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Police officer charged after allegedly punching 70-year-old woman

<p>A Victorian police officer has been stood down from duty after he allegedly punched a 70-year-old woman while in hospital. </p> <p>Sylvia Villani was being treated at the Northern Hospital in April when the alleged assault took place, and she said it came out of nowhere. </p> <p>"I threw a bit of bread on the ground. I had my leg in a plaster," Villani told <em>9News</em>.</p> <p>"I was in a wheelchair and he punched me," she claimed.</p> <p>After the alleged attack, she sustained a broken eye socket. </p> <p>"I can't walk, I can't sit, I'm buggered," she said.</p> <p>"I don't know why he did it.</p> <p>"I did call him some nasty names, I wasn't happy, (but) I didn't deserve it."</p> <p>Villani's son, Rick, told 9News that he was only alerted about the incident after receiving a call from doctors who told him that three police officers went to the hospital for a separate incident before his mother was allegedly assaulted. </p> <p>He claimed that his family has been left in the dark. </p> <p>"I know my mum's got mental health, and she's not perfect," he said.</p> <p>"They've treated me, my wife and my mother with no respect."</p> <p>Victoria Police have stood down the 26-year-old male officer who was on duty when the incident occurred, after an internal investigation. </p> <p>The officer has been charged with one count of recklessly causing injury and will appear before court on September 9. </p> <p><em>Images: Nine</em></p>

Caring

Man arrested over horror crash that left 11-year-old orphaned

<p>A British man has been arrested over a horror crash that left an 11-year-old girl orphaned. </p> <p>Shannen Morgan and Shane Roller have died alongside their two young daughters Rubie, 9, and Lillie, four, when their car collided with a motorbike as the family were travelling home from a walk on Sunday. </p> <p>Christopher Barton, 56, and his wife Janine, 48, who were on the motorbike were also both killed.</p> <p>The couple's son, Lewis, 21 has now been left without his parents, along with Shane and Shannen's 11-year-old daughter Poppie. </p> <p>Shocking pictures taken after the horror crash between Barnsley and Wakefield in northern England, showed the burnt out wreckage of the family's car, who were all declared dead at the scene. </p> <p>Police have confirmed a man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving, according to <em>The Sun</em>. </p> <p>Poppie managed to escape the tragic accident because she had gone to a friend's house for dinner, and Lewis was on holiday in Thailand when he found out about his parents death. </p> <p>The 11-year-old was being looked after by family friend, Paul Hepple, at the time, and he said that they were just tucking into a roast dinner when the phone rang with the devastating news. </p> <p>“Her mum actually contacted us and asked if we could watch her because she didn’t want to go on the walk that they went on,” he told <em>Mail Online</em>.</p> <p>“She was with our daughter having fun. And on their way home, that’s when the accident happened.</p> <p>“We were having Sunday dinner as a family, and Poppie's aunty was with us and obviously, Poppie was as well. And then she got a phone call and she ended up leaving really quickly to go and see what happened.”</p> <p>Hepple, has set up a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-poppie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GoFundMe</a> page for Poppie and has raised almost £380,000 (about $745,000 Australian dollars) to put towards her education, emotional support and future care. </p> <p>The family friend has described Poppie as a “bright and resilient young girl” who has turned to Taylor Swift’s music to find comfort after she “lost her whole world in an instant”.</p> <p>“Despite her unimaginable loss, she shows incredible strength every day,” he wrote on the fundraiser.</p> <p>“Poppie now faces an uncertain future. With her immediate family gone, she needs support to ensure she has a stable, loving environment where she can heal and grow.”</p> <p>Shannen and Shane's devastated friends and family have shared their tributes on social media, vowing to look after Poppie. </p> <p>Shane’s brother Callum said he was “lost for words”, adding: “I’m absolutely heartbroken. I’m gonna miss all of you! You all had a heart of gold. My heart is ripped into a million pieces!”</p> <p>Shannen's friend Chelsea Element wrote: “You are and always will be one of my closest friends.</p> <p>“There are no words to describe the utter loss this has created for family/friends and the community around us. I hope you’re at peace Shannen Morgan and Shane Roller, with your beautiful girls.</p> <p>“Everyone will always look after Poppie, she will never want for anything she has the love of everyone.”</p> <p>Her cousin Beth Brittain said: “My heart just hurts my brain won’t accept what’s happened.</p> <p>“Shannen you were always my extra sister not just my cousin, we grew together. I just can’t speak. No words. Sleep tight my little Roller family your memory will live on for eternity.”</p> <p>Christopher and Janine’s son Lewis, is believed to have flown home immediately after finding out about his parents death. </p> <p>The couple had recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, according to West Yorkshire Police, and they were just 20 minutes from home when the devastating accident occurred. </p> <p>In a tribute released through the police, the couple were described by their son as “a loving, caring mum and dad who always put me before everything else”.</p> <p>Superintendent Alan Travis of Wakefield District Police has urged anyone who has dashcam, doorbell or CCTV footage of the car to contact them and assist with their investigation. </p> <p>They have also issued a public plea for anyone who saw a grey coloured Porsche 911 at the time of the crash to come forward. </p> <p>“This is an absolutely tragic incident which has resulted in the loss of six lives," the Superintendent said. </p> <p>“Our thoughts go out to the families of those who have died who we are working with to provide support at this time.”</p> <p><em>Images: news.com.au</em></p> <p> </p>

Caring

Compulsory voting in Australia is 100 years old. We should celebrate how special it makes our democracy

