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France’s pledge to Ukrainian artists

<p dir="ltr">In order to help struggling artists in Ukraine who have been impacted by the Russian invasion, the French government has announced a $1.5 million relief fund to help workers in the arts. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to a statement from the French Ministry of Culture, the initiative will also be available to “dissident” Russian artists fleeing the nation’s crackdown on free speech.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The emergency reception program will finance Ukrainian artists and cultural professionals and their families for a period of three months, via the Pause program, [consisting of] residencies within the network of public establishments of the ministry and through the Cité internationale des arts [an artist-in-residence building in Paris],” the ministry’s statement said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Two thirds of the funds will be dedicated to an emergency telephone service offered in both Russian and Ukrainian that will offer support to imperilled artists through networking with regional professionals and studio space opportunities.</p> <p dir="ltr">The remainder of the funds will be directed to help Ukrainian students to enrol at colleges and cultural organisations in France. </p> <p dir="ltr">Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, the French minister of culture, said the ministry “wants Ukrainian artists to be supported so they can continue their creative work in France…This additional support will be in the form of research grants and funding for artistic projects, but also for organising exhibitions.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Russia’s unprompted attack on Ukraine began on February 24th, and has seen at least 2.6 million Ukrainians flee their war-torn home country. </p> <p dir="ltr">According to the French interior minister, Gèrald Darmanin, the French government has pledged to accept around 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Art

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Denzel Washington to star in R-rated Macbeth

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Academy Award winner Denzel Washington will be taking on the titular character of Macbeth in </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Tragedy of Macbeth</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a new adaptation of the famous Shakespearean tragedy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://movieweb.com/the-tragedy-of-macbeth-teaser-a24/" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">new teaser</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> sees Washington depict the fictional Scottish lord in stark black-and-white in an eerie and otherworldly version of medieval Scotland.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height:0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845673/_0-19-screenshot-1.png" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/6feccf71e63c402d99b87f90984344e9" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frances McDormand will star alongside Washington in the new adaptation. Image: A24</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“In meticulously world-weary performances, a strikingly inward Denzel Washington is the man who would be king, and an effortlessly Machiavellian Frances McDormand is his Lady,” the New York Film Festival’s announcement of the film reads.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The film is directed by Joel Coen - one half of the Coen brothers - though this time he will be working solo. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoxy5pIXjd/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRoxy5pIXjd/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by A24 (@a24)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Famed actress Kathryn Hunter will also join the cast as a trio of ‘weird sisters’, alongside Brendan Gleeson as King Duncan, Corey Hawkins as Macduff, and </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Queen’s Gambit </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">star Moses Ingram as Lady MacDuff.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Though it echoes the forbidding visual designs - and aspect ratios - of Laurence Olivier’s classic 1940’s Shakespeare adaptations, as well as the bloody medieval madness of Kurosawa’s </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Throne of Blood</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Coen’s tale of sound and fury is entirely his own,” the announcement reads.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDKPNFrkku/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CUDKPNFrkku/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by A24 (@a24)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Coen previously shared his aspirations for the film, with hopes it will be a “boldly inventive visualisation of the Scottish Play” and “an anguished film that stares, mouth agape, at a sorrowful world undone by blind greed and thoughtless ambition”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The film made its debut at the 2021 New York Film Festival in September and is due to be released in select theatres on December 25. It will then be streaming on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">See the latest teaser trailer below.</span></p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bk6VArB6_us" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: A24</span></em></p>

Movies

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Tony Abbott snapped maskless at Manly Beach

<div class="new-post-menu-component">NSW Police have confirmed they are investigating an eyewitness report that former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was photographed maskless at Manly beach on Wednesday.</div> <div class="post-body-container"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p>Abbott maintains he was not in breach of the rules because he had originally attended the beach to go surfing and catch some “magic waves” which he added “is exercise”.</p> <p>He told media he believed he was completely within the rules even under what he called the current “rather oppressive regime”.</p> <p>Abbott has not been fined or charged with any wrongdoing.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">🚨 BREAKING 🚨<br /><br />Here is another example of Australia’s political elite playing by a different set of rules compared to everyone else.<br /><br />Look at how Former PM Tony Abbott is dressed - THIS IS NOT EXERCISE!<br /><br />I wonder whether <a href="https://twitter.com/nswpolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nswpolice</a> will issue Abbott with an infringement notice? <a href="https://t.co/lLqC3pQPFm">pic.twitter.com/lLqC3pQPFm</a></p> — John Adams (@adamseconomics) <a href="https://twitter.com/adamseconomics/status/1435400918019702784?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2021</a></blockquote> NSW Police are investigating an eyewitness report that former Prime Minister Tony Abbott was maskless at Manly beach on Wednesday. <p>But the woman who photographed him has confirmed she has now been contacted by police and will make a statement.</p> <p>“Nothing says mockdown more than an ex-PM flaunting around without a mask,” she said to the media.</p> <p>“It’s OK for him, but what about everyone else who has been fined by the police? What about all the kids that can’t be vaccinated?”</p> <p>“When the premier says ‘people should use their judgement’, this shows that even a former leader of this country can’t even be trusted to use his judgement,” she added.</p> <p><strong>Photographed at Fairy Bower Beach chatting to a friend</strong></p> <p>The former Prime Minister was photographed in jeans and a jumper chatting with the friend at Fairly Bower Beach on the Manly foreshore.</p> <p>“I went out for a surf on the beautiful Bower. Caught a couple of magic waves,” he said.</p> <p>He was then overheard apologising to his friend as he realised he’d made an error.</p> <p>“S**t I don’t have my mask,” the former PM was overheard saying.</p> <p>The group went on to joke about Abbott’s globetrotting overseas travels which have recently included a trip to India as a trade envoy for Australia.</p> <p>After his friend joked he was surprised Abbott had been let back into the country, the former PM replied, “I’ve got a passport mate, they had to let me into the country.”</p> <p>“And yeah, it’s a perfect day in Sydney. Just a pity we’re all bloody suffering lockdown conditions.</p> <p>“Apart from that, it’s as good as it can be.</p> <p>“Look, I regard myself as having been at all times within the rules. I was surfing. That’s exercise. I was with one other person. That’s permitted. I then walked briskly to the coffee shop, that’s permitted.</p> <p>“I didn’t have a mask on while I was drinking coffee. That’s permitted. So, all ridgy didgy even under the current rather oppressive regime.”</p> <p><strong>NSW imposes a $500 fine for adults who don’t comply</strong></p> <p>There is a $500 fine for adults in NSW who fail to comply with a direction to wear or carry a mask.</p> <p>The person who took the photograph of Abbott told media he was still chatting without his mask after they returned from a dip in the ocean around 9am.</p> <p>Abbott is the latest in a line of politicians photographed maskless in recent months.</p> <p>Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was fined $200 for failing to wear a mask in breach of COVID orders in June.</p> <p>Local constituents informed police after he was spotted in a petrol station in Armidale without a mask.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images and Twitter</em></p> </div> </div> </div>

