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Pat Rafter delves into “rift” between Ash Barty and US player

<p>Aussie great Pat Rafter has opened up about the tension during Ash Barty’s match against her 2022 Australian Open final opponent, Danielle Collins.</p> <p>The now retired tennis star smashed the American 6-3 7-6 (7-2) which saw Barty claim her first home slam and the third of her career.</p> <p>Almost 12 months later, Rafter has opened up about the tension the pair had in which Barty didn’t want to lose to the American star and vice versa.</p> <p>“I knew with her and Danielle, they had a bit of a … what’s the word? There was no love lost anyway,” Rafter told reporters ahead of the United Cup.</p> <p>“Danielle’s pretty feisty. And Ash didn’t want to lose to her.”</p> <p>He said that there was a bit of worry when he saw Barty get “rattled” on court before getting out of her head and smashing the game.</p> <p>“It was pretty funny, I don’t know how much you can pick up on the on-court subtleties of it but I’m pretty aware of Ash and I understand where her mind’s at and I can see all her little movements and ticks,” Rafter continued.</p> <p>“I was going, ‘oh no, she’s getting rattled, she’s not good’. But she was able to pull it out which was pretty important.</p> <p>“I would have hated to see her get to the final and lose because she was the dominant player. I like seeing the best players win.”</p> <p>After her successful win, the now 26-year-old shocked the tennis world by announcing her retirement from the game.</p> <p>She recently got married to her longtime partner Garry Kissick and is currently working at Optus.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

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Easy living at The Alba is the perfect choice for older Australians

<p>Moving into one of the luxuriously appointed apartments at <a href="https://thealba.com.au/?utm_medium=online&utm_source=OverSixty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Alba</a> from mid-2023 will give residents the best of both worlds – independent living but with all the services of a resort when needed. </p> <p>For older Australians, this is easy living done well in a stunning setting close to the tranquility of Albert Park Lake. The Alba is a brilliantly conceptualised development where the residents’ privacy and security are paramount. However, premium services, including cleaning, laundry and chef-prepared meals, are always available.</p> <p>Anyone fortunate enough to secure one of the imposing apartments at The Alba will be afforded one of the greatest luxuries of all – the time to please themselves. Without the burden of daily chores, residents can give their creativity free rein by starting a project in the arts & crafts room or finding the most enjoyable way of keeping fit with exercise classes at every level. The development also includes a cinema, a library and a café that is also open to the local community. Some may simply prefer to relax on the spectacular rooftop terrace with views over Albert Park Lake and the Melbourne city skyline.</p> <p><strong>Getting the most out of life </strong></p> <p>At the end of each day filled with stimulating activities, there’s the option of returning to a sparkling apartment without even having to pick up a vacuum cleaner. Or sitting down to a beautiful, chef-prepared fresh meal in The Alba’s elegant rooftop restaurant, where the emphasis is on seasonal produce, simply prepared. Some may care to treat themselves further and welcome each day with a hand-delivered breakfast box filled with fresh delights. Consider it a reward for a lifetime of hard work.</p> <p>Residents simply choose the support options that best suit their needs – and they can be dialled up or down as required. These extra services are being put in place to foster freedom and independence, along with the confidence to go about your life while knowing that help is always available. Should urgent medical attention be required, there are emergency call buttons in each apartment, with nurses available close by at the onsite residential care. </p> <p><strong>An opulent place to call home </strong></p> <p>There are 60 one-and two-bedroom easy living apartments at The Alba, which allows plenty of choice to find the right one to suit every individual. No expense has been spared in creating a space that residents will be proud to call home. </p> <p>The Alba was designed by the internationally renowned, award-winning architects Fender Katsalidis, who have set a new benchmark for independent living in an Over 55s development. </p> <p>Each luxuriously appointed apartment has a sleek living and dining area, a kitchen with premium appliances and one or two bathrooms, plus a laundry. Many have balconies that take in sublime views over Albert Park Lake or the Melbourne city skyline.</p> <p>It’s all about attention to detail here, including superb finishes throughout and everything is at your fingertips whether you want to surf through cable television channels or seamlessly entertain friends. It’s also a thoughtful design to support you in living in your new home as you age in place.</p> <p><strong>A vibrant community awaits within The Alba </strong></p> <p>The Alba is all about feeling connected – not only to the beauty which surrounds the development but also when it comes to socialising. It will be easy to naturally mingle with other residents who may share similar interests as yours at the many activities throughout the day. There are community club rooms, a cinema, a wellness centre, dinners or lunches in the restaurant and a welcoming café within walking distance of your front door. </p> <p><strong>An extra level of care is available onsite</strong></p> <p>The Alba has 95 residential aged care suites for those who need 24/7 care and support in the form of residential aged care that’s well supported with daily activities. The aged care suites are also beautifully appointed with soothing views. It is a great option for couples who are suddenly at different stages of life from one another. With such close proximity, it’s easy to visit throughout the day and reassuring to know that a loved one still remains in the heart of the community. This is just another way that the caring staff at The Alba are able to treat everyone with dignity and respect. </p> <p><strong>Entertaining friends and family has never been easier</strong></p> <p>There are so many welcoming spaces at The Alba where family and friends may come together. This includes resident lounges and the stylish restaurant that serves lunches and dinners daily. Or perhaps a barbecue on the recreational terrace? Everything can be easily arranged by the staff, including organising a special celebration.</p> <p>At The Alba, residents have the confidence and the support to enjoy life on their own terms. After all, they’re not just settling into an apartment here but entering the next phase in their life’s story.</p> <p><em>*Expressions of interest in <a href="https://thealba.com.au/?utm_medium=online&utm_source=OverSixty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Alba</a> are now open. The Alba is scheduled to open in mid-2023.</em></p> <p><em>This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with <a href="https://thealba.com.au/?utm_medium=online&utm_source=OverSixty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Alba</a>.</em></p> <p> </p>

Real Estate

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The Grace Albert Park Lake: the right place for now and the future

