meet in a grand final rematch the following evening at Norwood Oval.

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Categories
Australia

Family who fled Afghanistan reunited in Adelaide after a decade apart, after successful court case against Australian government

A family who fled Afghanistan after their daughter was killed in a missile attack has finally been reunited in South Australia.

The Rezaee family had been separated for more than a decade as they waited for humanitarian visas to be processed.

Abdullah Rezaee said he was granted permanent refugee status in Australia in 2011, after he was forced to flee his homeland.

“I was working in an association and, because of that, my life was being threatened by the Taliban and I was at risk, so I couldn’t feel safe in Afghanistan, so I had to flee,” he said.

“That time was very hard for me, I was upset and sick.”

A young man in a maroon top hugs a small child wearing a red shirt
Fida Rezaee, 17, with her sister, Maliha, two.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

After moving to Pakistan as refugees, Abdullah’s wife, Fatima, and their surviving children applied for Australian visas in 2017.

Earlier this year, they still had received no response, so the family took the Australian government to court over the delay.

Their lawyer, Josephine Langbien, said the court case argued that the government had failed its legal responsibility to determine visa applications within a reasonable time.

“They had been waiting [more than] four years and I think anyone can agree that it is simply an unreasonable length of time to have to wait,” Ms Langbien said.

The Australian government granted the case and issued the family with permanent visas.

Weeks later the family were reunited in Adelaide.

A man wearing a black jacket and white shirt looks directly into the camera
Abdullah Rezaee and his family lived apart for a decade.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

Zamin Ali, 20, said there were tears of joy when he first saw his father.

“I was waiting for the moment of the reunion with my father. It was like a dream come true,” he said.

“It was as if I was waiting my whole life to be reunited with my father because we were apart for many years.”

Mr Ali now dreams of becoming a professional soccer player or a doctor.

His younger sister, 14-year-old Frozan, has been taking English lessons for new arrivals.

Mr Rezaee said it was “very important” that his children could go to school.

“In Pakistan and in Afghanistan they cannot go to school. They have a lot of problems,” he said.

“Now, here, they are going to school. I am very happy.”

A young smiling girl stares out of a window covered with a thin white curtain
Frozan Rezaee, 14, has been taking English lessons.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

The family’s four-year visa order is not uncommon.

Ms Langbien — who works at the Human Rights Law Center — said thousands of Afghan families remained separated while waiting for visas.

“After two decades of war, Australia owes a moral obligation to the people of Afghanistan,” she said.

“We have a responsibility to do more to help. We can do more to help.”

“We need the new government to increase its commitment to supporting families who are separated between Australia and Afghanistan and work so much faster to bring those families back together.”

The Human Rights Law Center said 211,000 Afghans have applied for humanitarian visas in Australia since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan a year ago.

Ms Langbien said more than 7,000 people from Afghanistan were currently waiting for family visas to be processed, and close to 5,000 of those have been waiting longer than two years for an answer.

“We promised additional humanitarian visas, but we know that only a few thousand of those visas have actually been issued,” she said.

A smiling woman wearing a gray hijab
Fatima Rezaee’s family were one of many waiting for visas to be processed.(ABC News: Che Chorley)

Federal government figures show that, in the past year, more than 1,700 Afghan partner and family visas have been granted.

Some of these applications were lodged back in 2012.

Arif Hussein from the Refugee Advice and Casework Service said the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan was reflected in the number of people who have sought protection from the Australian government.

“It’s important to remember [that] many of these applicants are immediate family members of those in Australia: wives, husbands and children,” he said.

“Our new government must take the opportunity for concrete action for other people from Afghanistan by committing to, and implementing, a one-off, 20,000 humanitarian intake of the most vulnerable people.”

A Department of Home Affairs spokesperson said a total of 31,500 places would be available for Afghan nationals over the next four years.

“The Australian government remains committed to supporting the Afghan community at this distressing time,” the spokesperson said.

“The department is working to ensure that visa options continue to be available to Afghan nationals, both within Afghanistan and those who have been displaced from their home country.”

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Categories
Business

Mitsubishi Recalling More Than 75,000 Outlander Sports After Dozens Experience Engine Failure


Those who drive a 2019 or newer Mitsubishi Outlander Sport might want to park them for the time being. Back in May of 2019, three such SUVs either failed to start or stalled while driving. After a lengthy investigation and a bunch more dead Outlander Sport engines, Mitsubishi is recalling more than 75,000 examples to ensure that no more cases occur.

It was more than a year before a fourth stalling occurrence took place. Analysis of the returned engines indicated that an exhaust valve had tried to share the same physical space as a piston. That’s never a good thing but despite its best efforts, Mitsubishi couldn’t determine a root cause for the issue.

From May 2020 through April 2021 more instances continued to trickle in. They continued to show piston to exhaust valve contact but it wasn’t until bench tests and on-site investigations determined that the control logic of the CVT-ECU might be at the heart of the issue.

Read More: Ferrari Recalls Almost Every Car It Sold In The US Since 2005

Beginning in January of this year Mitsubishi began further in-depth analysis and simulations with a focus on the CVT-ECU. It found that in rare instances, the CVT-ECU briefly loses its power supply, and when the unit resets it sends the target gear ratio to the lowest “gear” possible. Imagine being on the highway and then forcing your car into first gear. That’s similar to what happens in the case of these Outlander Sports.

When that happens, the engine speeds up beyond what it can tolerate and the piston and exhaust valves meet which stalls the engine. Clearly, that’s a safety hazard and so a total of 76,508 Outlander Sports will need a software update to eliminate the risk.

Mitsubishi has concluded that there are two classes of Outlander Sport that don’t need to worry about this recall. That includes any equipped with a manual transmission (duh) and those that use a push-button start.

The automaker has received a total of 21 field reports and 29 potential warranty claims (19 of which were also field reports). Owner notification letters should be mailed by August 24th but if you own an Outlander Sport and want to confirm whether or not your vehicle is included before that you can simply call your local dealer or the NHTSA.

Categories
Technology

Relief for customers: Now broken screen of these Samsung phones will be converted to ₹2300

The cost of repairing expensive phones is also high, but Samsung has given great relief to customers of its high-end smartphones. We’re talking about Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 customers. The company launched these two new foldable phones to the world at the Unpacked event this week. To encourage customers to purchase the new foldable phone, the company is significantly repair costs under the Samsung Care+ reducing subscription plan this year. The Samsung Care+ plan includes coverage for drops, spills, and cracked screens. Eligible customers can replace the damaged screen of the new foldable phone by paying $29 (around Rs 2,300).

Samsung’s foldable phones come with one year of Samsung Care+ accidental damage protection. As mentioned, it covers devices against accidental damage, including screen replacement, water damage, and back cover replacement. However, after the warranty period, users will need to pay the full price for the folding screen replacement.

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This is the out-of-warranty screen repair cost
As reported by The Verge, new Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 repair costs now start at $29 (around Rs 2,300) to fix a broken screen. The screen repair cost for the previous generation Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 is around Rs 19,800 for those without standard warranty. According to Samsung’s support page, Samsung Care+ without out-of-warranty screen repair costs up to $480 (around Rs 38,200) for these models.

Price and features of the new foldable phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 are expected to hit stores in the coming weeks with minor upgrades over their previous Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3 models. India will start from noon on August 16th. Both new phones are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip and support variable refresh rate. The screen and back glass have Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus protection and are IPX8 rated for dust and water resistance. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 starts at $1,799.99 (around Rs 1,42,700), while the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 starts at $999 (around Rs 79,000).