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Cash boost for millions of Aussies as indexation kicks in

<p>Millions of Australians are set to get a cash boost within weeks as the Services Australia payments are indexed on top of additional increases to Rent Assistance payments, with the changes coming into effect on September 20</p> <p>The indexation will be applied to a range of pensions and payments including the Age Pension, Disability Support Pension and Carer Payments, Commonwealth Rent Assistance, JobSeeker, and Parenting Payments.</p> <p>The indexation increases of up to $41.50 a fortnight will vary based on the payments.</p> <p>Centrelink JobSeeker recipients will receive an extra $71.20 per fortnight. </p> <p>“Single JobSeeker Payment recipients with an assessed partial capacity to work of 0 to 14 hours per week will move to the higher rate of JobSeeker, receiving $849.50 a fortnight,” the Department of Social Services said.</p> <p>The maximum rates of Commonwealth Rent Assistance will be increased by 10 per cent.</p> <p>For families with one or two children, he Rent Assistance fortnightly payment will increase by $27.02.</p> <p>Single age pensioners will see an increase of $28.10 to their fortnightly payments, and recipients in a couple will receive a combined $42.40 increase to their payments.</p> <p>The same increase will apply to the Disability Support Pension and Carer Payment.</p> <p>Single recipients receiving the fortnightly Parenting Payment will  receive a $19.80 increase, while single recipients without children will get a $15.30 boost. </p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Money & Banking

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"Felt like a criminal": Mother and disabled son "kicked out" of Pink concert

<p>A distraught mother has taken to social media to recall the moment her and her seven-year-old son, who has Down syndrome, were asked to leave a concert venue. </p> <p>Vanessa Vasey, 48, spent over $1,000 to take her son Jesse to see Pink in London during her UK stadium tour, but when the pair arrived at the venue, things took a turn. </p> <p>Jesse struggled to stay still in his seat and was soon surrounded by "six security guards" who ordered the disabled boy to sit down, otherwise they would have to leave.</p> <p>She said she tried to explain her son’s condition to the guards but they ended up being “escorted from the premises” just as Pink took to the stage.</p> <p>On Facebook, Vasey wrote in detail about what happened, saying her son had been “robbed” of a special experience.</p> <p>“Music is his life and Pink is one of his absolute favourites,” she wrote.</p> <p>“We successfully saw her perform at BST Hyde Park last year and were thrilled to learn of her return again this year.”</p> <p>Vasey said she purchased more expensive “hospitality tickets” allowing people to move between bars and food outlets during the night “so that Jesse wouldn’t be pressured into remaining in one seat all night, as he gets overwhelmed in busy environments and finds it hard to sit still.”</p> <p>“We spent some time in the bar leading up to the main act, and Jesse was having a wonderful time, until about 45 minutes before Pink was due to come on, they suddenly shut all the blinds, obstructing us from seeing anything,” she wrote.</p> <p>“I tried to consult with the hospitality managers over this, and explained Jesse’s needs, but they wouldn’t budge on it. So not wanting Jesse to stare at a blind all night, we attempted to go into the seating zone."</p> <p>“We couldn’t get him to sit in his seat, but he was happy dancing and singing at the front railings, and even interacting with some of the other guests."</p> <p>“Doing no harm to anyone, or obstructing anyone’s view. This seemed OK for about half an hour or so. Then ... just as Pink dropped from the sky in her opening number, we had six security guards come into the zone and ask us to leave or sit in our seats.”</p> <p>Vasey said the security guards were “abrupt, intimidating and unpleasant”, as they "tried to force us to take Jesse to a sensory room which was soundproof, and watch Pink on a screen.” </p> <div> </div> <p>“Something we could do at home, robbing us of the whole experience, as if my son was some sort of inconvenience, and better off shut in a room out of sight.”</p> <p>When Vasey complained to venue staff, she claims that more security guards appeared and they had no choice but to leave. </p> <p>“We were escorted out of the building like criminals and saw no more of the Pink show. Jesse was utterly devastated, and they showed absolutely zero care or understanding."</p> <p>“Shame on you Tottenham Stadium,” she concluded. “My poor boy deserved so much better than this!”</p> <p>After UK media picked up Vasey's story, Tottenham Stadium released a statement explaining their actions. </p> <p>“Following further investigation, we can confirm that Ms Vasey was offered assistance by our Safeguarding and Welfare teams throughout the night to provide Jesse with a comfortable viewing experience, including access to our dedicated Sensory Room,” the statement read.</p> <p>“The offers of assistance were declined by Ms Vasey and the party chose to leave the event.”</p> <p>Vasey was soon set upon by online trolls who condemned her choice to take Jesse to the concert in the first place, to which she issues a lengthy statement about inclusivity and not singling people out for their disabilities. </p> <p>“Why do we take them [to events]? Because, as parents, we have the same dreams and aspirations for our children as any other parent,” she wrote.</p> <p>“We have the same desires to see our children’s faces light up, as any other parent would. Our children are exposed to the same world as other children, and they enjoy the same things."</p> <p>“They have the same likes and desires. The only thing that’s different is their needs, their abilities and their way of accessing their dreams."</p> <p>“Why should these things deny them of fulfilling these dreams and passions? This is meant to be a world of inclusion. So let’s start including!"</p> <p>“That means adapting, understanding, supporting and most importantly; changing the way we deliver these privileges so that they are privileges for all of us, and not just some of us.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook/Richard Isaac/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p> <div class="hide-print ad-no-notice css-qyun7f-StyledAdUnitWrapper ezkyf1c0" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: #292a33; color: #292a33; font-family: HeyWow, Montserrat, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </div>

Caring

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"Not one ounce of compassion”: BBC star kicked off plane over daughter's allergy

