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  • Essential Dolly: five key Parton songs

    Essential Dolly: five key Parton songs

    For more than six decades, Dolly Parton stood as one of the most iconic and prolific figures in country music, building a legacy that stretches across genres, generations, and art forms. Before her passing, the beloved entertainer amassed a catalog of nearly 3,000 original songs, ranging from infectious, crowd-ready sing-alongs and gut-wrenching introspective ballads to chart-topping pop anthems that conquered global audiences. To honor Parton’s unparalleled contributions to music, we take a deep dive into five of her most recognizable and culturally impactful tracks, unpacking the real-life inspirations behind their creation and the searing, timeless lyrics that have made them permanent fixtures of popular culture.

    First among these standouts is 1973’s *Jolene*, one of Parton’s biggest commercial hits and one of the most widely covered songs in modern music history. Sung in Parton’s signature crystal-clear soprano, the track is a raw, plaintive plea from a heartbroken woman begging the eponymous beautiful Jolene not to steal her partner, the only person she loves. Backed by a propulsive, driving guitar rhythm, Parton delivers the iconic opening verses: “He talks about you in his sleep / And there’s nothing I can do to keep / From crying when he calls your name, Jolene.”

    In a 2023 interview with *USA Today*, Parton revealed the track had a surprisingly relatable origin: it was inspired by a bank teller Parton suspected of flirting with her long-time husband, Carl Dean. “I was just a little jealous that she was prettier than me, so you always feel a little threatened when that happens. But it was not a big deal — it was just good for a song, let’s put it that way,” she explained. In the years since its release, *Jolene* has been reimagined by artists across every genre, from Beyoncé, who included a cover on her 2024 country album *Cowboy Carter*, to rock icon Jack White, who performed the track at a London show just hours after news of Parton’s death broke.

    Next is the globally beloved ballad *I Will Always Love You*, a track that folklore claims Parton wrote on the same exact night she penned *Jolene*. Parton later clarified that she could no longer confirm the exact timeline, admitting it “could have been a few days apart” but confirming the two tracks were written within a very narrow window of time. Regardless of the writing timeline, the heartfelt track was born as a farewell to Parton’s mentor and long-time collaborator Porter Wagoner, marking her transition to a standalone solo career after years of working together. The song became a worldwide cultural phenomenon when Whitney Houston recorded a cover of it for the 1992 romantic thriller *The Bodyguard*, turning the country ballad into one of the best-selling singles of all time. Its tender, universal lyrics still resonate with audiences today: “I hope life treats you kind / And I hope that you have all that you ever dreamed of / And I wish you joy and happiness / But above all of this, I wish you love / And I will always love you.”

    The third iconic track is 1980’s *9 to 5*, recorded as the title theme for the workplace satire film of the same name that starred Parton alongside Hollywood legends Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Parton earned an Academy Award nomination for the upbeat, razor-sharp track, which she wrote in a famously unconventional way while on the film’s set. In a 2020 interview with NBC’s *Today* show, Parton recalled: “I did it on my fingernails. It sounded like a typewriter.” She even kept that playful detail in the final recording, explaining: “I played my nails on the real record just for fun.” The track’s opening verses perfectly capture the exhaustion and grind of everyday working life: “Tumble out of bed and I stumble in the kitchen / Pour myself a cup of ambition / And yawn and stretch and try to come alive / Workin’ 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin’ / Barely gettin’ by, it’s all takin’ and no givin’.”

    *Coat of Many Colors*, the 1971 hit, draws directly from Parton’s own humble childhood growing up in deeply rural Tennessee. One of 12 children, Parton grew up in extreme poverty, and when she needed a new coat for the cold fall weather, her mother stitched one together from leftover fabric scraps. Bullied by other kids for her handmade patchwork coat, Parton turned that experience of pain and pride into a deeply personal song that remains one of her most beloved works. She later expanded the story into a best-selling children’s book of the same name, as well as a made-for-television movie. The song’s gentle, heartfelt lyrics highlight the love that went into the simple garment: “And I didn’t have a coat / And it was way down in the fall / Mama sewed the rags together / Sewin’ every piece with love / She made my coat of many colors / That I was so proud of.”

