Police divers searching a canal in Halls Head where a man died early this morning

Police divers searching a canal in Halls Head near where a man died early this morning. Homicide squad investigating @channeltennews http://pic.twitter.com/E1x8p9Dlzv

— Beau Pearson (@BeauPearson) July 8, 2017

Saudi Arabia’s attempt to silence Al Jazeera is outrageous. China told UK to shut the BBC?

It is as if China ordered Britain to shut down the BBC

IRONY is not dead in the Middle East. In April Saudi Arabia, a land where women may not drive, or leave the country without the written permission of a male “guardian”, or appear in public without an all-enveloping cloak, was elected to the UN’s committee on women’s rights. Now that same monarchy, where the government censors everything from political dissent to risqué Rubens paintings, and where a pro-democracy blogger named Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and ten years in jail, is trying to shut down the only big, feisty broadcaster in the Arab world, Al Jazeera. This is an extraordinary, extraterritorial assault on free speech. It is as if China had ordered Britain to abolish the BBC.

Al Jazeera is based in Qatar, a tiny, wealthy Gulf state that the Saudis, Emiratis, Bahrainis and Egyptians are subjecting to a heavy-handed blockade. Qatar’s sins, in Saudi eyes, are manifold. It is friendly with Iran (though so are Oman and Dubai, which are not subject to the same strictures). It harbours dozens of people the Saudis do not like, including some with close links to groups affiliated to al-Qaeda. And it owns Al Jazeera.

Last week news leaked that Saudi Arabia is demanding the closure of Al Jazeera as part of the price for lifting the blockade. The Qataris have only a few more days to comply or face unspecified further action.

You can see why the Saudis would like Al Jazeera to go dark. Unlike other Middle Eastern broadcasters, which in place of news tend to emit a wearisome stream of unexamined government announcements and fawning footage of princes and presidents embracing each other, Al Jazeera, which was set up in 1996, tries to tell viewers what is actually going on. During the Arab spring of 2011 it offered a platform to the region’s protesters, including the Muslim Brotherhood, which went on to form a short-lived government in Egypt, and to challenge incumbent regimes in other states as well. Arab autocrats found this both alarming and infuriating.

Source: Saudi Arabia’s attempt to silence Al Jazeera is outrageous

Blac Chyna in ambulance after a ‘drunk driver’ into the back of her Rolls Royce in LA – YouTube

Blac Chyna was involved in a car accident in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles County on Saturday morning.
The mother to Rob Kardashian’s daughter Dream was seen in the back of an ambulance after the incident.

Manchester: AUSSIE FAMILY CAUGHT UP IN ATTACK

Massive fire erupts at Sydney Olympic Park

A massive blaze is burning out-of-control at Sydney Olympic Park leaving the city shrouded in thick black smoke.

The fire started at around 3pm on Friday with more than a dozen fire crews rushing to the scene in Homebush in the city’s west.

The blaze is believed to have started in the agricultural society building, though it is unclear how it was sparked.

More to come.

Source: Massive fire erupts at Sydney Olympic Park | Daily Mail Online

Australian lesbian duet perform for Trump + Turnbull

Australian lesbian country music star Beccy Cole performed with her lesbian partner and ‘wife-to-be’ Libby O’Donovan in front of President Trump on Friday.

The singer, who was invited to perform at the 75th Anniversary Battle of the Coral Sea Commemorative Dinner in New York, claims she said ‘yes’ before she knew Trump would be in attendance.

Speaking to Lesbians On The Loose she said: ‘I didn’t know he [President Trump] was going to be there when I said yes to performing.’

President Donald Trump remains opposed to same-sex marriage and has said he would ‘strongly consider’ overturning the supreme court’s 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage across the United States.

Meanwhile, Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has yet to respond to the Say I Do Down Under campaign and their call to legalise gay marriage across Australia.

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‘When I was told he would be in attendance, I went straight to my time in 2007 when I said no to singing for President Bush. People say ‘you’re singing for the President’. But I’m not. Trump will be in attendance and he’s welcome to listen…but I’m singing for the servicemen,’ she said before the event.

Beccy also added: ‘In my mind, I’m not doing this as a political move at all. We [Libby and I] will be up there performing side by side and I kiss her after every song I sing with her.’

The pair also shared the stage with American country singer Kellie Pickler and Australian artist Amber Lawrence.

They posed with Kellie later in the evening after singing together, with Libby adding: ‘Post gig selfie…Trump and Turnbull were there, along with 7 surviving Veterans from that battle. Amazing night.’

Amber later took to Instagram to pose with former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, writing: ‘Met Mr Rudd at last night’s commemorative dinner. He stopped me to say hi and that he liked my song ‘100 year Handshake’… the current PM and POTUS left too quickly for a photo but it was amazing singing my song!’

Also in attendance was actor John Travolta, Australian swimmer Grant Hackett, Australian golfer Greg Norman, Australian-born American media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart.

Source: Australian lesbian duet perform for President Donald Trump | Daily Mail Online

Brass Monkey Hotel defends GI Jane Anzac Day eve event

THE Brass Monkey Hotel has once again come under fire after punters labelled their Anzac Day eve event ‘disgusting’ and ‘tasteless’.

The GI Jane event is ‘celebrating sisters that serve’, with the poster (above) mentioning prizes for those who dress up.

Comments on the event poster say the venue should be “disgusted”.

“Anzac eve is nothing to be celebrated Brass Monkey Hotel and should not be used in any form of party related marketing,” Matt Ward said on Facebook.

Monique O’Neill contacted PerthNow to voice her distaste at the “incredibly disrespectful” event.

“We don’t even clap at Anzac Day ceremonies and yet they’re having cheap drinks and DJs,” she said.

The outrage comes after the hotel was slammed on social media for their promotion of a frat party in late December.

Under the Protection of Word ‘Anzac’ Act 1920, ‘permission from the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs is generally required to use the word ‘Anzac’ in a commercial context’.

Source: Brass Monkey Hotel defends GI Jane Anzac Day eve event | Perth Now

Woman falls off California’s highest Foresthill Bridge

A woman has miraculously survived after plunging 60 feet off California’s tallest bridge as it is revealed youngsters are risking their lives there every day to take the perfect Instagram picture.

Police say the female, who has not been identified, was walking on the catwalk underneath the 730-foot-tall Foresthill Bridge near Sacramento on Tuesday when she fell.

She was airlifted to hospital for treatment and authorities say she was incredibly lucky not to have been killed.

But despite authorities warning of the grave dangers of accessing the walkway under the bridge for years, it appears to be falling on deaf ears.

Social media is littered with shocking photos of young thrill-seekers continuing to risk their lives by taking daring selfies of themselves dangling hundreds of feet off the ground.

Source: Woman falls off California’s highest Foresthill Bridge | Daily Mail Online

Moment when Guns N’ Roses’ Perth show could all have gone very wrong

THERE was a moment twelve songs into Guns N’ Roses’ Perth show where it could all have gone very wrong.

Towards the end of This I Love Axl Rose’s microphone cut out completely. His lips were moving, but the 35,000-strong crowd couldn’t hear a word.

“Are you f**king sh**ing me,” Rose said.

Would this spark one of those infamous tantrums? Would the 55-year-old singer storm off stage?

Source: Review: Guns N’ Roses at Perth’s Domain Stadium | Perth Now