News

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Watch award-winning Nomadland on Disney+

<p><em>Nomadland</em> won three Academy Awards this year - for Best Picture, Best Director (Chloé Zhao) and Best Actress (Frances McDormand).</p> <p>The director - Chloé Zhao - has made a film with heart and passion and by choosing Frances McDormand to play the lead role, she made sure all this passion was conveyed so well.</p> <p>The movie revolves around Fern (played by McDormand), who, following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. McDormand produced the film as well, along with Peter Spears (<em>Call Me by Your Name</em>), Dan Janvey (<em>Beasts of the Southern Wild</em>), Mollye Asher (<em>The Rider</em>), and Zhao (<em>The Rider</em>).</p> <p><em>A</em>ademy Award nominee David Strathairn stars as well (<em>Good Night, and Good Luck</em>), along with actors Swankie, Bob Wells and Linda May, all of whom appeared in Jessica Bruder’s acclaimed book, which Zhao adapted for the screen.</p> <p>Zhao directed and edited the film, with Joshua James Richards (<em>God’s Own Country</em>) serving as the Director of Photography and Production Designer. The movie’s sound team was M. Wolf Snyder (<em>The Rider</em>), Sergio Diaz (<em>Roma</em>) and Zach Seivers (<em>Assassins</em>).</p> <p><strong>More on the awards</strong></p> <p>It was special to see Zhao make history by winning the award for Best Director because in the Academy’s 83-year history, she is only the second woman and the first woman of colour to ever receive this award.</p> <p>Frances McDormand won an Academy Award for Best Actress in the movie and this is her third time winning such an award. McDormand is a well-established actress known for her meaty roles – for example, <em>Fargo</em>, <em>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing and Missouri. </em></p> <p><strong> Where you can watch Nomadland</strong></p> <p>You can watch <em>Nomadland</em> on the streaming platform, Disney+, and on Star - the new entertainment brand, launched as part of the Disney+ platform earlier this year.</p> <p><em><strong>Nomadland</strong></em><strong> is streaming now on <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/en-au">Disney+ on Star…</a></strong></p> <p><em>Photos: Disney+</em></p> <p> </p>

Movies

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Adorable first image of Tony Abbott's new grandson

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frances Loch, Tony Abbott’s daughter, has shared adorable photos of her newborn just two weeks after his birth.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“This guy…,” she captioned the most recent photo on Instagram.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRzKUWGjf-j/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRzKUWGjf-j/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by FRANNY (@francesloch)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frances, who is married to former Olympic rower Sam Loch, previously shared her “intense” experience while giving birth and how it was all “forgotten” when she met her newborn son.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Birth was intense and incredible. Every part that was difficult and uncomfortable was forgotten in the next moment and 100 times worth it because it was bringing him closer to us,” Loch wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I used my breath and all my strength. I trusted my body, my baby and my team (My ride or die Sam Loch and our amazing doula Kim). Not only was this beautiful nine-pounder born, but also a mother, father, and family.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRfIT8Ljq1U/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRfIT8Ljq1U/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by FRANNY (@francesloch)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frances and Sam announced the birth of Ernest on July 19.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Tipping the scales at an even 9lb [4kg]. Brought into existence by his mum with nothing but breathing, coconut water and heart,” Sam wrote on Instagram.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRNmd4QLCjK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRNmd4QLCjK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Sam Loch (@samloch)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The couple were engaged two weeks after meeting, and married three months later.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frances is the second of Abbott’s three daughters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Frances Loch / Instagram</span></em></p>

Family & Pets

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Tony Abbott's daughter welcomes first child

<p>Tony Abbott's daughter Frances has given birth to a baby boy at an American hospital on Sunday.</p> <p>The 29-year-old and her husband Sam welcomed Ernest in Portland, Oregon.</p> <p>In a post shared to Instagram, the former Olympic rower shared a photo of his wife holding their newborn.</p> <p>“Ernest Loch – Born on his Due Date, July 11. Tipping the scales at an even 9lb,” he wrote.</p> <p>“Brought into existence by his mum with nothing but breathing, coconut water and heart.”</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRNmd4QLCjK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRNmd4QLCjK/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Sam Loch (@samloch)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Frances revealed her pregnancy news back in January, debuting her baby bump in a social media post.</p> <p>"BIG LITTLE BABY LOCH 🌱 Joining the party Summer '21," she wrote.</p> <p>The pair have two anniversary dates, given they had two weddings in 2018. They first held a civil ceremony on Valentines Day that year before tying the knot again on April 29 in front of family and friends in a casual soiree on Sydney's Palm Beach, where the entire wedding party wore Adidas slides.</p> <p>Their first wedding came three months after she met the bodybuilder in November 2017 - they got engaged two later.</p>

