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Aussie rowing champion rushed to hospital in coma

<p>Australian rowing athlete Georgia Nesbitt, 30, has been admitted to hospital after suffering serious injuries during a cycling event in Hobart.</p> <p>The 30-year-old was put in an induced coma but is said to be in a stable condition after the crash during a criterium race, Rowing Australia confirmed.</p> <p>The former World Championships silver medallist was recently appointed to a position on the Rowing Tasmania board.</p> <p>Rowing Australia Chief Executive Ian Robson said in a statement, “Georgia is one of the most respected athletes in Australian rowing. The entire rowing family and wider sports community is thinking of Georgia and her family in the wake of this serious accident.</p> <p>“Rowing Australia offers its ongoing support and assistance to Georgia’s family during this most testing of time. They are foremost in our thoughts.”</p> <p>The crash was reported to have occurred during a criterium road race at Tolosa Park on Friday night, March 10.</p> <p>The Nesbitt family have requested the media respect their privacy.</p> <p>According to Rowing Australia, Nesbitt represented the Australian team on 10 occasions, including a silver medal at the 2017 World Championships. She was part of the Hancock Prospecting Women’s National Training Centre in Penrith until December 2022 when she returned to her home state.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Getty</em></p>

Caring

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Furious parents respond to damning footage of child cruelty at preschool

<p dir="ltr">Two preschool teachers have been charged with child cruelty after a parent saw them allegedly abuse their students. </p> <p dir="ltr">Zeina Alostwani, 40, and Soriana Briceno, 19, have been fired from their jobs at Parker-Chase Preschool in Roswell, Georgia and charged with first-degree child cruelty. </p> <p dir="ltr">The classroom has a parent monitoring livestream which allegedly showed Alostwani and Briceno stepping on children’s hands, kneeing them and poking their foreheads. </p> <p dir="ltr">“That parent reported logging onto the camera system and seeing concerning physical contact between Alostwani and Briceno against several children in the classroom,” police said in a statement.</p> <p><iframe style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FRoswellGAPolice%2Fposts%2F393926096107257&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="632" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p dir="ltr">Footage shows the students between the ages of two and three sitting in a circle on a rug when one of the teachers allegedly steps on a child’s hand for several seconds before allegedly kneeing a second child in the back.</p> <p dir="ltr">Then one of the teachers is on all fours and gets extremely close to one of the kids and allegedly pokes them repeatedly in the forehead with her finger.</p> <p dir="ltr">It is alleged that the child who was poked in the forehead was the same one who was allegedly kneed in the back. </p> <p dir="ltr">Alostwani and Briceno were arrested and charged with first-degree child cruelty when the parent made a complaint. </p> <p dir="ltr">The preschool released a statement expressing their shock and disappointment of the “inappropriate disciplinary actions with children”. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The teachers in question were immediately removed from the classroom and have been dismissed. We reported this matter to our licensing agency and Children’s Protective Services and are co-operating fully with the authorities, who have informed us that criminal charges are being pursued,” the statement read.</p> <p dir="ltr">“While we are extremely grateful that the children are well, we take this matter seriously, and our investigation is ongoing. We expect our staff to adhere to the highest standards of care, and any failure to do so will not be tolerated.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Roswell Police</em></p>

Family & Pets

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Impact of Block auction loss on Ronnie and Georgia revealed

<p dir="ltr">A castmate from <em>The Block</em>’s Ronnie Caceres’ time on <em>Celebrity Apprentice</em> has shared a new insight into how he and his wife Georgia handled coming last on the DIY show.</p> <p dir="ltr">The Perth couple had been among the contestants tipped to win the 2021 season, but placed fifth and earned total winnings of $296,000 - a far cry from the $744,000 winning duo Mitch and Mark scored.</p> <p dir="ltr">Now, Ronnie’s <em>Celebrity Apprentice</em> castmate Darren McMullen has revealed that the palpable disappointment the couple displayed on The Block extended to the second show, which was filmed at the same time as The Block’s houses went to auction.</p> <p dir="ltr">The former Voice host told KIIS 101.1’s <em>Breakfast Show with Jase &amp; Lauren</em> that after Ronnie left filming to attend the auction, he came back a different person.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Something changed dramatically after <em>The Block</em>; I think everybody would say that,” he told the show on Wednesday morning. “We were initially segregated into guys’ and girls’ teams - and the boys were really tight; we were winning all the challenges, everything was great. Then Ronnie went down to do The Block auctions in Melbourne and it didn’t go very well; I think they came last.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He came back a different guy.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite winning the most room reveal challenges, the couple made the least amount on auction day and even trailed behind the two teams implicated in the season-long “cheating scandal”.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c47a8daa-7fff-1eca-37ce-dadc961a3e12"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: The Block</em></p>