<p>Life is a journey and each phase along the way has its own joys and challenges. When the time comes to downsize and you’re seeking a healthy retirement lifestyle where you can live your best Melbourne life, look no further than the award-winning <a href="https://www.thegracealbertparklake.com.au/?utm_source=OverSixty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Grace Albert Park Lake</a>.</p> <p>Member-owned health and wellbeing company, Australian Unity, is behind this prestigious high-rise retirement village, located in the upmarket leafy suburb of South Melbourne. The development recently won an award for the Best Retirement Development at the Property Council Retirement Living Awards.</p> <p>According to The Grace Sales Manager, Martine Vance, “what makes this development unique is that people can live independently in this luxury community, with peace of mind regarding their possible future needs. The Alba, opening in 2023, will offer assisted living and residential aged care, so residents will be able to access a range of additional support services should they need them. </p> <p><strong>An iconic inner-city location</strong></p> <p>“When it comes to luxury retirement living, there’s nothing else like it in the South Melbourne area”, says Martine. Perfectly placed across from Melbourne’s stunning Albert Park Lake, The Grace offers luxury retirement living at its best. Whether you’re into jogging, cycling or golf, you have some of the city’s best outdoor facilities at your doorstep. You’re also moments away from the famous South Melbourne markets, the Botanic Gardens and the trendy cafes and restaurants of South Yarra. For lovers of culture and the fine arts, the Arts Centre and the National Gallery of Victoria are also only minutes away from home.</p> <p>The one, two- and three-bedroom apartments on offer at The Grace have been meticulously designed to offer residents expansive, light filled open plan living areas for stylish and relaxed entertaining. Designed by Fender Katsalidis and interiors by Mim Design, the neutral colour palette allows you to add your own personal touch to create a sense of familiarity and comfort. “The master bedroom has a fully-fitted wardrobe and marble ensuite. Similarly, there’s a stunning Italian marble island bench in the kitchen, which has Miele appliances and an integrated Fisher and Paykel fridge, freezer and dishwasher, “says Martine.</p> <p><strong><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/11/TheGrace02.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></strong></p> <p><strong>Be part of a like-minded community</strong></p> <p>When you choose to venture beyond your own personal sanctuary and mingle with your neighbours, The Grace has multiple shared spaces to enjoy. On par with a luxury hotel, every second floor of The Grace has a themed room residents can use at their leisure, including private dining rooms, a plush theatrette and a piano lounge. To keep you fit and active in the comfort of your own home, The Grace’s exclusive wellbeing facilities include a pool, gym and studios offering personal yoga and Pilates classes. There’s even a games room for when the grandchildren visit, an art studio, an edible garden and a beautiful rooftop terrace, which has views of the lake, bay and city.</p> <p><strong>Lock up and leave</strong></p> <p>Unlike other residential apartments with a mixture of occupants, where you don’t know who’s coming and going, The Grace gives you the comfort and security of living in a community of retirees at a similar life stage, as well as being in a community with access control systems in place and a concierge on site seven days per week. </p> <p><strong>An eye to the future</strong></p> <p>At The Grace, you can also choose your level of independence and will be supported to live in your own home for as long as you choose. If you feel you need a little extra support with daily chores in the future, once The Alba is complete and residents are settled, you have the option of having access to services such as cooking, cleaning and laundry being brought in to assist you. This means you can enjoy the lifestyle for as long as you choose.</p> <p><em>Images: Supplied</em></p> <p><em>This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.thegracealbertparklake.com.au/?utm_source=OverSixty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Grace Albert Park Lake</a>.</span></em></p>

Real Estate

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Lisa’s lawyer’s hefty daily charge

<p dir="ltr">Lisa Wilkinson is being charged an eye-watering $11,000 a day for a high-profile lawyer following her speech at the Logies.</p> <p dir="ltr">Channel 10 has hired Australian Bar Association president Dr Matthew Collins QC for The Project host after her speech caused significant delays to the Brittany Higgins case, which was due to start this week.The case has now been postponed to October.</p> <p dir="ltr">Dr Collins is famous for winning high-profile cases - one of them being Rebel Wilson’s against Bauer Media, as well as YouTuber Jordan Shanks against former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro.</p> <p dir="ltr">The lawyer says it’s possible that Wilkinson could be charged with contempt of court, and admitted she should have known better.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It's certainly possible that the authorities will be looking at the speech that she made to the Logies and assessing that speech against the standard which applies in this branch of the law,” he said on Sunrise.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That standard is, did anything that she do have a tendency to interfere with the administration of justice?</p> <p dir="ltr">“You would hope that whenever the media is contemplating running a story about a serious criminal trial which is about to begin, they would be attune to the potential risks.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The mainstream media understands the risk inhering with talking about cases which are about to go to trial, particularly serious high-profile cases.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Wilkinson was already slammed for her comments last week by Chief Justice Lucy McCallum after rescheduling the case.</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes as Channel 10 warns publications of their criticism of Wilkinson and are not ruling out legal action for any harm that is caused.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This reporting is now causing significant harm and we ask these organisations to cease this harassment to allow Lisa the best opportunity to give her evidence in court and to enable the trial to go ahead in a fair and timely manner,” a spokesperson for the network said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We are closely monitoring all coverage of this issue and Lisa and Network 10 reserve their rights in respect of any future defamation claims.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Images: Nine/Seven</p>

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Princess Charlene opens up about her health for the first time

<p dir="ltr">Princess Charlene of Monaco has opened up about her ongoing illness for the first time, describing it as a “long, difficult and very painful” experience.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 44-year-old royal spoke about her health in a candid interview with the newspaper, <em><a href="https://www.monacomatin.mc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Monaco Matin</a></em>, admitting that she is taking her recovery process slowly.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My state of health is still fragile and I don’t want to go too fast,” she told the publication. “The path has been long, difficult and very painful.”</p> <p dir="ltr">It comes after Princess Charlene has made headlines over the past year for her lengthy absence from public life and separation from her family in Monaco after she suffered an ear, nose and throat infection while in South Africa that saw her undergo several surgeries and stay in her home country for 10 months.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-135a7d9a-7fff-82b6-1b5b-0e89ba673615">She reportedly first fell ill in May 2021 and her 10-day visit became significantly longer, delaying <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/princess-charlene-finally-comes-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">her return to Monaco</a> until late 2021.</span></p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBjB1EMrWP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBjB1EMrWP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by HSH Princess Charlene (@hshprincesscharlene)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">In November, <em><a href="https://pagesix.com/2022/05/01/princess-charlene-makes-first-public-appearance-after-mystery-illness/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Page Six</a></em> reported that Charlene “almost died” after the surgeries and losing an extreme amount of weight, while her husband Albert, Prince of Monaco, told People that her condition was the result of “several factors which are private matters”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She was clearly exhausted, physically and emotionally,” he told the publication, adding that she was sent to a “treatment facility” within hours of returning. “She was overwhelmed and couldn’t face official duties, life in general or even family life.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Page Six also reported that sources connected to friends of the family were concerned Albert was “downplaying” Charlene’s illness while stressing that her condition wasn’t related to her mental or emotional health.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It is unfair that she is being portrayed as having some kind of mental or emotional issue,” the source told the outlet. “We don’t know why the palace is downplaying that she almost died in South Africa.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The source said the royal’s weight loss was due to her being unable to eat solid foods and only “take in liquids through a straw”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She has not been able to eat solid food in over six months because of all the surgeries she has since gone through,” the source added.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1bcce484-7fff-a529-0c5d-0ea046515305"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Charlene made her first public appearance in May, attending the Monaco E-Prix with her husband and their seven-year-old twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques in early May.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd87H2WMxdk/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd87H2WMxdk/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by HSH Princess Charlene (@hshprincesscharlene)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">She also appeared at the Monte Carlo Fashion Awards with Gabriella, sharing a behind-the-scenes snap of the pair on her Instagram page.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I loved every moment preparing my Princess for her first official event,” Charlene captioned the photo of the pair dressed in formal wear. “We’re looking forward to a great evening at the fashion awards.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-39d7ccbe-7fff-c43c-d618-5a3e93b38d48"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @hshprincesscharlene (Instagram)</em></p>

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Princess Charlene finally comes home

