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Tag: Australia

  • Kanye West “Doing Fine” After Health Scare

    Kanye West had a bit of a health scare while touring in Australia on Wednesday.

    The rapper was rushed to the emergency room at Epworth Hospital in Richmond, Melbourne for a migraine that developed after a basketball game and just hours before he was supposed to perform.

    Kanye was given an emergency MRI scan, but wasn’t admitted and was back on stage that night in Melbourne.

    It must not have been too serious, contrary to what was reported by a bystander, Lorraine Terry. She may have misconstrued some facts gathered from eavesdropping, though.

    The woman, who was there with someone else, said that she thought she heard Kanye West’s doctors say that they think he had a seizure.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3uko-15i4k

    However, a source told US Weekly that it wasn’t that serious.

    “Kanye just had a headache and wanted to be extra clear for his show,” the source said. “It wasn’t seizures or anything like that.”

    A rep for Kanye confirmed that he wasn’t dying.

    “He’s fine,” a rep for the rapper told ET. “I just spoke to him.”

    He was out and ready for his Yeezus show date at the Rod Laver Arena fairly quickly. Glad he was able to make that date and not disappoint his fans!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo7NUDaoBNc

    Kanye West has been in Australia with his wife, Kim Kardashian, and their daughter, North West. He will wrap up his time in Australia in Brisbane on September 15th.

    Kim Kardashian’s Instagram activity didn’t even slow down during the time Kanye West was in the hospital, so she must not have been too worried.

    Good luck to Kanye West as he continues to get better. Hopefully, a migraine won’t strike again. If you’ve ever had one, you know there’s no way he’d be able to even get out of bed, much less wow his fans at a show.

  • Amazon Coins Expanded To Two More Countries

    Amazon Coins (not to be confused with Amazon’s recently launched store for collectable coins) is expanding into Japan and Australia.

    The virtual currency was launched last year, and the company says customers have already spent hundreds of millions of Amazon Coins. Amazon’s Mike Hines writes in a blog post:

    Now customers in Japan and Australia can use Amazon Coins on apps, games, and in-app items from their Kindle Fire, Android phone or tablet, and on amazon.co.jp and amazon.com.au. Customers can enjoy apps and games for less by purchasing Amazon Coins, and the more they buy, the greater the discount.

    For a limited time, every Kindle Fire owner in Japan and Australia will find 500 Yen/$5.00 AUD worth of free coins deposited into their Amazon Account. And as an additional incentive, customers can also purchase coins in bulk and receive a discount of up to 20% to spend on apps and games in the Amazon Android Appstore (regular discount is 10% off apps and games).

    Amazon Coins enable users to save up to 10% on app purchases. According to Amazon, many developers count the currency as being responsible for the majority of their revenue.

    Image via Amazon

  • Swine Flu Epidemic Hits Australia

    In 2009, the World Health Organization classified the H1N1 strain of influenza, more commonly referred to as swine flu, as a Phase 6 pandemic, the highest rating possible for such a virus. Thankfully, the pandemic only lasted slightly longer than one year, with the WHO declaring the pandemic over in August 2010.

    If Australia has any impact on WHO classifications, however, that pandemic label may be returning to the swine flu soon…

    So far this year, 21,000 cases of swine flu have been reported in Australia – more than double of the amount reported at this time last year, according to the Influenza Specialist Group (ISG).

    The ISG reports that around 20 to 50 percent of children will acquire the flu each season, with only 10 to 30 percent of adults suffering from the same fate. However, mothers tend to be specifically susceptible to the flu in Australia, most likely due to the constant contact with children and the large amounts of stress mothers face everyday, weakening the immune system.

    In fact, women are more susceptible than men, overall, to contract the sickness. The numbers show that females are 25 percent more likely to acquire the virus than men. One of the reasons this phenomenon may be so apparent in Australia is due to the fact that 70 percent of women in “The Land Down Under” are not vaccinated against the flu.

    Because of the dearth of people actually vaccinated against the flu, scientists and health professionals, including ISG chairman Dr Alan Hampson, are urging Australians to get vaccinated while there is still a chance for the immunity to take hold:

    If they haven’t been infected yet it’s never too late but there might be a very narrow window. I think people do need a while to acquire immunity. If they’re in a high-risk group or people who can’t afford to be infected then it’s worth while getting along to your GP and I’d suggest no later than this week.