Real Estate

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Georgia Love slammed for promoting Saudi Arabia

<p>Former Bachelorette and TV journalist Georgia Love has come under fire after promoting Saudi Arabia as an "incredible" travel destination. </p> <p>Georgia and her husband Lee Elliot, who found love on Network Ten's <em>The Bachelorette </em>in 2016, sparked controversy after sharing photos to Instagram of themselves promoting tourism in the hard-line Islamic nation. </p> <p>“After only opening to tourists in 2019, we can’t state how excited we are to be among the first Aussies to tour Saudi,” Love wrote on Instagram on Thursday.</p> <p>“To us, it is important to see, experience and learn about all cultures around us and to see how much and how fast our world is changing. We can’t wait to bring you along on this incredible experience with us.”</p> <p>Lee also shared a series of photos to his Instagram story thats showed the pair trying Arabic coffee and snacks in the town of Diriyah, posing in front of buildings and enjoying a meal in the Riyadh Front shopping area.</p> <p>After adding the hashtag "Visit Saudi" to their Instagram posts, the couple have been subject to heavy criticism, with commenters calling the trip "immoral".</p> <p>The autocratic regime of Saudi Arabia has long copped heavy criticism for their human rights abuses, including its treatment of women and its LGBT community, and for repressing political opposition.</p> <p>Just this week, the country's regime executed 81 people in a single day, as pointed out on Twitter by journalist Peter Ford. </p> <p>Ford added, “This is the country Georgia Love accepted a free trip to visit. Of the 81 you can be sure there is a disproportionate number of women, gays &amp; possibly journalists. Did you really need a freebie trip that badly Georgia?”</p> <p>Fans of the couple also turned on their travel destination choice, with one person saying, “Why not use your influence/platform to promote somewhere that doesn’t have an atrocious record of human rights violations.”</p> <p>In response to the backlash, Lee posted a series of Instagram stories saying they “truly hear and understand what you’re saying and where you’re coming from.”</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/03/georgia-love-insta.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p>He said, "We thought long and hard about coming and we decided to come as the world is changing for the better and Saudi along with it."</p> <p>“We strongly believe by Saudi opening up to the rest of the world and by tourists being here it has to be more accountable and hope this is a change for the better."</p> <p>"Trust me we looked into it before coming and believe many things have changed for the better in more recent times and hope they continue to do so.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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The Block’s Ronnie and Georgia’s house listed for rent

<p dir="ltr"><em>Block<span> </span></em>fans, you’re in luck - Ronnie and Georgia’s stunning Hampton house is<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.realestate.com.au/news/the-block-fan-favourites-ronnie-and-georgia-list-chic-renovated-hampton-pad-for-rent/" target="_blank">available to rent</a>, but you’ll have to hoard your pennies for the privilege: rent costs almost $10,000 a month!</p> <p dir="ltr">The four-bedroom home, located at 2 Bronte Court in Melbourne’s affluent beachside suburb of Hampton, is available to rent for $2300 a week, is fully furnished, and is available from December 6. The asking rent is more than double the suburb’s median rental price for a four-bedroom property, which is around $1100 per week.</p> <p dir="ltr">The listing comes just weeks after the house was sold to an investor for $3.696 million, netting Ronnie and Georgia $296,000 more than reserve.</p> <p dir="ltr">The West Australian couple won the most challenges and rooms on the show throughout the season.</p> <p dir="ltr">Features in the home include a completely revamped kitchen with three ovens, an integrated coffee machine, garden servery, induction cooktop and a butler’s pantry.</p> <p dir="ltr">In addition, there’s a basement cinema with a starry ceiling, a modern bathroom with a freestanding bath, and a terrace with a built-in barbecue. Other highlights include high ceilings, herringbone oak floors, hydronic heating, a pool, and a two-car garage.</p> <p dir="ltr">The home was a favourite of the Block judges’, and was the most viewed of all five properties.</p> <p dir="ltr">Belle property manager Stefan Joannides said the property received an unusual level of interest for a rental listing at that price point, with only private inspections held for serious prospective tenants.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Joannides said, “It’s an unusual amount of enquiry for a property at this level. We deal with high end properties all across Bayside and you don’t get eight people come to an inspection over the weekend.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But a few people that have come through are internationals and they have no idea what the show is. It just goes to show that the properties do speak for themselves.”</p> <p> </p>