<p dir="ltr">Princess Charlene has finally been able to reunite with her family in Monaco after an unknown illness saw her withdraw from the public eye.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 44-year-old has been plagued by poor health for almost a year - with the majority spent separated from her family - and an official statement from the palace has confirmed she has reunited with her husband, Prince Albert, and two children, Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-3387a191-7fff-103a-d970-453ee51c9858"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“As a result of Princess Charlene’s encouraging recovery and her doctor’s approval, their Serene Highnesses are delighted to announce that the Princess will now continue her convalescence in the principality, with her husband and children by her side,” the statement <a href="https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/major-development-in-princess-charlenes-mystery-health-battle/news-story/63cefad41948b8efacbeee321a464355" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read</a>.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBjB1EMrWP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBjB1EMrWP/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by HSH Princess Charlene (@hshprincesscharlene)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Consequently, Princess Charlene has already returned to Monaco where she has been happily reunited with her family and loved ones. The next few weeks should allow for Princess Charlene to further strengthen her health before gradually resuming her official duties and commitments.” </p> <p dir="ltr">The palace said Charlene still needed to recover before she could spend time with the people of Monaco, but that she “looks forward” to doing so.</p> <p dir="ltr">The statement also read that the couple asked for privacy for their family in order for the Princess to fully recover.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-36a88be0-7fff-3c6f-5cf1-10298fc2cf0b"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Charlene was temporarily reunited with her family when <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/princess-charlene-of-monaco-reunites-with-family" target="_blank" rel="noopener">they visited her</a> in August last year, after an ear, nose and throat infection saw her undergo multiple surgeries in her native South Africa and remain there for ten months.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CS_VuctjIN1/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CS_VuctjIN1/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by HSH Princess Charlene (@hshprincesscharlene)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">She briefly returned to Monaco in November before taking a temporary break from royal duties and reportedly <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/health/caring/we-miss-you-princess-charlene-s-children-share-heartbreaking-message" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seeking medical care</a> in a Swiss clinic.</p> <p dir="ltr">In January, the palace issued a statement saying the Princess had received and was recovering from dental treatment over “several weeks”, meaning she would miss the annual celebration of Saint Dévote Day.</p> <p dir="ltr">“With her husband H.S.H. Prince Albert II, she shares her heart with all Monegasques and residents on the occasion of these celebrations,” the statement, translated from French by <em><a href="https://people.com/royals/monaco-palace-shares-update-on-princess-charlenes-health-as-her-recovery-continues/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PEOPLE</a></em>, reads.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As soon as her health will allow, it will be with joy that the Princess once again shares moments of conviviality with them.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-443a4383-7fff-5e85-ca3e-55500e4e1932"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @hshprincesscharlene</em></p>

Caring

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Tributes flow for one of our oldest WWII veterans

<p>One of Australia's oldest surviving World War II veterans, Bert Collins has died. Aged 105, he was the oldest member of the Australian Labor Party.</p><p>Albert "Bert" Collins was due to celebrate his 106th birthday in March.</p><p>Tributes recognising and remembering the Bankstown local have been posted online following news of his death. "My friend Bert Collins passed away this morning," Blaxland MP Jason Clare said.</p><p>"Bert was the oldest member of the Australian Labor Party.</p><p>"He would have turned 106 next month. Rest in Peace old friend."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sad news. My friend Bert Collins passed away this morning. <br /><br />Bert was the oldest member of the ⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/AustralianLabor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AustralianLabor</a>⁩ Party. <br /><br />He would have turned 106 next month. Rest In Peace old friend. <a href="https://t.co/kN0Td8I2wz">pic.twitter.com/kN0Td8I2wz</a></p>— Jason Clare MP (@JasonClareMP) <a href="https://twitter.com/JasonClareMP/status/1492753650015703040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2022</a></blockquote><p>The Labor Party also posted "Vale Bert Collins" on social media.</p><p>Mr Collins rose to the rank of a sergeant in the 52nd Australian Composite Anti-Aircraft Regiment (AIF) based in Papua New Guinea.</p><p>The veteran's Anzac spirit has never wavered and was a quality admired by many.</p><p>"When I was a boy, my Mum instilled in me a very important lesson, which I've lived by my entire life," he told the Canterbury-Bankstown Council last year.</p><p>"She said I must remember to never be rude to anyone, to never tell lies and to always show respect towards others … and I have every day of my life."</p><p><em>Image: Nine News</em></p>

Caring

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Strictly Ballroom producer’s hottest property hits the market

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Just two years after dropping a record-setting $10.25 million on a Rose Bay apartment, film producer Antoinette “Popsy” Albert has put her historic Bellevue Hill property up for sale in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The asking price is expected to be a high one, with </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/film-producer-popsy-albert-lists-bellevue-hill-house-inhigh-20-million-range-1106705/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">some sources</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> saying it could be within the “high $20 million range”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Designed by architect Espie Dods in the 1980s, the five-bedroom home features five bathrooms, several formal and informal living rooms, dining areas and a loggia (a covered seated area) that spills out into the garden.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The home also boasts a custom theatre, next door to a wine cellar, and one of its bedrooms acts as a self-contained apartment.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 1400-square-metre property is nestled among some of Bellevue’s most famed homes, all found on Ginahgulla Road. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The co-producer of Baz Luhrman’s </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Strictly Ballroom</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.domain.com.au/10-ginahgulla-road-bellevue-hill-nsw-2023-2017435033" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">listed</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> the home with Christie’s realtor Ken Jacobs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Albert and her late husband, music producer Ted Albert, purchased the home in 1982 for $825,000 from the estate of late racehorse owner Allan Lewis.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: Getty Images, Domain</span></em></p>

Real Estate

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"We miss you": Princess Charlene's children share heartbreaking message

<p>Princess Charlene's children have made an emotional public statement, as their mother has been checked into a treatment facility. </p> <p>According to Monaco's Prince Albert II, his wife Charlene has checked into a facility "outside Monaco" to receive help for "exhaustion, both emotional and physical".</p> <p>The National Day of Monaco was celebrated on Friday as Princess Charlene's six-year-old twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, showed support for their mother with handmade signs that expressed how much they love and miss her. </p> <p>The two children held the signs at the balcony of Monaco Palace, with their father standing behind them in support. </p> <p>Prince Albert told <a rel="noopener" href="https://people.com/royals/prince-albert-tells-people-princess-charlene-in-treatment-facility/" target="_blank">People</a> that Princess Charlene would be needing several weeks of clinical care, saying "She realised she needed help."</p> <p>He said her current state is the result of "<span>of several factors which are private matters."</span></p> <p><span>"She was overwhelmed and couldn't face official duties, life in general or even family life."</span></p> <p>He also made it clear that Princess Charlene's admittance to the facility has nothing to do with any marital problems between the pair, who married in 2011. </p> <p><span>“I’m probably going to say this several times, but this has nothing to do with our relationship,” he said. </span></p> <p><span>“I want to make that very clear. These are not problems within our relationship; not with the relationship between a husband and wife. It’s of a different nature.”</span></p> <p><span>Earlier this week, Charlene pulled out of her scheduled appearance for National Day of Monaco. </span></p> <p><span>“A period of calm and rest is necessary to ensure the very best recovery for Princess Charlene’s health,” the palace said in a statement to People.</span></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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‘Vulnerable’ woman murdered on morning walk

