Month: August 2022

Categories
Entertainment

Viewers react as Today show suffers embarrassing wardrobe gaffe

Viewers were seeing quadruple on Monday morning when four females sported near-matching blue ensembles on the Today show

Viewers react after Channel Nine’s Today suffers embarrassing wardrobe gaffe – and Amber Sherlock responds years after #jacketgate saga

By Savanna Young For Daily Mail Australia

Published: | Updated:

It’s #jacketgate all over again!

Viewers tuning in to Channel Nine’s Today show on Monday morning were given quite the surprise when four females were seen in near-identical blue ensembles.

Today host Allison Langdon, reporters Lara Vella and Fiona Willan, plus Senator Jacqui Lambie all appeared dressed in blue during separate segments on the breakfast show.

Viewers were seeing quadruple on Monday morning when four females sported near-matching blue ensembles on the Today show

Viewers were seeing quadruple on Monday morning when four females sported near-matching blue ensembles on the Today show

A photo of the four was later shared via the show’s Instagram account with the caption, ‘Da ba dee da ba di,’ referencing Eiffel 65’s iconic track ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’.

‘Oh yeah… go sisters! What color should we rock tomorrow? Allison joked in the comments.

Fans were quick to spot a familiarity to that of Nine presenter Amber Sherlock’s ‘Jacketgate’ gaffe more than five years ago.

In January 2017, footage emerged of the newsreader berating former Nine reporter Julie Snook for wearing a white jacket.

Amber brushed off the 'Jacketgate' saga in the comments

Amber brushed off the ‘Jacketgate’ saga in the comments

Amber had asked Julie ‘two hours ago’ to change as the panel of three females all appeared in white.

‘Amber Sherlock won’t like you all in the same colour,’ one viewer wrote in the comments of Today’s Instagram post.

In response, Amber brushed off the saga, jokingly writing: ‘I quite like the blue actually.. I only have ownership over white.’

‘Amber Sherlock would’ve had a fit,’ another user added. To which she responded, ‘Well it wasn’t white… but…’

'Amber Sherlock would¿ve had a fit,' one user wrote, before Amber jokingly replied

‘Amber Sherlock would’ve had a fit,’ one user wrote, before Amber jokingly replied

The footage went viral after an editor sent the clip – which was captured during a commercial break – around the newsroom, before an on-air talent reportedly leaked it online via Mumbrella.

‘The editor who originally sent the clip around the newsroom got off pretty easily because they didn’t intend it to get out,’ an insider told the newspaper at the time.

In the footage, Amber says to her producer: ‘I need Julie to put a jacket on because we’re all in white. I asked her before we came on… Julie you need to put a jacket on.’

The leaked footage showed Amber (centre) demanding Julie (left) put on a jacket so the two could avoid both wearing white on TV at the same time

The leaked footage showed Amber (centre) demanding Julie (left) put on a jacket so the two could avoid both wearing white on TV at the same time

The former sports presenter later appeared on air wearing a black jacket

The former sports presenter later appeared on air wearing a black jacket

Julie fought back saying she hadn’t had time to change, but Amber refused to back down, snapping back: ‘Come on, I told you two hours ago.’

The former sports presenter later appeared on air wearing a black jacket, and was the subject of much public sympathy when the footage went viral.

Amber later addressed the controversy, blaming the meltdown on the pressures of live TV.

Amber (pictured) later addressed the controversy, blaming the meltdown on the pressures of live TV

Amber (pictured) later addressed the controversy, blaming the meltdown on the pressures of live TV

‘I was absolutely mortified, and, of course, hurt. I think I’m a kind, generous person,’ she told the Daily Telegraph at the time.

‘I am a mum, I have a family. And I was devastated. I am only human at the end of the day, and I think people forget that.’

For Julie, she said the experience had been a ‘learning curve’.

‘It’s shown me both the good and the bad in people and shown just how much we can really come together. I’ve had a lot of support here at Nine,’ she told 9Honey in May 2017.