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-strangio-1232">Paul Strangio</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>For nearly 200 years, the notion of American political exceptionalism has had currency in the United States: it is an idea rooted in the nation’s status as the first modern republic. As we watch from afar, disturbed yet mesmerised by the latest chapter of violent political division in America, the country seems less a paragon than a symbol of democratic pathology.</p> <p>America’s certainty in its political uniqueness is symptomatic of a brash national chauvinism. By way of contrast, Australia is prone, if anything, to undue bashfulness about its democratic credentials. How else can we explain that this month marks the centenary of the most extraordinary feature of the country’s democratic architecture, and yet the anniversary is slipping by with neither comment nor reflection. I refer to compulsory voting, which was legislated in the federal parliament in July 1924.</p> <p>Compulsory voting is not unique to Australia. Calculating how many countries abide by the practice is notoriously difficult, since in around half the nations where compulsory voting exists in name it is not enforced. Most estimates, however, put the figure in the vicinity of 20 to 30.</p> <p>If not unique, Australia’s experience of compulsory voting is highly distinctive for a number of reasons.</p> <p>First, its emergence in the early 20th century was consistent with the nation’s larger tradition of innovation and experimentation when it came to electoral institutions and practices. This record is typically traced back to the pioneering in the 1850s of the secret ballot (sometimes called the “Australian ballot”) in a number of the Australian colonies and the embrace of other advanced democratic measures in the second half of the 19th century.</p> <p>These included manhood suffrage, payment of MPs and the extension of the franchise to women, beginning in South Australia in 1894. The innovations continued in the 20th century with such things as preferential voting and non-partisan bureaucratic electoral administration.</p> <p>Second, Australia is alone in embracing compulsory voting among the Anglophone democracies to which it typically compares itself. The electoral systems of Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are all based on voluntary voting.</p> <p>Third, unlike many other compulsory voting countries, Australia does not pay lip service to its operation. Electoral authorities enforce compulsory voting, albeit leniently. It has been strongly upheld by the courts and is backed by a regime of sanctions for non-compliance.</p> <p>Fourth, compulsory voting has been consistently and unambiguously successful in achieving high voter turnout. Though there has been a slight downward trend in turnout at the past five national elections (it hit a low of 90.5% in 2022), it has not fallen below 90% since the adoption of compulsory voting a century ago.</p> <p>This is around 30% higher than the recent average turnout in countries with voluntary voting. It is also well above the recent average in countries with compulsory voting systems.</p> <p>Fifth, the public has strongly and consistently backed the practice. Evidence from more than half a century of opinion polls and election study surveys shows support hovering around the 70% mark.</p> <h2>An impregnable practice</h2> <p>Perhaps the most singular aspect of the nation’s experience of compulsory voting, however, is how seemingly impregnable is the practice if measured by its durability, the dearth of controversy over it, the consistency of its enforcement by authorities and the way citizens have dutifully complied with and supported it. Together these things make Australia an exemplar of compulsory voting internationally.</p> <p>This is not to say compulsory voting has been a sacred cow in Australia. In the final decades of the 20th century and first decade of this century, there was a concerted push to end the practice emanating principally from within the Liberal Party.</p> <p>The torchbearer of the agitation for voluntary voting was the avowed libertarian South Australian senator, Nick Minchin. <a href="https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/SGSocUphAUCon/2003/11.html">For Minchin</a>, compulsory voting was anathema:</p> <blockquote> <p>[…] in relation to the most important single manifestation of democratic will, the act of voting, I profoundly detest Australia’s denial of individual choice. It seems to me that an essential part of a liberal democracy should be the citizen’s legal right to decide whether or not to vote. The denial of that right is an affront to democracy.</p> </blockquote> <p>Minchin had a number of like-minded supporters of voluntary voting in the Liberal Party. Among them, importantly, was John Howard, whose prime ministership coincided with the mobilisation to abolish compulsory voting.</p> <p>Howard had been on record as an opponent of the practice since his entry to the federal parliament in 1974. The Liberal Party campaign against compulsory voting manifested in, among other things:</p> <ul> <li>the party’s federal council resolving in favour of voluntary voting</li> <li>shadow cabinet endorsing a recommendation for a change of policy to voluntary voting being placed before the joint Liberal-National party parliamentary room</li> <li>the introduction in the South Australian parliament of two bills to repeal compulsory voting by successive Liberal state governments</li> <li>Coalition members of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters repeatedly recommending the abolition of the practice.</li> </ul> <p>In the end, these agitations achieved nought. The most fundamental reason was that the opponents of compulsory voting failed to generate community resentment towards the system. Howard, while restating his preference for voluntary voting, admitted as much in 2005 when shutting down debate on the issue in his government:</p> <blockquote> <p>As I move around the country, I don’t get people stopping me in the street and saying, “You’ve got to get rid of compulsory voting.”</p> </blockquote> <p>Indeed, election survey data suggests the Liberal campaign coincided with a firming of public support for compulsory voting. In the two decades since, opposition has been dormant. For the foreseeable future, Australia’s compulsory voting regime is secure.</p> <h2>An Australian democratic exceptionalism?</h2> <p>As noted above, compulsory voting has kept voter turnout at elections above 90% for the past century. Kindred democracies marvel at, and envy, this level of participation. It affords legitimacy to election outcomes in this country. Significantly, it also produces a socially even turnout.</p> <p>Compare this to the situation in this month’s United Kingdom election. Turnout <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/12/lowest-turnout-in-uk-general-election-since-universal-suffrage-report-shows">is estimated</a> to have slumped to a record low 52%. There was a clear pattern of the “haves” exercising much greater say at the ballot box than the “have nots”. Those who stayed away from the polls were predominantly less well-off, non-homeowners, the young, the lower-educated and of minority ethnic background.</p> <p>Australia cannot be complacent in this regard. Low and declining turnout in remote electorates with high Indigenous populations is the most worrying chink in the performance of compulsory voting. In 2022, turnout in the Northern Territory seat of Lingiari fell to 66.8%. Even so, the practice largely succeeds in achieving inclusive voter participation across the country.</p> <p>Crucially, compulsory voting is also recognised as one reason the political centre holds better in Australia than in many comparable nations. It exercises a moderating influence because it ensures it is not only impassioned partisans at either end of the political spectrum who participate in elections. This in turn means they are not the chief focus of governments and political parties.</p> <p>Under a compulsory voting system, middle-of-the-road citizens and their concerns and sensibilities count. This inhibits the trend towards polarisation and grievance politics evident in other parts of the globe. It helps explain why Australia has been less receptive to the aggressive conservative populism that has taken root in the United States and Europe.</p> <p>Compulsory voting also goes hand in hand with other institutional bulwarks of the nation’s democracy. While there is plenty of evidence in Australia of increasing disaffection with politics, one thing that helps bolster faith in the democratic system is the politically independent national electoral authority, the Australian Electoral Commission.</p> <p>The AEC’s trusted impartial administration of the electoral system lends integrity to the democratic process. So do the many procedures it manages to facilitate voting. To name a few: Saturday election days, assistance for the ill, aged and those from non-English-speaking backgrounds, mobile polling stations, postal, absentee and early voting, and active and regular updating of registration.</p> <p>Indeed, Australia has been described as “the most voter-friendly country in the world”. Compulsory voting encourages this accessibility: if citizens are obliged to vote, then it becomes incumbent to smooth the path to them participating. The ease of voting in Australia contrasts with what goes on elsewhere, for example, the rampant state-based voter-suppression practices in the United States.</p> <p>Dare we suggest, then, that compulsory voting is a mainstay of an Australian democratic exceptionalism? That we little note, let alone extol, the practice is perhaps not only a product of an inherent national modesty but because it is second nature after 100 years. Habituated to being compelled to participate in elections, we are inured to its specialness.</p> <p>Let’s hope this casual familiarity does not induce apathy rather than vigilance when next the system is challenged.<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/234801/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/paul-strangio-1232"><em>Paul Strangio</em></a><em>, Emeritus Professor of Politics, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</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/compulsory-voting-in-australia-is-100-years-old-we-should-celebrate-how-special-it-makes-our-democracy-234801">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Legal

Missing 3-year-old found dead at Walt Disney World

<p>The body of a young boy has been found after he went missing from a resort near Walt Disney World in Florida on Thursday.</p> <p>Rakim Akbari, 3, was reported missing from the Sheraton Vistana Resort Villas at Lake Buena Vista earlier that day, after he had wandered away from the resort that morning. </p> <p>Authorities also said that Rakim had autism. </p> <p>The Orange County Sheriff sent out a missing child alert for the young boy before deputies located his body in the water at the resort on Thursday afternoon. </p> <p>“It is with heavy hearts that we must share that our deputies have found Rakim Akbari deceased in a body of water at the resort where he was reported missing this morning. Our detectives are still looking into how this tragedy occurred,” they shared on X. </p> <p>“We are grieving his loss, and our prayers are with his family,” they added. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">It is with heavy hearts that we must share that our deputies have found Rakim Akbari deceased in a body of water at the resort where he was reported missing this morning. Our detectives are still looking into how this tragedy occurred.</p> <p>We are grieving his loss, and our prayers… <a href="https://t.co/3huAOOo0u4">pic.twitter.com/3huAOOo0u4</a></p> <p>— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) <a href="https://twitter.com/OrangeCoSheriff/status/1814027480782761996?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2024</a></p></blockquote> <p>They didn't provide further details, but the boy reportedly went missing while wearing pyjama pants and a shirt with no socks or shoes. </p> <p>People on X have also shared their condolences to the boy's family.</p> <p>"Deepest condolences to the family of this beautiful little boy. Prayers for the law enforcement that found him, it's hard for them to process as well," one said. </p> <p>"Heartbreaking. Prayers to his family and all who loved him," added another. </p> <p>"God bless his family. Rest in Peace," added another. </p> <p>"My heart goes out to the family," wrote a third. </p> <p><em>Image: X</em></p>

Caring

"I love you forever": Novak Djokovic celebrates 10 year anniversary

<p>Novak Djokovic has celebrated his 10-year wedding anniversary with Jelena Djokovic. </p> <p>The tennis star took to Instagram to share an adorable tribute honouring their anniversary, with a video of the couple dancing, singing and laughing together set to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' <em>Islands In The Stream</em>. </p> <p>"Ten years of joy," Novak began in the caption. </p> <p>"Ten years as parents. Ten years as one. Ten years of dancing. Ten years of fun," he wrote.</p> <p>"Ten years of flying. Ten years at sea. Ten years of you. The best part of me."</p> <p>"Ten years of tennis. Ten years of balls. Ten years of triumph. Ten years of falls.</p> <p>"Ten years as teammates. Ten years together. Ten years Jelena. I love you forever."</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/C9O8uaeoMZF/?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/C9O8uaeoMZF/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>The couple first met in high school in the 90s but didn't start dating until a few years later, when Novak finally kicked off his professional tennis career. </p> <p>The high-school sweethearts tied the knot in a ceremony held at Aman Sveti Stefan resort almost a decade later in July 2014, and they were also expecting their first child at the time. </p> <p>The couple now share two children together, Stefan, nine, and Tara, Six. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