<p>A woman has been molested and killed during her regular morning walk in Auckland and New Zealand Police have already arrested one man in the murder investigation.</p> <p>The body of Lena Zhang, also known as Lena Zhang Harrap, was found in an area of bush on Wednesday afternoon in the Auckland suburb of Mt Albert.</p> <p>The 27-year-old, who has Down Syndrome, was reported missing just hours earlier after leaving her home. She left her home around 6.30 am to go for her regular walk to Ōwairaka Domain but never returned.</p> <p><strong>Suspect will appear in court today</strong></p> <p>A 31-year-old man will appear in court today faced with the murder and sexual violation of Lena Zhang.</p> <p>New Zealand Police said they received a significant amount of information from the public following an appeal they made to the public after Zhang’s body was found, to help identify a person of interest they were trying to locate in relation to the murder.</p> <p>Police had uncovered photos of the “person of interest” via CCTV footage. At the time he was wearing a blue jumper and had been captured on CCTV near the area where Lena’s body was found on Wednesday morning.</p> <p>As a result of this appeal and the use of CCTV footage, this man was found in a vehicle in Papatoetoe - around 20km away from Mt Albert - at 1.30 am on Thursday and was arrested.</p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="/nothing.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0c976aa1225549908cd0156d8ee74c41" /><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7844362/lena-person-of-interest-um_blurred.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/0c976aa1225549908cd0156d8ee74c41" /></p> <p>Detective Inspector Aaron Pascoe said police hoped news of the arrest would provide some reassurance to the local community.</p> <p>Police were not currently seeking anyone else in relation to the murder, however enquiries continued into the investigation with a fresh appeal for sightings of a car.</p> <p><strong>Zhang’s family and the community are devastated by her death</strong></p> <p>Detective Inspector Aaron Pascoe said Zhang’s family are understandably devastated by her death.</p> <p>“Lena was a young lady, she was small in stature, she was vulnerable,” said Inspector Pascoe.</p> <p>He added she was a “loving and caring person” who was raised to be independent.</p> <p>“Whoever the offender or offenders are, they’ve targeted a vulnerable member of our community which is just appalling,” Pascoe said.</p> <p><strong>StarJam pays tribute to Lena</strong></p> <p>StarJam, an organisation which uses music, dance and performance to connect young people with disabilities, have paid tribute Lena saying she was a "true Jammer".</p> <p>A Facebook post said: “For over 12 years, Lena has been a true Jammer in Auckland Magic Movers and more recently the Central Alumni All Stars; greeting everyone with her infectious smile, genuine heartfelt support and inviting her fellow Jammers up to join her Spot the Talents. Lena, you will always be in our hearts – our thoughts go out to your family and friends.’”</p> <p>Ella Stuart who worked at StarJam said Lena brought a special touch of magic to the stage: "It was such a privilege to know Lena - she was always so enthusiastic with everything she did and her love of dancing was truly wonderful to watch. She put the 'magic' in Magic Movers! She will be so missed and in our hearts and memories always."</p> <p><em>Image: NZ Police</em></p>

Legal

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Phil Collins sparks serious health concerns

<p>Phil Collins has sparked concerns about his health after an interview on BBC Breakfast. </p> <p>Appearing with his Genesis band members to promote the group's reunion tour, the 70-year-old musician said his son, Nic Collins would be drumming for the band going forward. </p> <p>When asked why he wouldn't be drumming, Collins said, <span>"I'd love to but you know, I mean, I can barely hold a stick with this hand. So there are certain physical things that get in the way."</span></p> <p>Collins will still be singing with that band, but admitted he will miss drumming live. </p> <p>He said, <span>"I'm kind of physically challenged a bit which is very frustrating because I'd love to be playing up there with my son." </span></p> <p>He isn't sure he will be touring much longer after the reunion shows, which have already been postponed due to the pandemic. </p> <p><span>"We're all men of our age, and I think to some extent, I think it probably is putting it to bed," he said. </span></p> <p><span>"I think yeah, I think just generally for me, I don't know if I want to go out on the road anymore."</span></p> <p><span>Fans were upset about the news of his declining health, and took to Twitter to wish him well. </span></p> <p><span>One fan wrote, “Shocked and sad to see #PhilCollins physical health and wish I could see #Genesis ‘Put to Bed’ U.K. tour. First fell in love with Genesis in the mid 80s as a teen, progressing to Phil Collin’s unique multi-gifted musical genius as a solo artist."</span></p> <p>Another posted, “Aww just seen Phil Collins on BBC Breakfast. He doesn’t look at all well.”</p> <p>A third said, “Wow. Watching Phil Collins speak, again, what a reminder to live life to the full and awareness of our time on earth.”</p> <p><span>Collins has had health issues for many years, including a series of broken bones and had major back surgery in 2015 which left him with lasting nerve damage. </span></p> <p><span>He also suffered from a fall in 2017, which left him relying on a cane to assist with walking. </span></p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty Images</em></p>

Music

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Princess Charlene of Monaco reunites with family

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">After months away from her family, Princess Charlene of Monaco has reunited with her husband and children.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Princess shared a series of photos of the family together once again, with Charlene, Prince Albert, and their six-year-old twins, Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques, posing together.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I am so thrilled to have my family back with me,” Charlene captioned the sweet photos.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“(Gabriella decided to give herself a haircut!!!)” she wrote of her daughter’s newest hairstyle.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Sorry my Bella I tried my best to fix it </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">🙈</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CS_VuctjIN1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CS_VuctjIN1/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by HSH Princess Charlene (@hshprincesscharlene)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 43-year-old has been in South Africa for the last few months, after contracting an ear nose throat infection (ENT) while promoting her conservation work.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The princess underwent surgery almost two weeks ago.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Princess Charlene will undergo an operation today, Friday, August 13, for four hours under general anaesthesia,” the Prince’s Palace of Monaco said in a statement at the time.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Prince Albert and their children, Crown Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella will join her during her recovery period.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Due to her illness, Charlene was required to stay in South Africa, missing her tenth wedding anniversary with Albert in July.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Instead, the princess marked the celebration by sharing a video on Instagram thanking the couple’s nearest and dearest over the last decade.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Thank you for your love and support, and for the generosity we have received during this decade of our marriage,” the princess wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Thank you for your anniversary gifts, for your generosity, and trust.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQ1ceseAb9v/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQ1ceseAb9v/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by HSH Princess Charlene (@hshprincesscharlene)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In an interview with News24, Charlene said that being away from her family had been “a trying time”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s been a trying time for me. I miss my husband and children dearly,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What has been extremely difficult for me was when I was instructed by my medical team that I could not return home for my 10th wedding anniversary.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Albert is my rock and strength and without his love and support I would not have been able to get through this painful time.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Princess Charlene / Instagram</span></p>

Family & Pets

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Princess Charlene’s sad reality without her kids