Julie (pictured left) said the experience had been a 'learning curve'

Julie (pictured left) said the experience had been a ‘learning curve’

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Categories
Sports

West Coast dual-Coleman Medalist announces retirement

West Coast dual-Coleman Medalist announces retirement

Josh Kennedy has announced his retirement and will play one more game in his AFL career.

The 34-year-old veteran was widely tipped to retire following the conclusion of the 2022 season but West Coast confirmed on Tuesday morning he would step back after Round 21.

He’ll retire after 17 seasons in the AFL, including 15 with West Cost after beginning his career at Carlton.

“It’s been a privilege to play so many years at this great football club and I’ll forever be grateful for the opportunity to represent the West Coast Eagles and Carlton,” Kennedy said in a club statement.

“There are so many people to thank for helping me on the journey over 17 years. Obviously my wife Lauren and daughters Sage and Lottie, my family who always supported me, coaches John Worsfold and Adam Simpson, club staff and of course my teammates.

“Footy and the West Coast Eagles have given me so much and I’ve loved the journey. I’ve made lifelong friendships and learned so much from champions like Dean Cox, Darren Glass, Luke Shuey, Shannon Hurn and Mark LeCras.

“One of the biggest things I’ve wanted to do over my career is to have respect from my teammates – that’s always driven how I acted, trained or tried to play.

“My knee is a big reason for retiring. I think my drive to play is still there, but I’m realistic my body is not going to be able to take me to another season.

“To be able to farewell West Coast supporters one last time at Optus Stadium and say thank you for the incredible support over the years will be the perfect way to finish my career.”

He’s kicked 29 goals in 2022 and retires with 715 majors to his name as a dual Coleman Medalist.

His 80 goals in the 2016 home and away season (82 total) remains the most in a season since 2009.

Current teammate Andrew Gaff paid tribute to Kennedy’s career on SEN WA Breakfast.

“A few of us were talking the other day where he stands in terms of the club, and he’s got to be right up there,” he said just prior to the announcement.

“I think what I admire about him the most is his ability to get himself up every week… I’ve never seen someone limp around and struggle so much every week but then find a way to not only get up, but kick lots of goals against good tall backs.

“He takes such pride in his performance and he’s been a massive reason we’ve been such a successful team for the last ten years.

“People reflect on how high he compares to come of the greats… he’s right up there.

“He’s been such an important leader for me and a good role model for the younger boys coming through.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the effort and the toll it’s taken on his body, which is pretty evident now.”

Kennedy rejected an assistant role with Fremantle to sign a one-year contract extension at the end of 2021 and has played 292 games across his career.

West Coast plays Adelaide at Optus Stadium on Sunday in his final game.

West Coast Eagles Sports-News





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Categories
Australia

AFP warned George Christensen Philippines ‘activities’ put him at risk of compromise

AFP warned George Christensen Philippines 'activities' put him at risk of compromise

“The AFP has completed a thorough assessment in relation to this matter, with no criminal conduct on the part of Mr Christensen being identified,” the letter says.

“The assessment did reveal, however, that Mr Christensen undertakes extensive international travel to Southeast Asia during non-sitting periods and has engaged in activities that could potentially place him at risk of being targeted for compromise by foreign interests.”

“On May 24, 2018, the AFP met with Mr Christensen and informed him of the potential risk of compromise.”

The letter did not go into detail about the nature of Christensen’s alleged “activities” in Southeast Asia.

This masthead has previously reported that a staff member at an adult entertainment bar in Angeles City claimed Christensen was a regular at the venue.

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At the height of the AFP’s probe, Dutton and then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull discussed the prospect of disendorsing Christensen before the 2019 election, according to multiple Liberal sources. But the matter was complicated by the fact that Christensen was a Nationals MP.

Christensen, who has a Filipina wife, has attacked media coverage of his visits to the Philippines as a “vile smear” and insisted he did nothing wrong.

Asked last year why he was fighting the release of the document, Christensen said: “I am not happy with documents that basically falsely accuse me of a serious crime being made public because, therefore, people will get to then report what you are falsely accused of and that’s just wrong for anyone.”

Turnbull, former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, Dutton and Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce were all briefed on the probe at least once by the AFP.