"It's been terrible": Relief for 102-year-old trapped in unit for over a month

<p>102-year-old Joan Mather had been stuck inside her home at the St Kilda Memorial Hall in Melbourne for 32 days after the lift broke down. and now she's finally free. </p> <p>Mather was trapped inside her third-storey apartment as she is unable to use the stairs due to her age. </p> <p>"It's been terrible. I used to love to go to the doctor," Mather told <em>A Current Affair</em>.</p> <p>"I can't even talk to the doctor. I've got to talk to him or her on the phone.</p> <p>"This is the second time this has happened. When are we going to have a lift which you rely on?"</p> <p>Concerned neighbours have been checking in on the centenarian, who was left "totally isolated" if it weren't for a few visitors who were able to walk up to the top floor. </p> <p>"She's been very lonely," fellow resident Gill said.</p> <p>"For a 102-year-old, Joan is very active.</p> <p>"She's used to coming down for a coffee and maybe a wine, and (she has been) totally isolated now except for people who can walk up to the top floor."</p> <p>Mather was born on June 17, 1922, and served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during WWII, before moving to Australia with her husband in the 50s. </p> <p>A spokesperson for Otis Elevators, who was working on the Memorial Hall issue said: "We will continue to work closely with the building management to alleviate the flooding issue and return the lift to service as soon as possible." </p> <p>"We apologise for any disruption caused to the residents."</p> <p>The elevator was finally fixed on Thursday afternoon and Mather celebrated with a glass of champagne at St Kilda's Heroes Lounge bar.</p> <p><em>Images: Nine/ A Current Affair</em></p>

Caring

“Miracle”: 1-year-old baby survives two days beside highway during hurricane

<p>A one-year-old baby has been found alive on the side of a highway after surviving two days of dangerous hurricane conditions between the Texas and Louisiana border in the US. </p> <p>A truck driver spotted the one-year-old on a major highway, just a few kilometres where the boy's four-year-old brother was tragically found dead in a lake. </p> <p>The one-year-old had to survive stormy weather as Hurricane Beryl inundated the area with heavy rain and high winds, but was relatively unscathed when he was found.</p> <p>The truck driver recalled the moment he found the child to local news station KPLC, saying, "There was a little boy sitting down in the embankment there."</p> <p>"As I approached him, he smiled at me and then he started crying and walked toward me. Once he walked toward me, I grabbed his hand and he stopped crying at that point."</p> <p>Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Gary “Stitch” Guillory said the baby had a few insect bites, but otherwise seemed well.</p> <p>“This kid spent two days out in the weather on the side of the highway,” Guillory said while becoming emotional.</p> <p>“Thank God that trucker seen him. When you look at the video, here he was, you know, crawling toward the highway."</p> <p>“We look at this one-year-old as our miracle baby because he was still alive.”</p> <p>The children’s mother, 25-year-old Aaliyah Jack of Lake Charles, has been charged with failing to report a missing child, while the child's grandmother is fighting for custody of the infant. </p> <p><em>Image credits: News15</em></p>

Caring

Mummified body of missing climber found after 22 years

<p>Twenty-two years ago, William Stampfl and two of his friends went missing when an avalanche buried them as they made their way up one of the highest peaks in the Andes mountains in Peru. </p> <p>William's family had little hope of finding him alive, or even retrieving his corpse from thick layers of snow, but in June his daughter got an unexpected call. </p> <p>A stranger said he had come across the climber's frozen, but mostly intact body as he made his own way up the Huascaran peak. </p> <p>"It's been a shock" Jennifer Stampfl said. </p> <p>The 53-year-old added: "When you get that phone call that he's been found your heart just sinks. You don't know how exactly to feel at first."</p> <p>A group of policemen and mountain guides retrieved his body on Tuesday, putting it on a stretcher and slowly taking it down the icy mountain. </p> <p>His body was found at an altitude of 5200m, around a nine-hour hike from one of the camps where climbers stop when they are climbing the summit. </p> <p>William's body and clothing were preserved by the ice and freezing temperatures, with the driver's licence in his hip pouch used to identify him. </p> <p>Lenin Alvardo, one of the police officers who participated in the recovery operation, added that the hip pouch also contained a pair of sunglasses, a camera, a voice recorder and two decomposing $20 bills.</p> <p>William still had a gold wedding ring on his left hand.</p> <p>"I've never seen anything like that," Alvarado said.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="es"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%C3%81ncash?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Áncash</a>🚨| ¡Rescatan cadáver en glaciar!<br />Agentes del Departamento de Alta Montaña, tras una intensa búsqueda ubicaron el cuerpo momificado y deshidratado de una persona NN en el nevado de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Huascar%C3%A1n?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Huascarán</a>. Sus restos fueron internados a la morgue de <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Yungay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Yungay</a> para su identificación. <a href="https://t.co/WJGklwUwbp">pic.twitter.com/WJGklwUwbp</a></p> <p>— Policía Nacional del Perú (@PoliciaPeru) <a href="https://twitter.com/PoliciaPeru/status/1809394543512416721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2024</a></p></blockquote> <p>The climber who found his body then called William's relatives, who then got in touch with local mountain guides. </p> <p>His daughter said that the family plans to move the body to a funeral home in Lima, where it can be cremated. </p> <p>"For 22 years, we just kind of put in our mind: 'This is the way it is. Dad's part of the mountain, and he's never coming home,'" she said.</p> <p>William was trying to climb Peru's highest peak with his friends Matthew Richardson and Steve Erskine in 2002. </p> <p>Erskine's body was found shortly after the avalanche, but Richardson's corpse is still missing.</p> <p>William's daughter said that a plaque in memory of the three friends was placed at the summit of Mount Baldy in Southern California, where the trio trained for their expeditions. </p> <p>She hopes to return to the site with her father's remains. </p> <p><em>Image: Peruvian National Police/ X </em></p>

Travel Trouble

Ted Bundy cold case finally solved after 51 years

<p>In March 1973 the half-naked body of Ann Woodward was found brutally murdered on the floor inside the pub that she owned with her husband.</p> <p>The 46-year-old mother's body was discovered between two pool tables, with <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">her shirt unbuttoned and </span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">pants used to strangle her.</span></p> <p>Her murder has haunted the small US desert town of Moab, Utah for over half a century. While police were never able to find her killer, they believed Ted Bundy was the likely culprit, as he had raped and killed multiple women in the area around the time of her death. </p> <p>While Bundy admitted to thirty murders, his real victim count is unknown. </p> <p>However, they had not been able to prove that he was the culprit due to a lack of evidence, so police assumed she was just another one of his unnamed victims. </p> <p>25 other men, including Douglas Keith Chudomelka, had also been of interest to police after the crime, as witnesses spotted Chudomelka's sedan parked near the victims car on the night of the murder. </p> <p>However, when Chudomelka was interviewed the next day, he denied being at the bar, and insisted that he was at a nearby tavern. </p> <p>His girlfriend at the time, a woman named Joyce, also backed his statement and said he was home at the time of the murder on March 2, 1973. </p> <p>A few months later, Chudomelka was arrested on a domestic violence charge, with an angry Joyce claiming he had been the one who killed Ann Woodward, but she soon retracted her statement. </p> <p>With no new leads, the case went cold, but forward-thinking Police Chief Melvin Dalton, decided to keep DNA evidence from both the victim and all potential suspects anyways, in hopes that one day the right technology would be used to identify the killer. </p> <p>In 2006, Dalton reopened the case, <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">but had no luck until September 2023, when Detective Jeremy Dexler decided to uncover the two boxes of evidence collected from the initial investigation and send it to the crime lab. </span></p> <p>The DNA evidence had sat at the Moab police department's storage units for over 50 years and was not easy to locate as it had been moved to another building. </p> <p>The evidence was crucial in solving the cold case. </p> <p>When results from the crime lab came back at the end of May 2024, they confirmed that a substantial amount of Chudomelka’s DNA was on the inside of Ann’s pants and on all of the buttons of her shirt.</p> <p>This was enough to confirm that Chudomelka was the one responsible for Ann Woodward's murder. He was 36 when he committed the crime.</p> <p>Chudomelka was not known to the victim, but Detective Drexler believes that he may have played a game of poker with Ann when he visited the pub, and may have been angry at her for beating him. </p> <p>He added that it could have also been a crime of opportunity rather than rage as he had a violent history. </p> <p>Detective Drexler praised Dalton's forward-thinking for being the reason why they solved the case. </p> <p>“This case hinged on the hair Dalton pulled in 1973,” Drexler said.</p> <p>“I have no idea how he knew that we would be able to do that today. Dalton made this case very easy for us in that aspect.”</p> <p>Chudomelka passed away in 2002 at the age of 67 without ever paying for his crime, but County Lawyer Stephen Stocks believes that if he was still alive, he would've been found guilty of murder. </p> <p>“I hope today brings some closure to the family,” he said. </p> <p>“I truly believe had this been presented to a jury, Chudomelka would have been found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the murder of Ann Woodward.”</p> <p><em>Images: Moab Police Department</em></p> <p> </p>

