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She was mistakenly transferred $10.5m – so she bought a mansion

A costly bungle has resulted in two Aussie women going on a spending spree and a cryptocurrency company left $10.5 million out of pocket. Thevamanogari Manivel received the hefty injection of cash after Crypto.com, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platforms, attempted to process a refund of just $100 in May last year. But, instead of sending through the refund, an account number was entered in the payment section, resulting in the accidental transfer. Seven months later, the company has launched legal action against Ms Manivel and her sister, Thilagavathy Gangadory, after discovering the error during an audit in December, per court documents. The only issue is that the sisters have already spent a chunk of the cash. The court found that Ms Manivel transferred the funds into a joint account last year, before taking out some of the money to buy a $1.35 million property in the Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn in February 2022. It’s understood that Ms Manivel bought the five-bedroom home - which reportedly includes a gym and home cinema - as a gift for her sister. The home, which sold on February 3 according to property records, is described as having a “monochrome palette”, four “designer” bathrooms, an outdoor entertaining area and an expansive kitchen/dining/family area with a butler’s pantry, per <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/sold/property-house-vic-craigieburn-138330146">the listing</a>, According to the <a href="https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/cryptocom-goes-to-court-to-recoup-105m-it-incorrectly-sent-to-melbourne-woman/news-story/1e2d91d007d1257593cf5d0d99f1477d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herald Sun</a>, Ms Manivel sent $430,000 to her daughter and transferred the ownership of the home to her sister, Ms Gangadory. Crypto.com has since won part of its legal battle after a judge in Victoria’s Supreme Court ordered that the luxury home be sold and that the $1.35 million be returned to the company, along with $27,369 in interest and other costs. It is believed that separate orders have been made for the remaining sum. Because Ms Gangadory failed to appear in court for the May hearing, Justice James Dudley Elliott said that “the allegations in the statement of claim are taken to be admitted”, after the reasons for his judgement were made <a href="http://publicly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">publicly available</a> last week. If Ms Gangadory doesn’t put the property on the market, a receiver could be appointed to arrange its sale or, if she ignores the orders, she could be in contempt of court, as reported by <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/vic/cryptocurrency-platform-cryptocom-accidentally-transfers-105-million-to-melbourne-woman-c-8058203" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a>. “There’s no doubt that if you saw that in your account you would know it shouldn’t be there, and the onus is actually on you to actually call the sender and to say look that shouldn’t have come into my account,” Justin Lawrence from Henderson and Ball Lawyers told the outlet. “If you’re withholding property of someone else you’re effectively holding property by deception, you’re not entitled to it, you need to give it back.” The case is scheduled to return to court in October. Images: Realestate.com.au/Getty Images

Real Estate

Blackout bungle sees sisters marry the wrong grooms

Two sisters have accidentally married the wrong grooms during their joint wedding, as a power cut caused a confusing blackout. The ceremony was happening in the village of Aslana in Madhya Pradesh state, India, when the unfortunate blackout wreaked havoc with the proceedings. During the confusion, the priest continued to read out the marriage rites, but accidentally confused the couples. The brides’ father Ramesh Lal suggested the priest may have been confused since the two women were both in red dresses with veils over their faces. When the mistake was realised, it was later rectified. Blackouts and power cuts have been more common in India, as unusually high temperatures continue to tear through the country. These surging temperatures have seen a surge in demand for energy, with many companies resorting to intermittent power cuts in order to cope with the demand. More than a billion people across south Asia are facing a record-breaking heat wave which leaves them "gasping in whatever shade they find". Temperatures in northern India<a id="mol-de96b2e2-d097-11ec-861e-fba9b27a3e26" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/pakistan/index.html"> </a>have spiked to 47C as neighbouring Pakistan suffered its hottest March for 61 years. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in April, "Temperatures are rising rapidly in the country, and rising much earlier than usual." Image credits: Getty Images