    Rounding out the list is 1968’s *The Bridge*, a track that showcases Parton’s unmatched talent for narrative storytelling long before she became a global household name. The song chronicles a doomed romantic relationship that leaves the main character pregnant and abandoned, tackling the deeply taboo mid-century topics of extramarital pregnancy and suicide with unflinching honesty. It ends on a devastating, abrupt note as the protagonist stands despondent on a bridge, contemplating taking her own life. Parton told podcaster Brene Brown that she drew inspiration for the track from overheard conversations about difficult circumstances she listened to as a child growing up in a small community. The song’s haunting final verses lay bare the protagonist’s despair: “Tonight, while standing on the bridge / My heart is beating wild / To think that you could leave me here / With our unborn child.”

  • Meta, US states agree $16.7 bn settlement in landmark teen safety case

    Meta, US states agree $16.7 bn settlement in landmark teen safety case

    In a groundbreaking resolution to one of the highest-stakes regulatory cases facing Big Tech in recent years, Meta Platforms has agreed to a $16.7 billion settlement and sweeping platform overhauls to resolve allegations brought by 29 U.S. states that the social media giant deliberately designed its platforms to harm young users, according to a federal court filing made public Wednesday.

    The multi-state lawsuit, which kicked off its second week of trial before the settlement was reached, accused Meta of intentionally building addictive algorithmic features for Facebook and Instagram to hook teen users, deliberately misleading the public about the documented mental health and safety risks of its products, and illegally harvesting personal data from children under the age of 13. The proposed deal brings an end to a years-long legal battle and sets a new precedent for industry-wide regulation of social media content targeted at minors.

    Legal analysts note that the regulatory changes mandated by the settlement go further than any voluntary safety commitments Meta has previously adopted, coming after years of sustained public outcry from parents, child development experts and public health officials over the well-documented harms of unregulated social media use for adolescents. Growing global scrutiny of social media’s impact on teens has already spurred widespread adoption of age verification rules and school cell phone bans across dozens of countries, with policymakers pointing to the U.S. case as a catalyst for stricter global regulation.

    The most transformative elements of the agreement are not the financial penalties, but the binding structural changes Meta will be required to implement to its core platforms within months. Under the terms, all teen accounts will automatically be locked out of Facebook and Instagram between midnight and 6 a.m. local time by default, and cumulative daily usage across Meta’s apps will be capped at two hours for users under 18 (time spent on direct messaging and long-form video is excluded from the limit). If other major social media platforms adopt equivalent safety rules, the restrictions will be tightened further: the overnight block will expand from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and the total daily usage cap will drop to one hour per app, with a two-hour overall maximum.

    For 10 years after the agreement takes effect, an independent auditor jointly selected by Meta and the state coalition, and funded entirely by the company, will oversee compliance with the new rules to ensure enforcement. The $16.7 billion settlement payment will be disbursed in 10 annual installments to the participating states, with California set to receive between $1.5 billion and $2.1 billion over the decade as the lead plaintiff in the case, and New York slated to receive up to $1.13 billion.

    California Attorney General Rob Bonta framed the outcome as a turning point for child online safety, saying in a statement following the filing: “Meta has agreed to make massive transformations that will reduce the risk of harm from its platforms — and will do it within months.” He added that the deal delivers “real change, real transparency, and real enforceable protections for children.”

    Crucially, the settlement does not require Meta to admit any liability or wrongdoing, a standard term in such regulatory agreements. The company has consistently denied all allegations brought by the states, and the deal still requires final approval from a federal judge to go into effect. It also does not resolve thousands of outstanding personal injury claims and separate litigation from U.S. school districts that are still pending against the company.

    During the first week of trial, witnesses testified that Meta internal documents showed company leaders knew its existing teen safety tools were ineffective, with some even being “designed to fail” to protect business metrics. On the second day of the trial, Instagram head Adam Mosseri admitted that he had publicly promoted new teen safety tools years ago without disclosing that early testing showed extremely low user adoption rates. Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had been scheduled to testify in the case before the settlement was reached.

    Meta had previously warned that an adverse courtroom ruling in the case could have exposed the company to more than $1 trillion in potential statutory penalties, making the 29-state litigation one of the most financially and reputationally high-stakes cases in the company’s history.

  • ‘Black smoke’ chokes Pakistan maternity ward as hospital fire kills 14 infants

    ‘Black smoke’ chokes Pakistan maternity ward as hospital fire kills 14 infants

    On a Wednesday dawn, a catastrophic blaze swept through the maternity ward of Pakistan’s leading public hospital, claiming the lives of 14 infants and leaving grieving families and a nation in shock. The fire broke out on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), located in the capital city of Islamabad, according to an official statement from the Islamabad district administration.

    Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed that all 14 fatalities were infants. Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry added that 19 people, including seven children, were pulled from the burning building by rescue teams. Authorities have traced the origin of the fire to a faulty air conditioning unit. Health Minister Mustafa Kamal told reporters that closed-circuit camera footage captured a spark from the unit igniting surrounding materials, with the blaze spreading across the entire ward in less than 60 seconds.

    A critical safety gap has already been exposed in the aftermath: despite firefighters deploying 26 fire extinguishers to combat the flames, the ward had no functional water sprinkler system installed, a shortcoming that hampered early containment efforts.

    Witness accounts paint a harrowing picture of chaos, panic and systemic failure during and after the blaze. Multiple witnesses, including grieving parents, described thick choking black smoke that filled hallways within minutes, shattered glass from forced exits, and dangerously slow response times from emergency services. Khurram Mehmood, a 40-year-old father, told AFP he lost his three-day-old daughter in the fire, saying rescuers took multiple hours to reach the affected ward. “My wife was in the ward. They took everyone out. We were sitting on the road waiting for help,” Mehmood said.

    Jaweria, another mother who lost her newborn child, told reporters the door to the neonatal intensive care unit where her baby was being treated was locked during the blaze. “I do not believe this. Give me my child back… Why did the doctors leave the children there?” she questioned through tears.

    Witness Abdul Ghafoor, who entered the hospital to help evacuate patients, said he was unable to reach the maternity ward due to the rapid spread of flames. “There were babies as young as one day old. There was thick black smoke inside and patients were trapped… Rescue teams arrived after almost two hours (after the fire started),” Ghafoor said. One anonymous witness added that hospital security personnel blocked exits and prevented people from evacuating, forcing many to break down doors to escape, while rescue teams had to smash windows to access the burning ward.

    Official accounts contradict these witness claims of delayed response. Islamabad Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf said the first emergency call was received just before 7:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT), and responders reached the scene “immediately” to bring the fire under control. Chaudhry also denied that response was slowed by the public holiday, saying rescue teams arrived at the hospital within six minutes of the call. “What happened is sad, but there was no negligence when it came to the rescue operations,” Chaudhry said, adding that an official inquiry would examine gaps in hospital facilities.

    Outside the hospital, AFP reporters documented scenes of overwhelming grief and frantic anxiety as grieving families waited for news of their loved ones. One nurse was seen calling out the names of infants who had died in the blaze, while evacuated patients streamed out of the building with soot covering their faces. Shagufta Parveen, a mother who escaped with her 10-day-old baby, said: “People were screaming. There was black smoke. We ran for our lives. Thank God my baby is safe.”

    Following Islamic tradition that requires burials within 24 hours of death, the first funerals for the deceased infants began Wednesday afternoon. AFP journalists witnessed a tiny shrouded body carried through the streets of nearby Rawalpindi, followed by a quiet procession of mourning family members ahead of the funeral prayer.

    In response to the tragedy, Prime Minister Sharif has ordered a full independent investigation and promised the “strictest possible action” against any person found responsible for safety failures. A statement from his office confirmed that he has already sacked federal Health Secretary Aslam Ghori, the nation’s top civil servant for the health department. Chaudhry confirmed that all 14 bodies have been released to their families for burial.

    The United Nations children’s agency UNICEF issued a statement saying it was “deeply saddened” by the preventable deaths, and called for an “urgent review and strengthening of fire prevention and safety standards across health facilities” nationwide.

    This tragedy is not an isolated incident in Pakistan: deadly fires in large public and commercial buildings are a recurring crisis, widely attributed to lax safety regulations, outdated building codes and poor enforcement of existing rules. In January of this year, a fire at a Karachi shopping center killed more than 65 people. Another 2023 shopping mall fire in Karachi killed 11 people, and a 2012 garment factory blaze in the same city killed more than 250 workers.

  • Rental vacancy rates ease but expert warns housing supply crisis to worsen

    Rental vacancy rates ease but expert warns housing supply crisis to worsen

    Australia’s national rental market has hit a key milestone not seen in two and a half years, but the modest uptick in available properties is unlikely to bring the meaningful relief that millions of Australian renters have been waiting for, according to new data from the REA Group. In July, the national rental vacancy rate rose 0.2 percentage points to reach 1.5%, the highest reading recorded since February 2022. While this marks a modest easing of the extreme tightness that has defined Australia’s rental market for years, the rate still sits far below the 2.5% to 3% range that economists and housing analysts identify as a balanced market where renters have meaningful choice and pricing pressure stabilizes.