    Dr. Hampson also stressed to not simply rely upon over-the-counter medicine to alleviate one’s aches and pains: “They’re not really having an impact in the infection in your body, they’re just suppressing the symptoms. So you really shouldn’t take those and then soldier on. It only stresses your body.”

    And, as always, wash your hands and avoid the source – large crowds of people.

    Image via YouTube

  • Flight 370 Search: Dutch Firm Hired to Investigate

    It has been almost exactly five months since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370) crashed somewhere along its route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China. In the frantic search conducted immediately following the plane’s disappearance, scientists and investigators found essentially no trace of the plane or the 239 passengers onboard when it disappeared. After taking a short hiatus from the hunt, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss announced that his country, which has been placed in-charge of the investigation by Malaysia, has named the newest company to head the search.

    Fugro N.V., a Dutch oil-and-gas servicing firm, won the $48.4 million contract with the Australian government to head the next phase of the investigation for Flight 370. While the company does not specialize in searching for wrecks or finding lost things on the ocean floor, it does have deep specialization in mapping underwater terrain and geolocation, along with a massive crew with the ability to run lengthy operations – a vital characteristic in the upcoming, 330 day search.

    Fugro will utilize two ships in its search for the missing flight and will be joined by ships from Malaysia. The two ships will be deployed at separate times and each will be towing deep-water vehicles while using side-scan sonar, multi-beam echo sounders and video cameras to identify any evidence of the wreckage.

    When the search continues in mid-September, Fugro will have the responsibility of mapping nearly 23,000 square miles of the ocean floor which promises many surprises: “We haven’t completed the mapping, so we are still discovering detailed features that we had no knowledge of, underwater volcanoes and various other things. We are finding some surprises as we go through,” stated Martin Dolan, head of the Australian Transport Safety Board.

    Despite the fact that no firm has had any success locating the plane thus far, Deputy Prime Minister Truss still holds out hope: “I remain cautiously optimistic that we will locate the missing aircraft within the priority search area.”

    On the other hand, David Mearns, a British based deep sea search and recovery expert, is less optimistic:

    At the end of the day, the plane will only be found if the searchers are looking in the right place. So, the success, or failure, of this next search effort rests mainly on the latest re-evaluation of the INMARSAT handshake pings and the probable flight path, speed and altitude of the plane. Beyond that the two biggest factors will be whether the seabed is mountainous or flat and, frankly, the commitment of the authorities to find the plane no matter how long it takes or how much it costs.

    With 330 days and nearly $50 million, let’s hope that Fugro’s attempts prove successful.

    Image via Fugro

  • Australian Couple Ditches Baby With Thai Surrogate

    Australian Couple Ditches Baby With Thai Surrogate

    An Australian couple who paid a Thai surrogate to carry their twin babies left one near Bangkok after finding out the boy had Down’s Syndrome and a congenital heart condition. The couple returned to Australia with a healthy girl.

    Pattaramon Chanbua, 21, was paid roughly $14,900 to carry the twins who were born in December, and has been caring for the boy since. The abandoned baby is named Gammy, and so far a crowdfunding effort entitled Hope for Gammy has raised over $160K to help pay for his medical expenses.

    Pattaramon, who resides in the Chonburi province, southeast of Bangkok, commented, “The money that was offered was a lot for me. In my mind, with that money, one, we can educate my children, two, we can repay our debt.”

    Pattaramon added, “I don’t know what to do. I chose to have him. I love him, he was in my tummy for nine months.”

    The actions of the Australian couple who abandoned their their son sparked outrage and shed light upon the seedier aspects of Thai medical tourism.

    Paying for surrogacy in Thailand is illegal, according to Tares Krassanairawiwong, a Thai public health ministry official. “Surrogacy can be done in Thailand but it has to comply with the laws. A surrogate has to be related to the intended parents and no money can be involved,” Krassanairawiwong said.

    Pattaramon never actually met Gammy’s biological parents, and their identities remain anonymous. The young mother told Thai newspaper Thairath, “They (the surrogacy agency) told me to carry a baby for a family that does not have children. They said it would be a baby in a tube.”

    “I don’t wish him to be the smart boy or intelligent person. I just want to see him as a good man,” Pattaramon said.

