The US dancer, perhaps best known as Australian singer Sia’s muse, hit the red carpet at the Bullet Train premiere in Westwood, California, yesterday, wearing a daring low-cut black gown.
The 19-year-old, who in recent years has transitioned to acting, walked the carpet alongside Brad Pitt for the upcoming David Leitch-directed thriller, which hits cinemas in Australia on Thursday.
Ziegler, who shot to fame aged eight on the US reality series Dance Momsgained wider recognition since 2014 after featuring in Sia’s music video for Chandelier.
She went on to forge a successful partnership with Sia, appearing alongside the singer on red carpets, during her tours and starring in several other music videos.
Ziegler was also hand-picked by Sia to star as an autistic girl in the widely-panned 2021 film, Musicopposite Kate Hudson.
RELATED: See all the best celebrity pictures from red carpets around the world
Her casting became a controversial topic, with the movie criticized for its “offensive depiction of autism.”
Ziegler addressed the criticism in an interview with independent at the time, saying she understood the outcry.
“I’ve actually stayed out of all of it just because, you know, I’m 18 years old and it’s a lot of pressure … (But) I understand why people would want someone who’s actually on the spectrum with autism to play this character.
“But in terms of the dance sequences, I think that’s why Sia chose me to bring the dream world to life. It was all [made] with good intentions and with a good heart.”
Elsewhere on the Bullet Train red carpet, fellow former child star Joey King, who stars in the film, also rocked a plunging gown.
The 23-year-old kissing booth stars plays British assassin Prince in the action film, which also stars Sandra Bullock.
Bullet Train follows trained killer Ladybug (Pitt) who wants to leave his life as an assassin behind, but is roped back in by his handler Maria Beetle (Bullock) to collect a briefcase on a bullet train heading from Tokyo to Kyoto.
On-board the train, Ladybug bumps into fellow competing assassins who discover their missions are connected.
Several employees of a collapsed footwear company suspected the retailer was on its last legs for some time as they were accosted by angry creditors and customers on a daily basis, endured pay runs that were weeks late and never received their final entitlements.
Controversial luxury shoe retailer Sneakerboy went into voluntary administration in early July but two former staff members told news.com.au this was not surprising.
Five companies were included in the administration notice, Sneakerboy Pty Ltd and two related companies under the Sneakerboy name, and Luxury Retail Treasury Pty Ltd and Luxury Retail Group Pty Ltd (Sneakerboy’s parent company).
ASIC documents seen by news.com.au show the embattled company and its related companies owe $17.2 million to more than 100 creditors, including $200,000 to Nike.
A whopping $500,000 is also owed to 120 past and current staff members through unpaid wages and entitlements.
Elliot* worked for Sneakerboy since 2017 and is owed $15,000 from 220 hours of annual leave and roughly 12 months of superannuation that he never received after quitting in January this year.
“Since 2018 there were a few warning signs (at Sneakerboy), pay was occasionally a tiny bit late, like a day late,” he recalled to news.com.au.
“Then over the years it started to get out of control, in the last year it would be one to two weeks late. It was insane.”
The Melbourne worker, 34, was struggling to pay rent and groceries from the late payments and now works elsewhere, adding: “You get paid on time (at this new place), it’s crazy, it feels like such a treat.”
Elliot said from the beginning of his stint at the company he had doubts about the way Sneakerboy made money
“I felt like it wasn’t a sustainable business model, it was predicated on taking money from customers and using that as a loan to buy the shoes which is insane,” he said.
Customers would fork out cash for a pair of shoes, which was usually thousands of dollars as Sneakerboy sells sneakers by brands like Balenciaga and Canada Goose for well north of $1000. This money would then be used to actually buy the shoes — but the products would usually arrive weeks or months later as it was a pre-purchase order.
Wait times for sneakers usually blew out to weeks or months, causing angry customers to ring stores multiple times a day requesting for refunds.
Elliot said his store got “a lot of refund calls.”
“You would try to delay it as long as possible,” he added.
Things reached a head when one customer spent between $40,000 to $50,000 on sneakers — with plans to sell it on at a higher price at her home country of China. However, the shoes didn’t arrive for months.