Relationships

Police urgently sworn in after MAJOR bungle

More than 1000 officers have been <a href="https://7news.com.au/news/victoria-police/hundreds-of-vic-police-wrongly-sworn-in-c-5819028" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urgently sworn in</a> by Victoria Police after news emerged of an admin stuff-up. A change in legislation in 2013 has meant assistant commissioning officers have been swearing in graduating police officers without the appropriate power. As a result, affected officers have been making arrests, pressing charges and issuing orders without the valid powers to do so. The mistake extended beyond the officers, with a final tally of 1076 police officers, 157 protective service officers and 29 police custody officers being incorrectly sworn-in over the last eight years. Victoria Police said three assistant commissioners have already sworn in about 660 officers and protective service officers via videolink, with another 570 remaining. Officers have taken their oath during their first shift back at work, commencing their duties immediately afterwards. “This is an oversight, it’s an administrative oversight, it has some significant consequences for a short period of time,” Chief Commissioner Shane Patton told reporters. Though it is unclear how many court cases have been affected by the error, Mr Patton said it would be a “case by case analysis” to determine whether people could contest arrests or charges. “If someone wants to contest a matter, we would adjourn it and step through and analyse the specifics of that,” he said. “It may be that an officer, who comes within the scope of what we’ve been discussing here, is with another police officer who is not so affected and therefore the arrest may be totally valid. “There’s a whole range of scenarios.” The state government has also promised to introduce legislation addressing the situation at parliament’s next sitting. Police Minister Lisa Neville said the new laws would address past decisions, including arrests and charges issued by affected officers. “We’ve got to get this right, it will rectify all that and all those matters will stand,” she said. “Now someone in the meantime might try to contest, but with the support of the opposition … we’ll get this through very quickly and it won’t really be an opportunity for people to have any matters overturned.” However, Ms Neville said certain instances - such as family violence safety notices - “still have validity” since they are approved by a sergeant. The Police Association of Victoria also said it would support members affected by the error and ensure their legal and industrial rights were protected. Image: @victoriapolice (Instagram)

Legal

Millions paid out in Christmas banking bungle

A UK bank made a costly Christmas mistake by paying a total of £130 million ($AUD 245 million) to customers on December 25. In a statement released on December 30, British lender Santander said the large sum was split over 75,000 transactions from about 2000 businesses with accounts at the bank. “We’re sorry that due to a technical issue, some payments from our corporate clients were incorrectly duplicated on the recipients’ accounts,” the bank <a href="https://7news.com.au/business/banking/uk-bank-mistakenly-pays-out-nearly-250-million-in-colossal-christmas-day-disaster-c-5140630">said</a>. “None of our clients were at any point left out of pocket as a result and we will be working hard with many banks across the UK to recover the duplicated transactions over the coming days.” The bank blamed the duplicated payments on a scheduling issue, with the second payment funded by Santander. Santander added that the transactions included regular and one-off payments which may have included supplier payments or wages. Initial reports from The Times said account holders included Barclays, Virgin Money, and HSBC. According to the statement, Santander is working to recover the funds from rival banks who received the payments through the “bank error recovery process”. However, it was unclear how the banks would respond if customers had already spent the money, where asking customers to repay the funds could push them into overdraft. A payroll manager affected by the error <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59826345" target="_blank">told the BBC</a> it had cast a shadow on Christmas and Boxing Day. “It ruined my holiday period because I thought I’d paid out hundreds of thousands in error - I thought I had done something wrong,” they said. “I thought it was just me and that I was going to get in trouble at work.” The manager added that Santander hadn’t said how the second payment should be explained to staff or how the funds would be recovered. “It’s just a complete shambles,” they said. “How they are going to recover it, I just don’t know.” Santander UK - a subsidiary of global bank Banco Santander - has 14 million active customers and 616 branches, according to its website. Image: Getty Images

Money & Banking

“I’m sorry”: PM finally apologises for vaccine bungle

Scott Morrison has said “sorry” for the slow roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine earlier this year. "I'm certainly sorry that we haven't been able to achieve the marks that we had hoped for at the beginning of this year. Of course I am," Mr Morrison said during a press conference. On Wednesday, Mr Morrison acknowledged his government’s challenges with the rollout program, saying it was two months behind schedule. However, he did not apologise when asked to, on FM radio. Mr Morrison did however point out how the vaccination program has been successful in the last month or so, with 1 million vaccinations in the last seven days and a record 184,000 doses given on Wednesday. "I think I've been very clear that as Prime Minister I'm responsible for the vaccination program, and that responsibility includes fixing and dealing with the problems that we've had and that is what we have been doing and the vaccination program has turned the corner,” he said. He went on to say that pharmacies may soon be included in the vaccine roll-out as available doses continue to rise. "Right now there are 118 community pharmacies currently vaccinating around the country … by the end of this month there will be 470," he said.