    Anne Flaherty, senior economist at REA Group, told NewsWire that two key shifts have driven the recent small increase in available rental properties: a surge in first-home buyer activity that drew many long-term renters out of the market to purchase their first properties, and a boom in property investment activity that brought more new stock into the rental pool. Flaherty explained that elevated first-home buyer purchasing at the end of 2023 pulled thousands of households out of the rental market, while 12-month data for new property investor loans shows activity is currently at the highest level since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began tracking this metric in 2019, driven largely by a wave of new investor purchases at the start of 2024.

    Breaking down the data by capital city, Canberra recorded the nation’s highest vacancy rate in July at 1.67%, and also notched the largest monthly growth in available rental stock. Melbourne and Sydney followed Canberra in overall vacancy rates, while Darwin and Hobart remain the two tightest rental markets across the country’s capitals, with very few available properties for prospective renters to choose from.

    Despite this short-term improvement, Flaherty warned that the market could tighten again in coming months, following changes to Australia’s property tax rules included in this year’s federal budget that are already dragging on investor demand. The budget scrapped the previous 50% capital gains tax discount for properties purchased after the changes, replacing it with an inflation-linked index model, and also eliminated negative gearing tax benefits for all new property purchases except for newly built homes. Existing properties and their owners remain grandfathered in under the old rules, but the changes have discouraged new investors from entering the market.

    Flaherty noted that the core challenge facing Australia’s entire housing market – for both buyers and renters – remains a persistent, nationwide shortage of total housing supply. “Right now, both homebuyers and renters are facing significant struggles, and the root cause of both problems is that we simply do not have enough housing stock to meet demand,” she said. “It is true that surging investor demand can push property prices up and price first-home buyers out of the market, but if investor demand falls sharply, that leaves fewer properties available for rent, worsening conditions for renters. It is an incredibly tricky balance to strike.”

    New building approval data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics offers a mixed picture of how supply will evolve in coming years. Overall building approvals jumped sharply in June, hitting their highest level since August 2021, driven by a 17.8% surge in approvals for private sector multi-unit apartment developments, which offset an 11% drop recorded in May. Approvals for standalone private houses also edged up 0.4% in June, marking six straight months where approval volumes have stayed above 10,000 homes nationally.

    The Australian government, under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor administration, launched the National Housing Accord (NHA) in response to the country’s housing affordability and supply crisis, bringing together federal, state and local governments to deliver a target of 1.2 million new homes over five years ending June 2029, or 240,000 new homes per year. While total approval volumes have risen since the middle of 2024, adjusted for population growth, the numbers still paint a far weaker picture. In the 2025-26 financial year, just nine new dwellings are approved per 1,000 Australian residents. That is substantially lower than the 12 approvals per 1,000 residents recorded in early 2015, and only a tiny improvement from the eight approvals per 1,000 residents recorded in June 2023.

    Flaherty added that headwinds facing developers are likely to keep supply growth constrained for the foreseeable future. “Developers are dealing with a long list of constraints including rising construction costs, higher interest rates that increase borrowing costs, and persistent labour shortages across the construction sector,” she said. “On top of that, developers typically prefer to break ground on new projects when home prices are rising, and the current environment of softening home prices adds another layer of concern for new development. That means housing supply is more likely to worsen than improve in the near term.”

    The next batch of monthly building approval data, covering July 2024, is scheduled for release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on September 1.

  • Prince Harry and family arrive back in Britain: UK media

    Prince Harry and family arrive back in Britain: UK media

    Six years after stepping away from senior royal roles and relocating across the Atlantic, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their two young children have touched down on British soil, multiple UK media outlets have confirmed. The unexpected return, first teased to the public last week when news of their planned cross-Atlantic move broke, marks a major shift in the couple’s life after years based in California.

    According to reports from The Daily Telegraph and other leading British publications, the family arrived at Birmingham Airport on Wednesday aboard a private jet. Unlike previous short visits back to the UK since their 2018 departure, this trip is set to be an extended stay: the couple has enrolled their children Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, in an upcoming academic year at a local private school, and plans to reside in a property in the scenic Cotswolds region of central England.

    Notably, the pair has no plans to abandon their existing properties overseas: they will retain their homes in both California, their primary base for the past six years, and Portugal, multiple sources confirmed. This arrangement leaves the door open for continued transatlantic travel and ties to their life in North America.