<p>A BBC weather presenter and her family have been kicked off a plane after asking passengers to be wary of her daughter's peanut allergy. </p> <p>British weather presenter Georgie Palmer was flying from London to Turkey with her husband Matt and their daughters Annie and Rosie, as the family boarded their flight at Gatwick Airport with SunExpress airlines. </p> <p>Georgie and her family were kicked off the plane shortly after boarding, after the 49-year-old mother ran into issues around her daughter's severe allergy to peanuts.</p> <p>According to Palmer, she has requested that the captain make an announcement to all passengers asking them not to eat any peanut products on the flight, but the pilot refused. </p> <p>Palmer then took matters into her own hands and one by one asked passengers not to consume peanuts on the four-hour flight, before being asked to disembark the aircraft.</p> <p>The weather presenter took to Instagram to share her side of the story with a lengthy post. </p> <p>She began, “I thanked the beautiful souls on our plane for helping us. Many of them hugged, cheered and held our hands as we were forced to disembark."</p> <p>“The SunExpress captain and cabin crew refused to make the standard announcement on behalf of our daughter. We gently asked the passengers at the front of the plane to share our request."</p> <p>“Row by row, all the passengers turned back to kindly ask the row behind to please not eat nuts on the flight. It was calm, earnest and with an overwhelming sense of solidarity and empathy.”</p> <p>Georgie added: “There’s no beef with simple asks like these. People get it!"</p> <p>“We were hoofed off the plane after the angry little captain shouted at us from the cockpit.”</p> <p>She concluded by saying they were discriminated against for “simply having an allergy”.</p> <p>Georgie told the <a title="www.dailymail.co.uk" href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13457399/bbc-weather-presenter-Georgie-Palmer-flight-nuts.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Daily Mail</em>,</a> “The captain decided because of my daughter’s allergy he didn’t want to fly with her on board."</p> <p>“When he found out I had spoken to the other passengers he was screaming at me from the cockpit. He was so angry, the next thing I knew we were told to get off the plane."</p> <p>“How we were treated was disgusting – nobody working on that plane showed one ounce of compassion.”</p> <p>A SunExpress spokesman then shared the airline's version of events, claiming that Georgie's husband had become aggressive, and kicked the family off the plane with their best interests at heart. </p> <p>The statement said, “We take the safety of our passengers very seriously. Shortly after boarding our flight, the passenger raised a concern about one of his family group having a serious peanut allergy."</p> <p>“They requested an announcement to other passengers. We refrain from making these kinds of announcements. Like many other airlines, we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment on our flights, nor can we prevent other passengers from bringing food items containing allergens on board."</p> <p>“Due to the insistent behaviour of the passenger to others on board, the captain decided it would be safest if the family did not travel."</p> <p>“When this was explained to the passenger, he behaved aggressively towards our crew members and tried to gain access to the cockpit. To ensure the safety of our crew and our passengers on board, we cannot tolerate aggressive and unruly behaviour on our flights."</p> <p>“Our website states that passengers must notify us 48 hours in advance of any special care required due to a medical condition. No such notification was received from the passengers in this instance.”</p> <p>According to <em><a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/tv/28140666/bbc-family-flight-passengers-peanuts-allergy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Sun</a></em>, Mr Sollom denies acting aggressively.</p> <p>The differing versions of events have divided many on social media as thousands weighed in on the debacle, with plenty of users siding with the pilot.</p> <p>“The pilot is a national treasure,” one person wrote.</p> <p>“As they should have been,” a second wrote, referring to the family getting kicked off.</p> <p>“Would have booted them off as well,” another agreed. </p> <p>A fourth wrote: “I think this story would be found under Self Entitlement in the dictionary.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Kick up your heels – ballroom dancing offers benefits to the aging brain and could help stave off dementia

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/helena-blumen-1231899">Helena Blumen</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/albert-einstein-college-of-medicine-3638">Albert Einstein College of Medicine</a></em></p> <h2>The big idea</h2> <p>Social ballroom dancing can improve cognitive functions and reduce brain atrophy in older adults who are at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. That’s the key finding of my team’s <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/japa.2022-0176">recently published study</a> in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity.</p> <p>In our study, we enrolled 25 adults over 65 years of age in either six months of twice-weekly ballroom dancing classes or six months of twice-weekly treadmill walking classes. None of them were engaged in formal dancing or other exercise programs.</p> <p>The overall goal was to see how each experience affected cognitive function and brain health.</p> <p>While none of the study volunteers had a dementia diagnosis, all performed a bit lower than expected on at least one of our dementia screening tests. We found that older adults that completed six months of social dancing and those that completed six months of treadmill walking improved their executive functioning – an umbrella term for planning, reasoning and processing tasks that require attention.</p> <p>Dancing, however, generated significantly greater improvements than treadmill walking on one measure of executive function and on processing speed, which is the time it takes to respond to or process information. Compared with walking, dancing was also associated with reduced brain atrophy in the hippocampus – a brain region that is key to memory functioning and is particularly affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers also know that this part of our brain can undergo neurogenesis – or grow new neurons – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0611721104">in response to aerobic exercise</a>.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/unmbhUvnGow?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Research shows those who regularly dance with a partner have a more positive outlook on life.</span></figcaption></figure> <p>While several previous studies suggest that dancing has beneficial effects <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa270">on cognitive function in older adults</a>, only a few studies have compared it directly with traditional exercises. Our study is the first to observe both better cognitive function and improved brain health following dancing than walking in older adults at risk for dementia. We think that social dancing may be more beneficial than walking because it is physically, socially and cognitively demanding – and therefore strengthens a wide network of brain regions.</p> <p>While dancing, you’re not only using brain regions that are important for physical movement. You’re also relying on brain regions that are important for interacting and adapting to the movements of your dancing partner, as well as those necessary for learning new dance steps or remembering those you’ve learned already.</p> <h2>Why it matters</h2> <p>Nearly 6 million older adults in the U.S. and 55 million worldwide <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2019.01.010">have Alzheimer’s disease</a> or a <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia">related dementia</a>, yet there is no cure. Sadly, the efficacy and ethics surrounding recently developed drug treatments <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/21507740.2022.2129858">are still under debate</a>.</p> <p>The good news is that older adults can potentially <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30367-6">lower their risk for dementia</a> through lifestyle interventions, even later in life. These include reducing social isolation and physical inactivity.</p> <p>Social ballroom dancing targets both isolation and inactivity. In these later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a better understanding of the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/23337214211005223">indirect effects of COVID-19</a> – particularly those that increase dementia risk, such as social isolation – is urgently needed. In my view, early intervention is critical to prevent dementia from becoming the next pandemic. Social dancing could be a particularly timely way to overcome the adverse cognitive and brain effects associated with isolation and fewer social interactions during the pandemic.</p> <h2>What still isn’t known</h2> <p>Traditional aerobic exercise interventions such as treadmill-walking or running have been shown to lead to modest but reliable improvements in cognition – <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617707316">particularly in executive function</a>.</p> <p>My team’s study builds on that research and provides preliminary evidence that not all exercise is equal when it comes to brain health. Yet our sample size was quite small, and larger studies are needed to confirm these initial findings. Additional studies are also needed to determine the optimal length, frequency and intensity of dancing classes that may result in positive changes.</p> <p>Lifestyle interventions like social ballroom dancing are a promising, noninvasive and cost-effective path toward staving off dementia as we – eventually – leave the COVID-19 pandemic behind.<!-- 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;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194969/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/helena-blumen-1231899">Helena Blumen</a>, Associate Professor of Medicine and Neurology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/albert-einstein-college-of-medicine-3638">Albert Einstein College of Medicine</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</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/kick-up-your-heels-ballroom-dancing-offers-benefits-to-the-aging-brain-and-could-help-stave-off-dementia-194969">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Mind

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"A kick in the teeth": Father of Hunter Valley crash victim shares his anger