Real Estate

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Ronnie and Georgia’s sly dig after shock Block result

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The cheating scandal that emerged during the latest season of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Block</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has resurfaced in the show’s final episode - and through a subtle dig from Ronnie and Georgia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The pair came last on auction day, despite winning the most room reveal challenges over the season. Their four-bedroom home sold for $3.96 million, with their $296,000 profit quickly being surpassed by the other teams.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Following the disappointing end to their time on the show, Ronnie and Georgia took to Instagram to take one last shot at their co-stars over the cheating scandal.</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/CV-LHMZBHL4/?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/CV-LHMZBHL4/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Ronnie And Georgia (@ronnieandgeorgia)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Our </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Block</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> journey might not have ended the way we planned but it was still such a fabulous financial outcome for our family,” they wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We hold our heads high knowing that we left nothing in the tank, did the best we could whilst playing an honest and fair game.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tanya and Vito - one of the teams at the centre of the scandal - made a $400,000 profit on top of their $3.4 million reserve, while Josh and Luke - who were also embroiled in the scandal - secured a $530,000 profit.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite their hefty paydays, the two teams butted heads during the finale episode after Josh and Luke confessed that Tanya took a photo of the production schedule and shared it with them.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Tanya went in there, took the photos, and then she ended up sending them to Luke,” Josh alleged.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Throughout the season, Tanya has insisted that she didn’t take the photo. When given another chance to change her story, she reiterated that she received the photo from an unknown tradie and produced a text message conversation with them. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7845392/block-finale1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/cd33cca01a4b4d47bd5e1183e20f5119" /></span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tanya and Vito ended the show in third place. Image: Channel 9</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Josh and Luke also claimed Tanya and Vito concocted the tradie story as the cheating scandal grew.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the pre-auction meeting with the rest of the teams, Tanya went from anger to tears and insisted she would have told the truth if she had known Josh and Luke were going to confess.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I look like a bigger idiot - I would have said the truth as well,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I would have liked to have been given the heads up or the same opportunity because now I am here in this position saying the jig is up.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a later to-camera interview, she finally confessed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I am sorry, I am truly sorry. Yes, I took the photograph.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The drama came as Mitch and Mark were crowned the winners of the season, with the pair walking away with a $644,444.44 profit from the auction and a $100,000 prize.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They soon took to Instagram to share their elation.</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/CV-O-N0vOGH/?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/CV-O-N0vOGH/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Mitch and Mark (@mitchandmark)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Never in our wildest dreams did we expect the opportunity, let alone winning, we feel like the luckiest boys in the world!!!!” the pair wrote.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Channel 9</span></em></p>

News

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Melissa Leong calls out Georgia Love: "I hope your remorse is real"

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Channel 7 reporter and former <em>Bachelorette</em> star Georgia Love has deleted her Twitter account after facing waves of criticism over offensive jokes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 33-year-old sparked widespread backlash for posting a video on Monday of a cat in the window of a Melbourne dumpling house, writing “Shop attendant or lunch?!”</span></p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height:0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843899/cat-restaurant.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/1cd99efe2540407090fecdb3997219eb" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: news.com.au</span></em></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">MasterChef</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> judge Melissa Leong has called out Love, saying she felt “betrayed” by Love’s offensive video.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leong, who is of Chinese-Singaporean descent, said she was particularly hurt as she knows Love personally.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Casual racism from nice people is possibly the most betraying and insidious kind,” the 39-year-old wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Leong said she hopes Love’s apology is “real”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Not angry, just completely bummed that this video exists and that it isn’t the first joke of this kind made by her,” Leong wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Georgia, I really hope that your remorse is real and that you grow in the right direction, because this stuff hurts more people, more than you think. We must be allies for each other for a better world for all.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Love has also been accused of sharing another racist post on Instagram in 2013.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The post showed an “animal hospital” next to a restaurant called “China Chef”, with a cartoon image of a dog beneath them, alongside the text: “That’s suspicious…”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The now-deleted image was captioned with “Best”.</span></p> <p><img style="width: 375px; height:500px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843898/bbb9c083cbc3d3afc0c30c5db3a6f6bd.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/216bebcce2c24c4a9c71e86bb39cf330" /></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: news.com.au</span></em></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Love has since deleted the most recent post but has not addressed the one from 2013.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I posted a video of a cat in a restaurant window. I meant for this to be a joke about an animal being in a restaurant at lunch service time,” she said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I meant absolutely no insinuation about the type of animal nor the type of restaurant, but I did see that my post did not come across like that and was offensive.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I sincerely apologise for the oversight and offence I have caused. Thank you to those who called me out. This is what we need to make sure we are all accountable and do better.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Again, I apologise from the bottom of my heart for the offence caused.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In light of Love’s more recent post on social media, Channel 7 has launched an investigation into her social media posts.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image: Getty Images</span></em></p>