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Princess Charlene of Monaco has given a glimpse into her recovery from surgery, after weeks of “painful” separation from her husband and children. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 43-year-old former Olympic swimmer took to Instagram to share several snaps from her call with her two twins, six-year-old Princess Gabriella and Prince Jacques. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Spending time with Jacqui and Bella,” she wrote. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Making blankets for the crèche next door. Wish me luck,” she added. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Princess Charlene has been in her home country of South Africa for the last few months to undergo anti-poaching work while her husband, Albert and their children remained behind in Monaco. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The royal sported skinny jeans, a green turtleneck jumper and tan boots while blowing kisses to her children via a FaceTime call. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842429/princess-charlene-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/e2d60b3631c84397a7b28a8b600e7fe1" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In another photo, Princess Charlene is seen showing several colourful wildlife conservation posts on the wall. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Zimbabwe-born royal sadly developed a worrying ear, nose and throat infection that required surgery in May. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The royal had a second surgery a month later “to address complications from a previous operation,” the palace confirmed in a statement to<em> PEOPLE Magazine. </em></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Charlene will remain in South Africa “indefinitely” to undergo more procedures, meaning she has not seen her kids and husband since early June when they last came to visit the conservationist royal. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842430/princess-charlene-3.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/c2bbd37e7daf4da59a30b5bcc0c1045b" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her recovery also prevented Charlene from returning to Monaco to celebrate her tenth wedding anniversary with Prince Albert on July 1. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"This year will be the first time that I will not be with my husband on our wedding anniversary in July, which is difficult and saddens me," she said in a statement shared prior to the big day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"However, Albert and I had no choice but to follow the instructions of the medical team, even if it was extremely difficult. He has been the most incredible support to me," she added.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7842428/princess-charlene-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/e7f728f8f32e4091ab9eb121f56f79ce" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Charlene also opened up about the painful reality being separated from her husband and kids.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"It's been a trying time for me. I miss my husband and children dearly," she told South African News Channel24.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Albert is my rock and strength and without his love and support I would not have been able to get through this painful time."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Albert and the twins are planning to visit Princess Charlene in South Africa. </span></p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

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Joan Collins shuts down Piers Morgan over Meghan Markle question

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a new interview with Piers Morgan, Dame Joan Collins stayed tight-lipped when asked about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on Morgan’s ITV series “Life Stories”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“What do you make of what’s going on with the British royal family now, with Meghan, Harry, the feud, with [Prince] William, [Prince] Charles?” Morgan asked.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dynasty</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> star - who was made a dame in 2014 by the Queen - wasn’t interested in sharing her opinion on the reported feud between Harry, his brother, and their father.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“My lips are sealed on that subject,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I just don’t want to go on national TV and say what I think about Meghan and Harry, because look what happened to you.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Morgan seemed to appreciate her response and said: “Exactly - thank you.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The former morning show host’s repeated criticism of Markle following the Sussexes’ interview with Oprah Winfrey saw him walk off the set and quit </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Good Morning Britain</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in April.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Earlier this month, he accused the Duchess of Sussex of telling “downright lies” and called her “Princess Pinocchio” over the weekend.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: news.com.au</span></em></p>

TV

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"Bubble boy" Thomas Collins dies after being unable to return home to QLD

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>A young boy who struggled with an auto-immune disease for most of his life passed away on Saturday.</p> <p>Thomas Collins was just 3 years old when he died after being diagnosed with Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID) just days after he was born.</p> <p>The deficiency means he has no ability to fight off diseases and makes the risk of infections life-threatening.</p> <p>He spent 858 days in the hospital and was kept in a "plastic bubble" to stop him from catching diseases.</p> <p>Tom's conditions worsened while in a Melbourne hospital and the young family weren't able to move back to Queensland for support from their other family members due to COVID-19 restrictions.</p> <p>Tom's parents Leah and Morgan Collins have been fighting for their son to be let into Brisbane as he was nearing the end of his days but were unable to get a response from Queensland Health in time.</p> <p>The reason the family were in Melbourne was due to a specialist in a Melbourne hospital being the only person who could deliver the treatment Tom needed.</p> <p>The family shared their heartbreak on Facebook.</p> <iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftomsbattle%2Fposts%2F913107189094286&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=552&amp;height=760&amp;appId" width="552" height="760" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe> <p>“It is with deepest sorrow and fractured hearts that we tell you of Thomas’s passing this evening,” the Collins family posted on Facebook.</p> <p>“He passed peacefully in the arms of his parents.</p> <p>“Despite our best efforts we were unable to get him home to Queensland.</p> <p>“No response from Qld was received in time. We understood the potential conditions were very distressing and would have separated our family during transport.</p> <p>“We would then be forced to quarantine in the room he would have passed in as he was unlikely to survive 14 days quarantine.</p> <p>“We chose to do what our son needed most, which was to be with his parents in a peaceful environment to the end. We were able to do that for him.”</p> <p>“Sadly, we now have a choice between 14-day hotel quarantine, or wait 14 days south of the border to get back to Queensland, via NSW,” they said.</p> <p>“We wished we could be surrounded by family during this time but this is the hand we have been dealt.”</p> </div> </div> </div>

Caring

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Ageless Joan Collins celebrates birthday in glamour

<p>Joan Collins, in all her beauty and grace, has left fans desperate to know how she has managed to keep her youthful glow as she celebrated her 87th birthday on the weekend.</p> <p><span>The legendary actress spent her special day in the company of her husband Percy Gibson, 55.</span></p> <p>Taking to Instagram, Collins shared a photograph of the pair holding up a tiny birthday cake perfect for two.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAkMpChFmD5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAkMpChFmD5/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Joan Collins (@joancollinsdbe)</a> on May 24, 2020 at 2:28am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Joan looked simply stunning and dressed in an elegant white number, and finished off the look with understated jewellery and a slicked back hairstyle.</p> <p>Joan's husband, who is 32 years her junior, looked playful and happy as he put his arm around his wife.</p> <p>“It wasn't just a happy birthday it was a sensational one – I'm still reeling from the brilliant surprises,” she wrote</p> <p>Joan has received lots of messages from loving fans on social media and a few comments on how good she looked at 87.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAiQpj0FLWl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAiQpj0FLWl/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">First thing in the morning my loving #ahubby showered me with #flowers #gifts and #surprises - more to come! 🎂🎉🎁</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/joancollinsdbe/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Joan Collins</a> (@joancollinsdbe) on May 23, 2020 at 8:25am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"You look breathtakingly young- the secret please x" one fan remarked.</p> <p>Another said: "Looking very loved and beautifull.. you never seem to get any older."</p> <p>The performer admitted she has hopes of living until 100 years old.</p> <p>"Will I outlive you all? No, I don’t want that," she said during an interview with Mirror Online.</p> <p>"I’ll settle for 100 years old, like Olivia de Havilland, who played Melanie in Gone With The Wind. She lives in Paris and is still going strong".</p>

Beauty & Style

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Guide to the Classics: Albert Camus' The Plague

