National Firearms Register planned

 

The federal government has announced plans for a National Firearms Register, almost three decades on from the Port Arthur massacre that saw the country's gun laws drastically changed. 

The Albanese government will spend just over $160 million over four years to establish the register by 2028.

 Attorney General Mark Dreyfus

"This National Firearms Register will help ensure that police know what guns are in the community, where they are and who owns them... The National Firearms Register will help connect Commonwealth, state and territory firearms information and share it in near real time with state police departments across the country."..........................

https://www.sbs.com.au/news

Abdullah family were able to forgive the man who killed their children

 

                   The Abdullah family before the tragedy

When Danny and Leila Abdallah announced the arrival of a new baby girl into their family on 20 April this year, they received well wishes from the driver who killed three of their six children.

The driver responsible, Samuel William Davidson was driving recklessly at high speed when his vehicle mounted the curb and struck the group of children.

“There are no winners in this, in any tragedy like this, so all we can do is show forgiveness, move forward in the best way we can and try to find joy in the midst of pain,” Mr Abdallah said.

The Abdullah family worship at same Christian church where Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbed in Sydney10 days ago.

14 year old bail approved, awaiting challenge

 

A 14-year-old boy trying to secure bail over terrorism-related charges appeared before the same court a fortnight ago on gun possession charges and released on bail.

His mobile phone contained videos of beheadings, people being run over by vehicles and violence towards homosexual men. Magistrate Paul Mulroney described the footage as depicting "the worst behaviour of humanity".

Bail has been approved but the Acting Director of Public Prosecutions is appealing the decision.

It will be interesting to see if he gets it.

How news of the alleged church stabbing spread across the city

 

It took less than 30 minutes for a video of an alleged stabbing attack at a church in western Sydney to snake its way through WhatsApp groups across the city.

Then, quicker than most news outlets could report on the incident, large WhatsApp groups that connect people across western Sydney – some with more than 800 members – were inundated with forwarded videos, photos and voice notes.....................

https://tinyurl.com/yzprsyd4

 

 

 

Rafah, Gaza

 

Displaced Palestinians cool down at the beach to escape the searing heat of the refugee camp.

Photograph:  Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty

Muslim group wants terrorism laws changed

 

An alliance of peak Islamic groups has called for Australia's terrorism laws to be changed, to remove the concept of "religiously motivated terrorism" from the legislation.

It comes as a sixth teenager, aged 15, was charged after counterterrorism raids were carried out in Sydney on Wednesday. 

The teenagers, aged 14 to 17 - all associates of the teenager who allegedly stabbed the Bishop - were previously charged with several offences and are before the courts.......................

https://tinyurl.com/5he83uzk

Sixth teenager arrested yesterday over religiously motivated violent ideology

 

NSW Police and the AFP this week arrested seven teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17 who were all associates of the 16-year-old boy who allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.  One teen was released yesterday, without charge.

Police alleged they all subscribed to a "religiously motivated violent extremist ideology".

A number of items were seized as a result, including a significant amount of electronic material.

Investigations by a joint-counter terrorism team comprising of members of the AFP, NSW Police, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and the NSW Crime Commission are ongoing.

Meghan Markle launches her strawberry jam

 

King Charles’ Highgrove Estate strawberry preserve which sells for $13 a jar, recently sold out.

Meghan Markle recently sent out numbered jars of her own homemade strawberry jam, the first product from her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard (ARO).

Bruce Lehrmann to pay Peter FitzSimons legal costs

 

Federal court orders for Bruce Lehrmann to pay Peter FitzSimons’ costs, amounting to $4,616, were made by consent of the parties and publicly released today (Friday).

A costs hearing is scheduled for 1 May.......

https://tinyurl.com/2xkh6bee

Police search for Jessica Zrinski

 

Jessica Zrinski, 30, was last seen in Sydney’s Bossley Park area on 27 November 2022. Her parents believe she is dead. 

Detectives have begun a three-day search for her body in bushland in the Jenolan Caves area. 

