Buffaloes destroying Aboriginal hunting grounds

Research suggests more than 160,000 buffaloes are roaming wild across the Top End, and numbers are growing.(ABC Open). Wild buffaloes are destroying Aboriginal hunting grounds and sacred sites on floodplains near the remote community of Maningrida in West Arnhem Land. Indigenous rangers say important hunting grounds and native species are under threat. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-09-30/wild-buffalo-destroying-arnhem-land-floodplains-hunting-ground/12713966

João Carlos Martins' bionic gloves

One of the world’s greatest pianists who had been forced to retire after a series of injuries says he is overwhelmed with emotion after a pair of “bionic” gloves enabled him to play again at the age of 80. João Carlos Martins, who is celebrated for his interpretations of the works of JS Bach during his long career, released a video on his Instagram account of his slightly faltering return to the keyboards, playing one of the composer’s adagios.

Bloody Sunday British Army vets wont be charged

Fifteen Bloody Sunday veterans face no charges, review confirms. Solicitor Ciaran Shiels (right) with John McKinney (second from right) and other members of the Bloody Sunday families before a press conference, as the Public Prosecution Service announces that no further former soldiers will be prosecuted over the killing of 13 civilians in Derry in 1972, at the Bloody Sunday Memorial in the Bogside of Derry City. Photograph: Liam McBurney/PA Wire. A review of the initial conclusion by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), announced in March last year, came to the same verdict yesterday. Families of some of the victims had asked for it to be looked at again.

Saint Helena fires, California

Burned grapes and vines are seen at the Chateau Boswell Winery after the Glass Fire came through, in Saint Helena, California. REUTERS/Fred Greaves

Dauphine Alps, France

A flock of sheep move down the road on Col du Glandon, near Saint Colomban Des Villards, a mountain pass in the Dauphine Alps in Savoie, France.

Richard Browning flies his jet suit

Lake District, England. Gravity Industries founder and chief test pilot Richard Browning flies his jet suit from a valley bottom in Langdale to a simulated casualty site on the Band, near Bowfell. The Great North air ambulance service said the site would have taken about 25 minutes to reach by foot but Browning arrived in in 90 seconds Photograph: @GravityIndustries/YouTube/PA

Hong Kong, China

Pro-democracy posters are vandalised by supporters of China at the University of Hong Kong. Photograph: Kin Cheung/AP

New York, USA

A woman dines in a social distancing bubble at Cafe Du Soleil as the city continues phase 4 of its reopening. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production. Photograph: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Belarus opposition leader meets with Macron

Vilnius, Lithiania. Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya emerges from her meeting with the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Photograph: Andrius Sytas/Reuters

British carers paid less than supermarket staff

Paying carers less than supermarket staff is failing to attract British workers and means that care homes will have to continue to rely on recruiting migrants after Brexit, government advisers said yesterday. It makes you wonder, could Australian carers be receiving less than Aldi staff?

The Great Debate - Trump versus Biden

The Great Debate, 11am today Sydney time. Trump challenged Biden to a drug test this weekend, which the Biden campaign quickly declined. The drug test spat signaled a slight change in narrative for Trump. It served as an acknowledgement, however conspiratorial, that Biden may show up to the debate sounding sharp and polished. ….. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-30/first-presidential-debate-donald-trump-joe-biden-live-updates/12713918

Wharfies holding country to ransom - again

(ABC News: Brendan Esposito) The Federal Government has weighed into a dispute that is delaying 10 freight carriers at the Port of Botany, saying industrial action by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) is "holding the country to ransom". Ten ships are waiting off Sydney; others have been diverted to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. The union has been negotiating with three stevedoring companies for a 6 per cent wage increase over four years. Patricks, the stevedoring company at the centre of the union-breaking wharf dispute of the late 1990s, said it was "bewildered" by the pay claim as the average permanent worker on the wharves already earned about $155,000 a year……. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-09-28/maritime-union-criticised-over-wharf-pay-dispute-port-of-botany/12710172

Your specialist's referral has expired

The rules about specialist referrals were developed in the 70s and haven't kept pace with the community's changing needs.(Pexels: Pixabay). You have a chronic health condition and visit your specialist for an annual check-up, but the referral's expired. You're told to get a new referral from the GP to claim the Medicare rebate. You take the next afternoon off to see your GP, who gives you another 12-month referral and tells you they can't backdate it. You're out of pocket for the specialist fee and gap payment for your GP consultation. You'll have to do it all again next year……. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-29/specialist-referral-rules-havent-changed-much-since-the-70s/12711184

Cardinal George Pell set to return to Rome

Cardinal George Pell is reportedly set to return to Rome, five months after Australia's High Court quashed his child sexual abuse convictions. A spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Sydney has confirmed to the Reuters news agency that the 79-year-old cardinal will leave Sydney today.