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In her decision handed down on June 30, Information Commissioner Angelene Falk rejected the AFP’s submissions that the release of the document was an unreasonable disclosure of Christensen’s personal information, saying personal privacy considerations were outweighed by the public interest.

“I am persuaded that a public purpose would be served through the release of the document by increasing scrutiny, discussion, comment and review of government’s activities in accordance with … the FOI Act,” Falk said in her decision. “I am satisfied that disclosure would not be unreasonable in this case.”

The AFP also argued the release of the letter would damage the security of the Commonwealth and have a “substantial adverse effect” on its operations by compromising the “provision of frank and candid briefings to the minister of home affairs in relation to sensitive matters”.

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But after inspecting the document, Falk said she was “not satisfied that the AFP has discharged its onus” in establishing that the document’s release would adversely affect its operations.

Christensen had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.

Categories
US

Man charged with murder in weekend slaying of Indiana cop

Man charged with murder in weekend slaying of Indiana cop

ANDERSON, Ind. — A man accused of fatally shooting an Indiana police officer during a traffic stop had made a song about killing an officer, investigators said Monday.

Carl Boards II was charged with murder and other crimes, a day after Elwood Officer Noah Shahnavaz was gunned down in the wee hours Sunday in Madison County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Indianapolis.

The 24-year-old officer was shot in the head after stopping Boards’ car. Investigators found 36 rifle bullet casings and damage to the patrol car’s hood, windshield and driver’s door.

Shahnavaz’ gun was still in its holster when he was taken to a hospital, Richard Clay of the Indiana State Police said in a court filing.

Boards, 42, owns a barber shop in Marion, Indiana. Police went to the shop and interviewed a man who lives in an apartment above the business.

The man indicated that Boards “made a recorded song making statements that if he was ever caught by police that he would kill them,” Clay said.

Boards was released from parole a year ago. His criminal record of him goes back to 1999 and includes convictions involving guns and drugs, Clay said.

It wasn’t immediately known if Boards has an attorney yet who could comment on the allegations.

Shahnavaz served in the US Army for five years before becoming a police officer about a year ago.

“His dream was to serve others and we are proud of what he has accomplished in such a short time, both in the military and with Elwood police,” Fishers High School Principal Jason Urban said. “The entire FHS Tiger family grieves this tragic loss of such a promising young man full of talent and potential.”

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Categories
Business

Sexy Russian ‘Crazy’ hotel near Moscow that you should avoid at all costs

Sexy Russian 'Crazy' hotel near Moscow that you should avoid at all costs

Today I was minding my own business, trawling the internet for interesting hotels when I came across the formidably named Special Hotel ‘Crazy’ on booking.com.

And I would like you to come on a wild, frightening and mind-boggling journey with me as we drink in the photos from this utterly bizarre themed hotel on the outskirts of Moscow.

(The words “kiss”, “love” and “sex” give a not-so-subtle hint as to what this room is all about. That’s right: crosswords.)

Oh wait, we have more clues. Turns out there’s a bath on a tiled roulette wheel in the other corner. It’s a Vegas-themed room I guess? Also love the curtain in the corner, for a window that is probably very much wished for, but doesn’t exist.

One of my worst nightmares is entering a hotel room to find someone “in character” in the room. As such I find many of these images rather triggering.

Oh god, no room is safe. REFUND! REFUND!

My friend from primary school had Italian grandparents and I swear their bedroom in the 1980s was the inspiration for this particular room.

It’s particularly charming how nobody quite knew where to put the television.

“I know, let’s put it right next to the very eye-catching reverse cycle airconditioning unit.”

This is either some kind of medieval inn vibe, or a ski chalet, or an Early Settler Furniture showroom.

Oh wait, no, *that* is the ski chalet.

The soccer room is very well done. Especially the way they have strung 900 lights up on the ceiling so you feel like you are in the middle of a stadium. It’s very relaxing.

I finally see what hotel rooms have been missing: A mosaic-tiled face that judges you while you’re on the toilet.

Imagine you accidentally booked this with a colleague on a work conference …

… Somebody is calling HR first thing on Monday morning.

To the right is the door you run screaming through.