Photo: NSW Police

Yet another Australian woman lost.

Zonnebeke, Belgium

 

A photo and flag are left at the grave of WWI Australian soldier Alan Humphrey Scott during an ANZAC Day dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium.  Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand for those who served in all wars.  AP

100 stranded pilot whales in WA

 

Stranded pilot whales seen at Toby’s Inlet near Dunsborough in Western Australia in this photo taken and released by the Department of Biodiversity and Conservation.  Marine biologists raced to save more than 100 whales with officials fearing many will have to be euthanized.  AFP

 

Chinese astronauts attend send-off ceremony

 

Chinese astronauts for the Shenzhou-18 mission, from right Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, wave as they attend a send-off ceremony for their manned space mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwestern China.  AP

Rio Grande, Mexico

 

Haiseli, seven and Deimar nine, both from Venezuela, brush the hair of their new friend Dayana 15 from Columbia, as migrants take rest along the dry riverbed of the Rio Grande while searching for an entry point into the US along the international boundary between Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and El Paso, Texas

Photograph:  Adrees Latif/Reuters

Lisbon, Portugal

 

A woman dances in Carmo Square as Portugal celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which ended Europe’s longest dictatorship.

Photograph   Pedro Nunes/Reuters

 

The Carnation Revolution ended a 40 year dictatorship established by Antonio Salazar.

It also paved the way for Portugal’s 1986 entry into the European Union, then called the European Economic Community.

At the time, the turmoil and political uncertainty in Portugal, a NATO member, caused alarm in Western capitals as the Portuguese Communist Party appeared poised to take power. Moderate parties, however, won at the ballot box.

 

Venice, Italy

 

People protest against the introduction of a registration and tourist fee for day trippers, intended to preserve the lagoon city.

Photograph:  Manuel Silvestri/Reuters

Muslim leaders were not informed until after raids began

 

            Police outside Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Sydney's southwest last week. 

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), and the Lebanese Muslim Association (LMA), confirmed to SBS News on Thursday they were only told about the raids hours after they began — and after the media was alerted.

Bilal Rauf said the safety of Australians was paramount but believed police had not handled the matter sensitively.

"Such a high-handed police approach towards teenagers without and involvement of community elders and organisations or social workers risks entrenching and promoting violence amongst disillusioned youth; alienating communities; and creating distress and anxiety about the attempt to conflate what is occurring with religion, rather than misguided ideology," he said.

Wassim Fayad drawn into probe of alleged Sydney teen terror network

Wassim Fayad was questioned by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team yesterday as part of police raids on an alleged terrorist network tied to a stabbing at a Sydney church last week.

He was convicted in 2013 for whipping a man as punishment for consuming alcohol and taking illicit drugs.

Fayad spent seven years in jail until 2020 after being convicted of a failed ATM ram raid, the whipping of a Muslim convert and being an accessory to an attempted shooting murder at a gay sex club.

He was placed on an extended supervision order in 2021 because he was considered a high risk of committing a terrorism offence, but a judge rejected an application to extend the order last year.........................

https://tinyurl.com/2y82fy39

 

 

 

 

Live video on X leads to five arrests

 

After the video livestreamed on X last week, five teenagers have been arrested for counterterrorism over the Bishop’s stabbing at a Sydney church last week.

Two teenagers, aged 17 and 14, have been charged with "possessing or controlling violent extremist material obtained or accessed using a carriage service".

Another two, both aged 16, have been charged with "conspiring to engage in any act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act".

The fifth teenager, 17, has been charged with "conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act and custody of a knife in a public place".

All five have been refused bail and are expected to appear before a children's court later today (Thursday).

Had the video not been shown, these teens would not have been found and arrested. 

China wants more babies

China is pushing couples to have more babies for the good of the country.

But amid challenges of finding work, high childcare costs and a generation of only children feeling the pressure of looking after aging parents, many young people are ambivalent about having babies, while some are electing to have no children at all…..

https://tinyurl.com/kdtcjnzc

 

 

 

University of Texas student protest

 

At least 20 protesters were arrested on April 24, 2024 at a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Texas hosted by the Palestine Solidarity Committee, a registered student group and a chapter of the national Students for Justice in Palestine.