“She put her own lock in front of the store, she put a bike lock on the front door,” Elliot said with a laugh.
“They had to get a locksmith. Some people were mad about it, but she spent tens of thousands of dollars and had n’t received her product from her so it was fair enough”.
It’s understood from creditors there are in excess of 1000 customers who prepaid for products which may now never arrive.
News.com.au has contacted Sneakerboy and its two co-owners for comment.
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Struggling to pay rent
There were times when Elliot couldn’t afford rent because his pay arrived so late and he had to sell some of his own stuff.
“You’d have weeks where it’s like ‘cool, gotta sell a bunch of my own sneakers to pay rent’, it’s pretty cooked,” he said.
Although it looked like superannuation was being deposited into his account according to his pay slip, he knew this wasn’t the case.
“We’d all known for a couple of years our super wasn’t being paid properly, when you got the pay slips it said you were getting super but obviously they weren’t,” he added.
The Fair Work Ombudsman confirmed to news.com.au that it was investigating Sneakerboy over concerns from workers regarding their wages and entitlements.
A spokesperson told news.com.au the government department “has ongoing investigations in relation to Sneakerboy”.
“As these matters are ongoing, it is not appropriate for us to comment further at this time.”
Elliot said he could “tell Sneakerboy was going badly” because it was doing 40 per cent off sales even when they didn’t have stock available.
“It was fully desperate,” he said. “They were struggling for cash flow all the time.”
‘Blocked the exit’
Adam* worked at Sneakerboy’s Sydney store for four years and he claims the run-ins with angry customers and creditors made him develop depression.
“The constant pressure from management to keep selling on my day off and angry creditors have affected me mentally,” he told news.com.au.
“I had to visit a psychologist and psychiatrist to combat my depression.”
The 26-year-old resigned three months before Sneakerboy collapsed and said his mental health has improved since then as he has “moved on to better things”.
He alleges one of the worst interactions he had was with the landlord of his store who had not been paid rent for months.
“They were shouting at me and acting aggressively,” he said. “They blocked the exits, spoke very rudely and kicked me and other staff members out of the shop.”
He also said they got angry calls from contractors, including third party cleaning companies and delivery partners over unpaid bills.
“Customers were the most frequent and the worst,” Adam continued.
“They would abuse the staff members by shouting, swearing, acting aggressively, throwing fits, and threatening the staff member.
“Imagine you are getting this at least seven to nine times a day through phone calls or coming to the store.”
He added: “From my observation, every time Sneakerboy desperately needed money, they always start massive sales by offering high discounts for branded products.
“If you recall, last year, they did four or five massive warehouse sales, which is unusual for a business.”
Stephen Dixon from insolvency firm Hamilton Murphy Advisory was appointed as administrator at the beginning of July.
There are 36 potential buyers circling to try to acquire Sneakerboy, according to Mr Dixon.
“This interest has come from a range of international and Australian parties across a broad industry spectrum,” a statement from the company read.
“We appreciate and understand the concerns that all stakeholders to the Sneakerboy Group have, especially employees and customers,” Mr Dixon said.
“We continue to urgently work towards a sale of the business, as we believe that this will be the best outcome for creditors. Employee obligations are a critical part of the negotiations we are having with potential buyers.”
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
Team Australia dominated the Commonwealth Games medal tally in Birmingham in the opening four days, sitting comfortably in front – thanks largely to more dominance in the pool.
Australia claimed a stunning eight gold medals on day one, including five of a possible seven in the pool! On day two, Australia added five more golds.
The gold rush continued with nine on day three, highlighted by Emma McKeon making history with a record-breaking 11th Commonwealth Games gold medal when she took out the Women’s 50m freestyle final.
Australia has dominated again on day four with another NINE gold medals, coming in judo, lawn bowls, cycling and gymnastics — along with the usual big haul in the pool.
Australia has opened day five with a 72nd medal of the Games, this time a bronze in the men’s vault in artistic gymnastics.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye final swim day
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
Read on for more details and the full medal tally.