Family & Pets

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Frances McDormand comes out on top

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Frances McDormand is officially the greatest living actress as determined by Oscar wins, even beating Meryl Streep.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With three Oscar wins at Best Actress, McDormand is ahead of the pack that includes Streep’s win for a supporting role.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Two-time winners of the Best Actress award include Jane Fonda, Maggie Smith, Glenda Jackson, Jodie Foster, Sally Field, and Hilary Swank.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The only one to beat McDormand was Katharine Hepburn, who claimed four prizes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McDormand won Best Actress in 1997 for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fargo</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> in 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 2021 Oscars saw McDormand win the award for her role in </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nomadland</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chloe Zhao’s </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nomadland</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> also won Best Picture, and had been a strong contender for the award following wins at the Venice and Toronto film festivals more than six months ago.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKpOr2BnVT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CMKpOr2BnVT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Nomadland (@nomadlandfilm)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nomadland </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">sees McDormand play a retired woman struggling to make ends meet following the 2008 crash, travelling through America’s west.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zhao, who is Chinese-American, also took home the award for Best Director, becoming the second woman and first woman of colour to win.</span></p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Frances McDormand won two Oscars tonight, one for Best Actress (her third win in the category) and one for Best Picture as a producer on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Nomadland?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Nomadland</a>. More here: <a href="https://t.co/QGwDlmpx6l">https://t.co/QGwDlmpx6l</a> <a href="https://t.co/POcXXH3azT">pic.twitter.com/POcXXH3azT</a></p> — IndieWire (@IndieWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1386556898464333827?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2021</a></blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">McDormand’s competition included actresses Viola Davis for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and Carey Mulligan for </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Promising Young Woman</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following on from her win, the actress will soon appear opposite Denzel Washington in a </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Macbeth</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> film.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Quoting the play in her acceptance speech, she said, “I have no words. My voice is in my sword.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We know the sword is our work. And I like work. Thanks for knowing that, and thanks for this.”</span></p>

Movies

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Princess Diana’s twin! Charles Spencer shares rare photo

<p><span>Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, has shared a photo of his mother – showing just how much she looked like Diana.</span><br /><br /><span>Royal fans could not help but point out the uncanny resemblance of Princess Di and her mother, Frances Shand Kydd.</span><br /><br /><span>Charles Spencer, Diana's younger brother, took to Instagram to share a stunning portrait of his late mother to mark her birthday on January 20.</span><br /><br /><span>The resurfaced image depicts a young Frances, with a blonde wavy bob, rosy cheeks and blue eyes.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKQuAVOFVAD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CKQuAVOFVAD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Charles Spencer (@cspencer1508)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><br /><span>"My mother - on this, her 85th birthday. She was born in Sandringham, Norfolk, on the very same day that King George V died - in the same parish," Charles wrote in the caption.</span><br /><br /><span>"She died 3 days after the 50th anniversary of her marriage to my father. This portrait is to be found in the Library at @althorphouse."</span><br /><br /><span>Charles is the 9th Earl Spencer and currently resides at Althorp House where the portrait is hung.</span><br /><br /><span>Fans were quick the point out how alike the mother and daughter looked.</span><br /><br /><span>"Looks just like the little one. The eyes are always the giveaway. Spencer genes are strong," one fan commented.</span><br /><br /><span>"So beautiful. You and Princess Diana look like her. ♥️" another said.</span><br /><br /><span>"'Beautiful, I can see where Diana got her stunning looks from," a third added.</span><br /><br /><span>Frances wed Earl Spencer Johnnie at just 18 years of age in 1954.</span><br /><br /><span>However the marriage did not last and the couple divorced in 1969.</span><br /><br /><span>She passed away at age 68 in her home in Scotland.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7839594/diana-mother-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ad07461f5d46448e8d7010683ee524ea" /><br /><br /><span>Charles was candid about his relationship with his sister in the two-part ABC television event, The Story of Diana.</span><br /><br /><span>The 53-year-old discussed his state of mind following his sister's untimely passing, admitting he partly blamed himself.</span><br /><br /><span>"I was furious, I wasn't just angry," he said. "[I thought] what could I have done.</span><br /><br /><span>“But you always think, God, I wish I could've protected her. It was just…it was devastating."</span><br /><br /><span>He then added: "I always felt…intensely protective towards her."</span></p>

Relationships

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France under siege after beheading in church

