Wannabe Olympic MMA group tried gifting $82,000 cognac to Brisbane Games committee

An upstart mixed-martial arts association headed by a Singaporean rich-lister has lavished incredibly priced alcohol, including an $82,000 bottle of cognac, on Brisbane’s key Olympic decision-making body. The gifts are so exorbitant the Brisbane Organising Committee for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has not kept them, even handing into Customs another two bottles of…

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Video appears to show Thailand pub fire reached flashover ‘point of no return’, expert says

Video of an explosive fire in Thailand that killed 27 people and injured 64 appears to show a flashover “point of no return” could have made evacuation nearly impossible, a crowd safety expert says. Warning: This article contains images some readers may find distressing. About 63 people were injured, with 22 in critical condition, after…

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Safety of women and girls under national spotlight again after four alleged murders in four days

Warning: This story contains details of alleged murders. When Lavanya Chappa was allegedly murdered by her husband, her two children, aged 13 and seven, were in the house. “The last thing the boy said [to his grandfather] was ‘please come and take me’… in our language,” family friend Sri Lakshmi Thukral said. “[The family] are…

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Jewish professor tells of ‘intimidating’, ‘disruptive’ Melbourne University protest

A University of Melbourne professor says an “antisemitic” campus protest that saw participants invade his office left him intimidated and subject to tough new security measures. In 2024, protesters, some masked and wearing keffiyehs, entered physics professor Steven Prawer’s office as part of a demonstration against the war, refusing to leave until police were called….

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