Another one that is slightly difficult to nail down. Parisian brothel from a rather poor neighbourhood?

Ohhh… it could be an old-timey dress shop. Or a visual merchandising training facility.

This must be the Presidential Suite, because that room has an actual window. Doesn’t even matter what the theme is. Window! We’ll take it.

… on second thoughts.

Another thing we didn’t realize hotels had been missing until now – port holes in the bathroom so you can keep an eye on your partner at all times.

This has just the right amount of kitsch to actually work. Crank that big old oil heater up and pretend you are in the Maldives instead of on the outskirts of Moscow.

Okay what have we here? Are we in Nepal? India? In a wooden crate filled with items bound for an Ishka store?

Oh, we’re in the Karma Sutra room. Don’t look too closely at the images on the wall, children.

This must be the budget room. Geez it looks nice and peaceful.

So it seems the directions to the rooms are done in the style of an airport terminal? Don’t hate that. Points for originality.

It actually turns out, upon further investigation, that “the style of the individually decorated rooms represent different countries and cities”.

So you have the “Royal – Moscow” room, the “Inquisition – Madrid” (oh so *that’s* what that was all about), and the “Sports – London” for example.

Imagine spending a week there and traveling the world through their different themed rooms.

Pop that on your travel bucket list.

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Categories
Technology

MSI MEG X670E GODLIKE PCB and specs leak out, 24+2+1 phase VRM design for AMD Ryzen 7000 series

MSI MEG X670E GODLIKE PCB and specs leak out, 24+2+1 phase VRM design for AMD Ryzen 7000 series

MSI ultra premium motherboard design for Ryzen 7000 CPUs

MSI X670E GODLIKE from the MEG series is big and powerful. First pictures of the new motherboard PCB design have been shared by Wccftech.

The MEG GODLIKE and its sibling MEG ACE are to offer the best features MSI has to offer. This premier motherboard design is E-ATX form factor with a size of 305×288 mm. The series is based on AMD X670E series which ensure GPU and storage PCIe Gen5 support.

The motherboard is powered by 24-pin ATX, dual 8-pin and dual 6-pin power connectors, one of with dedicated to USB Power Delivery up to 60W. Equipped with 24+2+1 VRM and 105A Power Stage design, it’s a major upgrade over X570 GODLIKE with 14 phases for the CPU.

MSI MEG X670E GODLIKE, Source: Wccftech

There are four DDR5 memory slots for up to 128 GB of capacity. According to the specs that we posted below, this motherboard supports DDR5-5600+ (OC) memory. Unfortunately MSI is not stating the maximum supported speed.

For storage, MEG GODLIKE has four M.2 slots, one x4 slot supporting Gen5 speeds running of the CPU and three Gen4 x4 slots attached to the dual X670 PCH configuration.

Three PCIe x16 slots are available and all of them are Gen5 attached to the CPU. Users can run one graphics card which use Gen5x16 speed or two cards in Gen5x8 mode. The third slot is Gen5x4.

MSI MEG X670E GODLIKE, Source: VideoCardz

It appears that just like Z690 GODLIKE, this motherboard will also feature the so-called M-VISION dashboard. This is an on-board display that shows system information and can also launch MSI apps or play YouTube videos.

MSI is now teasing August 4th as potential full disclosure on MEG X670E GODLIKE and other X670 series.

Source: Wccftech



Categories
Entertainment

Taylor Swift: claims about private jet use ‘blatantly incorrect’, says spokesperson | Taylor Swift

A spokesperson for Taylor Swift has denied that the US pop star is responsible for “most or all” of the trips taken on her private jet after she was alleged to be the highest-use celebrity by sustainability marketing firm Yard, calling the claim “blatantly incorrect”.

Yard’s survey found that Swift’s plane has taken 170 flights between 1 January and 29 July 2022, clocking up 15.9 days in the air with an average flight time of 80 minutes and 139.36 miles per flight. The total flight emissions for 2022 were calculated at 8,293.54 tonnes – 1,184.8 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions.

“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals,” the spokesperson told the Guardian, declining further comment.