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text redactor-styles redactor-in"> <p><strong>WARNING: GRAPHIC STORY CONTENT</strong></p> <p>France was hit by two suspected terror attacks which have left three dead, including a woman who was beheaded by a knifeman allegedly shouting "Allahu Akbar".</p> <p>Two separate assailants are understood to have launched attacks in Nice and Avignon in the south of the country just hours apart.</p> <p>The woman, who was one of three killed, passed away shortly after 9 am local time.</p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/world/europe/nice-suspected-mass-stabber-kept-shouting-allahu-akbar-after-arrested-in-france/news-story/3640cb6f1a6d98047190a8656061ca94" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">Her last words</a>, according to a member of the French Senate, were: “Tell my children that I love them.”</p> <p>Police have identified the suspect in Nice as Brahim Aouissaoui, who is believed to have arrived in Europe only recently after being born in Tunisia.</p> <p>Almost at the same time, a security guard at the French Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia was stabbed and left with minor injuries.</p> <p>In Avignon, 250kms away from Nice, a man shouted "Allahu Akbar" while brandishing a knife, but was shot dead. No one else has been reported injured.</p> <p>It's currently unclear if the attacks are related, but local politicians are drawing links, with French Republican Eric Ciotti tweeting "Attack in Nice, attack in Avignon, attack on the French consulate in Saudi Arabia. It is not a coincidence, the Islamists want to annihilate us! We must destroy the Islamists!".</p> <p>French President Emmanuel Macron has visited the site of the attack as France raised its attack level to “urgent” and Prime Minister Jean Castex said the government’s response will be “relentless and immediate”.</p> <p>Nice mayor Christian Estrosi said: “The attacker kept shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ even after he had been shot and as he was given medical care.</p> <p>“Enough is enough. The suspected knife attacker was shot by police while being detained, he is on his way to hospital, he is alive.</p> <p>“I must say that Nice, like France, but perhaps more than other places in the country today, is paying too heavy a price by being once again the victim of islamofascism.”</p> <p>There have been heightened security fears in France over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed published by <em>Charlie Hedbo</em>, with a teacher in France being beheaded after he showed his pupils the cartoons as part of a class on free speech.</p> <p>In response to the beheading, French president Emmanuel Macron delivered a speech in defence of free speech and the offending cartoons were projected onto government buildings in France.</p> </div> </div> </div>

News

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Tony Abbott’s major boarding pass blunder

<p><span>Tony Abbott is not the only Aussie to share a screen grab of his boarding pass onto Instagram, however it has been revealed that it took hackers only 45 minutes to get private information about the former Prime Minister purely due to one simple mistake.</span><br /><br /><span>Australian tech expert Alex Hope said he was able to retrieve Mr Abbott’s phone number and passport details from the Instagram post in March.</span><br /><br /><span>“A big thank you to all the team on QF26 from Tokyo. Hope to see you flying again soon!,” Mr Abbott captioned the photo, which has since been deleted. Pity.</span><br /><br /><span>Mr Hope said he took on the challenge to hack the former PM after he was dared by a friend in his group chat that asked: “Can you hack this man?”.</span><br /><br /><span>The “hacker” says finding the information was easy as he simply took the details from the image on Mr Abbott’s Instagram to log into Qantas’ booking page.</span><br /><br /><span>He was able to read the HTML code and find Mr Abbott’s phone number and passport number within minutes.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7837940/tony-abbott-2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ebd8ba1c75634c80a6a7672b0641ae1c" /><br /><br /><span>In a blog post, the self-described “hacker” noted that he had tried for six months to alert Mr Abbott to what had happened.</span><br /><br /><span>“I had Tony Abbott’s passport number, phone number, and weird Qantas messages about him. I was the only one who knew I had these,” he wrote.</span><br /><br /><span>“Anyone who saw that Instagram post could also have them. I felt like I had to like, tell someone about this. Someone with like, responsibilities. Someone with an email signature,” he added.</span><br /><br /><span>Mr Hope said he tracked Mr Abbott’s personal assistant down after many months of trying.</span><br /><br /><span>He then had a quick chat with Mr Abbott one-on-one.</span><br /><br /><span>“Mostly, he wanted to check whether his understanding of how I’d found his passport number was correct (it was). He also wanted to ask me how to learn about ‘the IT’,” he said.</span><br /><br /><span>“He asked some intelligent questions, like ‘how much information is in a boarding pass, and what do people like me need to know to be safe?’, and ‘why can you get a passport number from a boarding pass, but not from a bus ticket?’.</span><br /><br /><span>“The answer is that boarding passes have your password printed on them, and bus tickets don’t. You can use that password to log in to a website (widely regarded as a bad move), and at that point all bets are off, websites can just do whatever they want.”</span><br /><br /><span>Mr Hope says Qantas fixed the bug that allowed him to retrieve Abbott’s private details was fixed in July thanks to his warnings.</span><br /><br /><span>He says that he hopes this incident will make people think twice about what they post to social media.</span><br /><br /><span>“The point is that if someone famous can unknowingly post their boarding pass, anyone can,” Mr Hope wrote.</span><br /><br /><span>Qantas say they have tightened their protocols.</span><br /><br /><span>They urge passengers to keep their booking details private.</span><br /><br /><span>“Our standard advice to customers is to not post pictures of the boarding pass, or to at least obscure the key personal information if they do, because of the detail it contains,” a spokesperson said.</span><br /><br /><span>Mr Abbott has since been issued a new passport number.</span></p>

News

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Tony Abbott launches scathing attack on Daniel Andrews