Legal

Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267">Alison Blair</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a></em></p> <p>I first saw A Hard Day’s Night at a film festival over 20 years ago, at the insistence of my mum. By then, it was already decades old, but I remember being enthralled by its high-spirited energy.</p> <p>A Beatles fan, mum had introduced me to the band’s records in my childhood. At home, we listened to Please Please Me, the band’s 1963 single, and the Rubber Soul album from 1965, which I loved.</p> <p>Television regularly showed old black-and-white scenes of Beatlemania that, to a ten-year-old in the neon-lit 1980s, seemed like ancient history. But then, I’d never seen a full-length Beatles film. I had no idea what I was in for.</p> <p>When the lights went down at Dunedin’s Regent Theatre, the opening chord of the film’s title song announced its intentions: an explosion of youthful vitality, rhythmic visuals, comical high jinks and the electrifying thrill of Beatlemania in 1964.</p> <p>This time, it didn’t seem ancient at all.</p> <p>Since that first viewing, I’ve returned to A Hard Day’s Night again and again. I now show it to my students as a historically significant example of pop music film making – visually inventive cinema, emblematic of a fresh era in youth culture, popular music and fandom.</p> <h2>Beatlemania on celluloid</h2> <p>A musical comedy depicting a chaotic 36 hours in the life of the Beatles, A Hard Day’s Night has now reached its 60th anniversary.</p> <p>Directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0504513/">Richard Lester</a>, the film premiered in London on July 6 1964, with its first public screening a day later (incidentally, also Ringo Starr’s birthday), and the <a href="https://www.discogs.com/master/24003-The-Beatles-A-Hard-Days-Night">album of the same name</a> released on July 10.</p> <p>The band’s popularity was by then reaching dizzying heights of hysteria, all reflected in the film. The Beatles are chased by hordes of fans, take a train trip, appear on TV, run from the police in a Keystone Cops-style sequence, and play a televised concert in front of screaming real-life Beatles fans.</p> <p>Side one of the album provides the soundtrack, and the film inspired pop music film and video from then on, from the <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060010/">Monkees TV series</a> (1966–68) to the Spice Girls’ <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120185/">Spice World</a> (1997) and music videos as we know them today.</p> <h2>The original music video</h2> <p>Postwar teen culture and consumerism had been on the rise since the 1950s. In 1960s Britain, youth music TV programmes, notably <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196287/">Ready Steady Go!</a> (1963–66), meant pop music now had a developing visual culture.</p> <p>The youthful zest and vitality of ‘60s London was reflected in the pop-cultural sensibility, modern satirical humour and crisp visual impact of A Hard Day’s Night.</p> <p>Influenced by <a href="https://nofilmschool.com/french-new-wave-cinema">French New Wave</a> film making, and particularly the early 1960s work of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/">Jean-Luc Godard</a>, A Hard Day’s Night employs <em><a href="https://indiefilmhustle.com/cinema-verite/">cinéma vérité</a></em>-style hand-held cinematography, brisk jump cuts, unusual framing and dynamic angles, high-spirited action, and a self-referential nonchalance.</p> <p>The film also breaks the “fourth wall”, with characters directly addressing the audience in closeup, and reveals the apparatus of the visual performance of music: cameras and TV monitors are all part of the frame.</p> <p>Cutting the shots to the beat of the music – as in the Can’t Buy Me Love sequence – lends a visual rhythm that would later become the norm in music video editing. Lester developed this technique further in the second Beatles film, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059260/">Help!</a> (1965).</p> <p>The closing sequence of A Hard Day’s Night is possibly the film’s most dynamic: photographic images of the band edited to the beat in the style of stop-motion animation. Sixty years on, it still feels fresh, especially as so much contemporary film making remains hidebound by formulaic Hollywood rules.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/604790/original/file-20240704-17-ov77mn.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=569&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" alt="A Hard Day's Night movie poster" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new pop aesthetic: original film poster for A Hard Day’s Night.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Slapstick and class awareness</h2> <p>As with much popular culture from the past, the humour in A Hard Day’s Night doesn’t always doesn’t land the way it would have in 1964. And yet, there are moments that seem surprisingly modern in their razor-sharp irony.</p> <p>In particular, the band’s Liverpudlian working-class-lad jibes and chaotic energy contrast brilliantly with the film’s upper-class characters. Actor Victor Spinetti’s comically over-anxious TV director, constantly hand-wringing over the boys’ rebelliousness, underscores the era-defining change the Beatles represented.</p> <p>Corporate pop-culture consumerism is also satirised. John Lennon “snorts” from a Coca-Cola bottle, a moment so knowingly silly it registers as more contemporary than it really is. George Harrison deflects a journalist’s banal questions with scathingly witty answers, and cuts a fashion company down to size by describing their shirt designs as “grotesque”.</p> <p>And there is Paul McCartney’s running joke that his grandfather – played by Wilfred Brambell from groundbreaking sitcom <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057785/">Steptoe and Son</a> (1962–74) – is “very clean”.</p> <p>Even the film’s old-fashioned visual slapstick still holds up in 2024. Showing the film to this year’s students, I didn’t expect quite as much laughter when Ringo’s attempts to be chivalrous result in a fall-down-a-hole mishap.</p> <p>In 2022, the <a href="https://www.criterion.com/">Criterion Collection</a> released a high-resolution restoration of the film, so today A Hard Day’s Night can be seen in all its fresh, black-and-white, youthful vigour.</p> <p>Happy 60th, A Hard Day’s Night. And happy 84th, Ringo. Both still as lively and energetic as ever.<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/228598/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/alison-blair-223267"><em>Alison Blair</em></a><em>, Teaching Fellow in Music, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-otago-1304">University of Otago</a></em></p> <p><em>Image </em><em>credits: THA/Shutterstock Editorial </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/still-fab-after-60-years-how-the-beatles-a-hard-days-night-made-pop-cinema-history-228598">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Movies

No croutons, no anchovies, no bacon: the 100-year-old Mexican origins of the Caesar salad