News

Broadcaster apologises for offensive bungle

A Dutch public broadcaster has been forced to apologise for wrongly subtitling the German national anthem using Nazi-era lyrics while it was being played before the team’s Euro 2020 match against England. NPO issued the apology on Twitter, with the account saying “the wrong verse was accidentally shown” and apologising to viewers who were offended by the error during the match on the morning of Wednesday, June 30 (AEST). “During the live subtitling of the German national anthem at the European Championship match England-Germany, the wrong verse was displayed by mistake,” NPO said on Twitter. “This was a mistake by one of our subtitlers. We apologise to viewers who were disturbed by this.” The verse beginning with the words “Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles” was removed in 1945 following the end of World War II due to its association with the Nazi regime. The lyrics include the line “Germany, above all, above everything in the world” - which summed up Hitler’s desire to take over the world. Image: NPO

Mind

Coles called out over hilariously bungled order

Coles has been labelled a “total joke” following a blunder in one of their online orders. In a Facebook post, Emma, a customer who opted to only share her first name, shared the mishap after she received an email stating she would receive mandarins in place of two brown onions included in her online order. Though Emma could see the humour in the situation, she could not believe how two radically different items could be considered as appropriate substitutes for each other. “Would I be able to get an explanation of how this substitute is even a remotely equivalent product?” she wrote. Emma acknowledged product substitutions were a possibility when placing an online order. “I understand that when an item is not available, an equivalent product may be substituted in its place at no extra cost, but I just don’t see how a mandarin could be seen as a suitable substitute for onions,” she posted. A Coles employee commented on the post and claimed the customer’s “personal shopper would have done their best to find you the closest product to the one you ordered”, saying they were “sorry to hear” about her “poor experience”. Other commenters shared their doubts that Coles had tried their hardest to find an appropriate substitution and asked “how an onion is close to a citrus fruit”. In a plot twist, Emma shared with Yahoo News Australia that when the order arrived, there were the brown onions she ordered and no mandarins. “I was fully expecting to have a mandarin in the bags somewhere. But nope, ended up getting what I ordered,” she said. The order arrived shortly after she received the email and made the post about the substitution on Coles’ Facebook page.

Food & Wine

Woman's perfect response after bungled Woolies delivery

A Woolies shopper has taken to TikTok to share the hilarious alternative to triple-A batteries after the supermarket was out of stock. The video by @gracevp102 which has been watched over 130,000 times shows the woman replace batteries with the next best thing: Bread. “Is there anyone here that works for Woolies?” Grace asks in the clip. “So I ordered triple A batteries and they swapped me with a loaf of bread … I’m allergic to wheat.” Seeing the funny side of the situation, Grace then shared footage of her using the bread in place of the batteries she had really needed to fix her smoke alarm and recharge her TV remote. <img style="width: 376.20578778135047px; height: 500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7838529/screen-shot-2020-10-30-at-113435-am.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a35172c3bb22456faa975ce6b9108012" /> A Woolworths spokesman told news.com.au that while their personal shoppers work hard they’re also understandably human and make mistakes. “We know it’s frustrating when our substitutes are wrong and we apologise to the customer for missing the mark on this occasion,” they said. “Our team of personal shoppers work hard to pick perfect orders for our customers, but they’re human and don’t get it right every time. “We’re happy to offer refunds when we get it wrong and will contact the customer to offer one.” Many viewers found the video hilarious, posting comments about their own experiences. “We ordered 5kg of potatoes and got a single potato in a plastic bag,” one person wrote. “I ordered So Good soy vanilla ice cream and they replaced it with cookies and cream,” one comment read. “I’m allergic to gluten and dairy.” “You did it wrong, you’re supposed to put the bread inside of the remote,” another joked. “But yeah I always get random things.”