Have you seen this man?

Police are looking for a man who put his head through a security grille and spits in a Melbourne bus driver's face three times. The attack was captured on CCTV footage and released by Victoria Police on Monday (yesterday) afternoon as they appealed for more details from the public.

Jon Venables refused parole

James Bulger killer Jon Venables has been refused parole and told he must stay in jail after his child porn conviction. The decision has been hailed by James' family, with father Ralph Bulger saying he could now 'rest easy'.

Tiger King saga not over

The story of “Tiger King” star Joe Exotic and his hunch that his rival Carole Baskin had an alleged hand in the disappearance and presumed death of her husband Don Lewis was taken up a notch on Sunday night during an Investigation Discovery special centered on the unanswered question of what happened to the tiger breeder and amateur pilot. Jim Rathmann, a retired homicide investigator, told Fox News that cadaver dogs were brought in to aid in the search near one of Lewis’ lake houses nearly 25 years after Lewis went missing……. https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/tiger-king-cadaver-dogs-carole-baskin-ex-husband-don-lewis-disappearance

Killarney National Park, Ireland

POLLINATOR: Will O'Sullivan guides Clydesdale horses Bud and Budweiser to pull a traditional tedder as part of wildflower meadow harvesting under the National Pollinator Plan to increase grassland biodiversity, in Knockreer Estate, Killarney National Park, Ireland. Photograph: Valerie O'Sullivan

Sotheby's Hong Kong auction

AFP. A flawless 102-carat oval diamond will head to auction on Oct. 5 in Hong Kong at Sotheby's. The auction house has not given an official price estimate for the egg-shaped stone of exactly 102.39 carats, which has the highest color grade, D, for a white diamond and is rated Type IIA for its chemical purity and exceptional transparency.

Konya, Turkey.

Muslims perform Friday prayers while maintaining social distance and getting used to living with coronavirus in Konya, Turkey. Photograph: Levent Ates

Vatican City

Pope Francis waves as he arrives for a general audience with members of the Italian police in Paul VI hall. Photograph: Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images

Tehran, Iran

A nurse wearing a protective suit and mask tends to a baby with coronavirus at Hazrat Ali Asghar hospital. Photograph: Wana News Agency/Reuters

Sevastopol, Russia

Couples take part in the 7th Sevastopol Grand Charity Officers’ Ball held in Mikhailovskaya Coastal Battery Square to mark this year’s 75th anniversary of victory in the second world war and the Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s 180th birth anniversary. Photograph: Sergei Malgavko/Tass

Kara Tepe, Greece

Refugees gather outside a temporary camp as they wait to depart from Lesbos for mainland Greece. About 700 people will leave later on Monday, 20 days after successive fires that started before dawn on 9 September devastated the Moria refugee camp, making more than 12,000 inhabitants homeless during a Covid-19 lockdown. Photograph: Panagiotis Balaskas/AP

China’s billions to woo Commonwealth nations in Caribbean prompt influence fears

Barbados (main picture) has signed on for one of China's low-rate loans, but other nations fear the big dollars being spent by Beijing only increase the influence of China and leader Xi Jinping (inset). Pictures: Supplied/AFP. China is lending billions of dollars to Commonwealth nations in the Caribbean, prompting concerns over its growing influence in the region and fears that the recipient states may be trapped by heavy debts to Beijing. Starved of financing for major infrastructure projects, nations that once turned to Britain or the US have looked to China for low-interest loans to build highways, bridges, ports and stadiums. “We told them we need your investment and you need our location in the Caribbean,” Keith Rowley, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, told reporters after signing up to China’s Belt and Road initiative in June 2018.................... https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/chinas-billions-to-woo-commonwealth-nations-in-caribbean-prompt-influence-fears/news-story/a23e23fec81de2f3489d766818dcb6bf

Roger Byron Weaver sentenced

The 31 unregistered guns included seven prohibited weapons and a pistol. (Supplied: NSW Police). Roger Byron Weaver, 58, has been sentenced to four years and four months jail with a non-parole period of two years and seven months for the possession of 31 unregistered firearms, including seven prohibited weapons and one pistol. Thirty-two people gave him a good character reference. The Wagga Wagga District Court heard police seized the weapons from his property at Adelong in August 2019 after receiving a tip-off from someone known to Weaver. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-24/riverina-farmer-jailed-for-keeping-guns/12697374

China accused of destroying 16,000 mosques

China's foreign ministry has denied claims from an Australian think tank that it had destroyed thousands of mosques in its western Xinjiang region. The report estimated that about 16,000 mosques in Xinjiang have been destroyed or damaged as a result of Government policies, mostly since 2017. The estimates were made using satellite imagery and based on a sample of 900 religious sites prior to 2017, including mosques, shrines and sacred sites….. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-26/china-denies-xinjiang-mosque-destruction-uyghur-autonomous/12707304

