Executive jailed over $1m ‘Coke slush fund’

A SENIOR Coca-Cola Amatil executive who received more than $1.5 million in bribes and corrupt commissions used a corporate card to pay for prostitutes and first class overseas trips in one of Australia’s biggest corporate scandals.The Daily Telegraph can also reveal Bryan Pereira, 63, — who was sentenced to a maximum six years’ jail today — also used the “coke slush fund” to pay for all-expenses trips to Singapore, Thailand and to a prestigious golf tournament at St Andrews Links in Scotland.Court documents tendered in Thursday’s sentencing also outline how Pereira allegedly conspired with two senior Orix Australia executives to receive kickbacks when he was beverage giant’s fleet manager in return for facilitating lucrative leasing contracts worth millions of dollars.Pereira also received a Mercedes-Benz worth $180,000 and used a corporate card to pay for prostitutes on about half a dozen occasions in Australia and Thailand, The Telegraph understands…

Source: Executive jailed over $1m ‘Coke slush fund’

Trump’s firm sought Moscow real estate deal during presidential run: Washington Post

Trump’s company was pursuing a Moscow real estate deal while he was running for U.S. president in late 2015 and early 2016, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

The Post report cited people familiar with the proposal and records viewed by Trump Organization lawyers.

The newspaper said investors and Trump’s company had signed a letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow but the project, lacking land and permits, was abandoned at the end of January 2016, just before the U.S. presidential primaries began, according to several people familiar with the proposal.

The White House initially referred Reuters’ queries to White House special counsel Ty Cobb and later to the Trump Organization. Neither responded immediately to a request for comment.

The Washington Post report comes amid investigations by an independent special counsel and congressional committees into whether Trump campaign aides colluded with Moscow to influence the 2016 U.S. election. Trump and the Russian government have denied any collusion.

In July 2016, Trump denied business connections with Russia and said on Twitter: “for the record, I have ZERO investments in Russia.” He told a news conference the next day: “I have nothing to do with Russia.”

Discussions about the Moscow project began in earnest in September 2015…

Source: Trump’s firm sought Moscow real estate deal during presidential run: Washington Post

Exclusion zone set up after explosion

An exclusion zone has been set up at a property in far north Queensland following an explosion that injured a 43-year-old man.

Police were called to the Templeton St address at Gordonvale on Sunday afternoon.

A 50-metre exclusion zone was set up around the street as specialist officers searched the area for explosives.

It remains in place on Monday as investigations into the cause of the blast continue.

The 43-year-old man was taken to Cairns Base Hospital with an injured hand.

Source: Exclusion zone set up after explosion | Perth Now

Yemen faces ‘worst cholera outbreak in the world’ with over 200,000 cases

The cholera outbreak in war-torn Yemen is spreading rapidly, UN agencies say as the number of suspected cases climbed above 200,000.

“We are now facing the worst cholera outbreak in the world,” UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief Anthony Lake and World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Margaret Chan said in a joint statement.

Every day there are 5000 new cases, and the disease has reached nearly every governorate of the impoverished Arab country, they said.

More than 1300 people have already died from cholera, a quarter of them children.

“This deadly cholera outbreak is the direct consequence of two years of heavy conflict,” the UN agency chiefs said, pointing to destroyed health, water and sanitation systems.

In addition, malnutrition has made children vulnerable to infections.

In the Yemeni war, pro-government forces and their Saudi-led allies are fighting against the Houthi rebels, who are backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional rival Iran.

Source: Yemen faces ‘worst cholera outbreak in the world’ with over 200,000 cases | SBS News

Australian Defence Force bombs ISIS targets as part of Operation Okra

THE Australian Defence Force has released extraordinary footage of Australian bombing raids on IS targets in the fight against terror.

The ADF has been conducting air combat operations in the Middle East as part of a broader coalition in the fight against the so-called Islamic State as part of Operation OKRA.

Australian F/A-18A Hornet multi-role fighters have been employed as part of the Air Task Group in the continuing fight to curb the territory controlled by the terrorist group.

The aircraft are capable of air to air and air to ground missions.

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According to the vision tweeted by the ADF, the aircraft are “striking targets to disrupt and degrade Daesh” (the Arabic language acronym for Islamic State).

Dramatic footage is then shown of missiles hitting a ground target and causing extensive damage.

That footage is of a strike on a former agricultural facility, being used as a bomb-making factory by Daesh in the north of Iraq.

The video shows a simultaneous weapons strike by the Hornets and the destruction of the facility.

Secondary explosions provide proof the site was a weapons facility.

The aircraft are then shown being refuelled midair by a KC-30a multi-role tanker.

Operation OKRA is the ADF’s contribution to the international fight against IS.

The vision was shared on the official account for HQ Joint Task Force 633, which exercises command and control over the ADF in the Middle East region.

RELATED: Aussie troops move closer to the front line

Source: Australian Defence Force ISIS Daesh Iraq Syria Operation Okra | Perth Now

Paraguay congress set on fire amid presidential controversy

Demonstrators in Paraguay have set fire to the country’s Congress amid violent protests against a bill that would let the president seek re-election.

Protesters stormed the legislature, breaking windows and fences.

The country’s 1992 constitution, introduced after 35 years of dictatorship, strictly limits the president to a single five-year term.

But sitting President Horactio Cartes is attempting to remove the restriction and run for re-election.

Protesters were photographed setting fire to barricades in the streets of Asuncion, near the congress building, on Friday night.

The AFP news agency said the protesters had managed to break into the building and “ransacked” the offices of those who backed the bill, setting several fires.

Source: Paraguay congress set on fire amid presidential controversy – BBC News

Sydney: At least 10 DAYS of rain to drench NSW-worst is still to come

Actress Pia Miller poses in police uniform as she gets into character on Home and Away set

Pia Miller made the most of her summer, spending several lazy days on the beach with loved ones.

But on Tuesday, It was back to a different beach – the fictional Summer Bay, and she was seen posting for a selfie on the Home and Away set in Sydney.

‘Me and mi mate’ she captioned the image, in which she is clutching a coffee cup.

more: Pia Miller posts a selfie from the Home and Away set | Daily Mail Online