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has slammed the "extraordinary ineptitude" of the Victorian government and how they've handled the coronavirus outbreak. </p> <p>He also blamed Premier Daniel Andrews for effectively running a "health dictatorship".</p> <p>Abbott spoke at the Policy Exchange in London, which is a Conservative-leaning think tank chaired by former High Commissioner to the Alexander Downer.</p> <p>It was here he gave his views on lockdowns that have taken over the world in response to the coronavirus pandemic.</p> <p>Abbott also indicated that elderly COVID-19 patients should be allowed to die to reduce economic costs.</p> <p>“And every death is sad, but that’s never stopped families sometimes electing to make elderly relatives as comfortable as possible as nature takes its course.”</p> <p>He said governments had been approaching the pandemic like “trauma doctors” instead of thinking like “health economists trained to pose uncomfortable questions about a level of death we might have to live with”.</p> <p>He said having served as Health Minister in the John Howard government, he “certainly envisaged” people wearing masks on public transport “but not for a moment did I ever contemplate ordering people to stay home.”</p> <p>“The way I saw it, in any pandemic the focus would be to get people to stay at their posts … not to lock everything down lest disease spread.”</p> <p>“People should get on with their lives even in the presence of death.”</p> <p>Abbott believes that the lockdowns have lasted for too long and that the focus has shifted to preserving "almost every life at almost any cost".</p> <p>“Homes can be entered, people can be detained and the ordinary law of the land suspended and the premier now wants to extend this health dictatorship for at least another six months.”</p> <p>“It’s amongst us. We can’t get rid of it,” he said, adding Australia had reached almost zero community transmission before the “extraordinary ineptitude of the Victorian government in the management of its hotel quarantine system produced what has been the biggest outbreak in Australia so far, responded to with the most severe lockdown tried in the world outside of Wuhan itself.”</p> <p>He explained that lockdowns have created a "stop start economy and a stop start life", saying that governments have created a climate of fear and have failed to ask the hard question about how much needs to be spent on saving lives.</p> <p>“So far, with Sweden the most notable exception, governments have approached the pandemic like trauma doctors instead of thinking like health economists trained to pose uncomfortable questions about a level of deaths we might have to live with.”</p> <p>He said officials have become “trapped in crisis mode, especially if the crisis adds to their authority or boosts their standing” and people were sick of being dictated to by “unaccountable experts.”</p> <p>“My plea is for us to be very careful about further lockdowns because the consequences of lockdowns are enormous.”</p> </div> </div> </div>

News

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France told to sell Mona Lisa to cover coronavirus losses

<p>France should offset its financial losses from the coronavirus pandemic by selling Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece Mona Lisa for at least €50 billion, a tech CEO has suggested.</p> <p>Stephane Distinguin, founder and CEO of tech company Fabernovel, told <em>Usbek &amp; Rica </em>magazine that the country should “sell the family jewellery” to help deal with the “unfathomable” crisis.</p> <p>“Day after day, we list the billions engulfed in this slump like children counting the fall of a stone into a well to measure its depth,” Distinguin said.</p> <p>“We are still counting, and this crisis seems unfathomable.</p> <p>“As an entrepreneur and a taxpayer, I know that these billions are not invented and that they will necessarily cost us. An obvious reflex is to sell off a valuable asset at the highest price possible, but one that is the least critical as possible to our future.”</p> <p>Distinguin said France has “a lot of paintings”, which are “easy to move and therefore to hand over”.</p> <p>He said: “In 2020, we have to get the money where it is. So sell family jewellery … The price is the crux of the matter and the main subject of controversy. The price has to be insane for the operation to make sense.”</p> <p>The 46-year-old also suggested that the 16th century Italian Renaissance painting could be “tokenised” with a form of cryptocurrency, allowing it to be shared between countries around the world.</p> <p>“It would be like a big global subscription,” he said. “Legally and technically, this solution would have many advantages: it would allow France and the Louvre to keep control of the painting.”</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2020/04/14/weo-april-2020">International Monetary Fund</a> expected France’s GDP to contract by 7.2 per cent in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Many French tourism operators also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tamarathiessen/2020/05/02/forget-french-travel-this-year-tourism-operators-warn/#4719c0b554bd">fear the country will remain off-limits to international visitors this year</a>.</p>

Art

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“Complete bulls***”: Tony Abbott shuts down political rumours

<p>Former prime minister Tony Abbott has fiercely knocked down a rumour that he might go forward to run for the federal seat of Eden-Monarco.</p> <p>The former politician has labelled the rumour “complete bulls***”.</p> <p>The New South Wales seat will be vacated by Labor MP Mike Kelly for health reasons.</p> <p>The NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Transport Minister Andrew Constance were both looking to launch campaigns for the seat before both suddenly pulling out this week.</p> <p>On Wednesday afternoon, Channel 9 reported Liberal Party Vice President Teena McQueen had been “quietly” checking if Tony Abbott was willing to have a crack at the seat.</p> <p>Mr Abbott left politics after the last federal election when he lost his old seat of Warringah to independent candidate Zali Steggall.</p> <p>He told the former 2GB broadcaster Jason Morrison it was “badly informed mischief making”.</p> <p>His office <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://twitter.com/BenFordhamLive/with_replies" target="_blank">told radio host Ben Fordham</a> the rumour was “complete bulls***” and “utterly without foundation”.</p> <p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked during a Facebook live interview on Wednesday night if he thought Mr Abbott would be interested in returning to Parliament to which he responded: “I don’t believe he would.”</p>

Retirement Life

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What Barack Obama’s team did whenever they were "really annoyed” at Tony Abbott