Sergei Torop arrested

REUTERS. Cult leader Sergei Torop’s ‘independent state’ falls foul of the Kremlin. Every Sunday, an ex-traffic policeman who claimed to be the second coming of Christ was venerated by thousands of followers in the commune they had built in the Siberian wilderness. Better known as Vissarion, he would gather the faithful on a hillside to reveal his “teachings” — a mixture of Orthodox Christianity, Buddhism, and environmentalism. Now, instead of the picturesque surroundings of rural Russia, Mr Torop, 59, is in a prison cell in Novosibirsk, Siberia’s biggest city, facing up to 12 years in a penal colony on charges of extorting money and using “psychological violence” on his followers. He denies the claims.

Australian female magpie-lark

The name Magpie-lark is quite misleading, as the species has no link with either the magpies or the larks. However, the Magpie-lark is sometimes confused with the Australian Magpie, Cracticus tibicen. While both species are black and white, the Magpie-lark is noticeably smaller than the Australian Magpie. Common name peewee, mudlark. Source: Reddit

Gateshead, UK

A family enjoy a picnic next to the Angel of the North. Since easing its first nationwide lockdown in May, England has imposed localised restrictions on towns across the Midlands and north. Last weekend, almost 2 million people in Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding areas were banned from meeting other households, and pubs and restaurants were told to close by 10pm. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Bnei Brak, Israel

Ultra-Orthodox Jews hold chickens later to be slaughtered during the Kaparot ritual. Observant Jews believe the ritual transfers one’s sins from the past year into the chicken, and is performed before the Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish year which starts at sundown on Sunday. Photograph: Oded Balilty/AP

Lima, Peru

Andrea Lara (R) looks at her father Juan Carlos Lara, 59, a patient with COVID-19, as he is transferred inside a security capsule on an air ambulance from Iquitos to the Intensive Care Unit of the Rebagliati Hospital, in Lima, Peru.

Proud Boys rally in Portland

A member of the far-right Proud Boys group tackles a fellow member after he assaulted the freelance journalist Justin Katigbak, right, during a rally. Kate Brown, governor of Oregon, declared a state of emergency prior to Saturday’s Proud Boys rally as fears grew of political violence between the group and Black Lives Matter protesters. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Incheon, South Korea

Chinese soldiers, left, prepare to receive coffins containing remains of 117 Chinese soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean war during a repatriation ceremony at Incheon international airport. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Amy Coney Barrett named as nominee for Supreme Court seat

Washington DC, US. US President Donald Trump arrives at an event to announce Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee for the supreme court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on 18 September Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters

Colombo, Sri Lanka

A mahout rides an elephant among the traffic down a street in Piliyandala, a suburb of Sri Lanka’s capital. Photograph: Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump's tax returns disclosed

Donald Trump has denied a report from The New York Times, which claims he paid just $US750 in income tax the year he was elected President. In an investigation published today, the newspaper reported that Mr Trump had also paid just $750 the following year, in 2017 - and “no income taxes at all” in 10 of the previous 15 years. Why? Because in those years, the businessman and reality TV host “reported losing much more money than he made”. https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/tax/donald-trump-taxes-president-denies-report-he-paid-tiny-amount-in-income-taxes/news-story/c8da55c29880626ac5021146ab0d8a7c

Chris Dawson will face trial for murder

A former Australian school teacher accused of killing his wife - in a case that was the subject of a popular crime podcast - will face trial for murder, a judge has ruled. Chris Dawson, 72, has been on bail since his arrest in December 2018. The judge said that no application for a permanent stay of proceedings - which Mr Dawson's lawyers sought - had ever been granted before on the basis of a podcast and the subsequent "media storm". "Her Honour was left in no doubt that the adverse publicity in this case or, more accurately, the unrestrained and uncensored public commentary about Lynette Dawson's suspected murder, is the most egregious example of media interference with a criminal trial process which this court has had to consider in deciding whether to take the extraordinary step of permanently staying a criminal prosecution."…… https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54294247

Halloween, 2020

Saturday 31 October. Source: Reddit

Iran accuses US of "savagery"

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has accused the United States of “savagery” for inflicting $150bn of damage on Iran because of sanctions, and said Iranians should direct their anger at the White House. Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor and began reimposing sanctions that had been eased under the accord. Iran, in turn, has gradually breached the central limits in that deal, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including on the size of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium as well as the level of purity to which it was allowed to enrich uranium……Source: Aljazeera

China Gives Unproven Covid-19 Vaccines to Thousands, With Risks Unknown

Sinovac, a drug maker in Beijing, said more than 10,000 people in the city had been injected with its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.Credit...Wu Hong/EPA, via Shutterstock