Australia sit on top of the medal tally with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
The Aussies topped the tally with 198 medals — including 80 gold — in the Gold Coast four years ago.
You can track the live medal tally for every country here, with key Aussie wins and updates as they happen.
Click here for a full list of EVERY Aussie medal winner!
Commonwealth Games kick off in style | 00:34
SCHEDULE: Sport-by-sport guide to every day
AUSSIES: Our top hopes to watch
INTERNATIONALS: The big names set to light up the Games
COMMONWEALTH GAMES MEDALS TALLY (AS OF 5:30AM WEDNESDAY)
RANK/COUNTRY/GOLD/SILVER/BRONZE/TOTAL
1. Australia — 37, 28, 30, 95
2.England—28, 30, 17, 75
3.New Zealand—13, 7, 5, 25
4. Canada — 10, 14, 19, 43
5. South Africa—6, 5, 5, 16
6. India — 5, 4, 3, 12
7.Scotland—3, 8, 15, 26
8. Wales—3, 2, 8, 13
9. Malaysia — 2, 2, 3, 7
10. Nigeria — 2, 1, 4, 7
See the full live medal tally here.
DAY-BY-DAY MEDAL LIST
DAY FIVE
James Bacuetti claimed Australia’s first men’s gymnastics medal of these Games, winning bronze in the men’s vault. 20-year-old English sensation Jake Jarman won gold – his FOURTH of the Games – ahead of Fellow Englishman Giarnni Regini-Moran.
Aofie Coughlan took home the gold medal in the women’s 70kg judo final while Eileen Cikamatana set a new Games Record en route to a gold medal in the women’s 87kg weightlifting final.
in the swimming, Mollie O’Callaghan produced a stunning upset to win the gold in the womens’ 100m freestyle as Elizabeth Deckers won the women’s 200m butterfly.
nina kennedy secured the gold in the women’s pole vault.
DAY 5 LIVE: Athletics begins as Browning opens 100m campaign; McKeon and Simpson eye more gold
DAY FOUR
Australia ended day four with 31 gold, 20 silver and 21 bronze (71 total!), ahead of England and New Zealand.
Georgia Goodwin narrowly won gold in the women’s vault over Canada’s Laurie Denommee, while at the track, matthew glaetzer won gold in the men’s 1,000m time trial. Ellen Ryan won gold in the women’s lawn bowls singles and Tinka Easton caused an upset by claiming gold in judo.
in the pool, Kyle Chalmer won the 100m freestyle, Kaylee McKeown won the 200m backstroke and matthew levy claimed gold in the men’s 50m freestyle S7. Emma McKeon then narrowly clinched gold in the 50m breaststroke to extend her Games record to 12 golds, while the Aussies ended the night with victory in the men’s 4x200m freestyle.
Aussie weightlifter robbed of Gold?! | 00:26
Elsewhere, 49-year-old legend Jian Fang Lay has led the Aussie team to bronze in the women’s table tennis team event.
It began with victory in doubles alongside Yangzi Liu, who won her own singles game before Jian Fang Lay sealed the 3-0 over Wales with a singles victory of her own.
Kyle Bruce claimed silver in the men’s 81kg weightlifting after a heartbreaking jury decision overruled his final, gold-winning lift.
The Aussie men’s triples claimed silver in the lawn bowls, fighting back from 12-1 down in the final to level the score at 12-12 against England before falling 14-12.
DAY 4 WRAP: Aussies win NINE golds in wild Games medal blitz; Chalmers win ‘hard to enjoy’
GOLDEN HEARTBREAK: ‘Devastated’ Aussie in tears after gold ‘stolen away’
CHALMERS GOES ALL IN: Legends not surprised by last-minute withdrawal
BIG BLOW: Diamonds’ dream run soured as star sidelined with calf injury
Jian Fang Lay led the Aussies to bronze in table tennis!Source: Getty Images
DAY THREE
Australians Sam Harding and Jonathan Gorlach kicked off the day with superb silver and bronze medals in the men’s PTVI triathlon final.