    The couple’s departure from the UK six years ago followed a highly public rift with the House of Windsor, a rift that deepened dramatically after Harry’s 2023 bombshell memoir *Spare* and a revealing 2021 interview with US talk show icon Oprah Winfrey, where the pair levied widespread criticisms of the royal family, including claims of racism and neglect. While Harry has made brief, low-profile visits to the UK in recent months – including a meeting with his father King Charles III, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer – that encounter has been reported to have thawed relations between father and son. Harry remains estranged from his older brother William, the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, and William’s wife Catherine, the Princess of Wales, according to insiders.

    A string of key questions surrounding the return remain unresolved, most notably the future of the couple’s security arrangements. Harry has waged a years-long public and legal battle over government-funded police protection during his visits to the UK, after losing his automatic entitlement to publicly funded security when he stepped down from royal duties. In a 2023 court ruling, Harry lost his challenge to the decision that stripped him of the perk, and he has repeatedly stated he cannot feel safe bringing his family to the UK without formal, taxpayer-funded protection. It remains unclear whether any new arrangement has been reached ahead of the extended stay.

  • Nepal floods at China border kill 8, cause ‘major casualties’ in Tibet

    Nepal floods at China border kill 8, cause ‘major casualties’ in Tibet

    A catastrophic flash flood and subsequent mudslide event along the shared Nepal-China border has left at least eight people dead in Nepal and caused “major casualties” on the Chinese side of the boundary, authorities confirmed Wednesday. The disaster, which unfolded in the Himalayan border region, has destroyed infrastructure, swept away homes and vehicles, and disrupted critical services across both sides of the frontier.

    Eyewitness accounts and visual evidence captured the devastating scale of the flood. Images released by Nepal Police show muddy floodwaters surging through river valleys, with only the top floors of submerged homes visible above the silt. Social media videos shared by law enforcement and local residents document torrents of brown water crashing through mountain valleys in Nuwakot, the Nepali district that forms the border with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

    “I witnessed the flood sweep away eight or nine trucks, along with houses and people,” 34-year-old local teacher Suman Chalise told AFP from Nuwakot. “It was absolutely heart-wrenching. I had not witnessed such devastation before.”

    As of Wednesday evening, Nepali police had recovered eight bodies, with search and rescue operations still ongoing across the affected zone. “So far, eight bodies have been found. Rescue operations are underway,” Nepal police spokesman Abi Narayan Kafle told AFP. Early in the response, authorities had already issued evacuation orders for communities located along the region’s riverbanks, as officials initially worked to assess the full extent of the damage.

    The Nepal Army has deployed helicopters and specialized disaster response teams to the hard-hit area to support search and recovery efforts. Critical energy infrastructure has also been heavily impacted: the Nepal Electricity Authority announced that approximately 430 megawatts of power generation capacity from hydropower and solar facilities was damaged by the flood. Floodwaters damaged generation stations, transmission lines and distribution networks, cutting electricity service to large parts of the affected region.

    Preliminary geoscientific assessments point to a natural geological trigger for the disaster originating on Nepali territory. Sarthak Shrestha, a remote sensing and geo-information analyst at the Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), said initial surveys found no unusual activity on the Chinese side of the border. “We believe a rock-ice avalanche occurred in Nepal, blocking the Lhende river and causing the cascading flood event,” Shrestha explained.

    On the Chinese side of the border, the disaster triggered a major mudslide at Gyirong Port, a key trade hub connecting Tibet and Nepal. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported Wednesday that the mudslide originating on the Nepali side caused major casualties and multiple missing people at the port. AFP has not yet been able to independently verify the footage released by CCTV, which shows floodwaters carrying debris and tree branches across a submerged road.

    Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered full-scale rescue operations in the affected area of Tibet, according to Chinese state media. “The most urgent task is doing everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people… quickly treat injured people and minimise casualties to the greatest extent possible,” Xi stated, per CCTV. No official figures for deaths or injuries on the Chinese side have been released as of Wednesday. Local traffic authorities in Tibet’s Shigatse City have warned that roads in the area remain at high risk of additional mudslides and are unsafe for travel. This is not the first deadly disaster to strike the region: last July, 17 people went missing following a mudslide near Gyirong Port, according to official Chinese reports.

    The disaster comes amid annual monsoon season that spans from June to September across South Asia, a period that regularly brings deadly floods and landslides to the Himalayan region. Climate scientists have warned that human-caused climate change is increasing both the frequency and intensity of these extreme weather events across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.

    Authorities are already warning of a second imminent flood threat. A blocked river channel remains upstream along the border river, and Qianggong Zhang, head of climate and environmental risks at ICIMOD, told AFP that a secondary flood event could occur in the coming days as response efforts continue.