Photograph:  USA Today Network

 

Sahara dust storm over Athens

 

A man makes his way up hill as African dust from the desert of Sahara covers the city of Athens, 23 April 2024.

Louisa Gouliamaki/Reuters

Hanover, Germany

 

A visitor plays paper, scissors, stone with an SHV servo-electric 5 finger gripping hand at a technology fair.

Photograph:  Ronny Hartmann/AFP/Getty

Texas, US

 

A young man holds his one year old son as they sit along the bank of the Rio Grande while searching for an entry point into El Paso

Photograph:  Adrees Latif/Reuters

Armenian Genocide

 

People take part in a parade on the eve of 109^th anniversary of Armenian genocide.

Photograph:  Karen Minasyan/AFP/Getty

April 24 will mark the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, when more than 1.5 million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman Turks, an event that Turkey denies to this day.

Anzac Day in Sydney 2024

 

Lest we forget

Daniel Billings was released on bail

 

Daniel Billings, 29, allegedly murdered Molly Ticehurst 28, at the home they used to share in Forbes on Monday. They had been in a relationship for about 18 months until July last year, but briefly got back together in December.

According to court documents, he allegedly raped her three times, stalked and harassed her four times, smashed her car windows and hurt her pet dog. 

But records show Dubbo Local Court registrar L. Cusack, placed him on an interim apprehended violence order and released him on bail on 6 April.

Stay Strong, parents say

 

 

Israeli-American hostage, 23, seen with missing hand fuming at government for failing to free abductees for 200 days, describing ‘hell’ in Gaza captivity

Videos from the Hamas onslaught have shown that a part of Goldberg-Polin’s arm was blown off, as the Hamas terrorists lobbed grenades into a shelter where he and others who tried to escape the party hid............................

https://tinyurl.com/48r2uay6

Donald Trump's bonus for Truth Social

 

Donald Trump has qualified for a bonus worth $1.2bn after shares in his social media company remained above a certain value despite falling sharply.

He was able to receive the bonus if TMTG’s stock traded above $17.50 a share for 20 days out of any 30-day period within the first three years of the firm’s stock market debut – a milestone it reached after closing at $32.57 yesterday........

https://tinyurl.com/mryvvc5s

Real Estate Agent Haley Philpot stole $98,844 from clients bank account

 

Hayley Philpot was a real estate agent at Savoy Real Estate in Yarra Glen, Melbourne in 2019 when she met her female victim, 80, who wanted to sell her home.  

The elderly woman gave her Power of Attorney because she helped with the sale of the house and then arranged for the woman and her husband to relocate to a nursing home.

But then, over a period of 15 months, she stole $98,844 from the woman’s bank account.

Philpot was ordered to repay more than $60,000 still owed, in addition to the three-month jail sentence. 

She left Savoy Real Estate Yarra Glen in 2020 and since has worked for several other real estate agencies.

Donald Trump in court

 

Republican Presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on in the courtroom, as his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016 continues, at Manhattan state court in New York City, U.S., 23 April 2024.

 

This picture reminds me of Dorian Gray

 

 

Truckie caught with $13 million in cash

 

Lone Wolf bikie Nathan Ferguson was in court yesterday after being caught driving his truck, with more than $13 million in cash out of Western Australia. More than half the money was hidden in a water tank while the rest was in a cardboard box concealed in the wall of the vehicle.........

https://tinyurl.com/4jtr52bk

Gaza Strip

 

Palestinians rush to landing humanitarian aid packages dropped over the northern Gaza Strip.

Photograph:  AFP/Getty

 

Tragic end for migrant mother and two daughters

 

Two years ago, Jasmine Thomas, a Melbourne mother-of-two, who was unhappy in her new Australian home, drove to a remote area and set herself and her two daughters on fire. 