<p>The father of one of the victims of the deadly Hunter Valley bus crash has spoken out, following news that the driver struck a plea deal. </p> <p>On Wednesday, Brett Andrew Button entered into a plea agreement, which saw 10 manslaughter charges be dropped against the man who was behind the wheel when the bus crashed. </p> <p>He then pled guilty to 10 counts of dangerous driving causing death, nine of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm and 16 of furious driving causing bodily harm.</p> <p>After news of the plea deal broke, the father of one of the victims shared how the downgrade in charges felt like "more than a kick in the teeth". </p> <p>"It reopens wounds and triggers and it evokes, obviously, some anger, but I'm trying to be balanced and stick with the facts and hopefully we can achieve some positive outcomes," Adam Bray told <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/hunter-valley-wedding-bus-crash-manslaughter-charges-dropped/d55638e1-690f-41e1-967c-6c714ccbb501" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>A Current Affair</em></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-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6s9sJvsnxh/?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/reel/C6s9sJvsnxh/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by A Current Affair (@acurrentaffair9)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Mr Bray's son, 29-year-old Zach was one of the 10 people who tragically died in the crash. </p> <p>"Five weeks ago we were running 89 charges, including 10 charges of manslaughter."</p> <p>"Thirty six hours before the court today, all the families were told, sold a bit of a story to be honest ... that's extremely disappointing and I'll continue to fight."</p> <p>"It's totally wrong and does it need to take these 10 lives to fix bus and coach safety in Australia?"</p> <p>Mr Bray's comments come as reports emerged that Mr Button had a drug dependency and had prescription painkillers in his system at the time of the crash.</p> <p>"It's criminal to drive a vehicle, a heavy vehicle in Australia, particularly with 35 passengers on board, when you are medicated," Bray said.</p> <p>"So to reduce to lesser charges, it's not balanced.</p> <p>Bray's emotions ran high as he described his son as an "incredible man" who had overcome stage 3 bowel cancer before the fatal crash.</p> <p><em>A Current Affair</em> host Ally Langdon told the grieving father. "I'm so sorry that you are going through this. I'm so sorry the process played out as it has. It's not fair."</p> <p>Following the emotional court proceedings, Mr Bray said he felt like his emotions over the tragedy were "pretty much back to square one".</p> <p>"(I am) processing it. Yep, another massive challenge. We'll do our best to get through it, but also try to get law reform so that 10 beautiful people did not die in vain."</p> <p>"It's far from fair, let's try to rally around government, try to rally around the attorney general, get some public opinion, let's try to create some fairness, it's all we can do."</p> <p><em>Image credits: A Current Affair / Getty Images </em></p>

Caring

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“Kick in the face”: Why not everyone's happy that Molly’s going home

<p>The recent decision to <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/molly-the-magpie-is-going-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">return Molly the magpie</a> to a Gold Coast couple and their two dogs Ruby and Peggy has sparked a contentious debate, which one wildlife advocate <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/molly-the-magpie-decision-labelled-a-kick-in-the-face-for-wildlife-carers-040736042.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described to Yahoo News</a> as "a kick in the face". Queensland Premier Steven Miles' announcement has divided opinions, stirring anger among wildlife volunteers while receiving overwhelming praise from a vast portion of the public, particularly followers of the popular social media pages featuring Molly.</p> <p>Molly, the magpie turned social media sensation, has captured the hearts of over two million followers on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. However, her rise to fame was marred by allegations of being taken from the wild without proper authorisation. The decision to return Molly to Juliette Wells and Reece Mortensen, the couple behind the Peggy and Molly pages, has left wildlife advocates concerned about the message it sends regarding the treatment of wildlife and the enforcement of regulations.</p> <p>Despite the concerns raised by wildlife advocates, the decision to return Molly appears to have widespread public support. Premier Miles' Facebook post announcing Molly's return garnered significant positive feedback, with many expressing joy at the news. However, some questioned the delay in the decision-making process and criticised the handling of the situation by the Department of Environment and Science and its staff.</p> <p>The saga surrounding Molly's return unfolded amid public pressure, fuelled by social media campaigns and posts from Wells herself, <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/lifestyle/family-pets/i-miss-my-bestie-new-appeal-after-molly-s-family-left-in-the-dark" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressing frustration at the lack of response</a> from government officials.</p> <p>The controversy surrounding Molly's return raises broader questions about wildlife rehabilitation, human-animal interactions, and the role of social media in shaping public perception. While Wells maintained that Molly was cared for in a manner consistent with fostering her natural instincts, authorities expressed concerns about the potential negative impact of human habituation on the bird's ability to thrive in the wild.</p> <p>Critics argue that Molly's return sets a dangerous precedent, potentially encouraging others to take wild animals into captivity for social media fame. The financial gains associated with Molly's social media presence certainly raise ethical questions about the commodification of wildlife for entertainment purposes.</p> <p>Amid escalating tensions surrounding the case, calls for civility and respect have been made, urging individuals to engage in constructive dialogue rather than resorting to hostility and abuse. None more powerful than the message coming directly from Molly's adoptive carers:</p> <p>"NO AGGRESSION," Juliette Wells repeatedly said to her followers on Instagram. "Be kind - remember what these 3 best friends have shown the world: Love & acceptance in differences. We all have differences in opinions let’s just voice them in a positive way for this Famous Magpie Molly."</p> <p>While Molly's return may be celebrated by some, it reignites discussions about the ethical treatment of wildlife and the responsibilities of both individuals and authorities in safeguarding native species. </p> <p>But the last word again goes to Wells, who has clearly endured a great deal throughout this entire ordeal – including being "harassed, defamed & bullied"<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">:</span></p> <p>"What a journey to get here," wrote Wells, following the news of Molly's impending return. "Having a hole in our hearts that we never thought would heal. Constantly thinking about this little magpie who was full of life and personality sitting in a cage lost and alone. Our hearts breaking Watching our girls looking around for Molly or out the window for hours waiting to see their best friend again.</p> <p>"Being forced by a certain media outlet to make the announcement before we were ready to deliver it in a mindful way to our millions of supporters.</p> <p>"We have become a meme, an interview question & the topic of conversation around the world.</p> <p>"We have be Harassed, defamed & bullied by a small minority of people.</p> <p>"Suddenly being plunged onto the world stage after the QLD premier stepped in. Constantly Hitting brick walls trying to get answers from the dept about Molly & his whereabouts.</p> <p>"We want to thankyou you the people for your voices , for standing by us & making this happen . The messages , emails , phone calls & thousands of signatures on petitions . The love , support and sheer determination for a cause is what you have done & is what has kept us going . We have shown the world what can be achieved when we work together . We have shown the world this can be achieved with persistence without aggression."</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/C5mEBBbSY2g/?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/C5mEBBbSY2g/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Peggyandmolly (@peggyandmolly)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Dad kicked off Jetstar flight for breaking cardinal rule

