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  • St Kilda star Nicky Winmar faces prospect of jail after violent attack on woman

    St Kilda star Nicky Winmar faces prospect of jail after violent attack on woman

    One of Australian Rules Football’s most celebrated former players, ex-St Kilda great Nicky Winmar, is awaiting sentencing after being convicted on three assault charges, with prosecutors warning the 60-year-old could spend time behind bars for the violent 2023 attack on a woman.

    Last month, a court found Winmar guilty of the assault that took place at a northern Victorian motel last May. He was cleared of a more severe charge of intentionally causing injury, but the details of the assault presented to court remain graphic. Prosecutors alleged the former athlete twisted the victim’s arm, dragged her across the room by her hair, and slammed her head against the motel door four separate times. Winmar has continuously maintained his innocence throughout the legal proceedings.

    During a recent sentencing hearing at Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, the victim shared the profound long-term trauma the attack has inflicted on her daily life. In an emotional victim impact statement delivered while Winmar sat hunched in the courtroom, tapping his foot on the floor, the woman described how the violence has fundamentally changed who she is. “I’m not the same person I once was due to the trauma I have experienced,” she told the court. “I find myself wondering what’s wrong with me? Why have I changed so much?”

    The victim detailed persistent psychological harm, including waking in the middle of the night with uncontrollable crying spells, regular panic attacks, and relentless intrusive thoughts of the attack. “The incident would play in my mind over and over and over again, it was relentless,” she said. “The nightmares and flashbacks … visions of being overpowered.”

    Lead prosecutor Annina Tropea has urged the court to impose an immediate custodial sentence, framing Winmar’s offenses as protracted, violent, and persistent. She emphasized that the harm inflicted on the victim has already been profound and will continue to impact her life long into the future.

    Winmar’s defense barrister, Dermot Dann KC, has pushed for a non-custodial sentence, acknowledging the gravity of the convictions while arguing that Winmar has made significant progress toward rehabilitation. Dann noted that while his client maintains his innocence, he recognizes the seriousness of the charges and accepts he has made serious mistakes in his life. “This is a man who’s had plenty of highlights but also plenty of low lights,” Dann told the court. “This proceeding is one of the real low lights.”

    The defense outlined multiple mitigating factors, including lasting damage from Winmar’s 13-year professional football career. Dann explained that years of repeated head impacts have left Winmar’s body and brain ravaged, with ongoing medical investigations underway to confirm a diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated concussions. “As a legacy of those concussions he suffers confusion, poor memory, poor concentration – his mental health picture has not been good,” Dann said.

    Dann added that Winmar had struggled with long-term alcohol addiction, and was in a deeply fragile state at the time of the attack. However, he told the court that Winmar has completed a year of sobriety, complied fully with all bail support program requirements, and is committed to continuing his recovery. He urged the magistrate to allow Winmar to pursue his rehabilitation outside of a prison cell.

    Magistrate Trieu Huynh has delayed the sentencing to August 28 to allow time for careful consideration of the case. He has ordered a pre-sentence assessment for a potential community corrections order, but explicitly warned that he has not yet ruled out combining a community order with a prison term, or imposing a full custodial sentence.

    Once one of the most respected figures in Australian football, Winmar’s legacy has already been dramatically reshaped following his conviction. The former player, who notched 251 AFL games across stints with St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs during a 13-season career, became an iconic symbol of anti-racism activism in 1993 when he lifted his jersey to point at his skin in a stand against racial abuse. A bronze statue honoring that moment was erected outside Perth’s Optus Stadium, but was removed shortly after his conviction. He has also been removed from the AFL Hall of Fame, stripping him of one of the sport’s highest honors.

    When approached by media outside court Thursday, Winmar gave only a brief response, saying “yeah good” when asked how he was coping ahead of the sentencing ruling.

  • ‘We can go toe-to-toe with anyone’: Cameron Ciraldo’s big Bulldogs claim

    ‘We can go toe-to-toe with anyone’: Cameron Ciraldo’s big Bulldogs claim

    The NRL’s Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are gearing up for one of their most critical matches of the 2024 season, with head coach Cameron Ciraldo boldly declaring his rebuilding side has reclaimed the top-four level form that makes them a threat to any contender in the competition. The blockbuster Friday night clash against the second-placed Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium will serve as the ultimate litmus test for that claim, pitting the in-form Bulldogs against one of the league’s most high-octane attacking units.