Food & Wine

Parents receive $5 million over bungled baby birth

A couple in Perth will keep their $5.2 million in damages after their child suffered severe and lifelong brain injuries during birth after a court challenge. It has been revealed that during Cooper Ellis' birth at Bentley Hospital in August 2009, doctor Hamza Amira repeatedly tried to use an instrumental delivery, specifically one using vacuum extraction devices. Cooper was eventually delivered via a combination of techniques. However it was during the birthing process he was deprived of oxygen and his heart rate flatlined. The young boy required resuscitation and also suffered other injuries. His parents Chris Ellis and Michelle Hoglin launched legal action against the East Metropolitan Health Service and claimed that Cooper's injuries were a result of the horrifying circumstances of his birth. WA District Court Judge Michael Gething sided with the family in 2018, saying Dr Amira's negligence caused Cooper's birth injuries. He also acknowledged that his subsequent developmental and cognitive impairments were due to the birthing process. The EMHS took the case to the WA Court of Appeal, but on Thursday the application was thrown out. The appeal judges said the birth was "prolonged and difficult". "(Cooper) did not take his first breath until five minutes after birth and underwent resuscitation for 20 minutes," they said. The infant did not start moving his legs until an hour after birth, the judge added. Slater and Gordon principal lawyer Jeffrey Potter said in a statement the firm was pleased to have assisted the family to succeed with the complex case. Mr Potter said Cooper's parents were relieved their "long and hard-fought battle" was finally over. Now they will continue to focus on their 11-year-old son's ongoing care. The $5.2 million will go towards ensuring Cooper has the support he will need for the rest of his life.

Legal

"Bungling idiots": Jacinda Ardern's bad week with press

Despite New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern initially being praised for the way her country handled the coronavirus pandemic, it appears the tide has turned. Her administration has been called "bungling idiots", her coalition government has been accused of "tearing itself apart" and Ardern who was previously seen as untouchable has been accused of telling a "complete lie" about her handling of the pandemic. Two British visitors on June 7th arrived into the country, where they were placed in hotel quarantine for 14 days. Six days later, the health ministry decreed that everyone in quarantine would be allowed out after two negative COVID-19 tests. The two arrivals were allowed to leave quarantine on compassionate grounds and drove 650kms to Wellington to visit a dying relative. Unfortunately, the pair got lost and met up with a couple of friends who gave them directions. The pair both tested positive for coronavirus after arriving in Wellington. It has since emerged that the women weren't tested in the hotel, not even once. Naturally, Ardern said it was an "unacceptable failure" and "cannot be repeated" as it was the nation's first COVID-19 cases for three weeks. There had already been plenty of early releases from quarantine, with 50 other visitors had been allowed out of quarantine on compassionate grounds with just four people being tested for coronavirus. If this wasn't bad enough, more news came to light. Out of the 2,519 people who left quarantine between June 9th and June 16th, most who completed the 14 days in quarantine, only 1,010 were tested for coronavirus. Of the rest, around 800 people vanished and failed to get into contact with the authorities to arrange a test. National leader Todd Muller said that the debacle was a "national disgrace". David Seymour, leader of the minor party ACT was much more direct. “These bungling idiots couldn't run a bath let alone a border,” he said. “We’re supposed to have the world’s smartest borders. We now have the world’s dumbest borders.” As election day nears, Senior National MP Judith Collins called into question Ardern's character on The AM Show. “We have been lied to actually. We have been lied to about the quarantine, about the standard of care," she said. When asked who had lied, she said "the prime minister and the health ministry". Labour MP Willie Jackson was having none of the accusations. “I think we are going a bit over the line if you are going to start accusing the prime minister of lying,” he said on the same show. “She is a person of huge integrity and very honest.” He hoped voters would “cut us a bit of slack given the integrity of the prime minister”.

