False Flag: the Israeli nailbiter giving Game of Thrones a run for its money

A new spy thriller launched last night in the same slot as GoT – and with its winning mix of wobbly alibis and Israel’s most wanted, it’s a serious rival

Is it audacious or just stupid to go head to head with the biggest TV show in the world? New Israeli drama False Flag launched on the Fox channel in the UK at 9pm last night, just as most peak TV devotees were settling down with some blackberry wine to enjoy the latest Game of Thrones. But if you swiped left on Daenerys and Jon’s date on Dragonstone island, you might just have caught one of the most impressive spy thrillers in years.False Flag’s opening episode was an object lesson in how to whip up a spinning top of mystery, paranoia and conspiracy before letting it fly.

For a subtitled show concerned with an ongoing secret war between distrustful nation states, False Flag starts in a very domestic frame. The harried and slightly hangdog chemist Benny (Ishai Golan) is preparing for the school run over a chaotic family breakfast, somewhere in Israeli suburbia. The rolling news on TV suddenly becomes an unlikely mirror as Benny’s passport photo flashes on the screen, to his befuddlement, his pregnant wife’s concern and his young daughter’s delight.

This is the latest update to a sensational news story about the violent abduction of an Iranian defence minister from a Moscow hotel. According to Russian investigators, Benny and four other Israelis are now considered the prime suspects, glimpsed in blurry CCTV footage but really implicated by their passports being tracked in and out of Moscow. These names and photos are a global newsflash. Suddenly family man Benny, bride-to-be Natalie (Magi Azarzar), party girl Asia (Ania Bukstein), private English tutor Emma (Orna Salinger) and backpacking beach bum Sean (Angel Bonanni) – are the five most wanted people in the world…

Source: False Flag: the Israeli nailbiter giving Game of Thrones a run for its money | Television & radio | The Guardian

UK 6 high-speed theme park rides closed after people flung from similar ride in the US

High-speed pendulum rides have been closed in England and Wales after the death of a US teenager.

Six high-speed theme park rides have been shut across the UK after a death on a similar attraction in the US.

An 18-year-old man died and three others were critically injured after being flung from the ride at the Ohio State Fair on Wednesday.

The ride, known as the KMG Afterburner, swings at high speed from side-to-side while also spinning passengers.

The Health and Safety Executive ordered the re-inspection and temporary closure of similar rides in the UK.

Three of the rides closed are in theme parks, Pleasurewood Hills in Suffolk, Coney Beach in South Wales and Brean Theme Park in Somerset.

The other two rides are owned by Ryan Crow Amusements in the North East of England and by Joseph Manning in Hertfordshire.

Lightwater Valley in North Yorkshire has voluntarily closed its pendulum-style ride until the HSE has deemed the KMG Afterburner safe.

Source: UK theme park rides closed after Ohio death – BBC News

Lunch #BudaTest. Vandoorne tops times B4 McLaren breaks down; Leclerc second, Bottas third

skysports.tv/C5jIkN 

That's lunch at #BudaTest. Vandoorne tops times before McLaren breaks down; Leclerc second in Ferrari, Bottas third https://t.co/mzMUbOuV3r http://pic.twitter.com/ILnR4WoMDR

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 1, 2017

 

 

Domino’s pizza will release a new menu at the weekend. Leaked copy here

This weekend Domino’s will launch its new menu which including 20 new pizzas and side dishes, in a bid to revitalise its brand.

The fast-food giant’s new menu is slated for public launch this weekend but a leaked copy, obtained by Fairfax Media, shows seven new pizzas, most with an increased price tag.

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The new menu is an attempt by the company to reposition its brand, shrugging off its reputation as a maker of low-priced pizzas.

In a document sent to franchisees the company said the new menu would help emphasise quality and freshness over price.

The new menu is an attempt by the company to reposition its brand, shrugging off its reputation as a maker of low-priced pizzas.

In a document sent to franchisees the company said the new menu would help emphasise quality and freshness over price.

Under the revamp the “Chef’s Best” range, which typically includes pizzas that sell for $12.95, will be removed. Instead, there will be a new “Premium Range” selection included, which includes six new pizzas selling at a recommended price of $15.90 each.

Domino’s pizza prices differ depending on the store. The premium pizzas will however become amongst the most expensive pizzas on the menu.