Drug company workers, government officials and others have been injected outside the usual testing process. More will be soon, bewildering experts who worry about potential ill effects. First, workers at state-owned companies got dosed. Then government officials and vaccine company staff. Up next: teachers, supermarket employees and people traveling to risky areas abroad. The world still lacks a proven coronavirus vaccine, but that has not stopped Chinese officials from trying to inoculate tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people outside the traditional testing process. Three vaccine candidates are being injected into workers whom the government considers essential, along with many others, including employees of the pharmaceutical firms themselves. Officials are laying out plans to give shots to even more people, citing emergency use, amounting to a big wager that the vaccines will eventually prove to be safe and effective. China’s rush has bewildered global experts. No other country has injected people with unproven vaccines outside the usual drug trial process to such a huge scale. Source: New York Times

Vanuatu workers to harvest mangoes in the NT

Lucy Felix was working in her garden in Eton village, Vanuatu, when she got an unexpected call about an opportunity on a Northern Territory farm. The single mother had been selected by Vanuatu's Labour Department to harvest mangoes in Australia during the coronavirus pandemic. Because of the coronavirus, she did not think she would be allowed to leave the country. Workers like Ms Felix earn up to $25 an hour on Australian farms — about nine times the $2.70 minimum wage in Vanuatu. Vanuatu is one of the few countries that have no confirmed cases of coronavirus. Tasmania is watching the trial and considering a travel bubble with Pacific countries……. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-27/vanuatu-men-and-women-australia-pick-fruit-coronavirus-pandemic/12699066

Archibald Prize Winner Vincent Namatjira

Well, that wasn't hard to pick. In a year when Black Lives Matter protests are raging around the world, it was a safe bet the Archibald Prize would go to an Indigenous artist. Two years ago, Vincent Namatjira was considered unlucky when his entry was passed over in favour of a stiff, mannered self-portrait by Yvette Coppersmith. This time around, the Trustees of the Art Gallery of NSW took their chance to make amends. Even before the finalists were chosen it was clear that it would take an exceptional painting to overturn the probability of an Indigenous winner……. https://theworldnews.net/au-news/why-this-year-s-archibald-prize-winner-wasn-t-a-surprise

A rare brown kookaburra

Spotted whilst camping in Qld. Credit: u/winterscry Reddit

Abortion law reversal under threat in US

Leading Australian abortion rights advocate Wendy McCarthy says she is enraged that the death of women's rights champion Ruth Bader Ginsburg could lead to a reversal in the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman's liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

Payback for naming sexual abuser

Grandfather of 17-year-old Fionica James, Andrew Dowadi, outside the Darwin Local Court during an inquest into her death. Picture: Che Chorley. The grandfather of a dead Aboriginal girl who repeatedly caught sexually transmitted infections while underage has demanded to know why authorities failed to investigate “who had assaulted her” and accused them of treating her “like an adult”. But authorities have attributed the problems to a prevailing philosophy of “cultural rights trump(ing) human rights” and service staff’s reluctance to become involved in prosecutions. A government source said children were often pressured by relatives not to disclose what had happened to them, out of fear that official reports would see community members taken away. “There can be payback as a result of saying who they had sex with,” the source said. “How does one challenge that? If more people talk, more victims will be identified and there will be more community members upset.”….. https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/girls-stis-red-light-but-no-action/news-story/fd88f3d5a02a3c7faff2dd0d4747c3e8

My Health Records Legislation

Review of the My Health Records legislation. We're asking for feedback on the legislation that underpins My Health Record. This is part of a review to improve the legislation. You have until 21 October to have your say. https://www.health.gov.au/news/review-of-the-my-health-records-legislation

There's definitely plenty of jobs in Dubbo.

Dubbo, a thriving regional centre, still struggles to attract workers .(ABC News: Brendan Esposito). In August, there were more than 45,000 job vacancies posted in regional Australia. That was 14 per cent more vacancies than in July. And according to the data, in some regions there are actually more job vacancies posted now than there were before the COVID-19 economic slowdown. "Those regions are generally places that are fairly strong in mining and agriculture industries," Dr Houghton said. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-26/regional-jobs-after-covid-but-jobseeker-jobkeeper-limits-move/12702234

Britain to withhold part of contribution to WHO

Britain will hold back part of its contribution to the World Health Organisation until the international body gets to the bottom of the origins of the coronavirus in China. Boris Johnson will today announce a 30 per cent increase in its support for the WHO over the next four years, costing £340 million and making the UK one of the largest donors in the world.

Afghan refugees turned back

[File: Umit Bektas/Reuters]. Shortly after reaching the Greek island of Lesbos, a group of Afghan refugees and migrants say their hopes for a new life in Europe were cut short when Greek authorities rounded them up, mistreated them, shoved them into life rafts and abandoned them at sea.