    Canterbury’s 2024 campaign has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. After a stunning upset victory over ladder-leading Penrith Panthers earlier in the season, the club hit a brutal rough patch, dropping five consecutive matches that many analysts predicted would end their finals hopes for the year. Instead of collapsing, however, the Bulldogs have rallied dramatically: they’ve claimed six wins from their past seven outings, climbing back into the top eight on the competition ladder and sitting eighth heading into this weekend’s round.

    With just three remaining regular-season matches after this weekend, a statement win over the Roosters would not only solidify their finals contention but also send a clear warning to the rest of the competition that the Bulldogs are legitimate contenders. Ciraldo says his squad has built unshakable confidence in their game style over their recent winning run, allowing them to compete head-to-head with any side in the league on any given day.

    “The top four sides have earned their places through consistent performance, and that’s the standard we’ve been hitting over the last 10 weeks,” Ciraldo explained in the lead-up to Friday’s game. “We made some missteps at the start of the season that put us behind the eight ball, but we’ve worked our way back into position. Now we have a five-week window to lock in our spot in the finals, and we’re taking it one game at a time.”

    Ciraldo credited the club’s successful turnaround to three key factors: the unwavering belief players and club leaders maintained through the five-game losing skid, the return of several key forward pack players from injury, and a massive resurgence in the Bulldogs’ famous defensive structure. The club boasted the NRL’s best defensive record over the entire 2023 season, and over their past seven matches, they’ve held opponents to 12 points or fewer on five occasions – a stat that signals they’ve returned to their defensive best.

    “Getting back to that elite defensive foundation has been huge for us, and we’ve still got a lot of young players learning their craft that are only going to get better week to week and year to year,” Ciraldo said. “That’s what makes this run so exciting for the future of our club.”

    That defensive resilience will face its toughest challenge yet this weekend against a Roosters side that put on a historic 82-point demolition of the North Queensland Cowboys just last week. Even with star fullback James Tedesco in doubt due to an ankle injury, Ciraldo made no mistake about how lethal the Roosters attacking unit remains, pointing to star winger Mark Nawaqanitawase’s iconic match-winning try against the Bulldogs last season – a play that earned Try of the Year honors and forced the Bulldogs to rewatch it repeatedly at the 2023 Dally M Awards.

    Far from shying away from the challenge, Ciraldo says his side is hungry to test themselves against one of the best teams in the competition. “The Roosters have proven all year that they’re one of the top sides in the league, with attacking threats across every position on the field,” he noted. “We’ve prepared all week to bring our absolute best defensively, and this is exactly the kind of test you play rugby league for. We’re not intimidated – we’re looking forward to stepping onto the field and proving what we can do.”

  • Back to the future as world champion Springboks host All Blacks

    Back to the future as world champion Springboks host All Blacks

    One of rugby union’s most storied rivalries is about to take the global stage this week, as reigning world champion South Africa (the Springboks) and New Zealand (the All Blacks) launch a groundbreaking four-test tour that revives a decades-old tradition of extended cross-national series, while also breaking new ground by hosting a final match in the United States.

    The tour kicks off Friday with a series of warm-up matches in Cape Town, where the All Blacks will face South Africa’s top domestic franchises the Stormers, Sharks, and Bulls before their first full test against the Springboks on August 22 in Johannesburg. After a warm-up against the Lions franchise, the two nations will clash in three consecutive tests across South Africa and the U.S. from August 29 to September 12: matches are scheduled for Cape Town, Johannesburg, and finally Baltimore, Maryland, 12,700 kilometers from the tour’s starting point.

    This historic series marks the first extended tour between the two global rugby powerhouses in 30 years. The pair between them hold seven of the 10 Rugby World Cup titles ever awarded, including the last four consecutive championships, won back-to-back first by the All Blacks and then the current title-holding Springboks. Entering the series, South Africa holds the number one world ranking, with New Zealand close behind at second. The 1995 tour, the last extended series between the two in South Africa, ended in a 2-1 series win for the All Blacks — their only series victory on South African soil in six attempts.