Domino’s said in a statement the premium range would be larger and have “noticeably more toppings than the Chef’s Best range”.

“Our ongoing focus is to satisfy more customers, and ensure our franchises are profitable and sustainable,” the company said.

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Source: Domino’s pizzas to get smaller, more expensive in bid to shake-up its image

#F1 Testing leader on Day One: Charles Leclerc, goes fastest for Ferrari #BudaTest

#BudaTest

New #F1Testing leader on Day One: Charles Leclerc, who goes fastest for Ferrari

Latest: https://t.co/b3qcRtpmA2 #SkyF1 http://pic.twitter.com/YwUUwJqiyw

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 1, 2017

It happens here: Underage forced marriage in suburban Australia

For decades, Australian girls (and a small number of boys) have been married off to much-older partners against their will. The weddings are sometimes large and lavish, but rarely does anyone speak out.

Sarah doesn’t look happy in her wedding photos. In her sister Bee’s words, her make-up was “something else,” an attempt to make a girl look like a woman that came off as clownish.

“I sat there forcing a smile,” remembers Sarah. “Everyone wasn’t happy with me because you can’t look miserable.”

Sarah had only just started taking an interest in makeup – and boys, for that matter – like most girls her age. She was 14.

It was this interest that triggered her mother – a conservative Iraqi-Australian woman – to arrange her daughter’s forced marriage.

At 16, Sarah gave birth in a public hospital with her much-older husband at her side. No one raised concerns about their relationship.

Not long after that, when the relationship soured and police were involved, it was filed as a domestic violence case. Even then, no one took action over Sarah’s status as a child bride.

Not all cases of young Australians being forced to marry play out like Sarah. It many cases, girls have been taken to their parents’ country of birth to marry.

Source: It happens here: Underage forced marriage in suburban Australia | SBS News

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Venezuela opposition figures taken from homes

Leading Venezuelan opposition figures Leopoldo Lopez and Antonio Ledezma have been taken from their homes, according to tweets from their families.

“They just took Leopoldo from the house. We do not know where he is or where he is being taken. Maduro is responsible if something happens to him,” Lopez’s wife Lilian Tintori tweeted early Tuesday morning, referring to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has cracked down on opposition leaders as tensions are once again ratcheted in the Latin American nation.

Lopez, a descendent of South American liberator Simon Bólívar and Venezuela’s first president Cristóbal Mendoza, was released from military prison to house arrest in July.

He was taken from his home shortly after midnight, his wife said on social media. Tintori also posted video that she says shows her husband being taken away.

It’s not confirmed who took him or where he was taken, but the video posted by Tintori shows Lopez being driven away in a car marked “SEBIN,” an abbreviation for the Venezuelan intelligence service.

Source: Venezuela opposition figures taken from homes – CNN.com

Australia records hottest July, Bureau of Meteorology says

A BOM report released today shows the country’s average July temperature was at its highest in more than 100 years of weather recording.

A BOM report released today shows the country’s average July temperature was at its highest in more than 100 years of weather recording.

BOM forecaster David Crock said the warmest parts had been through Queensland, the Northern Territory, northern Western Australia and New South Wales.

Mackay, in central Queensland, had its hottest July day on record at 28.9C on July 19, beating the previous record set only the year before.

“The month has been dominated — at least in eastern Australia — by a ridge of high pressure which has seen very clear skies and a warm air mass sit over the country for days and weeks at a time,” he said.

MORE: Australia records hottest July, Bureau of Meteorology says – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Sydney Opera House found to have asbestos in wiring, 25 workers exposed

Workers involved in the $200 million Opera House renovations are exposed to asbestos, with the union saying the contractor took too long to communicate the discovery.

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) said 25 workers involved in the $200 million renovation had been exposed to the fibres while working in a service duct.

The union said it took too long for workers to be told about the discovery.

“Our ETU members have been exposed to deadly asbestos,” the ETU’s Justin Page said.

“The contractor Downer failed to notify our members for approximately five days that asbestos had been detected and confirmed at that site.

“Our members raised the issue of [the] possible presence of asbestos last Monday.”

Mr Page said it was disappointing plans for the renovations did not factor in possible asbestos sites.