News

Explore Australia with a road trip: Alice Springs to Darwin

Running north for 1600 km from Alice Springs to Darwin, the Stuart Highway makes for a classic Australian road trip. Part scenery and part history, much of what makes it special are the characters along the way. Leaving Alice Springs town centre, you soon pass the <a href="http://alicespringstelegraphstation.com.au/">Telegraph Station</a>. This first Overland Telegraph station was built in 1871 beside a spring named after Alice, the wife of the South Australian Postmaster-General. It operated until 1933, linking Australia’s main cities to Europe. It is well worth visiting in its evocative setting. About 30 km north of town, you’ll see the marker for the Tropic of Capricorn. For the rest of the drive, you’re in the tropics, though the landscape doesn’t change for quite a while. As you head up the track, you’ll find a series of classic outback pubs. The one in tiny Barrow Creek is welcoming but is best known for the 2001 dramatic <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Peter_Falconio">murder of Peter Falconio</a> at the hands of Bradley John Murdoch and the miraculous escape of Joanne Lees. One hundred kilometres further along you’ll reach the <a href="https://northernterritory.com/us/en/tennant-creek-and-barkly-region/destinations/karlu-karludevils-marbles-conservation-reserve">Devils Marbles or Karlu Karlu</a>, a series of granite boulders that litter either side of the highway for several kilometres. Some of the larger ones stand precariously balanced on tiny bases. They were once part of one solid block, broken and gradually rounded by wind and water erosion. The local Warumungu Aboriginal people believe they are the fossilised eggs of the Rainbow Serpent. Tennant Creek Just over 500 km from Alice Springs, <a href="https://northernterritory.com/tennant-creek-and-barkly-region">Tennant Creek</a> was the site of Australia’s last gold rush, after gold was discovered here in 1932. The town is 11 km from its namesake creek, and local legend says that a cart carrying timber to build the first pub at that creek became bogged and it was decided to erect the hotel on the spot. <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/BvEE9__jcIU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=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/BvEE9__jcIU/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Northern Territory - Australia (@ausoutbacknt)</a> on Mar 16, 2019 at 2:12am PDT </div> </blockquote> With its tree-lined double highway and a population of 3000, Tennant Creek, one of the Northern Territory’s four main townships has several sites to explore. Visit <a href="http://www.nyinkkanyunyu.com.au/">Nyinkka Nyunyu Art and Culture Centre</a>, the <a href="https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/tennant-creek-telegraph-station-historical-reserve">Tennant Creek Telegraph Station</a> and <a href="https://northernterritory.com/tennant-creek-and-barkly-region/see-and-do/battery-hill-mining-centre">Battery Hill Mining Centre</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennant_Creek_Catholic_Church">Christ the King Catholic Church</a> to find out why it’s dubbed "the longest church in Australia". Just 25 km north of Tennant Creek is the Three Ways junction of the Barkly Highway that leads to Mount Isa in Queensland. Nearby is a <a href="http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/religion/display/80251-john-flynn">memorial obelisk to Reverend John Flynn</a>, the founder of what is now the <a href="https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/">Royal Flying Doctor Service</a> and a genuine Australian outback hero. Further along the Stuart Highway north from Tennant Creek, the tiny township of Renner Springs marks a geographical and climatic end to the long, dry journey. Renner Springs represent the end of the higher country and the southern extremity of the monsoon-affected plains. <a href="http://www.dalywaterspub.com/">Daly Waters</a>, 900 km from Alice Springs, is worth a pause for a drink at the oldest pub in the Territory. The low stone building, once a refreshment stop for drovers on the overland cattle drives, was first licensed in 1893. The droving days have since given way to the era of the road train, and the north is now crisscrossed with a network of routes by which these huge trucks convey the cattle to market or railheads. <a href="https://www.visitkatherine.com.au/surrounding-regions/mataranka">Mataranka</a> is an unlikely oasis that was the setting for “We of the Never Never” — a classic novel by Aeneas (Jeannie) Gunn who lived at the huge Elsey Station property in 1902. The surprise attraction is <a href="https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/elsey-national-park">Elsey National Park</a>, with tropical forest comprising palms and paperbark trees surrounding sparkling thermal pools — a real oasis amid the north’s arid surrounds. Katherine and Nitmuluk Katherine, 108 km north is the Top End’s second most important town after Darwin. It has a well-developed infrastructure of shops, camping grounds, hotels, and motels. Since colonial days, it has been an important telegraph station and cattle centre, and it is from here that the Victoria Highway strikes west towards the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Just before the WA border, there is a turn-off to <a href="https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/keep-river-national-park">Keep River National Park</a>. Like the formations across the border in the <a href="https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/destination/bungle-bungle">Bungle Bungle Range</a>, Keep River features a series of fascinating banded sandstone towers which shelter a wide range of vegetation and animal life. <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/BdJWjJ_hVB2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=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/BdJWjJ_hVB2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Riekie Wandrag (@riekiewandrag)</a> on Dec 25, 2017 at 4:56pm PST </div> </blockquote> To the east of the Katherine township, <a href="https://northernterritory.com/katherine-and-surrounds/destinations/nitmiluk-national-park">Katherine Gorge</a> is one of the best known features of the Territory. It’s a great canyon of sandstone cliffs rising to over 100 metres above the Katherine River, best explored by water. There’s a series of gorges for 12 km before the river widens out again. It’s all part of <a href="https://nt.gov.au/leisure/parks-reserves/find-a-park-to-visit/nitmiluk-national-park">Nitmiluk National Park</a> that deserves several days of exploration. There are several walking trails in the park that follow the top of the escarpment, looking down into the gorge. Katherine is only 340 km from Darwin and in the vastness of outback Australia this sort of distance qualifies as a relative short trip into town. World record drive Readers of a certain vintage may remember tales of a Jaguar XK120 Roadster that set a world open road record for the <a href="https://www.whichcar.com.au/features/classic-wheels/vanishing-point">drive between Darwin and Alice Springs in 1951</a>. The road had only been converted from a dirt track alongside the telegraph line during World War II, when it was a main supply route for men and supplies to defend Australia’s north. Still it was a pretty rough road — particularly south of Tennant Creek where the bitumen ended. There was a 65 km/h speed limit and the NT police refused permission for the attempt saying “otherwise every silly bastard would be trying it”. Les Taylor and Dick Rendle completed the course in 10 hours 32 minutes for an average speed of 145.89 km/h — or 90.5 mph over 954 miles. Les was arrested when they arrived in Alice Springs to great fanfare — and was subsequently fined £20. Have you done any road trips around the Top End? Share your route below! Written by David McGonigal. Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/travel/road-trip-alice-springs-to-darwin.aspx">Wyza.com.au.</a>