News

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Ronnie and Georgia let loose on The Block: “Biggest cheating scandal in TV history”

<p dir="ltr">Fellow contestants on <em>The Block</em>, Ronnie and Georgia, have let loose on Josh and Luke.</p> <p dir="ltr">The twin brothers, who previously made a splash on <em>Love Island</em>, have become embroiled in the “biggest cheating scandal in TV history” after they were accused on Sunday’s episode.</p> <p dir="ltr">The controversial boys have made themselves a reputation of bending the rules on <em>The Block,</em> including leaving their tradies to paint while they went partying and even having Luke’s fiance to help style their master bedroom and wardrobe.</p> <p dir="ltr">The brothers scooped up the win for week three, and gained praise for their risky design which saw them build on the designated garage space.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7843548/the-block-1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/96889c31c5af43f1bdd4ca29c542b9c0" /></p> <p dir="ltr">George and Ronnie came fourth place, and were quick to call the boys out for allegedly cheating.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I guess it helps to cheat,” Ronnie said in a post-judging interview.</p> <p dir="ltr">The long-time couple delivered a master bedroom with lofted ceilings and impeccable finishes, earning Neill Whittaker to dub it the “best room in Block history”.</p> <p dir="ltr">However the couple lost points with their walk-in wardrobe as it was not quite completed.</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair struggled to hide their fury after being beaten by the rookie twin brothers, with Ronnie claiming the boys had a secret advantage that helped them win.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It’s amazing that you know exactly the full schedule of what rooms are coming up, they know when the challenge days are coming up … so I guess it helps to cheat. That’s great, beautiful,” Ronnie said sarcastically as Georgia begged, “Don’t go there.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The producer asked: “Do you think they’ve found out some way,” to which Ronnie responded: “They’ve known from day one.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“So you really think the boys have found out?,” the producer went on to press.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Mate, I don’t f**ing really think, I know for a fact,” the reality star shot back in a furious reply.</p> <p dir="ltr">The new episode is set to air on Monday night and it will be jam packed with drama.</p> <p dir="ltr">A wild confrontation between Mitch, Mark, Luke and Josh was also shown in the promo video.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You disgusting ignorant young piece of filth,” Mitch is seen yelling in the promo.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Rude, rich, snob,” Josh fired back.</p> <p> </p>

TV

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This is the most remote place on Earth

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the most remote places on Earth is covered in glaciers, mountains, and fjords. South Georgia sits 1,400 km away from its nearest neighbour, the Falkland Islands, and can only be accessed by sea.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The island is permanently covered in ice and spans less than 4,000 square kilometres.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though only 15 to 30 people live on the island at any given time, South Georgia was once a vital part of the brutal whatling industry and was the whaling capital of the South Atlantic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The island was first claimed for Great Britain by James Cook in 1775 and was noted for its abundant populations of seals.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">By the 1900s, South Georgia’s seals had been hunted to the brink of extinction and whaling became the new money-making industry: whaling.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">South Georgia’s first whaling station, Grytviken, in the island’s King Edward Cove has become the island’s main settlement, with a population mostly consisting of scientists and government officials.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, all that remains of the station are rusting towers, warehouses, power plants, and hulking blubber and bone cookers. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The shore is lined with ships and boats in varying stages of collapse and the ground is covered in shards of whale bone.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the old whaling ships still remains, with its harpoon gun that helped it bring in as many as 14 whales in a single trip.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Initially, the whalers were primarily concerned with harvesting the blubber from their catches, but later regulatory changes forced them to use the whole animal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The meat and bone-meal was sold as animal feed and fertiliser, but the real prize was whale oil.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The best oils went into food products like margarine and ice cream,” said Finlay Raffle, a curator at the site’s </span><a href="https://sgmuseum.gs/?title=South_Georgia_Museum"><span style="font-weight: 400;">museum</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. “The second grade went into soap and cosmetics, and the worst was used in industrial processes.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Demand for the substance skyrocketed during World War One and Two, as it was a source of glycerol used in the manufacture of explosives and lubricants for rifles.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the peak of its production, 450 men would work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week at Grytviken, where temperatures can drop below -10C.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Despite its history of bloodshed and its impact on whale populations, South Georgia has become an unlikely model of conservation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area, one of the world’s biggest marine reserves, now protects more than one million square kilometres of the surrounding waters.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Seal populations have since recovered significantly: the island is home to 98 percent of the world’s Antarctic fur seals and about 50 percent of its elephant seals.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The island also hosts 30 million breeding pairs of seabirds and four species of penguin.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Images: South Georgia Island / Instagram</span></em></p>