<p>A dad has been kicked off a Jetstar flight after snapping a picture of his family boarding the plane from the tarmac. </p> <p>Jimmy Mitchell was with his wife Pauline and their two children as they went to board their flight from Sydney to Brisbane, where they were embarking on a cruise. </p> <p>As the family were boarding the plane from the tarmac, Jimmy quickly took a picture of his kids and his wife who were walking up the rear stairs of the plane. </p> <p>According to Jimmy, who is a seasoned traveller, he didn't hear an announcement be made that passengers were prohibited from taking photos on the tarmac because the plane was refuelling. </p> <p>He was eventually able to board the flight after being confronted by cabin crew, but described the debacle as “one of the most traumatic experiences” he’s had.</p> <p>In a viral TikTok, he alleged that while he was taking the photo, a cabin crew member called him an “idiot”. He said that when she tried to get his attention to put the device away it left him embarrassed and shocked. </p> <p>“This is the worst experience I’ve ever had flying,” he said in the clip.</p> <p>“I try and get on the plane, I take a photo of my kids as they get on the plane, in flight mode, and the lady calls me an idiot,” he said.</p> <p>After he confronted the staff member, Mr Mitchell claims he was told he won’t be allowed to board the flight.</p> <p>“I turned around in disbelief because I was half way up the stairs at this point. I basically stormed over to her and I was like, ‘Are you serious? What did you just call me?’</p> <p>“She was basically saying ‘you can’t take photos on the tarmac, you can’t take photos on the tarmac’.”</p> <p>The pair allegedly went back and forth before the father-of-two, known for his travel content, was rejected from boarding the plane. </p> <p>“If she had literally just said anything else, like ‘get off your phone’, I would have done it.”</p> <p>“Apparently, they made an announcement, but I had noise cancelling headphones, Pauline (wife) told me after the fact – I didn’t hear it, there was no notifications about it, there was no signage, no nothing."</p> <p>“All she had to do was say something constructive. ‘Get off your phone,’ ‘you can’t have your phone out’ and I would have been like ‘sorry’, but she screams across the tarmac calling me an idiot.”</p> <p>“I can see how she maybe felt I was being intimidating because I am a big guy and I am a loud guy. She turns around to me and goes ‘you almost assaulted me, get off the tarmac, you’re not getting on this plane’.”</p> <p>Mr Mitchell then walked back inside the terminal where he awaited further instructions, and was later able to board the flight “after cooler heads prevailed” but wants the airline to apologise to him and his family over the “stressful” situation.</p> <p>“The way they treated Pauline and the kids and not allowing me to communicate with them what was going on, was completely unacceptable,” he said.</p> <p>The debacle has sparked a huge debate on his TikTok and Instagram over who is in the wrong.</p> <p>“Wow … that’s insane! So sorry that happened to you!” one person wrote.</p> <p>“Take it further and don’t let them get away with what they have done,” a second person said.</p> <p>However, others were quick to comment that as a seasoned traveller, Jimmy should've been well versed in the rules of not taking photos on the tarmac.</p> <p><em>Image credits: TikTok</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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"No empathy": Grandmother kicked off flight over unpaid fee

<p>An outraged father has unleashed over Jetstar's decision to remove his mother-in-law and children from a flight over an unpaid fee. </p> <p>Father of three Jay Tee took to social media to slam the airline over their treatment of his family on their flight from the Gold Coast to Melbourne. </p> <p>Tee's kids were being accompanied on the flight by their grandmother, who was informed she needed to pay a $35 fee to check in a bag. </p> <p>The woman forgot to pay the fee before boarding, on what was her second time ever on a plane. </p> <p>Tee was then contacted by the airline after his family had boarded and was told they would not be allowed to travel if the charge wasn’t paid for within 10 minutes. </p> <p>“They informed me I had 10 minutes to pay $35 or else they would be removed from the flight extra fees would accur (sic) for holding up the flight,” he said.</p> <p>“I hung up transferred funds and rang back within four minutes. Jetstar did not take payment and had removed my mother-in-law from the flight altogether leaving her and 3 kids stranded at Gold Coast airport no water no food.”</p> <p>The father slammed the airline for “disgusting service” that was “the worst I have ever been treated” by a company.</p> <p>“My anger is not with the payment for luggage, it is how my mother-in-law and three kids under 10 were treated.”</p> <p>The airline confirmed the family were removed from the flight, with a spokesperson saying the airline was trying to contact Mr Tee for more information.</p> <p>“We’re really sorry to hear about the customers’ experience and are reaching out to get a better understanding about what happened,” the spokesperson said.</p> <p>The airline went on to say they had no record of any payment being made, while also clarifying they asked the elderly woman to move to the service desk multiple times to pay the fee, but she didn't.</p> <p>Mr Tee says he was then forced to pay another $600 to book the group on the next flight to Melbourne with discount airline Bonza.</p> <p>The situation stirred up debate on social media, with some blaming the woman for the mishap.</p> <p>“I don’t understand how this is anybody but the mother in laws fault, She would have checked bags in then should have walked over and paid for the excess, not boarded the plane,” one person wrote.</p> <p>But others defended her, and the fact the charge was paid by Mr Tee.</p> <p>“Would have thought Jetstar could have helped in some way, but that sums up Jetstar’s customer service for you. No empathy what so ever.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Facebook / Getty Images </em></p> <p> </p>

Travel Trouble

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93-year-old widower with dementia to get kicked out of his home of 60 years

<p>A widower with dementia has been told to pack up his belongings and leave his Brisbane home of 60 years to make way for a school drop-off zone. </p> <p>Trevor Connolly, 93, had no plans on leaving his Coorparoo home in Brisbane's south-east, until a notification of resumption, also known as a compulsory acquisition letter, arrived in his mailbox in October with notice he needs to leave before Christmas.</p> <p>The letter notified Connolly of the Department of Education's plans to forcibly acquire their home and build a new school. </p> <p>The movement of the school is a knock-on effect of Brisbane's expansion plans to accommodate the hosting the 2032 Olympics. </p> <p>The expansion is resulting in the demolition of the heritage-listed East Brisbane State School, which is being rebuilt on the site of the Coorparoo Secondary College.</p> <p>Mr Connolly's home is the last domino to fall in the construction plans, having been designated to be demolished and turned into a drop-off zone for the new school.</p> <p>The 93-year-old widower described the state's decision to acquire his home as "lunacy" and "madness", saying there are numerous other properties they could have chosen.</p> <p>"You feel so useless, what can you do about it?" Connolly told <em>7News</em>.</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-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CynVcsMpiiW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/reel/CynVcsMpiiW/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by 7NEWS Queensland (@7newsqueensland)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>"There's no need to knock the house down, there's plenty of room next door."</p> <p>He said the idea of moving out of the house he has called home for over half-a-century as "a heck of a change to even think about". </p> <p>His daughter, Anne, didn't mince words when speaking about the state's Department of Education's plans, describing them as "quite brutal really, and insensitive".</p> <p>Mr Connolly and the department are yet to enter negotiations into compensation for the widower's property, while a spokesperson for the Queensland Department of Education said, "Decisions to acquire land are not taken lightly."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Seven</em></p>

Legal

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Heavily pregnant mum and disabled child kicked off plane