Domestic Travel

The palace bungles Princess Eugenie wedding tweet – can you spot the blunder?

The official Royal Family twitter account was forced to delete one tweet about Princess Eugenie’s upcoming wedding because of a glaring error. The Queen’s granddaughter is set to say “I do” to her fiancé later today in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – the same location as Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding earlier this year. Although it is the second royal wedding of the year, the error in the tweet led fans to question whether less attention is being given to Eugenie’s nuptials. Can you spot the mistake in this tweet? <img style="width: 500px; height: 275.97402597402595px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821307/2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/a6f0971ae6f14875a778ebcfa720ace4" /> The tweet bungled the name of Eugenie’s partner, referring to him as Mr Jacksbrook rather than his correct surname, Mr Brooksbank. The account, which has 3.81 million followers, quickly received backlash for the typo. One person replied: “I believe “Bank Jacksbrook” is his super secret spy name.” Another said: “It’s Jack Brooksbank, or Jacksbrook to his rapper crew.” The tweet stayed on the account for 40 minutes until someone alerted the Royals to the error. The tweet was later reposted with the correct spelling. Eugenie, 28, will have a traditional church service which will be followed by the newlyweds embarking on a carriage ride through the streets of Windsor. Guests will then move to the Queen’s residence for an afternoon reception at Windsor Castle. In the evening, there will be a formal sit-down dinner at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, the residence of her parents Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The following day, the newlyweds and their friends and family will be enjoying a festival-themed afternoon party. Princess Eugenie first met Jack when she was 20 years old while at a Swiss holiday resort in Verbier. Will you be tuning in to watch Princess Eugenie’s wedding tonight? Let us know in the comments.