<p>Some weeks ago, I got an email from a student who had returned to Northern Italy over Christmas to see family.</p> <p>Unable to return to Australia, they were in lockdown. The hospitals were filling up fast, as COVID-19 <a href="https://epidemic-stats.com/coronavirus/italy">began to spiral out of control</a>. Sales of Albert Camus’ 1947 novel <em><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11989.The_Plague?from_search=true&amp;from_srp=true&amp;qid=lkEWcCTf5p&amp;rank=1">The Plague</a></em> (<em>La Peste</em>) were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/28/albert-camus-novel-the-plague-la-peste-pestilence-fiction-coronavirus-lockdown">spiking</a>. Everyone was buying it.</p> <p>Rereading <em>The Plague</em> over these past weeks has been an uncanny experience. Its fictive chronicle of the measures taken in the city of Oran against a death-dealing disease that strikes in 1940 sometimes seemed to blur into the government announcements reshaping our lives.</p> <p>Oran is a city like anywhere else, Camus’ narrator tells us:</p> <blockquote> <p>Our citizens work hard, but solely with the object of getting rich. Their chief interest is in commerce, and their chief aim in life is, as they call it, ‘doing business’.</p> </blockquote> <p>Like people anywhere else, the Oranians are completely unprepared when rats begin emerging from the sewers to die in droves in streets and laneways. Then, men, women and children start to fall ill with high fever, difficulties breathing and fatal buboes.</p> <p>The people of Oran initially “disbelieved in pestilences”, outside of the pages of history books. So, like many nations in 2020, they are slow to accept the enormity of what is occurring. As our narrator comments drily: “In this respect they were wrong, and their views obviously called for revision.”</p> <p>The numbers of afflicted rise. First slowly, then exponentially. By the time the plague-bearing spring gives way to a sweltering summer, over 100 deaths daily is the new normal.</p> <p>Emergency measures are rushed in. The city gates are shut, and martial law declared. Oran’s commercial harbour is closed to sea traffic. Sporting competitions cease. Beach bathing is prohibited.</p> <p>Soon, food shortages emerge (toilet paper, thankfully, is not mentioned). Some Oranians turn plague-profiteers, preying on the desperation of their fellows. Rationing is brought in for basic necessities, including petrol.</p> <p>Meanwhile, anyone showing symptoms of the disease is isolated. Houses, then entire suburbs, are locked down. The hospitals become overwhelmed. Schools and public buildings are <a href="https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/comment/excel-convention-centre-covid-19/">converted</a> into makeshift plague hospitals.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L8Dyf-wules?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span class="caption">A convention centre in London has been transformed into a 4,000-bed hospital.</span></p> <p>Our key protagonists, Dr Rieux and his friends Tarrou, Grand and Rambert, set up teams of voluntary workers to administer serums and ensure the sick are quickly diagnosed and hospitalised, often amongst harrowing scenes.</p> <p>In these circumstances, fear and suspicion descend “dewlike, from the greyly shining sky” on the population. Everyone realises that anyone – even those they love – could be a carrier.</p> <p>Come to think of it, so could each person themselves.</p> <p>The failure of the governors to consistently impose “social distancing” is shown up spectacularly in the novel’s most picturesque scene. The lead actor in a rendition of Gluck’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EENw_ptgGcg">Orpheus and Eurydice</a> collapses onstage, “his arms and legs splayed out under his antique robe”.</p> <p>Terrified patrons flee the darkened underworld of the opera house, “wedged together in the bottlenecks, and pouring out into the street in a confused mass, with shrill cries of dismay”.</p> <p>Arguably the most telling passages in <em>The Plague</em> today are Camus’ beautifully crafted meditative observations of the social and psychological effects of the epidemic on the townspeople.</p> <p>Epidemics make exiles of people in their own countries, our narrator stresses. Separation, isolation, loneliness, boredom and repetition become the shared fate of all.</p> <p>In Oran, as in Australia, places of worship go empty. Funerals are banned for fear of contagion. The living can no longer even farewell the many dead.</p> <p>Camus’ narrator pays especial attention to the damages visited by the plague upon separated lovers. Outsiders like the journalist Rambert who, by chance, are marooned inside Oran when the gates shut are “in the general exile […] the most exiled”.</p> <p>Today’s world knows many such “travellers caught by the plague and forced to stay where they were, […] cut off both from the person(s) with whom they wanted to be and from their homes as well”.</p> <p><strong>Multiple allegories</strong></p> <p>Camus’ prescient account of life under conditions of an epidemic works on different levels. <em>The Plague</em> is a transparent allegory of the Nazi occupation of France beginning in spring 1940. The sanitary teams reflect Camus’ experiences in, and admiration for, the resistance against the “<a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-brown-plague/?viewby=title">brown plague</a>” of fascism.</p> <p>Camus’ title also evokes the ways the Nazis characterised those they targeted for extermination as <a href="https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/defining-the-enemy">a pestilence</a>. The shadow of the then-still-recent Holocaust darkens <em>The Plague</em>’s pages.</p> <p>When death rates become so great that individual burials are no longer possible – as in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFy3_hEBcy8">scenes we are already seeing</a> – the Oranaise dig collective graves into which:</p> <blockquote> <p>the naked, somewhat contorted bodies were slid into a pit almost side by side, then covered with a layer of quicklime and another of earth […] so as to leave space for subsequent consignments.</p> </blockquote> <p>When this measure fails to keep up with the weight of these “consignments”, as with the genocidal actions of the <em><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Einsatzgruppen">Einzatsgruppen</a></em>, “the old crematorium east of the town” is repurposed. Closed streetcars filled with the dead are soon rattling along the old coastal tramline:</p> <blockquote> <p>Thereafter, […] when a strong wind was blowing […] a faint, sickly odour coming from the east remind[ed] them that they were living under a new order and that the plague fires were taking their nightly toll.</p> </blockquote> <p>Camus’ plague is also a metaphor for the force of what Dr Rieux calls “abstraction” in our lives: all those impersonal rules and processes which can make human beings statistics to be treated by governments with all the inhumanity characterising epidemics.</p> <p>For this reason, the enigmatic character Tarrou identifies the plague with people’s propensity to rationalise killing others for philosophical, religious or ideological causes. It is with this sense of plague in mind that the final words of the novel warn:</p> <blockquote> <p>that the plague bacillus never dies or disappears for good; that it can lie dormant for years and years in furniture and linen-chests; that it bides its time in bedrooms, cellars, trunks, and bookshelves; and that perhaps the day would come when, for the bane and the enlightening of men, it would rouse up its rats again and send them forth to die in a happy city.</p> </blockquote> <p><strong>Ordinary hope</strong></p> <p>There is nevertheless truth in the description of Camus’ masterwork as a “<a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-the-hope-at-the-heart-of-albert-camuss-plague-novel-la-peste/">sermon of hope</a>”. In the end, the plague dissipates as unaccountably as it had begun. Quarantine is lifted. Oran’s gates are reopened. Families and lovers reunite. The chronicle closes amid scenes of festival and jubilation.</p> <p>Camus’ narrator concludes that confronting the plague has taught him that, for all of the horrors he has witnessed, “there are more things to admire in men than to despise”.</p> <p>Unlike some philosophers, Camus became <a href="https://www.pdcnet.org/philtoday/content/philtoday_2017_0999_10_2_177">increasingly sceptical</a> about glorious ideals of superhumanity, heroism or sainthood. It is the capacity of ordinary people to do extraordinary things that <em>The Plague</em> lauds. “There’s one thing I must tell you,” Dr Rieux at one point specifies:</p> <blockquote> <p>there’s no question of heroism in all this. It’s a matter of common decency. That’s an idea which may make some people smile, but the only means of fighting a plague is common decency.</p> </blockquote> <p>It is such ordinary virtue, people each doing what they can to serve and look after each other, that Camus’ novel suggests alone preserves peoples from the worst ravages of epidemics, whether visited upon them by natural causes or tyrannical governments.</p> <p>It is therefore worth underlining that the unheroic heroes of Camus’ novel are people we call healthcare workers. Men and women, in many cases volunteers, who despite great risks step up, simply because “plague is here and we’ve got to make a stand”.</p> <p>It is also to these people’s examples, <em>The Plague</em> suggests, that we should look when we consider what kind of world we want to rebuild after the gates of our cities are again thrown open and COVID-19 has become a troubled memory.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134244/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-sharpe-125260">Matthew Sharpe</a>, Associate Professor in Philosophy, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/deakin-university-757">Deakin University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/guide-to-the-classics-albert-camus-the-plague-134244">original article</a>.</em></p>