    Branded the “Greatest Rivalry”, the quadrennial tour will become a regular fixture on the global rugby calendar going forward, with New Zealand scheduled to host the next edition in 2030. The high-profile series has come at a cost for the annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, however: the 2025 edition of the annual six-nation round-robin tournament featuring Australia and Argentina alongside the two top-ranked sides has been canceled to accommodate the tour. South Africa has scheduled standalone test matches to fill the gap, facing Argentina this Saturday in Buenos Aires and Australia on September 27 in Perth.

    While the historic series has generated enormous excitement among global rugby fans, it has also sparked significant criticism on two key fronts: steep ticket pricing in South Africa and the controversial decision to host the fourth test in Baltimore.

    South Africa is currently grappling with a severe national cost-of-living crisis, and earlier this year, the Springboks struggled to fill stadiums for three July Nations Championship matches, leaving more than 25,000 total seats empty across games against England, Scotland, and Wales. For the England test in Johannesburg, ticket sales only spiked after organizers cut prices: the highest-tier original ticket price of 3,000 rand ($185) was eventually reduced to 1,800 rand ($110) for the Durban test against Wales. The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has since pledged to conduct a full review of ticketing pricing ahead of next season. Despite the controversy, demand for the first two Springboks-All Blacks tests in Johannesburg and Cape Town has outstripped supply, with both matches reportedly sold out.

    The decision to move the fourth test to Baltimore has also drawn pushback, including from South African media and former All Blacks players. Jeff Wilson, an All Blacks wing who toured South Africa with the 1995 team, told a New Zealand broadcaster that the series would have been “absolutely perfect” with three matches all hosted in South Africa, arguing the fourth test in the U.S. was unnecessary. SARU chief executive Rian Oberholzer defended the decision, framing it as a critical commercial and strategic long-term move for the organization. “To create financial stability we must take our brand beyond South Africa. America is a very important market leading up to 2031, when the World Cup will be staged there,” he explained.

    As of the opening of the tour, neither side has revealed full details of their test squads or game plans. Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus noted that the squad for the series would only be confirmed after South Africa’s standalone test against Argentina this weekend, saying “We have not done a lot of analysing when it comes to the All Blacks.” All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie, who took over the role in March, praised Erasmus’s work leading the Springboks, saying “We are well aware of the task ahead.”

    South Africa enters the series on a formidable hot streak, holding an 11-match consecutive test winning streak. The Springboks have also won five of the last six head-to-head matches against the All Blacks, including a dominant 43-10 win in Wellington earlier this year.

  • Albanese government tells ACCC to draft national e-bike guidelines

    Albanese government tells ACCC to draft national e-bike guidelines

    Australia’s federal Albanese government has launched a landmark initiative to regulate the fast-growing but controversial e-bike and personal e-rideable market, announcing a mandatory national safety standard to curb the rising tide of safety incidents linked to unregulated high-powered devices. For years, the sale and operation of e-bikes, electric scooters, and electric skateboards across Australia have fallen under a disjointed patchwork of state and territory rules, with populous states including New South Wales and Queensland launching independent local crackdowns in recent years to address growing public safety concerns. Under the new plan, the government has tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with drafting a single, consistent national regulation framework that will apply uniformly across all Australian jurisdictions, covering every battery-powered personal mobility device sold in the country. The new rules will set a clear, hard boundary against unregulated high-speed, high-powered models that have been tied to a growing number of severe injuries and fatal accidents, including incidents involving children. The planned framework aligns with the widely adopted international EN-15194 safety standard, which mandates that e-bike motors disengage automatically when the vehicle reaches 25 kilometers per hour, and caps maximum motor output at 250 watts. Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King emphasized that the new regulation marks a critical turning point in addressing the risks posed by unsafe, illegal e-rideables operating on Australian roads and in public communities. “This standard will give Australians the confidence that the products being sold are legal and fit for purpose and will help keep Australians safe,” King stated. Assistant Productivity Minister Andrew Leigh echoed the commitment to consumer protection, noting that e-bike purchasers deserve full confidence in the safety of the vehicles they buy. Leigh added that uniform national rules will create clearer, more predictable requirements for manufacturers, retailers, and everyday users across the country. Recognizing the growing role of e-bikes in sustainable urban transport, Leigh also acknowledged that e-bikes are “a great addition to our transport network” that helps cut road congestion in dense urban areas. To address the existing stock of non-compliant e-bikes already in circulation across the country, Leigh confirmed that the federal government is collaborating closely with state and territorial governments to develop a coordinated approach to managing this legacy issue. “We’re addressing both sides of the challenge,” he said. The federal announcement comes as NSW already moves to align its local rules with national norms: from August this year, the state will enforce a 250-watt cap on e-bike motors, matching limits already in place in many other jurisdictions. NSW has also taken separate steps to regulate shared e-bike services, introducing new laws targeting improper dumping of shared devices and mandating dedicated parking zones to reduce public space clutter. The coordinated federal effort comes after years of growing public frustration and safety concerns over unregulated e-rideables, as booming sales and the expansion of shared mobility services have put more high-powered devices on Australian footpaths and roads, leading to rising accident rates.