<p>Barack Obama’s team watched Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech whenever they were “<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/obama-white-house-watched-julia-gillards-misogyny-speech-when-annoyed-at-tony-abbott/ar-BB13ofrJ?li=AAgfYrC">really annoyed</a>” with Tony Abbott, one of the former president’s senior advisers has shared.</p> <p>Former deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said his team had often been frustrated at Abbott’s “tone-deafness” on the climate issue.</p> <p>In an interview with news and politics comedy podcast <em><a href="https://arationalfear.substack.com/p/what-obama-thought-of-tony-abbott">A Rational Fear</a></em>, Rhodes said he and others at the White House had regularly watched the 2012 clip of Gillard declaring she would “not be lectured about sexism and misogyny” by Abbott.</p> <p>“I will tell you that whenever we were really annoyed with Tony Abbott, we would watch the video of that speech by Julia Gillard,” Rhodes said.</p> <p>“That speech got watched a lot in the Obama White House, let me just put it that way.”</p> <p>Rhodes said Obama had been able to work well with other centre-right leaders, including Germany’s Angela Merkel and Britain’s David Cameron, but Abbott was “far from his favourite leader to begin with”.</p> <p>“What was frustrating with Abbott, you know, is he was kind of very sure of himself without really knowing what he was talking about,” Rhodes said.</p> <p>Rhodes revealed Obama “went way off the script” to criticise the Abbott government for climate inaction at the 2014 G20 Brisbane summit after Australia reportedly resisted including the message encouraging countries to make pledges to the UN-backed Green Climate Fund.</p> <p>In his speech, Obama abandoned a prepared paragraph about climate change and “went way off the text, and was just basically blasting the Abbott government in ways that he almost never did on foreign soil and pointing out the Great Barrier Reef disappearing”, Rhodes said.</p> <p>“Abbott was upset,” Rhodes said.</p> <p>“You know, this was supposed to be this big stage for him hosting the G20.</p> <p>“But it’s like, well, look, if you want to host a G20, you’ve got to step up and be an international leader. And we’ve got everybody else kind of rallying around this effort to get to an ambitious climate agreement the next year in Paris, and Abbott was really one of the last holdouts dragging his feet.”</p> <p>Abbott <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-17/carbon-tax-repealed-by-senate/5604246?nw=0">repealed the carbon tax legislation</a> in the same year, a move <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/world/asia/environmentalists-decry-repeal-of-australias-carbon-tax.html">denounced by environmental groups</a>.</p>

News

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Tony Abbott hits back at Malcolm Turnbull’s Peta Credlin claims

<p>Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has hit back at Malcolm Turnbull over claims of a “bizarre relationship” with a senior staffer. Turnbull spoke about Abbott and his former chief of staff, Peta Credlin, to ABC’s 7:30 which is mentioned in his new memoir <em>A Bigger Picture</em>.</p> <p>“He worshipped and feared her and she, on the other hand, treated him with disdain,” Turnbull told the ABC’s 7.30.</p> <p>“It was as though she felt, ‘I’ve created you, you’re my creation’, and she felt she owned him.</p> <p>“It was a bizarre – a truly bizarre – relationship.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Coming up tonight, <a href="https://twitter.com/leighsales?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@leighsales</a> interviews former prime minister <a href="https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TurnbullMalcolm</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/abc730?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#abc730</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a> <a href="https://t.co/VkHJjbFtNX">pic.twitter.com/VkHJjbFtNX</a></p> — abc730 (@abc730) <a href="https://twitter.com/abc730/status/1252129925500264448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>On Tuesday morning, Abbott was quick to respond.</p> <p>“I am aware of some pretty odious comments that one of my successors made last night,” he told Seven’s Sunrise.</p> <p>“Anyone who’s watched Peta Credlin on TV would know what an extraordinarily capable person she is.</p> <p>“She was an important part of the Abbott Government, she was a fine thinker, a greater organiser and a trusted colleague.”</p> <p>In a chapter titled ‘Tony and Peta’, Turnbull’s memoir revisits the relationship between Abbott and the woman who briefly served as deputy chief of staff in his own office while the Liberal Party was in opposition.</p> <p>When Abbott overthrew Turnbull as leader in 2009, Turnbull switched camps.</p> <p>Turnbull said that despite Abbott’s “carefully cultivated image as the hairy-chested, bike-riding, firefighting alpha male, complete with a swagger that would put a sailor to shame”, he was a pussycat when it came to his chief of staff.</p> <p>“You were really dealing with Peta and Peta was running the country and that was obvious, and dominating Abbott,” he told 7.30.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">On the dynamic between <a href="https://twitter.com/HonTonyAbbott?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HonTonyAbbott</a> and Peta Credlin. “You were really dealing with Peta. I mean Peta was running the country, and that was obvious, and dominating Abbott.” - <a href="https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TurnbullMalcolm</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/abc730?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#abc730</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#auspol</a></p> — abc730 (@abc730) <a href="https://twitter.com/abc730/status/1252178719763918848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 20, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Turnbull’s ‘no holds barred’ memoir is a scathing analysis of his three-year tenure as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia and hypocrisy within the Liberal Party is a theme he returns to often. If Turnbull isn’t slamming his successor, Scott Morrison, for his “cringe-worthy ‘daggy dad’ persona”, he’s calling Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton a “narcissist who was self-delusional” for thinking he could ever be prime minister.</p> <p>The personal lives of Nationals MPs Barnaby Joyce and George Christensen are also discussed in this book, including Turnbull himself being “sickened by the hypocrisy” of Christensen, who is a devout Christian but regularly visited “seedy” nightclubs in Manila.</p> <p>Christensen has since defended the trips, saying he was visiting his Filipina fiancée.</p>

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Tony Abbott: Flight MH370 tragedy was “mass murder suicide by the pilot”