International Travel

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This airport was named the busiest airport in the world for the 21st year in a row

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Definitely avoid this airport if you’re not a fan of crowds, as a US airport has topped the list of busiest airports in the world.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It beat out hubs such as Dubai, Beijing and even more recognisable US airports such as LAX or New York’s JFK.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The airport has won the award for 21 years in a row, as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport had close to 107 million passengers passing through back in 2018.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The annual world traffic report done by Airports Council International, which includes airport traffic trends as well as in-depth analysis of the world’s biggest aviation markets show that traffic across the world has increased to 8.8 billion.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a 6.4 per cent increase from last year. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The reason for the airport’s popularity is because of its position in the US, as it’s within a two-hour flight for 80 per cent of the United States population.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beijing Airport was in second spot, as it had 101 million passengers going in and out of the airport, whereas Dubai was third, which handled 89 million.</span></p> <p><strong>Here are the top five world’s busiest airports for 2018</strong></p> <ol> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia, US) — 107.4 million passengers</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Beijing Capital International Airport (China) — 101 million</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates) — 89.1 million</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Los Angeles International Airport (California, US) — 87.5 million</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (Japan) — 86.9 million</span></li> </ol>

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Cher’s sad announcement

<p>Cher has been forced to drop out of her upcoming Lifetime movie due to a “serious family issue”. A source told <a href="http://www.etonline.com/news/213720_exclusive_cher_worried_about_her_90_year_old_mother_georgia_holt_fragile_state_source_says/" target="_blank"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Entertainment Tonight</span></strong></em></a> the 70-year-old singer and actress, who is reportedly in good health, holds grave fears for her mother, 90-year-old Georgia Holt.</p> <p>“This has been a project so near and dear to my heart and I was truly looking forward to helping tell this story [about the 2016 water crisis in Flint, Michigan],” Cher said. “Unfortunately, I will be unable to leave Los Angeles during the scheduled filming as I am dealing with a serious family issue that prevents me from going on location for the April filming.”</p> <p>According to the source, Cher wishes to remain close to her mother during this period of unstable health. “Cher’s worried about her mother’s health. She’s in her 90s now and [Cher] does not want to be far from her,” they revealed. “Her mother is not deathly ill, but is somewhat fragile.”</p> <p>We wish Cher and her mother all the best.</p>

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Zoo animals on the loose in Georgia after terrible flooding

<p>In the wake of severe flooding that has left at least 12 people dead, zoo animals are running loose in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. Hours of torrential rain caused the River Vere to burst its banks, causing substantial damage to the city’s infrastructure.</p> <p>Several main roads have been wiped out, while some small houses and cars were swept away by the strong torrents of water. In one city cemetery, coffins were washed out of the ground.</p> <p>Georgia’s Prime Minister, Irakli Garibashvii, warned residents to remain indoors while the zoo animals were still on the loose. Lions, tigers, and even a hippopotamus were among the escaped animals. Police and soldiers were hunting down the animals, managing to capture some, while others had to be shot.</p> <p>A spokeswoman for the Tbilisi Zoo, Mzia Sharashidze, reported that three bodies had been found on zoo premises, two of them zoo employees. A large part of the zoo is “simply non-existent,” Ms Sharashidze said. “It was turned into a hellish whirlpool.”</p> <p>The death toll for the zoo’s animals has been devastating. Zoo director Zurab Gurielidze stated that, “all our lions and tigers are dead. We also failed to save our monkeys. They all drowned, unable to escape their cages.” Only three of the zoo’s 17 penguins were saved, while a hippo was able to be returned to its enclosure after swimming in the flooded Heroes’ Square in downtown Tbilisi.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2015/06/james-harrison-blood-donation/">Meet the man who has saved the lives of over 2 million babies</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2015/06/abs-results-aussies-veggies/">A survey found that Aussies aren't eating enough veggies</a></em></strong></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><em><a href="/news/news/2015/06/woman-adopts-cousin-as-daughter/">This 92-year-old woman adopted her 76-year-old cousin</a></em></strong></span></p>

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