  • Istanbul cymbals: From Ottoman war tool to pulse of global music

    Istanbul cymbals: From Ottoman war tool to pulse of global music

    Beneath the vaulted ceilings of a sun-dappled Istanbul workshop, the steady, rhythmic clang of hammers striking red-hot bronze fills the air. Three skilled craftsmen stand side by side, their calloused hands striking uniform, precise blows that slowly transform unrefined metal discs into one of music’s most iconic percussion pieces: the handcrafted Istanbul cymbal. What began as a tool of war on the battlefields of the Ottoman Empire has evolved over four centuries into a cornerstone of global music, beloved by jazz drummers around the world for their one-of-a-kind, rich tones.

    The story of modern Istanbul cymbals begins in the early 17th century, when cymbals already held a firm place in Ottoman culture. Military mehter marching bands relied on the loud, resonant clash of early cymbals to intimidate enemy forces and rally Ottoman troops during the empire’s expansion across the Mediterranean and Near East. It was not until 1623, however, that an Armenian alchemist named Avedis Zildjian revolutionized the craft through a proprietary metal alloy and heat treatment process that solved the biggest flaw of early cymbals: brittleness.

    Ethnomusicologist Audrey Wozniak, a leading scholar of Turkish musical traditions, notes that Zildjian’s innovation was no small feat. “It’s really hard to make good cymbals because they’re consistently being crashed, so to make something that wasn’t brittle which could withstand continuous use is quite an achievement,” she explains. Impressed by the quality of Zildjian’s creation, the Ottoman sultan granted him permission to open his first workshop in Istanbul, launching a dynasty of cymbal making that survives to this day. The closely guarded secret of Zildjian’s process was passed down through generations of the family, and even after the original Zildjian operation relocated to the United States in the final years of the Ottoman Empire, local craftsmen who trained with Zildjian’s masters kept the ancient tradition alive in Istanbul.

    Today, Istanbul remains the global epicenter of high-end handcrafted cymbals, with a handful of independent brands continuing to produce instruments using the same core techniques developed more than 400 years ago. At Bosphorus Cymbals, located on Istanbul’s northern outskirts, every step of the production process follows traditional methods, relying on coal and wood for heat rather than modern electric or gas power. The entire process to cast and finish a single cymbal can take up to a full week, with every stage holding equal importance.

    The journey from raw metal to finished instrument starts with casting. Master craftsmen mix copper, tin, and a closely guarded third secret ingredient that alters the metal’s consistency and final sound quality. The alloy is melted into molten bronze, poured into molds, and cooled to form rough disc-shaped blanks. Next, blanks are cycled through a glowing furnace and rolling mill up to 15 times, with each pass compressing and stretching the metal before it is tempered in cold water. “We use copper and tin and one more ingredient which is secret. Even though it’s in very small quantities, it gives the cymbal a different character in terms of consistency and sound,” explains 56-year-old Hasan Seker, a master cymbalsmith and co-founder of Bosphorus Cymbals who has worked in the trade since he was 12 years old.