  • America unites in mourning for Dolly Parton

    America unites in mourning for Dolly Parton

    The United States has come together in a rare moment of cross-ideological unity to mourn the passing of Dolly Parton, the iconic country music singer and cultural treasure who died at the age of 80. For decades, Parton stood out as one of the only public figures beloved by people across the political, social and cultural spectrum, and tributes poured in this week from current and former presidents, A-list entertainers, and global business leaders alike.

    Political figures from both major U.S. political parties put aside divides to honor Parton’s legacy. Former President Donald Trump, who ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff for seven days in her memory, called her passing “a true loss for millions of people.” In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, “Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away. There has never been anyone like her, and never will.”

    His Democratic predecessor Joe Biden echoed that sentiment, describing Parton as “an American original” who built her career on treating every person she met with consistent kindness and respect. Republican former President George W. Bush highlighted Parton’s decades of philanthropic work, which included initiatives to boost literacy across the U.S., expand access to healthcare, and strengthen local communities. Democratic former President Bill Clinton simply called her “one of a kind,” while New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised her as “an irreplaceable champion of the working class,” adding, “We are a better country because of her.”

    Tributes from the global entertainment industry reflected the deep, cross-genre influence Parton built over her 60-plus year career. Miley Cyrus, who counted Parton as her godmother, shared her grief on social platform X, writing, “So many evil people in this world and we had to lose a pure heart like Dolly Parton. Devastating day for humanity.”

    Taylor Swift, the global pop superstar who launched her career in country music, said a world without Parton “doesn’t feel possible, real, or right,” adding in a statement to entertainment outlets *Variety* and *The Hollywood Reporter* that “Her legacy will be an everlasting one.” Beyoncé, who collaborated with Parton on her Grammy-winning 2024 album *Cowboy Carter*, called Parton “Bold and brilliant. Talented and tenacious. You taught so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself.”

    Rock musician Jack White, who recorded a popular cover of Parton’s iconic hit “Jolene,” called for Parton’s “instant sainthood” in an Instagram post. Country rapper Kid Rock, who worked with Parton on multiple projects, called her “quite simply the greatest of all time,” writing, “Thanks for the songs, the laughs, the humility and grace. Without a doubt a woman who God truly has his hands on.”

    Many artists who worked with Parton highlighted her warm, generous spirit as much as her artistic talent. Country star Carrie Underwood noted that Parton “was probably the one person on planet Earth that everyone loved and could agree on.” Young pop star Sabrina Carpenter, who collaborated with Parton in 2024, recalled their first meeting and described Parton as “an angel walking the earth,” writing on Instagram, “Your light will be something the world will search forever to find again.”

    Jane Fonda, who starred alongside Parton in the hit 1980 comedy *9 to 5*, said Parton would remain a permanent part of public life: “Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever.” Julia Roberts, Parton’s co-star in *Steel Magnolias*, called her “a magical and joyous human.” Country star Jason Aldean, who met Parton multiple times over his career, wrote on X, “She was truly a bright light that shined just a little brighter than anyone else in the room.”

    Even iconic artists outside of country and pop shared their grief. Former Beatle Paul McCartney recalled meeting Parton early in her career, writing on Instagram that “she was so bubbly and full of life it is difficult to take in the news that she has passed.” Rapper Eminem praised Parton for the personal note she sent him when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, writing on X, “She definitely didn’t have to take the time to do it. Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon. A superstar in every sense.”

    Leaders of the global business community also joined in paying tribute to Parton’s legacy. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said he and his wife Lauren Sanchez Bezos were “so grateful to have known her.” Apple CEO Tim Cook called Parton a “brilliant songwriter, cultural icon and dedicated philanthropist” whose music “helped light up the world.”

    As fans gathered at Parton’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star in Los Angeles to leave flowers and handwritten tributes, the cross-cultural outpouring of grief underscored the unique place Parton held in American life: a unifying figure whose talent, generosity and authenticity transcended the divides that often split the nation.

  • Robert Mantini pleads guilty to killing missing friend Adrian Romeo in accidental shooting

    Robert Mantini pleads guilty to killing missing friend Adrian Romeo in accidental shooting

    A bitter $400 dispute over unpaid speeding fines between two long-time close friends ended in a fatal accidental shooting, followed by an extensive attempt to cover up the crime, Victoria’s Supreme Court has been told this week.

    On Wednesday, 61-year-old Robert Mantini appeared for sentencing submissions after entering a guilty plea to a charge of homicide by firearm. His co-accused, 66-year-old Shane Dalton, also pleaded guilty to acting as an accessory after the fact, for aiding Mantini’s efforts to evade law enforcement in the months following the 2024 killing.