Emma McKeon and Kaylee McKeown then added two more gold in the pool taking out the Women’s 50m freestyle and the 100m backstroke respectively.
McKeon led home meg harris in silver with Shayna Jack (24.36) finishing third.
In the men’s 50m breaststroke, Zac Stubblety-Cook (59.52) took home bronze.
The Women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team then completed a dominant campaign in the pool by breaking the world record.
Georgia Godwin won the all-round rhythmic gymnastics women’s final.
Australia’s Women’s 7s rugby side then put the pain of Tokyo behind them to claim gold in the final against Fiji.
In track cycling, matthew richardson won the men’s final sprint.
Kristina Clonan took home gold in the 500m time trial.
Georgia Baker won the women’s 25km points race, while Jessica Gallagher picked up her second gold medal of the Games in the Women’s tandem 1000m time trial with pilot Caitlyn Ward.
Day 3 WRAP: ‘Extraordinary’ Aussies break world record, McKeon makes history
‘It is shocking’: Thorpe stunned as England World record holder toppled in ‘unbelievable’ boilover
SHOCK CRASH: Cyclist catapults into crowd in horror scenes after Comm Games crash
‘Lost my s***’: Boxall goes bonkers AGAIN as Aussie coach celebrates WR win
‘Took all my courage and energy to swim’: Chalmers stuns in raw, emotional interview
DAY TWO
madison de rosario took out the women’s T53/54 marathon in style, dominating the field to win with a Commonwealth Games record time of 1:56:00.
Jess Stenson won the women’s marathon with an incredible run, going better than her two bronze medals in Glasgow and the Gold Coast.
It was another ripping day in the pool, with katja dedekind winning a gold meal in the women’s 50m freestyle S13 while both the men’s and women’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay finished first.
There were silver medals for maeve plouffe in the women’s 3000m individual pursuit, Brendon Smith in the men’s 400m IM, Emma McKeon in the women’s 100m butterfly and the artistic gymnastics team.
DAY 2 NEWS
WRAP: McKeon makes history amid swim gold rush; rugby stars win thriller
‘A load of s***’: Chalmers explodes at media for ‘ruining it all’ over love triangle claims
‘Dream big’: ‘Extraordinary’ journey behind ‘one of the great’ Aussie athletics triumphs
‘I was just guessing’: New Aussie cult hero’s shock reveal after ‘epic’ career-best run
DAY ONE
matt hauser had the honor of being the first Australian to win a medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, taking home the silver medal in the Men’s Triathlon Sprint Distance Final.
Ariarne Titmus won gold in the women’s 200m freestyle, 18-year-old Aussie Mollie O’Callaghan claimed silver in an unbelievable late charge, ahead of Madison Wilson.
Elijah Winnington won gold in the men’s 400m freestyle, ahead of fellow Aussies Sam Short and Mack Horton. Zac Stubblety-Cook won gold in the men’s 200m breaststroke while Kiah Melverton took silver in the women’s 400m Individual Medley.
In the final race of night one, Australia won gold in the mixed 4x100m relay.
Rohan Browning has produced his best run of the year to send a message at the Commonwealth Games.
The 24-year-old won his heat in a time of 10.10 in a spectacular turnaround from the World Championships in Oregon last month where he was unable to get out of the heats.
The cult hero, popularly referred to as ‘The Flying Mullet’, said he even has more power in the tank to go quicker in Birmingham.
Browning, who famously ran 10.01 to win his heat at the Tokyo Olympics last year, looks like he is the real deal once again.
His time sees him go through to the semi-finals as the equal-fourth fastest runner, but the fact that he did it while easing up at the back end says everything.
“The gun went and he reacted well and he stayed relaxed through those middle phases. Even at the back end, he looked like he switched off a little bit and looked to his side of him and said ‘I’ve got this’.
“This is very similar to his heat at Tokyo. He opens up that leg stride. I have got
a nice forward lean. You can still tell he is looking across and he has got a bit more. Look at that face. He is so relaxed. That is exactly what you want to see from a sprinter running at top pace. He will be very happy with that.”
He was.