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“Patience, confidence, courage, solidarity”: Prince Albert of Monaco's health update and personal message

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Prince Albert II of Monaco recently tested positive for COVID-19 last week, and has finally given a health update to the curious public.</p> <p>The reigning monarch is the second royal to contract the deadly virus, and over the weekend, People Magazine was able to give a look into the Prince’s condition.</p> <p>The 62-year-old is improving his health slowly and steadily as he continues to work from the confines of his home, under his doctor’s orders.</p> <p>“A little news. Condition unchanged. Little fever, little cough,” Prince Rainier III, who is the son of Princess Grace of Monaco told <em><a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://people.com/royals/prince-albert-health-update-after-coronavirus-diagnosis/" target="_blank" title="People Magazine. ">People Magazine.</a></em></p> <p>“Vital signs all good. The doctors are satisfied for now.”</p> <p>Prince Albert, who falls into the category of high-risk coronavirus patients, is undergoing regular temperature checks, and is consistently receiving news on his blood oxygen levels.</p> <p>An insider to the family has said the king messages, emails and calls ranging from celebrities and politicians to regular everyday people has been touching.</p> <p>Issuing a statement on his behalf, the Palace said Prince Albert was grateful and “touched by the many expressions of sympathy that have come to him from around the world.”</p> <p>“His Serene Highness wishes to thank all those who have shown him their support.”</p> <p>The prince tested anonymously last week in a bid to avoid being treated differently in the healthcare system.</p> <p>The royal exhibited mild flu-like symptoms and was later confirmed to have the virus by the labs of the hospital named after his late mother, Princess Grace of Monaco.</p> <p>It is understood Prince Albert is still unsure of where he could've come in contact with the virus.</p> <p>The royal signed off his official palace statement with a handwritten message of “patience, confidence, courage, solidarity” in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p> <p>There are concerns for 71-year-old Prince Charles, who Prince Albert was with just days prior to his diagnosis as both royals attended the WaterAid Summit on March 10.</p> <p>Thankfully, it is believed Prince Charles did not come into contact with Albert during the event, and he has gone so far as to avoid handshakes during engagements and events since the beginning of March.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-action-bar-component-wrapper"> <div class="post-actions-component"> <div class="upper-row"><span class="like-bar-component"></span> <div class="watched-bookmark-container"></div> </div> </div> </div>

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A prominent royal has tested positive for coronavirus

<p>The royal palace has confirmed on Friday morning that Prince Albert of Monaco has tested positive for coronavirus, after undergoing a test earlier this week for the worrying pathogen.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7831993/prince-albert-of-monaco.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b9b15ac7f8e84dd08b1434c5492b4fe2" /></p> <p>He is the first royal member and known head of state to have been diagnosed with COVID-19, however he is not the first member of the Mediterranean paradise to have been hit with the virus as it was announced on Thursday there had been nine new cases.</p> <p>The first case of coronavirus in Monaco was recorded on February 28.</p> <p>Prince Albert had only just sat opposite of Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, at a WaterAid charity event in London just a mere nine days before he was ruled positive.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7830238/prince-charles-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1f96c31452db445a94ba31c58a9c237b" /></p> <p>The palace said Albert's health “does not inspire any concern”, adding he was continuing to work from his private apartments. </p> <p>However the palace confirmed the royal is being closely monitored by his person doctor and by more specialists at the Princess Grace Hospital Centre.</p> <p>Albert has also begged the 39,000 inhabitants of Monaco in a to listen to quarantine rules to stop the spread of the virus.  </p> <p>Schools and nurseries in Monaco have been told to close along with non-essential businesses including restaurants, casinos, cafes, concert halls, cinemas and nightclubs.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7832649/monaco-royals-5.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f02c96bdd3614ff5b02908a746b6aede" /></p> <p>Banks, supermarkets and pharmacies continue to stay open.</p> <p>Information remains unclear in regard to the condition of the royal’s wife, Princess Charlene and whether she has been tested or not.</p> <p>Other high-profile patients include Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, and Begona Gomez, the wife of Spanish leader Pedro Sanchez.  </p> <p>Highly televised events including the Monaco Grand Prix has been called off with several other events on the Formula One calendar because of virus fears. </p>

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The role of music in Einstein's thinking