Yard compiled data from the Celebrity Jets Twitter accountwhich automatically tracks certain aircraft, to highlight “the damaging impact of private jet usage” after fans called out celebrities such as Drake, Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner for taking strikingly short flights at a time of profound climate crisis.

In July, Jenner, who is in a relationship with Scott, posted a photo of their respective jets to Instagram with the caption: “you wanna take mine or yours?” The Celebrity Jets Twitter account found that Jenner’s flight later that day lasted just 17 minutes.

Drake attempted to defend his use of a vast private plane – a $185m Boeing 767 that typically seats hundreds of people, modified to his tastes – for a series of sub-20-minute flights by saying that the aircraft was being moved to a storage location and had no passengers on board. One fan responded: “OK but that’s worse, you don’t see how that’s worse?”

While Scott clocked in at No 10 in Yard’s survey, neither Drake nor Jenner featured in the 10 worst offenders list. Swift was closely followed by boxer Floyd Mayweather, with emissions of 7,076.8 tonnes of CO2, and Jay-Z, with 6,981.3 tonnes.

Former baseball player Alex Rodriguez ranked at No 4, country singer Blake Shelton at No 5, director Steven Spielberg at No 6, Kim Kardashian at No 7, Mark Wahlberg at No 8, Oprah Winfrey at No 9 and Scott at No 10.

Private jets emit more than 33m tonnes of greenhouse gases each year – more than the country of Denmark. Their slight passenger loads mean that they are five to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes per passenger, and 50 times more polluting than trains. Just 1% of the global population is responsible for half of the emissions associated with flying.

The CelebJets Twitter and Instagram accounts are run by Jack Sweeney, a student coder at the University of Central Florida who has previously tracked the movements of Russian oligarchs and tech mogul Elon Musk, who reportedly offered him $5,000 to stop tracking his movements. “The amount of time and dedication I have put into it is cool,” Sweeney told Bloomberg. “$5k isn’t enough to drop it.”

Yard digital sustainability director Chris Butterworth said: “It’s easy to get lost in the dazzling lives of the rich and famous, but, unfortunately, they’re a massive part of the CO2e problem we have with the aviation industry. Aviation is responsible for 2.4% of human-produced CO2e every year, and research shows a vast divide between the super-rich and the rest of us regarding flights, travel, and even general emissions.”

Yard stated that its research was “not conclusive to the biggest offenders, but the biggest offenders according to the data as presented on the Celebrity Jets Twitter page” and said it was not clear whether the planes’ respective owners were on each flight.

Categories
Sports

Tigers mid-season signings, Chairman Lee Hagipantelis, August 1 signing deadline scrapped, contracts, David Nofoaluma, Oliver Gildart, Storm Roosters, Peter V’landys

Tigers mid-season signings, Chairman Lee Hagipantelis, August 1 signing deadline scrapped, contracts, David Nofoaluma, Oliver Gildart, Storm Roosters, Peter V'landys

Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis has slammed rivals for “exploiting” the August 1 signing deadline after finals contenders raided the merger club’s outside back stocks.

Bellamy’s Storm signed flyer David Nofoaluma, while the Roosters acquired English import Oliver Gildart’s services for the remainder of 2022.

While Hagipantelis agrees there are some benefits of letting players go on short-term loans — he believes clubs should have to look within for recruits to replace injured or suspended squad members.

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“My personal view is I am not a fan of the transfer system this late in the season, I agree with Peter V’landys that it is there to be exploited,” Hagipantelis said on Fox Sports News.

“The intentions when it was introduced were all very altruistic to assist during the Covid pandemic, but it has gone further than that now.

“And if there is one thing that NRL clubs are good at doing, that is exploiting the rules.

“I think that this late in the season, clubs that are struggling for reasons of injury or suspension should look to themselves, it is a test of their own resilience and their depth.

“I am not in favor of the top four or top eight teams cherry-picking from the bottom eight to enhance their prospects of a premiership, they should be relying on their own assets.

“But as I say, the rules are there to be exploited.”

‘Can’t be repaired’ – Are Manly split? | 03:58

Hagipantelis was also asked how he thinks the fans have reacted to the club allowing players to leave for the remainder of 2022 — revealing the overwhelming response was positive.