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garritt-c-van-dyk-1014186">Garritt C. Van Dyk</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060"><em>University of Newcastle</em></a></em></p> <p>The most seductive culinary myths have murky origins, with a revolutionary discovery created by accident, or out of necessity.</p> <p>For the Caesar salad, these classic ingredients are spiced up with a family food feud and a spontaneous recipe invention on the Fourth of July, across the border in Mexico, during Prohibition.</p> <p>Our story is set during the era when America banned the production and sale of alcohol from <a href="https://www.atf.gov/our-history/timeline/18th-amendment-1919-national-prohibition-act">1919–1933</a>.</p> <p>Two brothers, Caesar (Cesare) and Alex (Alessandro) Cardini, moved to the United States from Italy. Caesar opened a restaurant in California in 1919. <a href="https://historicalmx.org/items/show/195">In the 1920s</a>, he opened another in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, serving food and liquor to Americans looking to circumvent Prohibition.</p> <p>Tijuana’s Main Street, packed with saloons, became a popular destination for southern Californians looking for drink. It claimed to have the “<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Satan_s_Playground/znhxImXG8e0C">world’s longest bar</a>” at the Ballena, 215 feet (66 metres) long with ten bartenders and 30 waitresses.</p> <p>The story of the Caesar salad, allegedly 100 years old, is one of a cross-border national holiday Prohibition-era myth, a brotherly battle for the claim to fame and celebrity chef endorsements.</p> <h2>Necessity is the mother of invention</h2> <p><a href="https://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/caesars-restaurant-tijuana/">On July 4 1924</a>, so the story goes, Caesar Cardini was hard at work in the kitchen of his restaurant, Caesar’s Place, packed with holiday crowds from across the border looking to celebrate with food and drink.</p> <p>He was confronted with a chef’s worst nightmare: running out of ingredients in the middle of service.</p> <p>As supplies for regular menu items dwindled, Caesar decided to improvise with what he had on hand.</p> <p>He took ingredients in the pantry and cool room and combined the smaller leaves from hearts of cos lettuce with a dressing made from coddled (one-minute boiled) eggs, olive oil, black pepper, lemon juice, a little garlic and Parmesan cheese.</p> <p>The novel combination was a huge success with the customers and became a regular menu item: the Caesar salad.</p> <h2>Et tu, Alex?</h2> <p>There is another version of the origin of the famous salad, made by Caesar’s brother, Alex, at his restaurant in Tijuana.</p> <p>Alex claims Caesar’s “inspiration” was actually a menu item at his place, the “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190521-the-surprising-truth-about-caesar-salad">aviator’s salad</a>”, named because he made it as a morning-after pick-me-up for American pilots after a long night drinking.</p> <p>His version had many of the same ingredients, but used lime juice, not lemon, and was served with large croutons covered with mashed anchovies.</p> <p>When Caesar’s menu item later became famous, Alex asserted his claim as the true inventor of the salad, now named for his brother.</p> <h2>Enter the celebrity chefs</h2> <p>To add to the intrigue, two celebrity chefs championed the opposing sides of this feud. <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Appetite_for_Life/sEAfuK8lDjkC">Julia Child</a> backed Caesar, and <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Essential_Cuisines_of_Mexico/gzsGAwAAQBAJ">Diana Kennedy</a> (not nearly as famous, but known for her authentic Mexican cookbooks) supported Alex’s claim.</p> <p>By entering the fray, each of these culinary heavyweights added credence to different elements of each story and made the variations more popular in the US.</p> <p>While Child reached more viewers in print and on television, Kennedy had local influence, known for promoting regional Mexican cuisine.</p> <p>While they chose different versions, the influence of major media figures contributed to the evolution of the Caesar salad beyond its origins.</p> <p>The original had no croutons and no anchovies. As the recipe was codified into an “official” version, garlic was included in the form of an infused olive oil. Newer versions either mashed anchovies directly into the dressing or added Worcestershire sauce, which has anchovies in the mix.</p> <p>Caesar’s daughter, Rosa, always maintained her father was the original inventor of the salad. She continued to market her father’s <a href="https://classicsandiego.com/restaurants/caesar-cardini-cafe/">trademarked recipe</a> after his death in 1954.</p> <p>Ultimately she won the battle for her father’s claim as the creator of the dish, but elements from Alex’s recipe have become popular inclusions that deviate from the purist version, so his influence is present – even if his contribution is less visible.</p> <h2>No forks required – but a bit of a performance</h2> <p>If this weren’t enough, there is also a tasty morsel that got lost along the way.</p> <p>Caesar salad was originally meant to be eaten as finger food, with your hands, using the baby leaves as scoops for the delicious dressing ingredients.</p> <p>For <a href="https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2024-01-30/original-caesar-salad-tijuana-100-years">presentation</a> in a restaurant, the salad was also created in front of the diners’ table, on a rolling cart, with some recommending a “true” Caesar salad was tossed only seven times, clockwise.</p> <p>This extra level of drama, performance and prescribed ritual was usually limited to alcohol-doused flaming desserts.</p> <p>To have a humble salad, invented in desperation, elevated to this kind of treatment made it a very special dish – even without any bacon.<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/233099/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/garritt-c-van-dyk-1014186">Garritt C. Van Dyk</a>, Lecturer in History, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-newcastle-1060">University of Newcastle</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/no-croutons-no-anchovies-no-bacon-the-100-year-old-mexican-origins-of-the-caesar-salad-233099">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

“28 years today”: Barbra Streisand’s sweet tribute

<p>Barbra Streisand has celebrated two special occasions with her husband James Brolin. </p> <p>The singer and actress took to Instagram to share a throwback photo of the pair on their wedding day, marking both their 26th wedding anniversary and the day they first met almost three decades ago. </p> <p>"28 years today since we met honey… and 26 years today since we married!" she wrote. </p> <p>She added a sweet message for her husband: "Love you. B ❤️."</p> <p>The photo, from their 1998 nuptials, showed Brolin looking dapper in a classic black tuxedo as he wrapped his arms around Streisand looking beautiful in a white, lacy off-the-shoulder wedding dress. </p> <p>The couple first met in 1996 at a blind date dinner party when she was 54 and he was 56. </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/C84gPHeI6AX/?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/C84gPHeI6AX/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Barbra Streisand (@barbrastreisand)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>They tied the knot in a backyard ceremony at the singer's home in Malibu, California. </p> <p>"I can't tell you how lucky I am that this would happen to me so late in life," Brolin said in his wedding speech at the time. </p> <p> "Every night is a new adventure. Sleeping is a waste of time. I can't wait to see [Streisand] again in the morning." </p> <p> Brolin was previously married to Jane Cameron Agee and Jan Smithers, while Streisand was previously wed to Elliott Gould.</p> <p>Fans were quick to congratulate the couple on their anniversary. </p> <p>"Happy Anniversary!!! What a gorgeous photo," wrote one fan. </p> <p>"Based on your novel: you finally got the love you deserve," added another. </p> <p>"You're such a stunning couple, congratulations, and may you continue to write your love story. Thank you for giving us you," commented a third. </p> <p><em>Image: Instagram</em></p> <p> </p>

Relationships

What are financial years – and why are they different from calendar years?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michaela-rankin-1544784">Michaela Rankin</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</a></em></p> <p>Yesterday was July 1, the first day of the new financial year in Australia.</p> <p>Also called fiscal years, financial years are often abbreviated in print. The one that’s just begun in Australia – July 1 2024 to June 30 2025 – will typically be denoted by FY24/25 or FY25.</p> <p>As the name suggests, financial years are used for financial reporting, tax and budgeting purposes. Whether you are preparing an individual tax return or financial statements for a business, it is important to understand the difference between financial and calendar years.</p> <p>Both have 365 days. But the calendar year, based on the <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/gregorian-calendar.html">Gregorian calendar</a>, runs from New Years’ Day on January 1 through to December 31.</p> <p>Australian financial years on the other hand run from July 1 of one year to June 30 the next.</p> <p>But this July to June financial year <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200430054150/https:/www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/228.html">does not apply</a> in all countries. Many align their financial year with the calendar year, but others have further variations still.</p> <p>So why are they different, and what does that mean for businesses operating across borders?</p> <h2>Different around the world</h2> <p>In contrast to our own, the United Kingdom’s financial year starts on April 6 each year and runs to April 5 the next.</p> <p>The English and Irish New Year traditionally fell on March 25, when taxes and other accounts were due. But in the 18th century, the British empire switched from the Roman Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, and had to <a href="https://www.bowesbrooks.co.uk/why-does-the-tax-year-start-on-6th-april/">adjust the start date</a> to avoid losing tax revenue.</p> <p>India’s fiscal year runs from April 1 until March 31, for a <a href="https://www.idfcfirstbank.com/finfirst-blogs/finance/reasons-why-the-financial-year-starts-from-april">number of reasons</a>. Historically a country that was heavily focused on agriculture, this timeframe aligned with the crop cycle and allowed the government to develop financial plans for the sector.</p> <p>The British empire also influenced the April reporting schedule in India, as prior to independence many financial policies were based on the British system.</p> <h2>Government budgets play a role</h2> <p>In the United States, fiscal years once ran from July 1 to June 30, like Australia’s do now. But in 1974 this was <a href="https://www.federaltimes.com/management/budget/2022/09/20/why-the-us-federal-fiscal-year-2023-starts-in-october/">changed</a> to instead span October 1 to September 30, giving Congress more time to agree on a budget each year.</p> <p>In the US, however, companies can also <a href="https://www.business.com/articles/how-to-decide-on-fiscal-year/">choose their own</a> fiscal years. Some choose a calendar year, but others elect dates that better align with their business cycle.</p> <p>Walmart’s, for example, ends on January 31 each year to reflect its typically strong financial performance over the holiday period at the end of the year.</p> <p>In Australia, the financial year matches government reporting cycles.</p> <p>Unlike the northern hemisphere, our parliamentarians typically take holidays over summer in December and January, which makes meeting over November and December to approve government budgets difficult.</p> <p>The federal budget is issued in May for the following financial year, giving parliament time to consider it before the new fiscal year begins.</p> <h2>Comparing (and taxing) performance</h2> <p>Regardless of the time period over which a financial year operates, its primary purpose is to provide a standardised time frame for financial reporting.</p> <p>Financial years allow income and expenses to be tracked and compared over the same timeframe each year. This allows investors to compare business performance across consistent periods. They are also used to determine the collection of personal income tax.</p> <p>Our government uses this information to calculate the amount of tax it will collect through the Australian Taxation Office each year.</p> <p>Businesses with operations spanning multiple countries may have to contend with fiscal years that do not align. Where this is the case, they may need to choose one financial year for the whole company, typically that used by the parent company.</p> <p>Keeping track of the financial year is helpful for individuals, in knowing when tax returns need to be prepared (and when to expect end-of-financial-year sales).</p> <p>It is also important for businesses to consider the financial year in making budgeting, business and tax planning decisions. <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/233655/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michaela-rankin-1544784"><em>Michaela Rankin</em></a><em>, Professor and Head, Department of Accounting, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/monash-university-1065">Monash University</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/what-are-financial-years-and-why-are-they-different-from-calendar-years-233655">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Money & Banking