    After shaping the central raised bell and cutting the cymbal to its final size, the most critical step begins: hand hammering. “Not a single blow is random,” Seker says, as the workshop’s three craftsmen land expert, targeted strikes that create the dark, complex tone that is the hallmark of Istanbul cymbals. Unlike mass-produced instruments, each hammer blow leaves a subtle unique mark on the metal’s surface, and the craftsman’s emotional state shapes the final sound. “When someone is hammering, he might hit softly, then something comes to mind, he gets angry and hit harder. Those variations in the metal’s surface, the reservations, the tension patterns diversify the sound. In a way, he gives the cymbal its soul,” Seker adds. Today, musicians from across the globe travel to the Istanbul workshop on a sort of pilgrimage to select their own custom cymbals, with the workshop’s walls lined with vintage posters of legendary jazz drummers who have become loyal devotees of the craft.

    At Nardis Jazz Club, a cozy, dimly lit venue tucked in the shadow of Istanbul’s iconic Galata Tower, drummer Derin Bayhan says he will never play any cymbals outside of those handmade in Istanbul. “Even if you bought two from the same series, the same weight and structure, the two cymbals wouldn’t perfectly match. Because it’s handmade, it’s basically an adventure,” Bayhan says. “So you search for one and when you find it, no-one else will have it: that sound is yours.”

    Jazz historian Berk Ozler explains that the enduring global popularity of Istanbul cymbals, even after the Zildjian family launched mass production in the United States, comes down to this pursuit of uniqueness among jazz musicians. “Mass production started when Zildjian went to the USA whereas the ones that stayed in Istanbul were handcrafted and still are. Jazz musicians chase after that uniqueness so that’s why they are very valuable,” Ozler notes. For centuries, the craft of Istanbul cymbal making has evolved from a weapon of war to the beating heart of global jazz, and with each strike of the hammer, a new one-of-a-kind piece of musical history is born.

  • Environmental disaster looms as tanker leaks off Oman

    Environmental disaster looms as tanker leaks off Oman

    A growing oil spill from a stranded tanker linked to Russia’s shadow fleet has put a protected marine reserve off Oman’s southern Arabian Sea coast at risk of irreversible, long-term ecological damage, environmental advocacy groups and independent investigators have warned.

    The vessel in question, identified as the *Caroline Bezengi*, is thought to be part of the loosely regulated network of aging, opaquely owned ships Russia has built up since its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine to evade Western sanctions on its crude oil exports — a key source of revenue for Moscow’s economy. Maritime security firm Vanguard Tech told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that three explosions rocked the tanker on June 6, flooding critical compartments including the steering gear room and pump station. The blasts left the vessel’s main engine and steering systems completely inoperable, though all crew members were safely accounted for.

    The cause of the explosions remains unconfirmed, with no definitive evidence to confirm whether the vessel was targeted in an attack. The tanker made its last known radio transmission off the coast of Yemen on June 11, and satellite data from the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation programme confirms it ran aground off al-Qibliyyah island, part of the protected al-Hallaniyat island archipelago, between June 18 and 23. The stranded vessel’s dimensions, outline and deck markings match satellite records of the *Caroline Bezengi* before the ship deactivated its mandatory automatic identification system (AIS) tracking transponder, a common practice among shadow fleet vessels to avoid detection.

    Kpler shipping data confirms the tanker loaded 1 million barrels of Russian crude at the Black Sea terminal of Sheskharis on May 11, and still held the full cargo when its last tracking signal was recorded a month later. The UK already sanctioned the *Caroline Bezengi* in February for its suspected role in violating Western price caps and sanctions on Russian oil exports.

    Satellite imagery analyzed independently by Greenpeace and Dutch peace organization PAX shows the visible oil sheen leaking from the vessel has expanded dramatically in less than two weeks: from just 20 square kilometers on July 24 to an estimated 600 square kilometers by August 4. Unlike most high-profile tanker incidents in the Middle East that center on the Strait of Hormuz, this spill is unfolding far from the strategically critical chokepoint, in a remote protected area that Oman designated as a marine reserve just last year.

    Environmental advocates warn the disaster is already unfolding, and the risk of a far larger catastrophe remains acute. “With oil apparently continuing to leak and the vessel stranded in a difficult location, the risk of an even larger environmental disaster remains serious,” Nina Noelle, Greenpeace’s spokesperson on the issue, told AFP. She emphasized that any full structural break-up of the tanker could release the entire 1 million barrel cargo into the protected ecosystem, causing consequences that would be “severe and long-lasting.”