    The victim, 42-year-old Adrian Romeo, was described in court as a devoted family man caring for his aging parents when he disappeared in February 2024, shortly after leaving his parents’ home in his father’s gold Toyota Camry. Months after his disappearance, search teams located partially burned human remains near a creek bank on a Wildwood farm, on Melbourne’s outer northwestern fringe, which were later confirmed to belong to Romeo.

    Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsey outlined to the court that the friendship between Romeo and Mantini collapsed in October 2023, when a financial disagreement erupted over two speeding fines totaling roughly $400. According to Ramsey’s account, Romeo had hired a vehicle for Mantini, but Romeo told associates Mantini had refused to cover the cost of the speeding infringements issued to the car. The dispute simmered for months, until February 10, 2024, when Romeo drove to Mantini’s Greenvale residence armed with the fine documents and his phone to confront Mantini.

    Witnesses told the court that when Romeo arrived, Mantini told him to be silent, snatched the infringement paperwork, and left the room. He returned minutes later holding a loaded pump-action shotgun, screaming and calling Romeo a derogatory term. Romeo begged Mantini not to act recklessly, then complied when Mantini ordered him to leave. As Romeo turned his back toward the exit and walked away, the shotgun discharged accidentally, striking him in the back and killing him instantly, Ramsey said.

    In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Mantini recruited his son Luca Mantini – who has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing in connection with the case – to help clean blood from the property and drag Romeo’s body to the gold Toyota Camry. Mantini then contacted Dalton, who arrived quickly at the property and the pair drove in convoy to the Wildwood farm. Once there, Mantini cut up both the vehicle and Romeo’s body, burned the remains, and later sold the charred wreckage of the car as scrap metal. Only 0.47 percent of Romeo’s remains have been recovered and returned to his family, a detail that members of Romeo’s family heard confirmed publicly for the first time during Wednesday’s court proceedings.

    Ramsey argued that Mantini took deliberate, extraordinarily brutal steps to cover up his responsibility for the shooting. “The disposal of the vehicle and body was particularly callous,” she told the court.

    Dalton’s role in the cover-up included supplying a commercial-grade saw for Mantini to use, providing false information to law enforcement, and making two trips to the Wildwood farm to support Mantini. Prosecutors have not alleged that Dalton personally took part in destroying Romeo’s body or the vehicle.

    Romeo’s older brother told the court that within days of his brother’s disappearance, he suspected foul play and reported his concerns to police, who asked him to keep the investigation confidential. For six months leading up to the recovery of remains, he said he carried the secret burden of knowing harm had come to his brother, while his elderly parents continued to wait, worry, and hope that their son would return home safely.

    Defense barrister Michael McGrath, representing Mantini, acknowledged that the loss of Romeo has left a permanent, devastating impact on the victim’s family. McGrath noted that his client experienced a severely disadvantaged childhood, and lived for years under the weight of a potential murder charge before prosecutors accepted that the shooting was accidental. He urged Justice Kerri Judd not to allow Mantini’s actions after the shooting to overshadow the fact that the killing itself was accidental. “We don’t dispute the facts of what occurred after the incident, but we caution against the court placing excess weight or undue weight on post offence conduct,” McGrath said. “This is a case where Mr Mantini has clearly undertaken efforts to distance himself from this incident, accidental as it was.”

    Moya O’Brien, representing Dalton, told the court that her client’s actions stemmed from “misguided loyalty” to his friend, and that Dalton was struggling with active methamphetamine addiction at the time of the crime. “(He) thinks what happened to Adrian was disgusting. Mr Dalton is ashamed for his own conduct in this matter,” O’Brien said. She added that Dalton also faced a traumatic, deprived childhood, and had worked for years to escape poverty before succumbing to substance use disorder that led to his involvement in the crime. O’Brien urged the justice to consider the limited scope of Dalton’s role when determining his sentence.

    Justice Judd has announced she will deliver her sentencing decision at a future date.