Neighbours fan favourite leaving Ramsay Street after 30 years

<p>After 30 years on Ramsay Street, a fan favourite actor is saying goodbye to <em>Neighbours</em>. </p> <p>Ryan Moloney, known for his longstanding role as Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi, announced that he would be leaving the show in an announcement video posted to the <em>Neighbours</em> Instagram page. </p> <p>The 44-year-old actor introduced himself as “formerly Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi" before clarifying, "That’s right, I did say formerly, because after 30 years playing Toadie, I will be leaving Ramsay Street.”</p> <p>“I can’t tell you what is happening to the character – maybe I could be the next Jim Robinson. Or maybe I’ll be the next Harold Bishop and just keep popping back over the years.”</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/C8tUG1GScZq/?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/C8tUG1GScZq/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Neighbours (@neighbours)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Moloney hinted at his career change saying he wanted to spend more time behind the camera and start working as a director. </p> <p>As part of his new career move, he shared that he’d just finished on his first <em>Neighbours</em> episode as a director.</p> <p>“Thank you all so much for all the love that you have shown me and Toadie over the years. For three decades, in fact. I’m going to miss you, I’m going to miss him, and I’m going to miss Erinsborough. But whatever you do, make sure you do not miss what is going to happen on Ramsay Street,” he said. </p> <p>The sudden news sent fans into a tizzy, with many sharing emotional reactions to the news as they prepared to farewell a character who has been with them since the 90s. </p> <p>“Omg What?! Toadie is iconic. Won’t be the same. Hopefully he comes back to Erinsborough for a visit,” wrote one viewer.</p> <p>“This is so sad! I hope he keeps ‘popping back’ to the street rather than die. I am going to miss toadie,” said another.</p> <p>Moloney made his <em>Neighbours</em> debut in 1995 as a teenager and stayed with the show until it was axed in 2022.</p> <p>He was then one of the returning cast members when the show was rebooted a year later.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Andy Barnes / FameFlynet.uk.com/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p> <p> </p>

"Meant to be": Magical moment mum finds lost ring 15 years later

<p>Some stories are so unbelievable that it seems like divine intervention played a part in making them happen.</p> <p>Samantha was only eight or nine years old when she lost a ring that her parents gave her for Christmas, only to miraculously find it 15 years later. </p> <p>She recalled the remarkable story of her lost ring on <em>Nova 96.9's Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie</em>. </p> <p>"So when I was about eight or nine, it was Christmas time, and we were holidaying up at Umina Beach Caravan Park," Samantha began.</p> <p>"I was in the surf, and my mum and dad had bought me this beautiful little first diamond ring for Christmas, and I was sort of in the waves up to sort of my knees, and I thought, Oh, I better take my ring off and put it around my necklace, because if I get dumped or under the waves, I might lose it."</p> <p>Samantha recalled that she was in the middle of taking her ring off when a "freak wave" came and knocked her over, causing her to drop the ring in the ocean.</p> <p>"I'm crying... my mum's crying, we're all crying, and I lost the ring," she said.</p> <p>15 years later she returned to the same beach with her own kids, when things took a turn for the better. </p> <p>"My daughter's collecting shells, and she picks up this big shell, and I said, 'Oh, that's beautiful. Like, that's a big one. We don't find them up this way'," she told the radio hosts.</p> <p>"And she said, 'Oh, hang on. I think there's like a creature or something in it'... So I said 'Put it down, put it down', and I picked it up and just make sure she wasn't going to get bitten or anything.</p> <p>"And I looked inside, and my ring was inside the shell."</p> <p>Samantha told the hosts that she remembered her mum giving her the ring and telling her "when you grow up and you have a daughter, you can give this to her."</p> <p>"When we found it, I think I cried for like, a week, it's a story that we still don't believe."</p> <p>Radio hosts Kate, Fitzy and Wippa were all in shock, with Kate telling the mum that the ring was "meant to be" with her. </p> <p>"Well, the funny thing is, my mum, actually, at the moment, is palative," Samantha shared.</p> <p>"She's very, very unwell, and out of everything that she does remember, she still remembers that story.</p> <p>"She'll still say to me, 'don't you ever get rid of that ring'. And I'm like, my daughter's got it in a box at home, and she's not even allowed to wear it."</p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Domestic Travel

Meet the 65-year-old bodybuilder committed to defying stereotypes

<div title="Page 1"> <div> <div> <div title="Page 1"> <div> <div> <div> <div title="Page 1"> <div> <div> <div title="Page 1"> <div> <div> <p>The adage that "age is just a number" could have been written for Jan Herdman, 65. </p> </div> </div> </div> <p>Jan has well and truly shattered the age stereotypes into smithereens by dominating the bodybuilding champions and winning 'Mrs Supranational Australia'. </p> <p>Jan Herdman is not your average 65-year-old. Jan is in fact: 65 years young, she's breaking barriers, shattering stereotypes, and proving that age is merely a number.</p> <p>In a remarkable display of strength, determination, and sheer grit, Jan has just received 1st place in the ICN Australia Bodybuilding Championship (awarded on May 4th 2024) in the over 60s category, along with securing 2nd place in the over 40s category and 3rd place in the ‘Novice Figures’ category.</p> <p>Jan’s triumphs don't end there; she also seized the prestigious title of ‘Mrs Supranational’ in the ‘Mrs of Australia Pageant’, held in Sydney in April 2024.</p> </div> </div> </div> <p>Jan's journey is not just about winning titles; it's about inspiring others to redefine their perceptions of aging. Embarking on her strength training journey to support others, and herself, in defeating age-related illnesses, Jan exemplifies the essence of ageing gracefully and living a fulfilling life at any age.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>"I refuse to let age define me," says Jan Herdman. "Every day is an opportunity to challenge myself, push my limits, and inspire others to realise their full potential. Age should never be a barrier to pursuing your dreams."</p> <p>Jan's story is a testament to resilience, perseverance, and the power of the human spirit. Her relentless pursuit of excellence serves as a beacon of inspiration to women and men worldwide, encouraging them to embrace life's challenges with courage and tenacity.</p> <p>Jan actively leans into her credo; Having been through her own chronic health challenges and needing to restart life out on her own, Jan Herdman has become a powerhouse of inspiration and transformation to her fast-growing community.</p> <p>Jan watched her mother become frail and incapable of taking care of herself, and that set Jan off on a mission to change the trajectory of her own future and turn her health and life around. Jan’s story is one of total transformation in all aspects of her life.</p> <p>Jan is now a sought-after commentator on living a life with vitality at any age. Jan is an advocate for strength training as the starting point for a total life transformation to prevent age-related illnesses and mobility issues.</p> <p>Through popular demand Jan has created her own program coined The Ageless MethodTM which captures her proven model of transformation, for all levels at any age.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="page" title="Page 2"> <div class="layoutArea"> <div class="column"> <p>The 12 Week ‘Transformer Program’ has just kicked off on 19th June 2024, and will recommence on 11 September 2024.</p> <p>The 6 Week ‘Kickstarter Program’ starts on 2 July 2024, then 10 September 2024, then 29 October 2024.</p> <p>Jan also offers on demand 1:1 coaching, as needed. More info here across all offerings here: <a href="https://www.ageless-transformations.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ageless-transformations.com</a></p> <p><em>Image credits: Supplied</em></p> <pre> </pre> </div> </div> </div>