    The archipelago hosts one of the most biodiverse marine habitats in the Arabian Sea, supporting endangered species including nesting sea turtles, breeding migratory seabirds, the rare and endangered Arabian Sea humpback whale, fragile coral reef systems and seagrass meadows that form the base of the regional food web. Already, large stretches of al-Qibliyyah’s shoreline have been contaminated, with additional slicks spreading far out into open waters.

    “Oil contamination in the Hallaniyat Islands threatens coral reefs, seagrass meadows and coastal habitats that support endangered sea turtles, migratory seabirds and marine mammals,” Noelle explained. “Even relatively small oil spills can persist in marine sediments for years, compromising the ecological resilience of this protected marine ecosystem.” Wim Zwijnenburg, an open-source environmental investigator with PAX, added that a full spill would also devastate local livelihoods: “A complete break of the ship can cause a regional environmental catastrophe, affecting both the lives of Omani fishing communities and the wider marine and island biodiversity.”

    Both advocates agree that urgent action is critical to contain the damage. “Timely intervention and salvaging the oil tanker is of essence to prevent worse,” Zwijnenburg said. The International Maritime Organization has confirmed it is currently providing assistance to Omani authorities, but declined to share further details on the response effort. As of Tuesday, Oman had not responded to AFP’s requests for comment on the incident or the ongoing response.

    Experts have long warned that Russia’s shadow fleet relies on aging, poorly maintained vessels that carry drastically higher environmental risk than standard commercial tankers. Noelle emphasized this incident is a predictable consequence of sanction evasion practices. “Sanctions are being circumvented using ageing and poorly maintained tankers, putting coastlines and marine ecosystems at risk,” she said.

  • Colombian baby hippo of Escobar stock dies after rescue

    Colombian baby hippo of Escobar stock dies after rescue

    A 15-day-old hippopotamus, part of the notorious invasive colony descended from animals once owned by the late Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, has died shortly after wildlife teams pulled the malnourished calf to safety in northwestern Colombia, an environmental agency confirmed to Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.

    Today, Colombia is home to roughly 200 wild hippos, all traced back to four specimens that Escobar imported from Africa in the 1980s to stock a private zoo on his luxurious Hacienda Napoles estate. This population makes up the largest wild hippo colony found outside of the African continent, a fact that has put Colombian environmental authorities in a years-long battle to manage the destructive invasive species.

    The infant hippo at the center of this latest incident was found by local fishermen along a riverbank, separated from its mother and already suffering from severe health complications. Wildlife crews launched an emergency rescue mission earlier on Wednesday to retrieve the vulnerable young animal, which was immediately moved to a dedicated hippo sanctuary located on the grounds of the former Escobar estate – a property that now operates as a public theme park.

    Veterinary staff with the regional environmental authority Cornare detailed the calf’s critical condition upon arrival. In a statement to AFP, the attending vet explained that the young hippo was admitted with long-term signs of dehydration, severe malnutrition, and an acute gastrointestinal infection that exacerbated its already fragile health. Despite aggressive intervention including targeted rehydration therapy and emergency clinical care, the animal never showed positive improvement, and ultimately did not survive the treatment.

    The fate of this young hippo underscores the broader, ongoing crisis surrounding Escobar’s hippo colony. After Escobar was killed by police in 1993 during an escape attempt, the abandoned zoo animals escaped captivity and established wild populations along the banks of the Magdalena River, Colombia’s most important river system. Since then, the large, aggressive herbivores have thrown the local ecosystem drastically off balance: they outcompete native species for food and habitat, alter river ecosystems, and have even been recorded attacking local residents in the region.

    Classified as a destructive invasive species by Colombian environmental officials, the hippo population has grown far faster than management efforts could contain. For years, authorities tried to slow population growth through sterilization programs, but those initiatives failed to curb the colony’s expansion. Earlier this year, the national government approved a controversial management plan that will allow the culling of approximately 80 hippos to reduce the population and protect native ecosystems.