It’s a sign that the magical 10.0 second mark could finally fall for him.
“I always planned on running this round hard, at this level you have to treat every round with respect, but there’s two more rounds to come,” he said.
“I don’t want a repeat of Tokyo where I was out in the semis. I want to keep a bit of powder dry for the finals.”
He said part of his bounce back from the world championships is the “humiliating” factor of failing to reach the semi-finals.
“I try not to take it to heart,” he said.
“There’s always that humiliation element when you get run out in the heats, but just trying to bounce back from it and not take it to heart and just trust that the form is there, it’s just in the execution. I think I’ve tapped into a good vein of form.”
Jake Doran, Australia’s second-fastest man, also qualified for the 100m semi-finals, finishing second in his heat with a time of in 10.39 seconds.
Browning’s time was just 0.04 seconds short of being the fastest in the heats.
China has branded Australia “laughable”, mocking the Government and former prime minister Scott Morrison in the wake of a “damning” gas report.
The comments were made as part of a scornful article published by the CCP-controlled Global Times.
The piece mocks a suggestion that Australia could step in and help with supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to European allies impacted by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
At the start of 2022, the then-prime minister Mr Morrison said his government was looking at options that would allow Australia to fill international demand for gas if Russia stops exporting to Europe.
“Awkwardly, some in Australia are now warning of a potential shortage in the country and urging to set aside gas for Australia’s own electricity network before selling to the rest of the world,” the Global Times article noted.
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On Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report warned businesses could shut down and there could be a record shortage of gas in the southern states next year unless something is done about the nation’s energy crisis.
The ACCC predicted a 56 petajoule shortfall in east coast gas supply by 2023, a figure it called a “significant risk to energy security” that was equivalent to 10 per cent of expected domestic demand.
China said the situation currently facing Australia was both “laughable and serious”.
“Laughable, because this reflects Australian officials’ overconfidence and arrogance in making empty promises it cannot deliver; serious, because a potential move could significantly affect already disrupted global energy supplies, given that Australia is known as one of the world’s top LNG exporters,” the newspaper noted.
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine has seen international demand for LNG soar, with Beijing claiming a decision from Australia to impose export restrictions could “hurt some of its European and Asian allies the most”.
The article blasted Mr Morrison for his “empty promises” for saying Australia will help its allies when they are in need.
“It is clear that a possible reduction in Australia’s LNG exports would further exacerbate the global energy crisis and push up prices, while increasing the energy anxiety in countries that used to see Australia as a reliable source of supplies,” the Global Times said.
“Some of its allies may also be annoyed by Australia’s inability to actually offer help in areas where it apparently has an advantage.”
The article noted that China has recently made efforts to diversify its energy imports following recent tensions with Australia, with Beijing last year signing new LNG contracts with the US instead.
However, the outlet assured readers that any decision by Australia would not “fundamentally undermine” China’s energy security.
Government reacts to ‘damning’ gas report
Australia’s Resources Minister Madeleine King branded the new ACCC report as “damning” of gas exporters after it found they were not engaging locally “in the spirit” of the heads of agreement.
“We remain concerned that some (liquefied) natural gas LNG exporters are not engaging with the domestic market in the spirit in which the heads of agreement was signed,” the report said.
“LNG producers will need to divert a significant proportion of their excess gas into the domestic market.”
Ms King said gas producers “know” the report is “damning for them”.
“The ACCC report is damning, no doubt about it,” she said.
“It sets out patterns and instances of behavior that are clearly not acceptable in an environment where we do have an international and domestic energy supply crisis.”
The ACCC described the outlook for 2023 as “very concerning” with gas prices likely to increase.
“The outlook for 2023 is very concerning and is likely to place further upward pressure on prices, which could result in some commercial and industry users no longer being able to operate,” the report said.
“It could also lead to demand having to be curtailed.”
This shortfall will mainly affect NSW, Victoria, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania, where “resources have been diminishing for some time”, though Queensland may also be impacted.
Karl Stefanovic and his wife Jasmine are the latest big names to be spotted on-board James Packer’s luxury yacht in the south of France.