Body

71-year-old makes beauty pageant history

<p>A 71-year-old woman has made history by becoming the oldest person to ever compete at a prestigious beauty pageant. </p> <p>Marissa Teijo never wanted to give up on her dream of competing in the Miss Texas USA pageant as she got older, and in the 2024 competition, she made her dreams a reality. </p> <p>Teijo says the experience was "incredible", even though she wasn't crowned the winner. </p> <p>The 71-year-old documented her pageant journey on Instagram to inspire others to never give up on their own dreams.</p> <p>Explaining her decision to sign up to the pageant on social media, she says, "I am delighted to be a part of this incredible new experience as a contestant in the Miss Texas USA pageant."</p> <p>"In doing so, I hope to inspire women to strive to be their best physical and mental self and believe there is beauty at any age."</p> <p>Teijo spoke of her initial "misgivings" before entering the pageant, saying, "I began to realise I could do it and inspire older ladies and young ones too that there is beauty at any age if you lead a healthy and active lifestyle. So, that became my goal instead of just striving to win."</p> <p>"Overall, I believe my goal in entering the pageant was achieved, and I can truly say it was an amazing fairytale experience, one that I never ever dreamed I would be experiencing."</p> <p>"I would like to also add that fitness, especially weightlifting, and being strong are the ultimate goals. Looking beautiful is secondary because fitness and healthy living are the best defenses against aging," Teijo added.</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Beauty & Style

70s singer finally marries fiancé after almost 50 years together

<p>Denise Nolan, 72, has finally tied the knot with her long-term partner Tom Anderson, aged 77.</p> <p>The couple who have been together for 47 years and engaged for around three decades got married in a ceremony in their hometown of Blackpool. </p> <p>"I had a fabulous day," she revealed to <em>OK magazine</em>. </p> <p>Despite being together for so long, the couple revealed that they never felt the need to rush into their marriage. </p> <p>"We've been together now for 47 years and we love each other. We got engaged about 30 years ago, but we didn't think we needed the piece of paper to say that," she continued.</p> <p>"He's asked me to marry him a few times but usually when he's had a drink and is feeling sentimental! Then I mention it to him the next day and he runs a mile."</p> <p>Denise, who was one part of the popular Irish family band <em>The Nolans </em>said that the decision to finally tie the knot was partially prompted by Tom's Parkinson's diagnosis in 2018. </p> <p>She explained that they "didn't want to wait until further down the line where he might be a lot worse and it could be hard work".</p> <p>For the big day, the pair sat next to each other at the alter of The Wedding Chapel on Blackpool Promenade. </p> <p>"Everybody was crying, even Tom was sobbing," Denise said.</p> <p>"I also picked Frank Sinatra's Love And Marriage because I thought, 'I have to have a comic song in there,' and we're all Sinatra addicts in our family. As we walked back down the aisle we had Tom singing Love Will Keep Us Together. To be able to choose all out own music was really special for us."</p> <p>In her speech during the reception, Denise said: "Meeting you was fate, becoming your partner was a choice, but falling in love with you was beyond my control."</p> <p>The couple first met while Denise was in her band and Tom was working as a resident drummer at the London Rooms in London's West End.</p> <p>They have been inseparable since and now live in Blackpool with some family nearby. </p> <p><em>Images: Instagram</em></p>

Relationships

I watched some 40 films at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. Here are my top five picks – and one hilarious flop