<p>As we marvel at science’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/gravitational-waves-discovered-the-universe-has-spoken-54237">latest extraordinary breakthrough</a>, it’s also an opportunity to ponder what kind of thinker Albert Einstein was.</p> <p>Born two decades before the beginning of the 20th century, what kind of mind was his that could come up with ideas that would have to wait until the second decade of the 21st century to be proven correct?</p> <p>The man responsible for predicting the existence of gravitational waves as the last brick in his <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-einsteins-theory-of-general-relativity-3481">theory of general relativity</a> is so often reduced to a tongue-poking electric-hair-shock caricature: the slightly mad but cuddly genius who is just <em>different</em> to everybody else.</p> <p>The true picture is perhaps less colorful; Einstein was the product of a well-rounded education that, importantly, very much included the arts and humanities.</p> <p>It’s little known that Einstein was an accomplished violinist, and even less known that had he not pursued science, he said he would have been a musician:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.</em></p> </blockquote> <p>Looking at the role of music in Einstein’s thinking sheds some light on how he shaped his most profound scientific ideas. His example suggests that in being intimately involved with the scientific complexity of music, he was able to bring a uniquely aesthetic quality to his theories. He wanted his science to be unified, harmonious, expressed simply, and to convey a sense of beauty of form.</p> <p>He confessed to thinking about science in terms of images and intuitions, often drawn directly from his experiences as a musician, only later converting these into logic, words and mathematics.</p> <p><strong>Music of the Spheres</strong></p> <p>Of the many mind-blowing things to consider in the gravitational wave discovery, there’s probably one that would have particularly piqued Einstein’s interest. This incredible sound:</p> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TWqhUANNFXw"></iframe></div> <p>In converting the gravitational wave into a sound wave, we have the astonishing privilege of being able to hear the echo of a billion-year old explosion from an incomprehensibly distant galaxy.</p> <p>That ripple in space-time took a thousand million years to reach us, hurtling through the void at 299,000 kilometres a <em>second</em>.</p> <p>A solitary bass drum-like thwack represents the literal transposition, emerging from an awe-inspiring cosmic background noise. Adjusted to better suit the human ear, it sounds eerily like a pebble dropped into a bucket of water.</p> <p>It’s strange to think that dropping a pebble in water produces essentially the same rippling sound effect as colliding super-black holes a billion light years away in time and space.</p> <p>Strange but also fitting; it partially suggests the elemental power of sound, linked as it is to movement, a signal of life, dynamism and creation.</p> <p>Whether it’s clapping hands, a resonating violin string, or black holes 30-times larger than our sun spinning around each other at 100 times a second, something is going to get displaced.</p> <p>In the first two actions, displaced air molecules bump up against neighbouring air molecules. The vibration continues as a wave until hitting something than can absorb or stop it, such as an ear drum.</p> <p>In the cosmic example, it is space and time which are displaced, creating a different kind of wave, one that can travel through a vacuum for aeons.</p> <p>Einstein, apart from being overjoyed that his prediction had been confirmed, would have been fascinated by the sound of that gravitational ripple. According to Einstein himself, sound, in the form of music, gave him more pleasure than anything else in life.</p> <p>Far more than a diversion or hobby, music was such a part of the man that it seems to have played a role in his scientific working processes.</p> <p>Einstein’s second wife Elsa told the story of him one day appearing totally lost in thought, wandering to the piano and playing for half an hour while intermittently jotting down notes.</p> <p>Disappearing into a room for two weeks (emerging for the odd piano session), he then surfaced with a working draft of the theory of general relativity.</p> <p>Of course, piano playing and the theory of general relativity are not related in any direct or tangible sense. On one level, the story suggests that for Einstein, piano playing had the same effect walking has for many people. Ambulatory thinking processes release creative juices.</p> <p>Beethoven knew it, as did apparently <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/habits-not-hacks/201407/beethovens-daily-habit-inspiring-creative-breakthroughs">the ancient Greeks</a>, not to mention <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/walking-helps-us-think">many generations of writers</a>.</p> <p>But there were deeper levels to the science-music relationship in Einstein’s mind. There’s some evidence music played a role in the very shaping of his most important scientific discoveries.</p> <p>To understand how, it’s important to know something about Einstein’s musical background, as well as his two favourite creators of music; the composers J.S. Bach and W.A. Mozart.</p> <p><strong>Violin lessons</strong></p> <p>We tend to forget the youthful Einstein was not only a looker, but an almost bohemian type whose violin playing was a well-known and celebrated aspect of his public persona.</p> <p>Einstein could often be found onstage performing string quartets with some of the era’s greatest musicians, acquitting himself with aplomb if not distinction.</p> <p>The range of intellectual stimuli Einstein gained from playing music, and its impact on his visionary approach to science, should probably not be underestimated.</p> <p>It wasn’t by chance that Einstein’s two most beloved composers represented the most celebrated practitioners of a particularly favoured approach within European classical music: tonality in the service of formal structure.</p> <p>Tonality is a concept, much like gravity, that (almost) everyone knows about instinctively, with or without specialist training. Music with a “tonal centre” has existed for about half a millennium, and can be heard in music emerging from the Italian Renaissance, through to the popular, film and TV music of today.</p> <p>In fact the gravity analogy is usually extended into metaphor when explaining tonality: it is music that has a gravitational centre, a pitch that sounds most stable, more like the “home base” than any other pitch – the sun in a solar system of pitch-planets.</p> <p>The other pitches “orbit” around the tonally central pitch, with varying degrees of gravitational pull toward the centre. Some are weaker and further away, others are close and feel the pull more strongly.</p> <p>Most people hearing the Preludio from Bach’s Partita for Violin No. 3 would be able to identify this central pitch (called “the tonic”) simply by listening to the opening and then humming whatever note sounded the most important.</p> <p>Of course, things can always get a lot more complex, and the real story is what Bach and Mozart were able to build within this system of order and balanced forces.</p> <p>Bach’s music is synonymous with the art of musical counterpoint; a way of layering different melodies, (anywhere between two to five is common enough), so that they retain independence, yet work together in a unified way.</p> <p>This clip of Bach’s fugue for Organ in C minor BWV 542 depicts the complexities of counterpoint in such a way that non-readers of music will appreciate.</p> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4WhPUqpaRp4"></iframe></div> <p>One melody, or “voice” becomes, two, then three, then eventually four. The “architecture” metaphor is easily apparent - the music feels so beautifully <em>constructed</em>, complex and ornate yet balanced and proportioned, like a cathedral or palace (or indeed a scientific formula).</p> <p>It was probably Mozart, however, who was even closer to Einstein’s heart. His formative musical years were proximate to a “back to Mozart” movement in Europe, a reaction to the perceived decadence and musical indulgence of Wagner and his <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-wagners-ring-cycle-der-ring-des-nibelungen-20475">monumentally long operas</a>.</p> <p>At a time when Wagner had stretched the tonal system to its limits, foreshadowing its collapse in European art music of the 20th century, Mozart’s image was re-polished and deemed to embody an approach that unified balanced architectural perfection with beauty of expression.</p> <p>The finale of Mozart’s Symphony No. 41, K551 (appropriately nicknamed “Jupiter”) provides a handy example of what Einstein saw in this music. Apart from the music’s exhilarating exuberance, the fourth movement is noteworthy for combining the most sophisticated formal design of Mozart’s era (late 18th century sonata form) with the most sophisticated texture of Bach’s (early 18th century fugue).</p> <p>Einstein would have probably especially enjoyed the extraordinary musical structures Mozart creates in the final minutes of the Jupiter, its coda. After a suspenseful pause, and turning some of his melodies upside down just for fun, Mozart takes five musical themes (like melodies but shorter, fragmented) from earlier sections and layers them all on top of each other, narrowly avoiding cacophony through the complex science of musical construction.</p> <p>Much like the mathematics involved in relativity, it’s actually quite difficult to follow what happens here in real time. The coda starts around 10:24, but the whole movement should really be listened to.</p> <div class="embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9"><iframe class="embed-responsive-item" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/prvBEXbnDR0"></iframe></div> <p>Despite the calculation involved in music like that of the Jupiter, learned complexity was never a means unto itself for these composers. Mozart has a reputation for expressing more than most composers while using the fewest notes. The vulnerable beauty of economically expressed meaning can be heard in the slow movement from the A Major Piano Concerto K488.</p> <p>It’s music such as this the led to now rather clichéd notion that Mozart appeared not to “create” his music, but discovered it ready made. Einstein sought a similar purity, economy and harmoniousness of vision for his theories.</p> <p>What relevance does this musical footnote have at a moment when we are celebrating the scientific breakthrough of the century? I believe it’s an opportunity to broaden our understanding of the ways in which this particular mind of apparent genius worked, to contemplate what kind of lessons can be learned today.</p> <p>What stands out is Einstein’s multi-dimensional approach to thinking. He saw complementarity between disciplines, and wouldn’t dream of siloing Science and the Humanities in separate bins.</p> <p>As the importance of science and technology in combating inexorable environmental catastrophe becomes ever more incontrovertible, the importance of initiatives such as the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science,_Technology,_Engineering,_and_Mathematics">STEM</a> educational grouping appears self-evident.</p> <p>But it’s clear from Einstein’s example that innovation in STEM involves modes of thinking that can come from the arts. For Einstein, it was the notion that the architectural and formal beauty he found in music could inform the inspiration and design of his scientific theories.</p> <p>Music inspired and guided him; it stimulated parts of his brain that could not be accessed through sitting at his desk. It gave him a sense of patterns, feelings, hunches, intuitions – all manner of sensual information that could be described as ways of thinking that don’t involve words.</p> <p>Some have suggested STEAM, so as to include the Arts in the grouping. Or STREAM, to include Reading and Writing. Wouldn’t it be great though if all human intellectual endeavours were simply treated equally?</p> <p>Einstein used as many parts of his mind as he could to experience and interpret the world, to create knowledge. And yet again, it’s been proven that he’s not a bad example to follow.<!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/liam-viney-175637">Liam Viney</a>, Piano Performance Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-queensland-805">The University of Queensland</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/good-vibrations-the-role-of-music-in-einsteins-thinking-54725">original article</a>.</em></p>

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