<p>Siobhan Foster, her husband, and their disabled child were kicked off their flight after she was accused of being "aggressive" by a flight attendant.</p> <p>Foster, who is seven months pregnant, was onboard an easyJet flight to Ibiza to celebrate her brother's wedding.</p> <p>She struggled to find room for her carry-on in the overhead baggage compartment, so she asked a flight attendant to help her find space, but the response was reportedly "a sharp ‘Clearly Not’", which eventually led to a dispute. </p> <p>When things escalated, all 180 passengers were eventually told to disembark. </p> <p>One of Foster's outraged friends posted the <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/23859832/easyjet-passengers-kicked-off-pregnant-mum-stewardess-fight/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> on social media, and the Newtonabbey mum was seen collecting hand luggage while struggling to carry her toddler.</p> <p>“We’re being thrown off the plane today because of somebody thinking they’re better than everyone else,” the friend said.</p> <p>The easyJet stewardess responded: “Bye, bye bye," as the upset family walked down the stairs. </p> <p>Foster took to Facebook to complain about her experience with "sleezy jet".</p> <p>“So, I asked could you help me find somewhere, her reply was ‘You’ll need to find somewhere yourself’ even though there literally was nowhere," she wrote. </p> <p>She then claimed that she asked for help again, because she was heavily pregnant, to which the flight attendant allegedly said:  "You’re being abusive and it’s not my job to help you.”</p> <p>Another flight attendant reportedly backed up her co-worker, but Foster argued that other airlines have been more helpful as she is pregnant. </p> <p>“Writing this, I understand it would make you think was I being abusive, but I honestly wasn’t and the whole plane can vouch for me,” Foster wrote. “People were actually putting this on [Facebook] about how bad I was treated.”</p> <p>After eventually finding a place for her bag, the pregnant mum was allegedly confronted by two other crew members who also accused her of being “aggressive.”</p> <p>Foster decided to ignore them because she was "crying" and "so upset," but the flight attendant reportedly started raising her voice. </p> <p>They were then kicked off, and were told it was because of Foster's aggression,  but when Foster’s mum and brother asked for an exact reason, the crew members allegedly couldn't give them a direct response. </p> <p>After an hour, everyone had to disembark and the family were met by eight police officers and two Swissport employees and were told they would not be allowed back on the flight, despite other passengers being allowed back in.</p> <p>“So, that whole day we were in Belfast airport from one lunchtime to nine that night with our child, my legs were so swollen and sore with being on them all this time I was crying uncontrollably that this was happening to us for no reason whatsoever.</p> <p>“I’m so traumatized to the point I don’t know how I’ll ever fly again,” she wrote on Facebook.</p> <p>EasyJet has denied any wrongdoing and a spokesperson told the Daily Mail that "a group of passengers were "behaving disruptively."</p> <p>“EasyJet’s cabin crew and ground agents are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and to act quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time.</p> <p>“The Captain took the decision to ask all passengers on the flight to return to the terminal so the situation could be resolved and as soon as it was they re-boarded and the aircraft continued to Ibiza.”</p> <p>Despite the incident, the Foster family eventually made it to Ibiza the next day, just in time for the wedding, after catching a RyanAir flight out of Dublin. </p> <p>“Thankfully we got to Ibiza and made my brother’s wedding to say how stressed, upset, and overwhelmed I’ve been I honestly think I’ve no words,” she wrote.</p> <p>“EasyJet should be ashamed of themselves and I most definitely am taking this further, I’m still in shock of how we were treated especially being seven months pregnant and having a disabled child with us.”</p> <p><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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“Still kicking”: Johnny Ruffo shares hospital update

<p dir="ltr">Johnny Ruffo has provided his fans an update on his ongoing terminal cancer battle, assuring him that he’s “still kicking” with a snap to social media.</p> <p dir="ltr">The post, which he captioned “Still kicking this thing’s arse”, saw the Australian entertainer reclined in a hospital chair, both hands held in a peace sign to the camera. </p> <p dir="ltr">And while Johnny didn’t specify who had taken the picture, many assumed it to be his longtime partner, Tahnee Sims, who appeared to be giving him a big thumbs up in response. </p> <p dir="ltr">Friends and fans wasted no time in offering him their love and support, flooding his Instagram comments section with their heartfelt messages as he continues the fight that began all the way back in 2017 for the 35-year-old. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Go Johnny!!! I’m sorry u have to keep kicking it’s arse,” former Home and Away actress Sarah Roberts wrote. “You don’t deserve that. I wish it would just F off &amp; leave u alone. Sending so much love xxxx”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hey my darling friend. You’re such a champion. Talk soon. Love you,” his friend and former Home and Away co-star Lynne McGregor said. </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/CtLqc8HLUbV/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/CtLqc8HLUbV/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Johnny Ruffo (@johnny_ruffo)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Go you good thing,” radio host Michael Wipfli encouraged. “We’re here with you brother.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Your strength, courage &amp; determination is a massive inspiration to so many people also fighting this insidious disease,” comedian Nick Giannopoulos added. “Keep kicking it’s arse mate. Fark Cancer Farken!!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Thinking of you mate,” singer-songwriter Taylor Henderson shared, “show that turd who’s boss”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Tahnee also popped up in the post’s comments, where she shared a series of three emojis, each a pair of hands held in a heart formation. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Keep smashing it legend. Fall down seven times, get up eight,” one supporter said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Keep fighting, you are so inspirational,” another told him, echoing the thoughts of many. </p> <p dir="ltr">It was only in 2022 that Johnny had revealed the extent of his diagnosis, sharing the heartbreaking news that it was terminal, but that he was determined to continue living his life to the fullest, and battle the disease every step of the way. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I understand that the cancer is terminal,” he told 7News at the time, “but you know, I’m going to do everything I can and I am currently doing everything I can to kick its a***.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Caring

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Taylor Swift kicks off the Eras tour in sensational style

<p>Excitement was high for music icon Taylor Swift’s Eras tour since the very first announcement. </p> <p>And while controversy may have reared its head early on - Ticketmaster ran into a great deal of trouble trying to handle the masses of fans and alleged bots trying to secure tickets to the show, and that wasn’t even to mention the “dynamic pricing” debacle. </p> <p>The tour marked Taylor’s first since 2018, and features some of her biggest - and favourite - tracks from over the course of her illustrious music career … so far. </p> <p>In fact, for the first show of the tour, the 12-time Grammy award winner (and 46-time nominated artist) performed an astounding 44 tracks, for a total of over three hours. A typical stadium show will run for just under two, and average at around 20 songs. </p> <p>While some were surprised by the runtime, others barely batted an eyelid after months of speculation over what “a journey through the musical eras of [Taylor Swift’s] career” could entail. </p> <p>And from the moment people knew it was coming, the tour was set to break records. </p> <p>Taylor wasted no time with opening night, which became “the most attended female concert in US history”. The record was previously held by Madonna, who had held onto that bragging right for 36 years from her 1987 Anaheim Stadium show. </p> <p>And Taylor’s fans - affectionately known as Swifties - are well aware, their idol does nothing without careful planning and care. Album releases are often scattered with Easter Eggs for her most devoted followers to pick apart, and everything means something. </p> <p>So it came as no surprise when Taylor split her show into 10 distinct sections, each inspired by one of her albums. However, none of these were chronological, leaving even the most devoted fans to guess which they were going to hear next. </p> <p>The entire stage transformed with each new era - from the lighting to the props, videos playing behind Taylor and her dancers, and a mesmerising swim along the catwalk, everything was planned out well in advance to wow her audience. </p> <p>And in true Taylor fashion, her style on the night reflected this effort too, with the star embarking on no less than 16 spectacular outfit changes to honour each of her beloved albums. </p> <p><em>Images: Getty, @taylorswift @kevinmazur @kevincwinter / Instagram</em></p>