    Many couples visit Thailand to use its in-vitro fertilization (IVF) services regardless of a vague legal situation surrounding surrogacy.

    Image via Hope for Gammy

  • ‘Snapchat’ Drug Is Sending People to the Hospital

    Police in Darwin, Northern Territory Australia have had to issue an official drug warning over a new amphetamine pill that bears the Snapchat logo and is sending people to the hospital.

    The drug, street named Snapchat due to the Snapchat ghost logo imprinted on the pill, has sent a number of people to local hospitals in consecutive weekends.

    According to officials, the ecstasy-like pill contains elements of bath salts, and is causing “wild aggression and hysteria” in those who ingest it.

    “These people appeared to become aggressive and disoriented after ingesting the drug and were taken to Royal Darwin Hospital,” said Superintendent Clint Sims.

    “The drug is described to be in pill form and has been sold in two colours. One is pink and the other blue with green speckles. With the upcoming long weekend and a number of public events planned, our primary concern is that these contaminated pills will be distributed into the wider community.

    Of course, colorful ecstasy pills are nothing new to the party scene in any country, but what’s interesting is the fact that its makers have decided to go with a Snapchat logo and police have had to issue a specific drug warning. Snapchat, named after the ephemeral messaging app, it apparently causing people to behave in an “erratic and irrational manner.”

    You know, kind of like Snapchat itself.

    “Taking any illicit drug is dangerous and potentially deadly. These drugs are not produced under pharmaceutical conditions and the reality is people have no idea what they are taking or worse, what affect it will have on them,” said Sims.

    Yeah, that’s pretty solid advice when it comes to any of those designer pills, whether or not they feature a cute little Snapchat ghost or not. You never know what’s in those things – it’s rarely, if ever, majority MDMA.

    Images via Northern Territory Police

  • Keith Urban, Nicole Kidman Marriage ‘Strained’

    Perhaps distance does not make the heart grow fonder. There have been a slew of celebrity couples blaming marital woes on distance.

    Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban are the latest couple whose marriage is reportedly under strain because of distance.

    Sources say the stars barely get to see each other at the moment, which has made it difficult to work on their relationship.

    “Tensions are reaching boiling point within their marriage. It’s no secret that they’re spending increasing periods apart, and Keith’s close friendship with J-Lo won’t have helped, especially as both Jen and Keith are returning to American Idol next season,” an insider told British magazine Grazia.

    Urban has been very busy with his American Idol gig and the Australia actress is struggling to keep her career on track.

    Kidman took a blow recently after Grace of Monaco received a poor response from critics, causing a bit of a scandal in France during the Cannes Film Festival.

    “Nicole’s had a lot on her plate with the panning that Grace of Monaco got, and it won’t be helping if she no longer feels she can lean on Keith,” said the insider.

    “It’s fair to say communication doesn’t seem great between them, to the extent that they’re decreasingly talking face-to-face. Friends are wondering whether their eighth wedding anniversary will be their last.”

    Although the friend says the marriage is strained, Kidman has said she would give up acting for love.

    “I have never had to; I would, absolutely. I wouldn’t even think twice about it because I would hope there is something else I can do, and I would find something else to do. I think love is the core emotion, and I have certainly existed without that in my life, and it’s a very empty life,” she told the Australian magazine Women’s Weekly.

    “I have always said; when I won the Oscar [for The Hours], I went home and I didn’t have that in my life. That was the most intensely lonely period of my life.”

    The couple married in 2006 and have daughters Sunday Rose and Faith Margaret together.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Instagram Ads Going Global ‘Later This Year’

    On the heels of what the company is calling a very successful ad rollout in the US, Instagram has announced that they plan on taking their new ads global very soon.

    According to Instagram, they will build on their “momentum” by launching ads in users’ photo feeds in Canada, Australia, and the UK ‘later this year.”

    “The results for advertisers have been positive—and in some cases, well above the ad industry’s average for performance. We’re excited to build on this momentum, and in the coming months we will extend the same level of care and consideration as we introduce ads on Instagram to our global community,” says the company in a post.

    “As with our initial roll-out, we are committed to learning as much as we can while building Instagram as a sustainable business. Later this year, we’ll start by introducing ads on Instagram in three countries—Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. In the future we’ll also look to introduce ads on Instagram to additional countries across the world.”