  • ‘Serious warning’ for Aussie wildlife as suspected bird flu case detected in red fox in Adelaide

    ‘Serious warning’ for Aussie wildlife as suspected bird flu case detected in red fox in Adelaide

    Australia is facing a growing threat from the spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu across its wild animal populations, with a new suspected case in an urban red fox triggering urgent alerts from conservation experts over risks to vulnerable native species. The detection, discovered in Adelaide, marks the second suspected mammal infection recorded in South Australia, coming shortly after the state confirmed its first case of the virus in a seal. It is one of five new suspected cases reported across the state in the latest update, with four other samples collected from different bird species: an Australian raven in Robe, a little penguin in Southend, a Pacific gull on Kangaroo Island, and a crested tern at Coonalpyn. All collected samples are currently en route to Australia’s national animal health testing facility in Geelong for formal confirmation of the virus. While all suspected cases are closely monitored, the fox infection has sparked the most significant alarm among wildlife and conservation specialists, who warn that scavenging mammal species are now at direct risk of exposure.

    Rob Brewster, rewilding manager at the Invasive Species Council, emphasized that the detection in a fox serves as a critical wake-up call for Australia’s unique scavenger ecosystem. “Finding bird flu in a fox is a serious warning about what this virus could mean for Australia’s scavenging animals,” Brewster explained. He noted that native scavenger species including quolls and Tasmanian devils that feed on dead wild animals could soon face widespread exposure as bird flu-related bird deaths increase across the country. Unlike introduced predators, these native species already face significant population pressures, as mainland Australia retains only a small fraction of its original native scavenger populations. Brewster warned that invasive generalist predators like red foxes and feral cats are likely to emerge as “superspreaders” of the virus, as they move across large ranges, interact with multiple carcasses, and come into contact with native wildlife. He called on state and federal governments to step up control programs for these invasive species, noting that while it may not be possible to stop the virus from spreading through wild populations, targeted management can reduce additional pressures on vulnerable native wildlife.

    The latest warnings come as H5N1 bird flu continues its steady spread across the Australian continent, with infections recorded in both native and migratory bird populations. To date, national authorities have documented more than 300 separate infection events across the country, with South Australia accounting for the vast majority of confirmed cases at 195. In response to the growing crisis, the South Australian government announced this week that it is rolling out the first targeted vaccination program for at-risk native birds, with initial doses administered at Cleland Wildlife Park, located roughly 18 kilometers east of Adelaide. Under the program, around 100 captive native birds at the park – including magpie geese, Australian pelicans, and endangered red-tailed black cockatoos – will receive vaccinations against the virus. Clare Scriven, South Australia’s Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, said that protecting the state’s one-of-a-kind native wildlife is a top government priority, calling the vaccination program a critical step to shield vulnerable native bird species from the growing threat of H5 bird flu.

  • Pakistan hospital fire kills 14 infants

    Pakistan hospital fire kills 14 infants

    A devastating fire that broke out in the maternity wing of a major public hospital in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has claimed the lives of 14 infants, triggering official grief and a top-level investigation into the tragedy, national authorities confirmed Wednesday.

    The blaze ignited on the third floor of the Mother and Child Health Ward at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), one of the country’s leading public healthcare facilities, according to an official statement released by Islamabad’s district administrative office. All 14 victims confirmed dead were infants, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif confirmed publicly.

    Both Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued separate statements expressing profound mourning over the devastating loss of young lives. “Such a tragedy involving innocent children is an irreparable loss,” Sharif said. He added that authorities must launch a full review of all circumstances that led to the fire, pinpoint all parties responsible for any negligence, and take the strongest possible disciplinary or legal action against anyone found at fault.

    As of Wednesday afternoon, officials have not yet determined the exact origin or cause of the blaze. Islamabad Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf told reporters that emergency services received the first alert about the fire shortly before 7:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT). Rescue teams and law enforcement personnel deployed to the scene immediately, and managed to bring the fire under full control in a timely manner, Ashraf added.

    Reporters from Agence France-Presse on the ground outside PIMS Wednesday witnessed distraught family members, including one woman crying openly, while a man cleared shattered glass from two broken ward windows. Uniformed security personnel were posted at the entrances of the facility to control access as the investigation got underway.

    This latest fatal fire has drawn renewed attention to Pakistan’s persistent pattern of deadly blazes in large public and commercial buildings, a crisis widely linked to inadequate safety regulations, outdated building codes, and widespread lax enforcement of existing rules.

    Major deadly fires have struck repeatedly in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi over the past decade alone. Just this past January, a fire at a Karachi shopping center killed more than 65 people. In 2023, another blaze at a Karachi shopping mall killed 11 people. In 2021, 16 factory workers died in a Karachi industrial fire. The deadliest incident in recent memory dates back to 2012, when a massive fire engulfed a Baldia Town garment factory in western Karachi, killing at least 250 laborers. The building had no functional fire escapes to allow workers to flee.