Technology

Wife’s battle over bungled $200K life insurance: “I won, my husband lost”

Cheryl Sayers was caught in an unimaginable battle when AMP incorrectly cancelled her husband Lee’s life insurance just months before he died of a terminal illness. The couple’s final months together were tainted by AMP’s unforgiveable failure and so Cheryl fought to hold the insurance giant accountable. “I didn't honestly believe that anyone could beat an insurance company,” Cheryl told A Current Affair. The Sydney mother-of-three forfeited a $78,000 non-disclosure payout to share her story, in the hope of helping other Australians who have been wronged in the same way. “I was not going to let them shut me up,” she said. “There are a lot more people out there that this has happened to." In 2011, AMP cancelled Lee’s life insurance policy without warning, falsely claiming he had insufficient funds to pay for it. According to Cheryl, her late husband had “never missed a payment” and had paid close to $80,000 in premiums. <img width="497" height="280" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7818791/2_497x280.jpg" alt="2 (84)"/> If the policy had been in place, the couple would have received the $200,000 payout when Lee was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, eight months before he passed away. The couple had dreamed of using the money to go on a Europe river cruise but were forced to work right up until Lee’s death, while also trying to fight AMP’s incorrect policy cancellation. “That policy would have allowed Lee to retire, to spend quality time with his children and myself,” Cheryl said. “You’re at a loss. You've lost your husband and you look like you're going to lose your home and you're at a loss what to do.” But Cheryl chose to represent herself and fought AMP and their high-paid lawyers. In 2014, her persistence paid off when the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal ruled in her favour. “I had won, but my husband had lost,” Cheryl said. AMP agreed to pay Cheryl the $200,000 payout. She estimates that she was also owed around $80,000 in interest and costs but AMP said they would only pay the funds if she signed a non-disclosure agreement.

Retirement Income

Woman misses out on seeing dying mum after plane ticket bungle

Carrol Amrich was already seated on the plane, ready to visit her dying mother, when she was removed by United Airlines’ staff minutes before take-off. The gate agent informed her that her ticket had been cancelled, and despite her pleas she was told “nobody flies for free”. Carrol offered to pay for another ticket but wasn’t allowed back on board, with the airline claiming that the plane had already left. The ticket bungle was due to a technicality. The ticket for the flight had been purchased by her landlord. Traveler Help Desk, the company that sold the ticket, cancelled it because her landlord had made a change directly with United rather than going through the company. However, at the time the airline assured them it was fine to do so. Distressed and desperate, Carrol received no help from the airline so she was left to drive to her mother from Colorado to Minnesota. She called her mother, begging her to hold on a little while longer while she embarked on her long journey ahead. The next time her phone rang, it was to tell her that her mother had passed away. “I drove 1000 miles (1610 kilometres), and she was gone before I got here,” Ms. Amrich told the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/business/united-airlines-traveler-help-desk.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> two days later. “I never stopped to rest. I went straight through. And she was gone. “I cried the whole way from Pueblo. I’ve been awake for two days. I haven’t eaten for two days.” Traveler Help Desk spokeswoman Carolyn Gallant confirmed the ticket had been cancelled as a protection against fraud. “I am just so sorry for Ms Amrich’s loss,” Ms Gallant said. “I understand it was unfortunate the ticket ended up voided. Had she contacted us directly to make the change, this all would have been avoided.” The flight date had been changed when her mother’s health worsened, requiring Carrol to visit immediately. United Airlines claimed on the phone that it was fine to make the change through them instead of Traveler Help Desk.

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The palace bungles Princess Eugenie wedding tweet – can you spot the blunder?

Wife’s battle over bungled $200K life insurance: “I won, my husband lost”

Woman misses out on seeing dying mum after plane ticket bungle

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