The 54-year-old Australian billionaire welcomed the Today co-host, 47, his shoe designer wife, 38, and their two-year-old daughter Harper for a day out on the $283 million boat in newly-emerged photos taken last week.
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke, 41, also joined in on the fun, and was spotted with his rumored girlfriend, Jasmine’s younger sister Jade Yarbrough, 30.
The pair were understood to have been introduced by Stefanovic earlier this year, according to a report in The Daily Telegraph in July.
Earlier today Yarbrough, who runs an interior design company, uploaded an Instagram story with a photo of herself and Clarke strolling the streets of the French Riviera.
Meanwhile, Stefanovic is currently enjoying some time off-air, with co-host Allison Langdon being joined on the Channel 9 breakfast show by Nine reporter Charles Croucher.
Packer has been making headlines amid his lengthy stint overseas, which has seen him host a slew of big names on his yacht including actor and business partner Robert De Niro.
He’s also recently opened up about his new-found health kick which has seen him lose 33kg, telling The Weekend Australian in June that he was ready to start the “third act” of his life as he looks towards a return to Australia following a controversial period for Crown Casino.
“I’m roughly 130kg now and want to be back to 100kg by the end of 2022,” Packer told the publication.
Packer admitted that it “hasn’t been appropriate” to be in Australia amid years of scandals at Crown Casino – which he previously owned a major stake of – including staff getting jailed in China, and several inquiries which found the casino operator enabled money laundering and links to criminal gangs.
With the $8.9 billion sale of his company shares to US private equity firm Blackstone’s finalized on June 24, which saw Packer pocket an enormous $3.36 billion, he’s now ready to plan his return home.
“I want to swim with my kids at Bondi when we’re all in Sydney together next year and be 100kg,” he added.
On the love front, Packer has regularly been joined on his yacht by Danish model Josefine Hanning Jensen, who was recently identified by Confidential.
There’s no word yet on whether Packer and Jensen are romantically linked, or whether she will join him when he eventually heads back to Sydney.
Rugby fans in the stands at November’s Hong Kong Sevens will be allowed to drink, but not eat, with masks having to be worn between sips, an official said on Monday.
The Chinese finance hub’s famously rowdy rugby extravaganza will return after a three-year coronavirus pandemic hiatus in November in a much-needed boost for sports-starved residents.
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But in contrast to most of the world’s major sporting events, strict coronavirus measures will be in place including a Beijing Olympics-style “closed-loop” system for players.
Hong Kong’s sports commissioner Yeung Tak-keung on Monday outlined what fans can expect in the 40,000-seat stadium, which will be capped at 85 per cent capacity.
While drinking will be allowed in the stands, eating will be limited to specific “eating outlets” instead.
“For eating, you need to take off the mask, and we want to reduce and minimize the mask-off activities at the spectator stands,” Yeung told the city’s public radio station RTHK.
He also said officials would be keeping an eye out to ensure fans kept their mouths covered.
“We want the spectators to observe the rules themselves and, also, the Rugby Union will send people around to remind people to put their masks back on after drinking,” he added.
That could prove to be an unenviable task for stadium stewards. The Hong Kong Sevens is known as much for its raucous crowds as it is for rugby, especially in the South Stand — famous for its fancy dress, party atmosphere and all-day drinking, singing and dancing.
The Hong Kong tournament — the highlight of World Rugby’s Sevens circuit and drawing thousands of overseas visitors to the city every year before the pandemic — is scheduled to return from November 4-6.
But it is unlikely Hong Kong will see a large influx of tourists any time soon. International flights remain well below pre-pandemic levels and all arrivals must currently undergo a week of mandatory hotel quarantine.
Hong Kong’s new administration, which took office this month, has been saying it plans to reduce the quarantine period soon, bringing in a health code traffic light system similar to China’s.
But there has been no firm commitment or time frame yet for ending quarantine.
Faced with a growing challenge from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, the US PGA Tour announced a 2022-23 season schedule on Monday offering a record $AUD590 million in prize money.