“I think it has been understanding, I think people understand that there is a forensic and financial advantage to an NRL club in this loan system,”

“There can be advantages to the player as well to experience an alternate reality and then come back, David Nofoaluma is a perfect example.

“I know David personally, I think it will be very good for him to get away from Sydney to play in Melbourne and in all likelihood play in the finals.

“He is very keen on coming back to the Wests Tigers with that experience under his belt, we see how David plays when he plays for Samoa when he has something to play for.”

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The Daily Telegraph’s Buzz Rothfield revealed on NRL360 ARLC chairman Peter V’landys was set to move to August 1 deadline back to its original June 30 date.

In 2020, the cut-off was moved to assist teams stuck in Queensland fill their squads without reserve grade competitions taking the field.

NRL360 co-host Paul Kent was “disappointed” the NRL didn’t have the foresight to shift the date back, labeling it an “oversight” from powerbrokers.

“The whole thing is a win for common sense, it needed to happen, I am disappointed it was allowed to happen this year, I think it was an oversight that they have allowed it to happen,” Kent said.

How long will Carrigan get for hip drop? | 03:22

“The fact is, this is wrong for so many reasons this August 1 deadline, it is allowing teams to troubleshoot their rosters.

“The part of the game’s appeal is your 30-man roster gets you through the season, and it is the attrition and the endurance to last the season and to get to the finals in a good state of fitness.

“If you can’t do that for whatever reason… so be it, but that is a part of the magic of this competition.”

Fox League’s James Hooper agreed, explaining clubs making late-season signings “cheapens” the values ​​that NRL clubs have stood for.

MORE NRL NEWS

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DEADLINE CHANGES: V’landys set to scrap the August 1 signing deadline

EELS MOVE BLOCKED: Knights bosses deny Parramatta’s attempts to sign Klemmer

‘ONLY MINOR CONTACT’: MRC reveals why Storm enforcer escaped punishment

It has long been the attitude of the rugby league fraternity that your roster is what you have to work with for that season, and if replacements are needed they came from reserve grade.

Now clubs are able to cast an eye across the competition and cherry pick the best players from teams who will not be playing football finals.

“For a game that has been founded on tribalism, it just cheapens that whole concept because for the weaker clubs, what does it say for their fans,” Hooper said.

V’landys moves transfer deadline | 03:02

“They don’t get anything out of the fact that the strong clubs sit back and know the deadline is looming, know they have got time.

“Look at the Storm, how many players did they go after from Reece Walsh to Adam Doueihi… the list went on.

“That can’t be sitting well with the clubs down the bottom of the ladder.”

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“For those middle teams… they get no benefit out of it, and I actually believe they are harmed by it because they can’t troubleshoot,” Kent said.

“The middle teams are not attracting players and they aren’t loaning players because it is just too tight, they need all hands on deck.

“They were being impacted, it was basically strengthening the top four teams who have the ability to go and pick the eyes out, as has happened, of the bottom four teams and just target their better players.”

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Categories
Australia

RBA hikes interest rates further; Al-Qaeda leader killed in airstrike; 2022 Commonwealth Games continue; Australia COVID wave peaks; Clive Palmer, Mark McGowan case ends in draw; Stuart Ayres under pressure amid John Barilaro trade saga

Commonwealth Games 2022 continues; ACCC warns over gas supply; NSW COVID cases grow, Victoria COVID peak ends; John Barilaro-Stuart Ayres saga continues;

The government will expand a scheme allowing Pacific Islanders to work in Australia to include jobs in aged care to help fill tens of thousands of job vacancies in the crises-riddled sector.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphatically back broadening the Pacific Australia Labor Mobility Scheme after former NSW premier and head of aged-care provider Hammondcare, Mike Baird, urged the government to let Pacific Island workers fill jobs in areas where there were critical shortages.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, announced in Question Time on Tuesday the government would be expanding the scheme to include aged care.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy.

Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy.Credit:Joe Armao

“Back during the recent very successful Pacific Islanders Forum in Fiji, I visited the Australia Pacific Coalition facility in Suva with the Prime Minister,” he said.