  • Labor MP Ed Husic on leave after ‘serious’ car crash

    Labor MP Ed Husic on leave after ‘serious’ car crash

    A senior Australian Labor Party backbench MP has stepped away from parliamentary duties to recover after being involved in a serious high-speed multi-vehicle collision on one of Sydney’s busiest motorways late this week. Ed Husic, a federal Labor legislator, was traveling west along the M7 motorway heading home on Tuesday evening when a B-double heavy haulage truck struck the rear-right section of his sedan, his official spokesperson confirmed to NewsWire in a Thursday statement.

    New South Wales Police have verified that a third vehicle, a utility truck (ute), was also involved in the pile-up near the motorway’s Richmond Road interchange. None of the other two operators involved in the crash suffered any injuries, and local law enforcement has launched a formal investigation into the circumstances of the incident to determine any contributing factors and official fault.

    According to documentation from first responding paramedics, the collision took place while Husic was traveling at roughly 80 kilometers per hour, when the truck collided into the back and driver’s side right quarter of his vehicle. First responders transported the MP to Westmead Hospital for urgent evaluation and treatment, and he was released from care on Wednesday. Hospital staff discharged him with diagnoses including minor cuts and abrasions, small fractures, and a mild concussion.

    Images released publicly by Husic’s office illustrate the extensive damage the legislator’s Tesla sustained in the impact: the rear-right body panel is crumpled, the vehicle’s back window is completely shattered, and all onboard airbags deployed during the crash to reduce injury severity.

    Husic’s spokesperson confirmed the MP was not at fault for the collision, and he has been cooperating fully with police investigators by providing an official statement. Following guidance from his treating medical team, Husic has taken a short period of medical leave from all his parliamentary responsibilities to focus on recovering from his injuries.

    In a statement shared via his office, Husic expressed profound gratitude to the clinical and emergency response teams that cared for him after the crash, noting that he was incredibly fortunate to walk away from the incident with only relatively minor injuries, avoiding far more severe harm that is common in high-speed heavy vehicle collisions.

  • FIFA back Infantino, apologise for World Cup privatisation plan

    FIFA back Infantino, apologise for World Cup privatisation plan

    A major crisis has rocked global football’s governing body FIFA after a controversial proposal to open the men’s World Cup to private investment sparked widespread backlash, ultimately forcing the initiative’s withdrawal and leaving FIFA President Gianni Infantino fighting to keep his grip on power. In a rare show of solidarity held during a crisis meeting in Rabat, Morocco this Wednesday, top FIFA directors have formally reaffirmed their “full support” for the under-fire president, even as the organization issued a public apology for the missteps that sparked the uproar.

    The now-shelved plan, centered on a new commercial entity called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), would have handed operational control of flagship events including the World Cup and Club World Cup to the private-backed subsidiary. FIFA projected that the initiative could generate up to $4.2 billion in revenue based on a $20 billion valuation of FFE. If approved by member associations, the windfall would have delivered a one-off $20 million payment to each of FIFA’s 211 national member bodies by early 2027, and increased annual funding allocations for the 2027-2030 cycle from $8 million to $20 million per association.

    Far from winning over stakeholders, the proposal triggered an unprecedented wave of opposition across the global football community. European football’s governing body UEFA threatened the ultimate sanction: a full boycott of the World Cup, football’s most profitable and watched global event. Facing mounting pressure, Infantino formally withdrew the proposal just six days after it was first leaked to the public, a move that did little to quell growing calls within the football community for his resignation.

    In the official statement released following Wednesday’s closed-door meeting, FIFA’s leadership acknowledged multiple missteps throughout the process. “It was agreed that it was not the intention for the FIFA Council and FIFA Member Associations to feel excluded from the process and that the process should have been handled differently,” the statement read. The leadership also admitted that additional errors were made in the organization’s response after the plan was leaked to media outlets. In a separate communication sent to all FIFA Council members and national association leaders, FIFA issued a formal apology for the mismanagement and pledged to implement reforms to prevent similar missteps in the future.

    Confirming what the organization had already signaled over the weekend, the statement added that the FFE proposal is permanently “off the table” and will not be revisited. A full internal review of the controversy will now be conducted, with a final report set to be presented to the FIFA Council at its next scheduled gathering.