The PGA increased the prize money at eight invitational tournaments, with The Players Championship set to pay out $35m, and will offer $206m in bonus money, including $107m for the FedEx Cup playoffs, which will be trimmed to 70 players from the current 125.
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The move comes as the LIV Golf Series — spearheaded by Aussie legend Greg Norman — has offered the highest purses in history to lure big-name talent from the PGA to its upstart tour, which is set to rise from eight events in 2022 to 14 in 2023.
LIV Golf has drawn protests and claims of “sportwashing” from critics citing Saudi human rights issues but such stars as Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Bryson DeChambeau, Paul Casey and Patrick Reed have jumped to the rebel series that debuted in June.
The US PGA, which will return to a season that coincides with the calendar year starting in 2024, tightened its playoffs and boosted select purses after comments from fans, PGA commissioner Jay Monahan said.
“The overwhelming sentiment was they wanted more consequences for both the regular season and the playoffs and to further strengthen events that traditionally feature top players competing head-to-head,” Monahan said. “We feel strongly we’ve accomplished all of these objectives.”
The 2022-23 PGA season will have 47 tournaments, including three playoff events next August with a field of 70 at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis, 50 at the BMW Championship in Chicago and the top 30 in points advancing to the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
After the season ends, late 2023 will feature events for those outside the top 70 to earn status for the 2024 PGA campaign plus a series of “international events” featuring the PGA top 50 in a limited field, no-cut format. No other details were revealed about those events.
The St. Jude and BMW will see a jump in prize money from $21 million to $28 million.
The January Tournament of Champions will see its purse rise from $12 million to $21 million next year. It will become the lead-off event of the PGA season when the schedule changes in 2024.
Four events will see prize money jump from $17 million to $28 million — the Genesis Invitational in February hosted by Tiger Woods, the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March, the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial in June and the WGC Match Play in March.
Prize money will jump from $28 million to $35 million for The Players Championship in March.
The Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship will remain co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour.
The 2022-23 campaign will begin on September 15-18 with the Fortinet Championship at Napa, California, with the Presidents Cup the following week at Quail Hollow.
The CJ Cup has been moved from South Korea to South Carolina and will be played in October with the Bermuda Championship the following week.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic, won Sunday by Tony Finau, will start June 29 next year while the 3M Open moves to the end of July.
Angelina Jolie’s 17-year-old daughter, Zahara, is set to start her first year at the esteemed US university Spelman College.
The actress, 47, posted an Instagram photo on Sunday of “Zahara with her Spelman sisters”.
The teenager was all smiles posing for the picture in a white tee and jeans, Page Six reported.
“Congratulations to all new students starting this year,” Jolie captioned the social media upload. “A very special place and an honor to have a family member as a new Spelman girl.”
Spelman, which was founded in 1881, is a “historically black college and a global leader in the education of women of African descent”, according to the private school’s website.
Jolie, who is also the mother of Maddox, 20, Pax, 18, Shiloh, 16, and twins Knox and Vivienne, 14, similarly documented her eldest son’s experience when he enrolled at Yonsei University in South Korea in August 2019.
“He has been studying Korean language,” the Oscar winner explained to People of Maddox’s decision at the time. “He has lessons multiple times a week to prepare.”
Jolie told the magazine four months prior that she was “nothing but proud” of Maddox, adding: “I look forward to all he will do.”
When the Maleficent star dropped her and ex-husband Brad Pitt’s son off at Yonsei, she was filmed telling other students that she was “trying not to cry”.
Pitt, 58, was absent at the drop-off, with Maddox telling a reporter the following month that he did not know whether his dad planned to visit.
“Well, whatever happens, happens,” he said in September 2019 amid their strained relationship.
Jolie and her Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star called it quits in September 2016.
While they were declared legally single nearly three years later, the former couple’s legal battle is still ongoing.
Pitt was granted joint custody of their minor children in May 2021.
Judge Judge John Ouderkirk, however, was subsequently disqualified from the case for not sufficiently disclosing business relationships with Pitt’s attorneys, so the exes are still fighting for custody.
This story originally appeared on Page Six and has been reproduced with permission