“We met 40 enthusiastic women who were trained to work on aged care centers in regional Queensland from Mackay to Toowoomba.”

He also said the government was expanding the scheme to reduce travel costs for employers, who foot upfront costs for workers, allowing Pacific workers to bring in family
members, and improving protections against worker exploitation.

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The Australian Workers’ Union is calling on the government to impose protections after MADEC, a prominent labour-hire firm under the PALM scheme, had license restrictions imposed on it after paying back $70,000 in wages deducted from workers for accommodation.
AWU national secretary Daniel Walton said many deductions were “plainly rorts.”

“Most PALM workers work in excess of 30 hours a week and can earn over $800. But
their take-home is less than $100 a week after dubious deductions for accommodation and Transport,” he said.

Allegations over wage deductions were aired in a Senate inquiry led by Labor Senator Tony Sheldon.

“This saga sums up why we must be wary of calls for significantly increased worker migration,” he said.

“Unless unions are empowered to have greater involvement in migrant worker schemes, these stories of exploitation will continue.”

Categories
US

Kentucky floods kill at least 37 as more storms forecast

Kentucky floods kill at least 37 as more storms forecast

Aug 1 (Reuters) – Floods unleashed by torrential rains in eastern Kentucky have killed at least 37 people, including four children, Governor Andy Beshear said on Monday while warning that more dangerous weather is approaching the region.

Beshear on Monday morning confirmed 30 deaths, followed by five more in an afternoon briefing, when he said there would be yet more to come. Hours later he confirmed on Twitter there had been two more deaths.

Authorities continued to work to rescue residents and provide food and shelter for thousands who had been displaced. Efforts have been hampered by weather conditions, officials say.

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Many residents had been unprepared for heavy downfall overnight, leading to more deaths, Beshear said. For people remaining in Eastern Kentucky, he advised seeking higher ground ahead of evening storms.

“It is a continuing natural disaster. We are still searching for people,” Beshear said in a CNN interview. “A large amount of grief throughout Kentucky.”

The National Weather Service forecast several rounds of continuing showers and storms through Tuesday.

Beshear, who declared a state emergency last week, said over the weekend that authorities would likely “be finding bodies for weeks” as teams fanned out to more remote areas.

Days of heavy rainfall – described by Beshear as some of the worst in the state’s history – caused some homes in the hardest-hit areas to be swept away. Video clips posted online showed rescue teams guiding motor boats through residential and commercial areas searching for victims. read more

The Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team on Sunday published footage on Facebook of a helicopter lifting an 83-year-old woman from the roof of a home almost completely submerged. This was part of a five-person rescue.

A flooded area is flown over by a Kentucky National Guard helicopter deployed in response to a declared state of emergency in eastern Kentucky, US July 27, 2022. US Army National Guard/Handout via REUTERS

At least 16 deaths were reported in Knott County alone. The bodies of four children, between ages 18 months and eight years, were recovered Friday afternoon. A fast current had swept them out of their parent’s grip, a family member told the Lexington Herald Leader.

“The mother and father was stranded in the tree for 8 hours before anyone got there to help,” Brittany Trejo said.

Also among the dead in Knott County was Eva Nicole “Nikki” Slone, a 50-year-old who ventured out on Thursday to check on an elderly friend, according to her daughter.

Slone’s body was recovered the next day near home.

“My mom was a very caring woman,” Misty Franklin told the newspaper.

The floods were the second major disaster to strike Kentucky in seven months, following a swarm of tornadoes that claimed nearly 80 lives in the western part of the state in December. read more

President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Kentucky on Friday, allowing federal funding to be allocated to the state.

Power lines were widely damaged, with more than 8,000 households remaining without power on Monday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US. But that was down from 15,000 on Monday morning.

Among the various charitable efforts springing up to help flood victims is one by the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team.

The team, one of the most decorated in college sports, said it would open practice for a telethon for Kentucky Flood Relief Tuesday evening.

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Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Tyler Clifford in New York; Editing by Mark Potter, Aurora Ellis and Bradley Perrett

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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