<div class="body_text "> <p>Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has revealed that the “highest levels” of the Malaysian government have believed from “very early on” that the MH370 tragedy was a murder-suicide plot.</p> <p>Abbott spoke in a new documentary that’s set to air this week and was Prime Minister when the plane disappeared over the South China Sea in 2014. He explained that it was made “crystal clear” to him within a week that the aircraft was deliberately downed by the pilot.</p> <p>“My understanding – my very clear understanding – from the very top levels of the Malaysian government is that from very, very early on here they thought it was a murder-suicide by the pilot,” Mr Abbott said in the first part of Sky News’ documentary<span> </span>MH370: The Untold Story<span> </span>hosted by Peter Stefanovic.</p> <p>“I’m not going to say who said what to whom. But let me reiterate – I want to be absolutely crystal clear – it was understood at the highest levels that this was almost certainly murder suicide by the pilot. A mass murder suicide by the pilot.”</p> <p>Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was carrying 239 people, including six Australians, when it disappeared about 40 minutes into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.</p> <p>The pilot in command was 53-year-old Zaharie Ahmad Shah, whose parting words are chilling.</p> <p>“Good night. Malaysian three-seven-zero,” were his last words to air traffic control before the plane dropped off the radar at 1:21am.</p> <p>Despite the Malaysian government’s report saying that there was no evidence that the “competent” Zaharie hijacked his own aircraft, Abbott is firm that officials never mentioned alternative theories, such as a catastrophic fire or terrorist hijacking to him.</p> <p>“I’ve read all these stories that the Malaysians allegedly didn’t want the murder-suicide theory pursued because they were embarrassed about one of their pilots doing this. I have no reason to accept that,” he told Sky News.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Former prime minister Tony Abbott has revealed the "highest levels" of the Malaysian Govt believed those on board MH370 were killed by a suicidal pilot.<a href="https://t.co/PsMHIdzCng">https://t.co/PsMHIdzCng</a></p> — Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) <a href="https://twitter.com/SkyNewsAust/status/1229884550014173185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>“If it is a fact that the furthest reaches were not explored because of assumptions of a pilot who was no longer at the controls, I would say let’s ditch that assumption,” he said.</p> <p>“Let’s assume that it was murder-suicide by the pilot, and if there is any part of that ocean that could have been reached on that basis that has not yet been explored, let’s get out and explore it.”</p> <p>The two-part documentary investigation on Foxtel reveals ground-breaking new details about the MH370 disappearance.</p> </div>

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5 minutes with author Frances Whiting

<p><span>In <em>5 minutes with author</em>, <em>Over60</em> asks book writers about their literary habits and preferences. Next in this series is Frances Whiting, a novelist, feature writer and columnist based in Brisbane. She published two collections of her columns – <em>Oh to Be a Marching Girl</em> in 2003 and <em>That's a Home Run, Tiger!</em> in 2006 – before releasing her debut novel <em>Walking on Trampolines </em>in 2009. Her second novel, <em>The Best Kind of Beautiful </em>is out now.</span></p> <p><em><span>Over60</span></em><span> talked with Whiting about Ernest Hemingway, the detective series she could not get enough of, and the role of panic in her writing.</span></p> <p><strong><em><span>Over60</span></em><span>: What is your best writing tip?</span></strong></p> <p><span>Frances Whiting: I love that quote from Ernest Hemingway: “There’s nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and open a vein.” It makes me laugh – and wince a little bit – because it’s true. The best writing tip I can give it just to put in the time. A large part of the process is committing to it. Just sitting down, taking a deep breath, and beginning…</span></p> <p><strong><span>What was the last book that made you laugh/cry?</span></strong></p> <p><span>I’ve just discovered Kate Saunders, who writes these lovely mystery series in the vein of Agatha Christie. The protagonist is a genteel lady detective Laetitia Rodd. She is such a delightful and witty character I look forward to reading more of her adventures. The book I read was <em>Laetitia Rodd and the Case of the Wandering Scholar</em>, and I enjoyed it immensely.</span></p> <p><strong><span>What does your writing routine look like?</span></strong></p> <p><span>Panic, most of the time, to be honest. I work full time, I have a teenager, a tweenager, a husband, a 95-year-old mother and a very large dog to take care of, so I squeeze it in between all that! Mostly very early in the morning when the house is quiet, I can get an hour or two in. </span></p> <p><strong><span>Do you deal with writer’s block? If so, how do you overcome it?</span></strong></p> <p><span>Walk. Walk. Walk. </span></p> <p><strong><span>What book do you think more people should read?</span></strong></p> <p><span>When it comes to books, I don’t think the word “should” belongs. Reading is so very personal, isn’t it? But if I wanted to recommend a book that beautifully illustrates the flow and rhythm of writing, I would gift someone any P. G. Wodehouse novel. </span></p> <p><strong><span>How have your other jobs, past and present, influenced your fiction writing?</span></strong></p> <p><span>All of them have in some way. From primary school teacher, waitress, go-go dancer (not really), nanny, event manager, journalist and lecturer, it’s all the stuff of life, isn’t it? Which is the stuff of books!</span></p> <p><strong><span>Which author, deceased or living, would you most like to have dinner with?</span></strong></p> <p><span>Mary Wesley, because books-wise she was a bit of a late bloomer, like me!</span></p> <p><strong><span>What cliché(s) do you wish novels would stop using?</span></strong></p> <p><span>I like to be surprised by books, and I really don’t like it when we can see what is coming a mile away. I hope my books are less obvious to the reader and that when the surprises come, they really are just that.</span></p>

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Tony Abbott calls for middle class women to have more children

<p>Tony Abbott has called for middle class women to have more children, claiming Australia’s “out-of-control” migrant intake has affected wage growth negatively.</p> <p>Speaking at <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/abbott-calls-for-middle-class-women-to-have-more-children-20200128-p53vkx.html">the launch of a new book by his former chief economist Andrew Stone</a> in Sydney on Tuesday, the former prime minister said the current rates of childbirth among working women were a “real problem” and that conservative governments should encourage this group to have more children.</p> <p>“That is a real problem in every western country: middle class women do not have enough kids. Women in the welfare system have lots of kids,” Abbott said.</p> <p>“If you’re very wealthy you can afford to have as many kids as you want.”</p> <p>In 2015, Abbott axed get his paid parental leave scheme after the policy failed to get through the Parliament.</p> <p>Abbott said at the Centre for Independent Studies that “time would come” for such policy to be established in Australia.</p> <p>Abbott also said the government should not support immigration at “any numbers”.</p> <p>“Having got illegal migration under control, legal migration is virtually out of control,” he said.</p> <p>The former Liberal Party leader claimed universities’ pursuit of foreign students and businesses’ use of overseas temporary workers led to congestion and reduced wages.</p> <p>“Almost every one of them is going to make a fine Australian, but that doesn’t mean that it is necessarily in our interests, as people who are already here, to constantly ratchet the numbers up and up and up just so we keep headline economic growth in positive terms,” Abbott said.</p>