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ari-mattes-97857">Ari Mattes</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852">University of Notre Dame Australia</a></em></p> <p>This year’s <a href="https://www.sff.org.au/">Sydney Film Festival’s</a> rich offerings of films more than compensated for the minor technical issues that led to some screenings being interrupted.</p> <p>Out of the 40-odd films I saw, here are my top five, along with some notable mentions and three disappointments (including a genuine <em>dud</em>).</p> <h2>1. The Girl with the Needle</h2> <p>Cowritten and directed by Swedish filmmaker Magnus von Horn, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Needle">The Girl with the Needle</a> is loosely based on the story of notorious early-20th century serial killer Dagmar Overbye.</p> <p>But this is no procedural true crime film, painstakingly attempting to recreate crimes with historical accuracy. It’s a stylish Danish nightmare dazzling with cinematic acrobatics right from the opening sequence, in which black and white faces hideously morph, looking at the viewer like deranged figures from a hellish circus. It is, indeed, one of the most terrifying films I’ve seen.</p> <p>The narrative follows the struggles of new mother Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne) as she gives her baby to Dagmar’s informal adoption agency and begins working with her as a wet nurse, unaware of what’s really going on.</p> <p>Sonne is as self-assured as ever – and none of the actors put a foot wrong here. Seasoned Danish film star Trine Dyrholm is exceptional in bringing nuance to what could have become a caricaturishly evil role as Dagmar. And Besir Zeciri endows Peter, a war-wounded veteran who can only find employment in a circus freakshow, with an unexpected warmth and tenderness.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VlyW-z1xbO4?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>The Girl with the Needle features some of the most distressing sequences one could find in a commercial film. Its meticulously rendered shades of German expressionism never distract from its smorgasbord of horrors, offering an almost unbearably bleak vision of the world in the aftermath of the Great War. If only all films were this good!</p> <h2>2. Dying</h2> <p>I’d normally suppress a yawn if you told me I had to sit through a three-hour social realist drama about the everyday difficulties of a bourgeois German conductor and his family. Yet writer-director Matthias Glasner’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dying_(2024_film)">Dying</a> is a near perfect film (no surprise it won <a href="https://www.screendaily.com/news/matthias-glasners-dying-wins-german-lola-for-best-film/5193046.article">four prizes</a> at the German Film Awards).</p> <p>The film is complex and engrossing – deeply sad in places and hysterical in others – formally controlled, but underpinned by an anarchic sensibility. It is life-affirming without any skerrick of sentimentality.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kagVqEfPxFw?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Lars Eidinger is astonishingly good as maestro Tom, who is trying to keep his career on track as his family life crumbles around him. He is matched by Lilith Stangenberg, mesmerising as his unhinged sister Ellen. Robert Gwisdek is equally exceptional as the highly strung composer and friend Bernard, while Corinna Harfouch anchors the film’s first section as Tom’s far from maternal mother, Lissy.</p> <p>At one point, Ingmar Bergman’s 1982 period film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_and_Alexander">Fanny and Alexander</a> is playing on the TV (Tom watches it every Christmas). Even though Dying feels like a contemporary film committed to interrogating the difficulties of being in the modern world, there’s something of late Bergman here as it unfolds across its epic length.</p> <p>It is a three-hour film about middle-class life, but like a great 19th-century novel, it never feels long. The fact that nothing particularly extraordinary happens is testament to how well-made the film is.</p> <h2>3. Kill</h2> <p>Director Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s Indian action film <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kill_2023_2">Kill</a> is cheesy, sentimental and at first seems remarkably silly.</p> <p>Commando Amrit, played by beefy TV star Lakshya, is travelling to New Delhi by train with his buddy, fellow commando Viresh (Abhishek Chauhan). His true love Tulika (Tanya Maniktala) is also on board and has recently become engaged to another man through an arrangement by her wealthy father, Baldev Singh Thakur (Harsh Chhaya), who happens to own the train company. When a group of 30-plus bandits led by the charming but ice-cold Fani (Raghav Juyal) move to rob the train, Amrit must defend Tulika, her family and the rest of the passengers.</p> <p>When the title card appears 40 minutes into the film, suddenly emblazoned on the screen, it seems like a distracting quirk at first. But it begins to make sense as the train rolls on. All of the violence and bone-crushing action of the first section is mere preamble, leading to a point of transition from an extremely violent but fun action film, to a much darker – and bloodier – revenge film.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/da7lKeeS67c?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Kill is an exceptionally well-wrought genre film. The kinetic and balletic action recalls the golden era of Hong Kong action cinema, but with hammers, daggers and sickles instead of guns and the frenetic staging of hand-to-hand combat instead of poetic slow-motion footage. It is also a great example of a film being more than the sum of its parts. No element is perfect, yet they come together to transcend these limitations, its flow reaching sublime levels by the end.</p> <p>There’s also an undercurrent of sadness throughout. We see an India of haves and have-nots, of families of bandits struggling to survive and of the supreme violence sustaining the social and political order. As Fani says to Amrit near the end: “Who kills like this? I killed four of your people. You finished off 40 of my family. You’re not a protector. You’re a monster. A fucking monster.” The title says it all.</p> <h2>4. Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story</h2> <p>Biographical films about celebrities inevitably feel gossipy. Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super/Man:_The_Christopher_Reeve_Story">Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story</a> is no exception. But it is so well made (and well-resourced, one would imagine, as it’s produced by DC) that it moves beyond its tabloid-like qualities.</p> <p>Interviews with Reeve’s friends and colleagues, including Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close and Jeff Daniels, are interspersed with home footage shot by Reeve and his family throughout his career and during his recovery from the near-fatal riding accident that left him paralysed and breathing through a respirator for the rest of his life.</p> <p>Reeve’s close friendship with “brother” Robin Williams assumes central importance, with the film implying the two men were so emotionally dependent on each other that Williams would probably still be alive if Reeve hadn’t died in 2004.</p> <p>But the most interesting parts of the film involve carefully assembled archival footage looking at how Reeve’s decision to play Superman negatively impacted his career and personal life. He never starred in another profitable film, and his father and colleagues such as William Hurt loathed his decision to play a comic book character.</p> <p>This is counterpointed with his post-accident career as a director and disability advocate. Interviews with Reeve’s children add a genuinely tragic sense of pathos to this slick, well-made and emotionally exhausting “true Hollywood” story. It’s everything one could want from such a documentary.</p> <h2>5. Kneecap</h2> <p>Cowriter-director Rich Peppiatt’s Kneecap is a riotous, irreverent biopic following the career of Belfast drug-dealers Móglaí Bap and Mo Chara as they team up with high school music teacher DJ Próvai to become the first Irish-language rap group, Kneecap.</p> <p>The real <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-66408560">Kneecappers</a> cowrote the film and play themselves and, given none of them are actors, do so remarkably well. They’re joined by Irish heavyweights Josie Walker, playing the detective who has it in for them, and Michael Fassbender, playing Móglaí’s father, an old-school Irish radical who has been on the run for the past few decades.</p> <p>The film depicts their hedonistic drug use and anarchic disregard for the law in the context of their radical political motivation to speak Irish against the colonial English. And while it may be a bit cartoonish in its presentation of Belfast’s history and the struggle to keep Gaelic alive, it is a music biopic after all.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FFYfp-hKxZQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Kneecap is violent, coarse and laced with infectiously good humour – a genuinely fun film, buoyed by its charismatic stars and lively style. Only the most stringent moralist wouldn’t enjoy this one!</p> <h2>Notable mentions</h2> <p>It’s extremely difficult to pick a top five when 15 or so of the films I saw were standouts. And this is testament to the quality of the festival’s selection.</p> <p>It was a pleasure watching heavyweight Sean Penn go head-to-head with Dakota Johnson in writer-director Christy Hall’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daddio_(film)">Daddio</a>, even if the story takes an uninteresting turn in the final third. Despite the banality of the premise – a New York cabbie chats with a passenger – and the inanity of some of the dialogue, this romantic ode to urban life in all its alienated, fluoro-lit techno glory is so well crafted that we happily go along for the ride.</p> <p>Equally affective is the melancholic and beautifully performed <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puan_(film)">Puan</a>, a restrained comedy set in a University faculty in Buenos Aires. Puan could easily make my top five, as could André Téchiné’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_New_Friends_(film)">My New Friends</a>), an offbeat French melodrama starring Isabelle Huppert as a disillusioned police officer who becomes friends with an anti-cop activist in the suburbs.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cnz-6h60tkk?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Poor performers</h2> <p>Of the lot, I only found three films disappointing.</p> <p>The first, Among the Wolves, is a Belgian-French documentary in which a photographer and illustrator lie waiting in a tiny, makeshift building to encounter wild wolves. While some of the footage is striking, the film is let down by its scientific inaccuracy, such as references to the “alpha male” wolf – a term and concept that has <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-myth-of-the-alpha-wolf">long been discredited</a>. Such innacuracy is a cardinal sin for a documentary, which is supposed to inform the viewer.</p> <p>Though critically acclaimed, Hollywood horror film The Substance – a story of an ageing entertainer who turns to a mysterious substance to stay young (with unsurprisingly horrific ramifications) – feels neither new nor particularly interesting. And while it’s great to see Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid back on the big screen, their caricaturish characters make the whole thing seem like a boring joke: an inflated short film that is both irritatingly silly and painfully didactic.</p> <p>But rarely does a film so resolutely reaffirm a sense of the absurd hubris of humans as Francis Ford Coppola’s self-financed mega-flop, Megalopolis. This cartoonish, incoherent mess set in a dystopian version of the United States, “New Rome”, is howlingly bad in places.</p> <p>Imagine the worst parts of The Hunger Games and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064940/">Fellini Satyricon</a> (1969) crossed with Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead and you begin to get a sense of the kind of self-indulgent, heavy-handed nonsense that is Megalopolis.</p> <p>Side-splittingly funny moments come courtesy of bad dialogue (“Utopias become dystopias,” actor Giancarlo Esposito says at one point with a straight face). And stilted acting by Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza had the (remaining) audience in stitches. Megalopolis is like one of the great fiascos from days gone by – the 21st century’s Heaven’s Gate – and there is definitely something delightful about the existence of this <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/news/francis-ford-coppola-funding-120-million-dollars-megalopolis-1235184765/">US$120 million</a> (roughly A$180 million) flop.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1FQzWD5xVKQ?wmode=transparent&start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>But as a dud, Megalopolis is the outlier. And in a year following Barbie, Oppenheimer, Napoleon and Poor Things (talk about heavy-handed cinema), much of the menu of this year’s Sydney Film Festival once again proves there are still good filmmakers out there making good films.<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/232706/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ari-mattes-97857"><em>Ari Mattes</em></a><em>, Lecturer in Communications and Media, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-notre-dame-australia-852">University of Notre Dame Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-watched-some-40-films-at-this-years-sydney-film-festival-here-are-my-top-five-picks-and-one-hilarious-flop-232706">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: IMDB</em></p> </div>

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Teen who pushed 79-year-old woman off pier escapes conviction

<p>A teenager who pushed a 79-year-old woman off a pier and later posted a video of it to social media has not been given a criminal conviction. </p> <p>The 14-year-old, who was on bail at the time of the attack, shoved the elderly woman off Mornington Pier in January, with his his friends cheering him on. </p> <p>Bystanders had to rescue her because she couldn't swim. </p> <p>A court has heard that he was remorseful his actions and he has since been handed a diversion, meaning that he will have to undergo a mandatory program which includes counselling and education courses. </p> <p>If he completes the four-month order, the charges will be removed from his record. </p> <p>"We're very pleased with the outcome," the teenager's dad said outside of court. </p> <p>During his sentencing, the magistrate said it was "not going to be an easy process" but "you're remorseful for your behaviour, which is a positive step for you and the community". </p> <p>"You're a smart young man, with support things can change," the magistrate said. </p> <p>The 14-year-old is currently serving a diversion for assaulting a a 35-year-old woman in Hastings in November, which he was on bail for in January. </p> <p>Although the teen was remorseful inside the courtroom, according to Nine News, he reportedly raised his middle finger to those waiting outside when he left. </p> <p><em>Images: Nine</em></p> <p> </p>

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I watched some 40 films at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. Here are my top five picks – and one hilarious flop

Teen who pushed 79-year-old woman off pier escapes conviction

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Police officer charged after allegedly punching 70-year-old woman

Man arrested over horror crash that left 11-year-old orphaned

Compulsory voting in Australia is 100 years old. We should celebrate how special it makes our democracy

Missing 3-year-old found dead at Walt Disney World

"I love you forever": Novak Djokovic celebrates 10 year anniversary

"It's been terrible": Relief for 102-year-old trapped in unit for over a month

“Miracle”: 1-year-old baby survives two days beside highway during hurricane

Mummified body of missing climber found after 22 years

Ted Bundy cold case finally solved after 51 years

Still fab after 60 years: how The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night made pop cinema history

No croutons, no anchovies, no bacon: the 100-year-old Mexican origins of the Caesar salad

“28 years today”: Barbra Streisand’s sweet tribute

What are financial years – and why are they different from calendar years?

Neighbours fan favourite leaving Ramsay Street after 30 years

"Meant to be": Magical moment mum finds lost ring 15 years later

Meet the 65-year-old bodybuilder committed to defying stereotypes

71-year-old makes beauty pageant history

70s singer finally marries fiancé after almost 50 years together

I watched some 40 films at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. Here are my top five picks – and one hilarious flop

Teen who pushed 79-year-old woman off pier escapes conviction

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