Beauty & Style

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"What is the big deal?" Karl defends breastfeeding mother kicked out of courtroom

<p>Karl Stefanovic has slammed the decision of a judge who kicked out a breastfeeding mother and her child from a courtroom. </p> <p><em>The Today Show</em> host ripped into Judge Mark Gamble, who ejected the wife of a prominent Melbourne Rabbi from Victorian County Court on Thursday after claiming she would be a "distraction". </p> <p>The judge called for the woman to leave the court proceedings, prompting her to leave the room in tears and leaving her feeling humiliated.</p> <p>Stefanovic condemned the decision of the Judge and shared a scathing message for anyone who agreed with how he treated the mother. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">A breastfeeding mother and her child were kicked out of a court's public gallery in Victoria, over concerns from the judge that it would be a distraction.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/9Today?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#9Today</a> | WATCH LIVE 5.30am <a href="https://t.co/Q6x0r3cJui">pic.twitter.com/Q6x0r3cJui</a></p> <p>— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTodayShow/status/1633911235048603650?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 9, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p>"I think that's ridiculous. We were just laughing about it because it's so absurd."</p> <p>"I can't believe in this modern society," he said on Friday morning</p> <p>"There are going to be people out there who say, 'Oh, well, she could've gone outside somewhere else'. Come off it, what is the big deal?"</p> <p><em>Today</em> co-host Sarah Abo also shared her thoughts on the matter, saying, "How far have we gone as a community to accept that in our own courtrooms you can't do that? It's ludicrous."</p> <p>Many outraged women have chimed in on the debate, with Melbourne obstetrician Nisha Khot describing the incident as appalling. </p> <p>"We've tried so hard to get past so many barriers for women who want to breastfeed and to have this happen in a court of law is just not acceptable at all," she said.</p> <p>"Babies have been breastfed in the parliament of this country and in other parliaments."</p> <p>"I don't think there is any public space in which breastfeeding a baby should be unacceptable."</p> <p><em>Image credits: The Today Show</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Harry Styles kicks off Down Under tour with bizarre Aussie tradition

<p dir="ltr">Harry Styles has kicked off the Australian leg of his tour with the most unhygienic of Aussie practices: the shoey. </p> <p dir="ltr">The British musician began the Down Under run of Love on Tour in Perth on Monday night, with the 20,000-strong crowd encouraging the pop icon to partake in the unusual tradition.</p> <p dir="ltr">Footage from the concert at Perth’s HBF Park has gone viral, as the former One Direction star drank out of his own shoe, as fans cheered him on.</p> <p dir="ltr">After the ceremonial shoey had been completed, Styles said to the crowd, “This is one of the most disgusting traditions I have ever heard of. I feel like a different person… I’m ashamed of myself.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“I will be discussing this at length with my therapist. At length!”</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-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Co5dxQTB4sX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;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/reel/Co5dxQTB4sX/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by SHIT YOU SHOULD CARE ABOUT (@shityoushouldcareabout)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Styles also paid homage to Australia’s rich history while on stage with a performance of Daryl Braithwaite’s <em>The Horses</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">The classic 1989 track, originally performed by Rickie Lee Jones, is a staple of Aussie culture, as Styles’ rendition of the song saw the entire crowd singing along. </p> <p dir="ltr">Aware of the impact of the track, Styles told the crowd, “You don’t hear that song much until you come down here and then it's like catnip.” </p> <p dir="ltr">Before the show began in Perth, there were chaotic scenes as hardcore fans waited in blistering heat for many hours before doors opened to get the best spots inside the stadium. </p> <p dir="ltr">Fans had been banned from camping out the night before, with people lining up from 5am. </p> <p dir="ltr">Harry Styles’ Australian tour continues on Friday with the first of two shows at Melbourne’s Marvel stadium, before moving to the Gold Coast and Sydney.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Instagram / Getty Images</em></p>

Music

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"If you want to kick him, come kick me too”: Stars turn out to defend Charlie Teo

<p>Famous friends of Dr Charlie Teo have defended his character and shown their support as the neurosurgeon faces a five-day disciplinary hearing by the Health Care Complaints Commission.</p> <p>Steve Waugh and Anthony Mundine were among Dr Teo’s high profile mates who spoke to <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/anthony-mundine-steve-waugh-supporting-controversial-surgeon-dr-charlie-teo/news-story/bb8567814607fe4fcdbd8f5dbaaa4a73" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a> outside the Health Professional Councils Authority building on Monday morning.</p> <p>Mundine said he has known Dr Teo, who has divided critics for his work on brain tumours deemed inoperable by other neurosurgeons, “for some time”.</p> <p>“I just know the character the man is… We’ve built a good relationship over the years, and got closer and closer,” he said.</p> <p>“He’s been blessed with unbelievable skills in the neurosurgeon game and is one of the best in the world”.</p> <p>Mundine was then quizzed on his thoughts about the criticism Dr Teo has faced in recent months, saying, “There will be people that hate it… it’s a 50/50 game, you’re gonna win some, you lose some.”</p> <p>“But I’m here. If you want to kick him, come kick me too”.</p> <p>Also showing his support for the controversial doctor was cricketing legend Steve Waugh, who claims Dr Teo saved his wife Lynette’s life when he removed a large blood clot from her brain.</p> <p>“I’ve referred him to a number of friends as well,” Waugh said.</p> <p>“He’s done an amazing job – over 11,000 operations. He takes some of the tough cases no one else wants to”.</p> <p>He said it was “hard for me to know why people don’t like him” but thought it could be a “little bit of tall poppy syndrome”.</p> <p>“I guess it makes him a target with some people,” Waugh said.</p> <p>“I just hope he gets a fair go.”</p> <p>The support from famous friends comes after Teo <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/the-agenda-is-to-destroy-charlie-teo-final-hit-ahead-of-hearing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lashed out</a> against the recent allegations made against him of unprofessional conduct, saying that such claims are driven by professional jealousy, and are largely designed to take him down and to prevent the rise of any good, young “aggressive” neurosurgeons.</p> <p>Appearing on a podcast with businessman and former TV host Mark Bouris, Teo said,“It’s got nothing to do with fairness, what’s right or wrong. It’s all got to do with people’s agendas. And the agenda is to destroy Charlie Teo.” </p> <p>“I know that I’ve got this skill … I take out tumours that no one else can take out. And all the surgeons around the world that watch me are just absolutely amazed by it. So when I operate in other countries, I get four or five or 10 or 20 neurosurgeons watching it, and they just are blown away by it.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p> <div class="media image portrait side-by-side" style="caret-color: #000000; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; box-sizing: inherit; display: flex; flex-direction: column; align-items: center; width: 338.492645px; float: left; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 14.099264px; margin-bottom: 24px;"> </div>