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Dramatic new footage shows Tony Abbott saving homes from NSW bushfires

<p>Dramatic new footage has emerged of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott running into a burning house to save homes on the NSW south coast.</p> <p>Abbott, who volunteers with the Ingleside Rural Fire Service on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, was filmed joining his colleagues as they tried to stop the flames from reaching neighbouring properties.</p> <p>A post on Ingleside brigade’s Facebook page explained that Abbott and his fellow firefighters were coping with temperatures over 45C.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FInglesideRuralFireBrigade%2Fvideos%2F2478703472392044%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="315" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>“Tony used BA (breathing apparatus) on four occasions on Saturday including at two structure fires,” the post said.</p> <p>“Great to see Tony working hard as he always does when he volunteers with the RFS.”</p> <p>“Our Ingleside Strike Team Leader and his team, including our former Prime Minister Tony Abbott were first into the street.</p> <p>“A number of fire trucks were deployed into the street. Sheds and caravans were lost, but all houses were saved. Temperatures were 45C (113F) with 45km/h hot winds.</p> <p>“All up, northern beaches put in nine tankers to Bendalong and Manyana working with local RFS and (Fire and Rescue) strike teams,” the post said.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B20m78OgC9Z/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B20m78OgC9Z/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">With Matt and Dane on Davidson 7, plus the rest of the Fire and Rescue and RFS team on the Long Gully Fire.</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/hontonyabbott/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Tony Abbott</a> (@hontonyabbott) on Sep 24, 2019 at 10:12pm PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Abbott has been on the front line of the fires for several weeks now.</p> <p>The current Prime Minister Scott Morrison continues to face harsh criticism over his lack of response to the bushfires, as it was discovered that he took a holiday to Hawaii as the country burned last month.</p> <p><em><span>OverSixty, its parent company and its owners are donating a total of $200,000 to the Vinnie’s Bushfire Appeal. We have also pledged an additional $100,000 of product to help all those affected by the bushfire crisis. We would love you to support too! Head to <a href="https://donate.vinnies.org.au/appeals-nsw/vinnies-nsw-bushfire-appeal-nsw">the website</a> to donate.</span></em></p> </div> </div> </div>

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Outrage as Tony Abbott visits “friend” Cardinal George Pell in jail

<p>Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has caused outrage after he visited Cardinal George Pell in jail, where he is being held on child sex convictions.</p> <p>Abbott has not been shy about his praise for the 78-year-old Catholic senior and admitted to previously calling his long-time friend after Pell was found guilty.</p> <p><em><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/news/george-pell/former-prime-minister-tony-abbott-drops-by-to-see-convicted-paedophile-george-pell-in-melbourne-prison-c-585274" target="_blank">Seven News</a></em><span> </span>reported that the pair were reunited during a prison visit in Melbourne.</p> <p>“Look, I was simply visiting a friend,” he told a waiting reporter. “That’s all.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> <p dir="ltr">Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he was just visiting a friend (convicted child sex offender Cardinal George Pell) at the Melbourne Assessment Prison. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7NewsMelb?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7NewsMelb</a> <a href="https://t.co/UN8GHURD4F">pic.twitter.com/UN8GHURD4F</a></p> — Brendan Donohoe (@BrendanDonohoe7) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendanDonohoe7/status/1201393275585744896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">2 December 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Abbott declined to answer other questions as he got into a taxi.</p> <p>Pell was found guilty of five convictions for molesting two choirboys 22 years ago.</p> <p>He initially was sentences to six years behind bars but has had his bid to appeal the conviction granted by the High Court of Australia.</p> <p>Abbott has been a long-time supporter of Pell and reluctantly admitted in an interview with<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.2gb.com/tony-abbott-admits-he-phoned-friend-george-pell-on-the-same-day-guilty-verdict-revealed/" target="_blank">journalist Ben Fordham</a><span> </span>that he called Pell after he was found guilty.</p> <p>“It was a call I put into him, yes I spoke to him,” Mr Abbott admitted.</p> <p>Fordham asked if he would consider his support if Pell was found guilty, but Abbott said that they should see what the appeal court finds.</p> <p>“Well he’s been found guilty by a court of a horrible crime, an absolutely horrible crime,” he said.</p> <p>“Let’s see what the appeal court finds. It’s a shocking and devastating result.”</p> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.2gb.com/ray-hadley-slams-john-howard-and-tony-abbotts-gross-errors-of-judgement/" target="_blank">Ray Hadley</a><span> </span>also grilled Abbott over whether or not he provided a character reference for Pell.</p> <p>“I honestly don’t know whether I was asked to provide a reference or not. I have no recall of being asked to provide a reference,” Mr Abbott said.</p> <p>“When it comes to the phone call, look, I’m not a fair weather friend. This was someone who was obviously going through a very, very bad experience. Now I’m not saying that he’s the only one going through bad experiences, but he has been a friend of mine for a long time, and at a time like this you’ve got to feel for people,” Abbott explained.</p> <p>“You’ve got to feel for the victims, who’ve been dreadfully betrayed by an institution they should have been able to trust. You’ve got to feel for the people who are dismayed by this verdict against someone they’d put up on a pedestal.”</p>

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