Coroner John Cain noted Ms Thomas had contacted numerous professional services before the tragic event, who all proved unable to help.

She told her family she was having marriage problems.

 

 

Young mother throws dog off a cliff

 

Kaylah Williams allegedly threw an Australian Bulldog off a cliff in a dog crate at Mount Ousley in Wollongong in January last year. 

The dog was discovered at 8.30am the following morning by a bushwalker who heard the animal yelping.  Because of his injuries and poor condition, he had to be euthanised by a local vet. 

Twelve months later on 12 April this year, she was arrested and charged with torture of an animal and is currently on bail.

She will appear before Wollongong Local Court on 14 May 2024.

Kokoda Track 2024

 

The Kokoda Track is an important source of income for villagers along the trail, bringing in 50 million kina ($20.4 million) annually to PNG's economy.

China's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, will have departed Port Moresby's Jacksons Airport just over 24 hours before Anthony Albanese touches down for an extended visit to walk the Kokoda Track.

 

 

Take Note Woolworths

 

Coles in Annandale, Townsville

Sonny Bill Williams' pro-Hamas comments

 

Sydney 2GB broadcaster Ray Hadley wants Sonny Bill Williams sacked for his pro-Hamas comments on social media. Williams is employed by Nine Entertainment as a Rugby Union commentator for Stan and Nine also owns 2GB.

“I’m embarrassed to be in the same camp as him” Hadley said.

Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests

 

A faculty rally in favour of academic free speech is held in the main quad at Columbia University in New York on Monday, 22 April 2024. 

Columbia University announced that classes would be held remotely starting Monday, as pro-Palestinian protests continued for the sixth day on the school’s campus. 

Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

Moscow, Russia

 

Communist Party supporters hold portraits of Vladimir Lenin as they walk to visit Lenin’s mausoleum on Red Square, to mark the 154^th Anniversary of Lenin’s birth.

Photograph:  Maxim Shipenhov/EPA

Belgian man has auto-brewery syndrome

 

A Belgian man, who works in a brewery, has been acquitted of drunk-driving because he has auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), an extremely rare condition whereby the body produces alcohol.  Three doctors who independently examined him had confirmed he had ABS.........

https://tinyurl.com/yc2zh4n9

 

Elon Musk's fight with Australian government

 

Elon Musk's social media platform X is threatening a legal fight with the Australian government after being issued a take-down notice for X posts, including videos of the recent Sydney stabbings.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-23/what-can-the-government-do-about-x/103752600

 

The Block bidder loses $1m on sisters house

 

Last year, The Block serial bidder Adrian Portelli spent $4.3m and bought sisters Eliza and Liberty’s house. The sisters were more than happy with their $1.05m at the auction.

Last weekend, it sold for $3.245m, leading to a $1.055m loss, not including stamp duty, for the young rich lister known as “Lambo Guy”.

 

Molly Ticehurst's body found in Forbes

 

Police discovered the body of Molly Ticehurst inside a home on Young St in Forbes – more than 370km west of Sydney – about 1.50am today (Monday).            

A NSW Police spokesman said a man was arrested at a property in Fifield, about an hour northwest of Forbes, and taken to Parkes Police Station.

The cruel reality of Australian politics

 

In 2011, Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott expressed regret for appearing to endorse the abusive placards like ‘ditch the bitch’ and ‘Juliar - Bob Brown’s Bitch’ at an anti-carbon tax rally in Canberra. 

But the vile hatred didn't end there for our first female Prime Minister, it got worse when her father passed away.  

 

On 29 September 2012, the Australian newspaper revealed that Sydney radio broadcaster Alan Jones declared at a Sydney University Young Liberals dinner that Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s father had ‘died of shame’.  

He was forced to issue a half-hearted apology because his sponsors were outraged.   He was hit in the hip pocket and for a brief moment, staggered in the harsh glare of public loathing.

But the Canberra bear pit had moved along from those bad old days and there was a glimmer of kindness in the wind.  

But when Brittany Higgins was raped by Bruce Lehrmann at Parliament House, we're back to square one.