Source: Sydney Opera House found to have asbestos in wiring, 25 workers exposed – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Firefighters rescue man + dog from vehicle in a flash flood in Colorado; Clip

Firefighters work to rescue man and his dog from submerged vehicle caught in a flash flood in Colorado. https://t.co/7rsfYdzEC9 http://pic.twitter.com/qUqiH1VVdJ

— ABC News (@ABC) August 1, 2017

 

Turkey coup trial: Almost 500 to appear in court

Almost 500 people will be tried in a specially built court following last year’s coup attempt.

The trial centres around the Akinci air base which, the government alleges, was the plotters’ headquarters.

Defendants will appear in a purpose-built courtroom outside the capital Ankara, facing charges from attempting to assassinate the president to murder.

Rebel soldiers tried to grab power in July 2016, leaving 249 civilians dead.

The trial is the largest yet relating to the coup.

Orders were allegedly sent out from Akinci air base, north-west of Ankara, to bomb parliament as troops attempted to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In the aftermath of their botched attempt, thousands of people have been arrested, many suspected of having links to Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in exile in the US.

Mr Gulen – the chief suspect in the case – is among those being tried, albeit in absentia. He denies the charges.

Source: Turkey coup trial: Almost 500 to appear in court – BBC News

1 in 10 female uni students say they have been sexually assaulted in the past two years

GST anger builds in WA but Scott Morrison says there’s nothing he can do about fresh blow

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out intervening to stop Western Australia’s GST share taking another $2 billion hit, saying his hands are tied over updated population estimates.

Following a meeting with his WA counterpart Ben Wyatt, Mr Morrison insisted there was nothing he could do about updated population estimates that could deplete the state’s already strained finances even further.

WA Treasury has estimated the latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics will cost it a further $1.9 billion over four years.

That is despite WA already receiving a much lower per capita GST share than any other jurisdiction, a situation that has sparked ongoing anger in the west.

With Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in WA for the week, the McGowan Government had urged the Commonwealth to guarantee the state’s GST share would not take another hit.

But Mr Morrison — who said he could not verify the $1.9 billion estimate — said he could not intervene.

Source: GST anger builds in WA but Scott Morrison says there’s nothing he can do about fresh blow – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Brisbane Catholic girls’ school rocked by sex abuse allegations

A Catholic girls’ school in Brisbane has received a formal complaint about the alleged sexual abuse of a student by a former staff member 40 years ago.

Mount St Michael’s College in Ashgrove principal, Sharon Volp, sent an email to current and former students on Monday confirming it had received a “formal complaint” about a former staff member between 1976-1978.

Ms Volp says she found “the abuse of children distressing and abhorrent” and the matter had been referred to police.

She reassured the school community the “most stringent protocols” were in place to protect students.

Ms Volp urged anyone with concerns or issues about similar “inappropriate behaviour” by someone who currently or previously worked at the school to contact her and police.

Operated by Mary Aikenhead Ministries, the school provides education for girls from grade seven to 12.

A spokesman for the school confirmed it had received the formal complaint.

Source: Brisbane Catholic girls’ school rocked by sex abuse allegations | SBS News

WA’s new police comm: Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission boss Chris Dawson

Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission boss Chris Dawson has been appointed as the new Police Commissioner for Western Australia.

The former WA Police deputy commissioner will replace Karl O’Callaghan, who has announced plans to retire after serving in the role for 13 years.

There were 10 candidates for the top job.

WA Premier Mark McGowan and Police Minster Michelle Roberts made the announcement, saying Mr Dawson had the “experience, the knowledge and the depth” for such an important role.

Mr Dawson will officially take on the role on August 16, two days after Commissioner O’Callaghan retires.

Source: WA’s new police commissioner named as Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission boss Chris Dawson – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Full transcript of the bombshell Diana tapes Ch 4 doco. Former private secretary backs it

A TOP aide of Princess Diana has backed the broadcast of intimate secrets from her speech coach sessions — as The Sun publishes the transcripts. Patrick Jephson entered the row engulfing Channel 4.…

Read the Princess’s own words on Prince Charles, Camilla, the Queen, Prince Philip, her parents and herself

The tapes were recorded between September 1992 and December 1993.

Diana was at Kensington Palace with speech coach Peter Settelen.

In them she claimed Prince Charles was given permission to have a mistress by his father and the Queen failed to offer her advice.

LINK FOR THE TRANSCRIPTS ETC: We publish the full transcript of the bombshell Diana tapes as her former private secretary backs Channel 4 documentary