Legal

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Novak Djokovic kicks his brother out of tennis arena during epic showdown

<p>Novak Djokovic has ordered his brother out of the player's box in the middle of match at the the Adelaide International final.</p> <p>The Serbian star was having a less than desirable game on Sunday, after losing his first set to No.33 Sebastian Korda, from the USA, when he became visibly frustrated and pointed towards the corporate box.</p> <p>His brother Marko and another person then exited the area before Djokovic fought his way back on the court and managed to win the epic three-set thriller.</p> <p>Sports commentator Roger Rasheed claimed the sports star appeared angry, but determined to win the showdown.</p> <p>"He pointed to his box and two out of five members are no longer sitting there," he said.</p> <p>"It's probably living proof that he wants to win badly, in this final. He's got his game face on, mixed with a bit of anger at the moment."</p> <p>Speaking during an on-court interview after prevailing triumphant in a match that lasted three hours, the 21-time Grand Slam champion admitted it had not been an easy night.</p> <p>"I'd like to thank my team for handling me, tolerating me in the good and bad times."</p> <p>"Today, I'm sure they didn't have such a blast with me going back and forth with them, but I appreciate them being here."</p> <p>"My brother Marko is also here, I don't see him that much so I appreciate you coming here, love you. It's been an amazing week and you guys made it even more special for me."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Family & Pets

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"It was a nightmare": 11-year-old kicked off Jetstar flight and left "stranded"

<p>A Sydney mother has slammed Jetstar after they kicked her 11-year-old son off a flight to the Gold Coast, despite previously being told he was allowed to fly. </p> <p>Emma Garland decided to let her two kids Scarlett, 13, and Jack, 11, travel on their own for the very first time ahead of the June long weekend.</p> <p>Emma and her husband were both working at a conference in Queensland, so a plan was made for the kids to fly up together and meet them for a weekend away. </p> <p>Slightly wary of letting her children make the journey alone, Emma called Qantas to "see what the options were". </p> <p>“They said, no worries Scarlett can fly with Jack as an accompanied minor, so I changed the tickets,” Emma told <a href="https://7news.com.au/travel/jetstar/sydney-mum-slams-jetstar-after-kicking-11-year-old-son-off-flight-c-8863550" target="_blank" rel="noopener">7News</a>. </p> <p>On their travel day, Scarlett and Jack were taken to the airport by their grandparents and boarded their flight with no issues. </p> <p>“They boarded the flight, and it was all fine, all smiles,” Garland said.</p> <p>However, just before take off, a flight attendant approached the kids and asked Jack how old he was. </p> <p>Jack was then told he wasn't old enough to fly and was escorted off the flight alone. </p> <p>“They tried to get her [Scarlett] off too but said ‘sorry the gates are closed’,” Garland said.</p> <p>“No one explained to her what was happening, or even asked if she was okay.”</p> <p>“No one said anything to her, which is just disgusting.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, Jack was “hysterical” after the ordeal, and was left temporarily “stranded” until he was reunited with his in-laws who were contacted to come and collect him.</p> <p>Emma promptly left the Gold Coast after purchasing a "very expensive" last minute flight to Sydney to be with her son. </p> <p>“My husband was upset at the Jetstar counter and was just saying ‘I can’t believe you’ve done this to my family’,” she said.</p> <p>“He was in tears at the counter. It was a nightmare of a day.”</p> <p>Now, several months after the ordeal, Emma said her family have yet to receive any kind of compensation or apology from the airline. </p> <p>“I have no idea which policy the Qantas consultant was referring to over the phone that day, but they assured me they would be okay to fly,” she said.</p> <p>“It’s just terrible and not to mention the duty of care aspect.”</p> <p>Meanwhile, a Jetstar spokesperson told 7News they are looking into the matter, to “ensure this doesn’t happen again”.</p> <p>“We sincerely apologise to Ms Garland and her family for the extremely distressing situation and acknowledge our teams should have handled this situation better,” they said.</p> <p>The airline explained while they “enjoy welcoming young passengers on board”, they do not offer an unaccompanied minor service and that passengers must “meet certain requirements in order to travel independently”.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Garland Family / 7News</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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“What really happened”: Man kicked off Qantas flight speaks out