    The crisis comes as a sudden collapse of what had appeared to be a smooth path for Infantino to secure a fourth and final term as FIFA president. Just weeks ago, the 56-year-old Swiss lawyer was riding high off the planning success of the expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, with no challengers having stepped forward to contest his re-election, scheduled for next March in Rabat. That political momentum has evaporated entirely in the wake of the privatization plan scandal.

    Criticism has poured in from every corner of the global football governance structure. UEFA dismissed the plan as a “shabby, back room, opaque deal” hatched by Infantino, saying the current leadership had lost the confidence of both UEFA and many other members of the global football family. CONCACAF, the governing body for North and Central American football, went even further, calling for “a comprehensive reckoning with this presidency” and slammed Infantino over what it called “poor governance and leadership.” The political backlash extended beyond football governance this week, as Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney — whose country is a co-host of the 2026 World Cup — publicly stated he no longer has confidence in Infantino’s ability to lead FIFA.

    Even within FIFA’s own senior ranks, opposition has emerged. An internal critical memo from FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafstrom, leaked to media earlier this week, laid out senior internal pushback against the plan. Only a small handful of high-profile football leaders have continued to stand by Infantino, most notably Moroccan Football Federation chief Fouzi Lekjaa. Morocco, which will co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, has emerged as a key base of support for the FIFA president, with Lekjaa reiterating his backing Wednesday for Infantino’s 10-year record of initiatives aimed at growing global football, calling his decision to withdraw the plan a “wise” move made to protect the unity of the global football community.

    Hours after Wednesday’s crisis meeting concluded, Infantino made a public appearance in Rabat, attending a group stage match of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations between Zambia and Malawi at Al Medina Stadium. An AFP photographer on site spotted the FIFA president alongside Lekjaa at the stadium entrance, marking his first public appearance since the scandal escalated earlier this week.

  • ‘Too good to refuse’: Bears roster continues to build with English star Morgan Smithies locked in long term

    ‘Too good to refuse’: Bears roster continues to build with English star Morgan Smithies locked in long term

    Australia’s newest National Rugby League franchise, the Perth Bears, has continued its aggressive roster build ahead of its debut season, locking in experienced English international forward Morgan Smithies on a three-year contract that includes an option to extend for two additional seasons. The 25-year-old becomes the fourth English player to sign with the expansion club, as the franchise continues its self-described “Blitz of Britain” recruiting strategy that has already brought fellow internationals Harry Newman, James McDonnell and Mikolaj Oledzki into the inaugural squad.

    Smithies brings nearly a decade of top-flight rugby experience to Western Australia, having spent five seasons competing in the UK’s Super League before making the move to the NRL’s Canberra Raiders in 2022. Over the past three seasons with the Raiders, he has cemented himself as a reliable rotational contributor to the club’s forward pack, amassing almost 200 first-grade appearances across both competitions by the age of 25. He is set to join the Bears at the conclusion of the 2025 NRL season.

    Speaking after the signing was confirmed, Smithies said the chance to become a foundational member of a new NRL franchise was an opportunity he could not turn down. “The opportunity to make history and be a part of the Perth Bears was too good to refuse,” the forward said. “It will be great to reconnect with a few of the lads from back home in Perth. Mal and his staff have assembled a very strong roster and it’s an honour to be a part of it. This is a new chapter for my family as well. We are committed to the Perth Bears and it’s an exciting opportunity to build our life in Western Australia.”

    Bears head coach Mal Meninga, one of the most respected figures in Australian rugby league, expressed enthusiasm about adding Smithies to the club’s long-term plans, highlighting his proven track record and team-first mindset. “Morgan is a fantastic person who has succeeded at just about every level of the game,” Meninga said. “He’s only 25 years old and has played nearly 200 games across Super League and the NRL. He brings big-game experience, a fantastic work ethic and, most important of all, is a selfless teammate. I’m delighted Morgan and his family believe in what we are creating in Perth and I have no doubt he will be a big part of this club for many years to come.”

    The signing comes just one day ahead of a major scheduled announcement from the franchise, which is set to unveil its inaugural home jersey on Friday. The reveal will take place ahead of an NRL match at Perth’s major stadium this weekend, when the Melbourne Storm face off against the Manly Sea Eagles.