<p dir="ltr">A man who was kicked off a Qantas flight along with his family after demanding cabin crew apologise for their behaviour towards his wife has spoken publicly for the first time, sharing his recollection of events.</p> <p dir="ltr">Zakir Slaimankhel, a high-profile international rugby player and charity ambassador, was filmed having an argument with staff in a viral TikTok video aboard a plane at Bali’s Denpasar Airport.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the clip, Mr Slaimankhal could be heard saying his wife was in tears after airline staff were rude to her and claimed that staff had mishandled his pram and hadn’t brought it into the plane before takeoff.</p> <p dir="ltr">The staff member arguing with Mr Slaimankhel was heard repeatedly telling him to stop swearing and eventually informed him that security had been called.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You made my wife cry and now you’re getting angry at me?” he can be heard saying to her.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You can’t upset my crew - “ she said, to which he responded, “You can’t upset my family and kids!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“What are you on about, ‘you can’t upset my crew’, my wife’s crying!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Slaimankhel, who lives in Sydney but arrived in New Zealand as a refugee from Afghanistan, posted a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zslaimankhel/posts/pfbid0emaUBeFn172rqtWRkkoysSZEJMiUooLsCiwPfvAPwSjoiz7nKAsfvBCzq9XxbzLEl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lengthy statement</a> online on Monday night in which he recounted what happened in the lead-up to the altercation on flight QF44, claiming staff had “humiliated” his wife and that the pram had been left outside.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As we boarded the flight, my pram was left outside the aircraft by staff who advised that it will be brought in,” he explained.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Slaimankhel said he later went to the front of the plane to check where the pram was and found it outside “and chucked to the side”.</p> <p dir="ltr">When he brought it in and asked where he could store it, Mr Slaimankhel said a staff member “sternly” told him to find a spot and didn’t offer to help.</p> <p dir="ltr">After it was announced the plane was delayed, he said his wife went to change their five-month-old son’s nappy in the toilet at the rear of the plane.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-059c499c-7fff-7d57-2f61-bc118383913e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Whilst waiting, a flight attendant told her to move down the aircraft in an unrelenting manner as we were apparently inhibiting the toilet doors from opening safely. However, the other passenger and her were not in any close proximity to the door for it to contact them. The stern instructions from this staff member were unjustified and made her feel belittled,” he continued.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/11/zakir-statement.jpeg" alt="" width="1440" height="657" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Facebook</em></p> <p dir="ltr">After the nappy change, Mr Slaimankhel said his wife was then “shouted at” by an attendant while leaving the toilet and was stared at by another flight attendant.</p> <p dir="ltr">“This prompted my wife to ask her ‘why are you looking at me like that?’, to which she said, ‘I’m not looking at you, I’m looking past you’,” he wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Then she mentioned it’s people like you with that head thingy’ in a stereotypical and racist manner. My wife was shocked and started shaking.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He said the behaviour made his wife cry and feel “extremely humiliated and distraught”, and when she told them they were rude and condescending, she was met with little sympathy for her concerns.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Their treatment inflicted immense anxiety within her, she felt isolated, overwhelmed, and discriminated against. It made her question her self and feel powerless being a visible Muslim who wears a hijab,” Mr Slaimankhel wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I did not witness any other passenger be treated in a remotely similar manner to my family.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He continued to recount feeling “in shock” at his wife’s distress and treatment, and that he approached Qantas staff for an explanation and apology.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It felt dehumanising and frustrating that our feelings and concerns could not even be appropriately acknowledged or addressed. On the other hand, we were shunned and ejected from the aircraft by security. Even whilst collecting our belongings to leave, multiple flight attendants smirked at us,” he continued, adding that it showed a “lack of emotional intelligence” among staff and that the incident had had “traumatic ripple effects” across his family’s lives.</p> <p dir="ltr">He said that his wife has continued flashbacks of the ordeal and that the video of the argument going viral led to his “character assassination”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“As I was reacting to the provocation of staff who were treating us as flight risks and heedless to our concerns. I was visibly upset at the tears and anxiety that they had caused my wife , which was exacerbated by the lack of compassion and human empathy expressed by the Qantas staff,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Slaimankhel concluded the post by sharing his extreme disappointment with the airline for releasing a statement about the incident “before contacting us and understanding the full context of the situation”.</p> <p dir="ltr">This may be in reference to the statement Qantas shared with <em>news.com.au </em>on October 25, in which the airline said the family were eventually removed from the plane after clashing with crew members “a number of times prior to the flight departing Bali”.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The safety of our customers and crew is our number one priority,” the spokesperson said at the time.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We ask customers to follow the direction of crew for the safety and comfort of everyone on board.”</p> <p dir="ltr">However, the airline issued a new statement on Tuesday morning, in which a Qantas spokeswoman denied Mr Slaimankhel’s claims.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Qantas takes allegations of this nature raised very seriously and we will not tolerate any unlawful discrimination on racial, ethnic or any other grounds,” a spokeswoman said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We conducted a thorough review of the claims made by Mr Slaimankhel and his wife. Qantas strongly denies that its crew spoke to either Mr Slaimankhel or his wife in a rude manner. Our staff also deny making any inappropriate comments regarding the passengers’ attire. This has been supported by other passengers who witnessed the interactions.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The airline spokeswoman said that “abusive behaviour” isn’t tolerated on board, even though Mr Slaimankhel remained seated and the extent of his behaviour involved swearing and raising his voice.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We ask customers to follow the direction of crew for the safety and comfort of everyone on board. As a result of our review into the incidents on-board, Mr Slaimankhel and his wife have been issued with no fly orders with Qantas Group airlines for their behaviour towards our crew.”</p> <p dir="ltr">With profanities appearing to be the major issue the flight attendant had with Mr Slaimankhel in the clip, it comes amid a wider issue of people of colour being over-represented in the number of charges for swearing resulting in fines or time in court.</p> <p dir="ltr">In NSW, <a href="https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/australia-where-offensive-and-insulting-language-is-actually-a-crime,10319" target="_blank" rel="noopener">567 out of 1600 people</a> charged and taken to court over offensive language were Indigenous, despite Indigenous Australians making up just 3 percent of the population in 2015 alone.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-a943b9a8-7fff-c3a6-89b3-83510dceb46c"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Facebook</em></p>

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"Honey, we are about to fight": Woman kicked off flight for hurling water bottle

<p dir="ltr">A woman who was told to get off a flight for not following the rules turned aggressive toward another passenger after she realised she was being filmed.</p> <p dir="ltr">Footage shared to Reddit shows a calm flight attendant asking the woman to take her dog off her lap on a flight to New York from Atlanta.</p> <p dir="ltr">The woman became aggressive when she was told to get off the flight after refusing to take her dog off her lap. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Oh no, no, honey we are about to fight then.I didn’t f***ing do anything to you guys,” she can be heard saying.</p> <p dir="ltr">“My dog was sitting on my lap, I put him in the bag.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The traveller is then offered a refund on her ticket and once again asked to leave the flight before she swears at the flight attendant and everyone.</p> <p dir="ltr">“F**k you. F**k all of you,” she yells as she packs up her belongings. </p> <p dir="ltr">As she packs her bags, someone could be heard shouting at her to “get off the plane”. </p> <p dir="ltr">““I am! Shut the f**k up,” she yells back before noticing another passenger filming her and throws her water bottle at them. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Turn your f***ing phone off!” she yells.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Why is she recording me?” she asks another flight attendant.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Anyone can record anything. You just struck a passenger with a bottle,” the flight attendant responds.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nobody acting this way flies on a flight with us.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Social media users called the woman out for her disgusting behaviour saying she deserved to be kicked off the flight. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I love how she's wearing pigtails and acting like a first grader,” someone commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“That dude was such a boss. Calm, cool, and collected the whole time and got her off the plane,” someone wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Now we wait for that person's footage, and also the footage of her getting arrested,” another wrote.</p> <p dir="ltr">Watch the footage <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/flights/woman-unleashes-on-plane-throws-bottle-at-passenger/news-story/7887c8bb3bb4ece68aebaae13c7349e9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Reddit</em></p>

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"Kick cancer's ass": Ryan Reynolds shares potentially life saving surgery

<p>Ryan Reynolds shared the news he had a “subtle polyp” on his colon during his first colonoscopy.</p> <p>He broadcasted the entire experience in order to destigmatise the procedure and raise awareness, especially among men.</p> <p>The famed actor, aged 45, and his Wrexham soccer club co-chairman, Rob McElhenney, decided to partner up with <a href="https://leadfrombehind.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lead From Behind</a>, a colon cancer awareness organisation, aiming to draw attention to the procedure.</p> <p>In a Youtube video posted to Reynold’s page this week, the two explained they wanted to prove how the “simple step” can “save lives.”</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5sXkIUZEWIo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>“I would never normally have any medical procedure put on camera and then shared,” Reynolds said.</p> <p>“But it’s not every day that you can raise awareness about something that will most definitely save lives. That’s enough motivation for me to let you in on a camera being shoved up my ass.”</p> <p>During the procedure, Reynolds found out that he found an “extremely subtle polyp” on the right side of his colon, which he had removed.</p> <p>“This was potentially lifesaving for you — I’m not kidding, I’m not being overly dramatic,” the doctor told the actor as he showed off images of the tissue. “This is exactly why you do this. You had no symptoms.”</p> <p>As for McElhenney, his doctor revealed they found three polyps that “were not a big deal, but certainly a good thing that we found them early and removed them.”</p> <p>“Colon cancer is preventable,” a message read across a black screen at the end of the video. “If you’re 45 years or older, ask your doctor about getting a colonoscopy. And help Rob and Ryan kick cancer’s ass.”</p> <p><em>Image: Youtube</em></p>

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