    After a month-long soft launch period, Instagram finally unveiled in-feed ads back in November of 2013. Starting with big-name partners like Ben & Jerry’s, Burberry, Levi’s, Macy’s, PayPal, and Michael Kors, Instagram’s ads look like regular old posts – but are marked with a ‘sponsored’ tag. Users can also hide them from their feeds if they so desire.

    The move came a little over a year after being acquired by Facebook.

    Image via Michael Kors, Instagram

  • Human Remains Found In Crocodile

    On Sunday, Australian police made a shocking discovery inside a large crocodile.

    During a search for a 62-year-old man, who was believed to have been snatched from his boat at Kakadu National Park, authorities shot and killed two saltwater crocodiles approximately a mile from where the man was attacked.

    One of the crocodiles, measuring 15-foot, 5-inch, contained human remains, believed to be those of the missing man. Northern Territory Police Sgt. Andrew Hocking said that the man, who has not been identified, was fishing with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law when the incident occurred.

    Because of the lack of cell phone service in the area, the man’s wife and daughter-in-law had to drive two hours to alert the police of the attack. The police then started a search for the man, by both helicopter and boat, and noticed the two giant crocodiles lurking around the area that he disappeared. “This is a tragic event and our thoughts are with the family during this very difficult time,” said Commander Bruce Porter of the Northern Command.

    The Northern Territory Police Force posted an update on Facebook regarding the attack.

    Fatal Crocodile Attack – Kakadu – Update. The body of a 62-year-old man has today been recovered by Police in the vicinity of where the crocodile attack occurred, in Kakadu National Park. The man and his family were fishing at the Flying Fox Waterhole on the South Alligator River when the fatal attack took place yesterday afternoon.
    Police and Kakadu National Park Rangers conducted spotlight searching through the night, continuing the search with a helicopter and vessels throughout the day. A 4.63m crocodile was located and shot by Park Rangers shortly after noon and the body recovered. Commander Bruce Porter of the Northern Command said, “This is a tragic event and our thoughts are with the family during this very difficult time.” A report will now be prepared for the Coroner.

    Post by Northern Territory Police Force.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Janelle Monae Ill, Tour With Kimbra Cancelled

    Janelle Monae and Kimbra’s Golden Electric Tour is over. The remaining dates on the tour were cancelled via an announcement from Live Nation, citing Monae’s illness as the reason for the cancellation. The singer became ill upon her arrival in Australia and was rendered unable to perform.

    The ‘Electric Lady’ R&B artist is under strict medical supervision in Melbourne, Australia, and has been told by doctors that performing is out of the question. This left Live Nation with no choice but to cancel the remainder of the stops on the Australia and New Zealand legs of the tour.

    Janelle is apparently devastated over the notion of disappointing her fans and she vows she will be up and running as soon as doctors deem her able to do so.

    “Due to Janelle Monáe’s continuing illness it has been confirmed that the remainder of The Golden Electric Tour has been cancelled and there will be no rescheduled performances,” the brief statement from Live Nation Australasia reads.

    It is uncertain exactly what has stricken Monae or whether or not doctors have diagnosed the illness. It has been described in some reports as as “mystery illness.”

    Janelle Monae has yet to make an official statement regarding the tour’s cancellation, however Kimbra has posted a few blurbs online, including the following tweet.

    She also shared the following photo on Instagram, with the caption, “Glad we still got to get electric with you guys for one night at the Forum in Melbourne! We were just getting started oh shieeeeeeet!”

    Fans from all over the world are certainly keeping Janelle Monae in their prayers and awaiting word on what exactly this mysterious illness is. Live Nation is refunding all ticket holders for the cancelled concerts in Australia and New Zealand. She is scheduled to perform during a solo tour in the U.S. beginning on May 31st. No word has been released yet as to whether her illness will have an impact on the U.S. tour.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Conjoined Twins: One Body, Two Faces

    Renee Young and Simon Howie, who already have seven other children, welcomed their twins, via emergency C-section, on Thursday, at Westmead Children’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia.

    While each and every birth is a special event, this birth was extra unique. The twins Hope and Faith were born conjoined with a rare congenital disorder called diprosopus. Young and Howie found out about their twin’s disorder during their 19-week ultrasound, so they were prepared when the girls were born with one body and two faces.

    Although the girls share a cranium, they each have a separate face and brain. They also share one set of limbs and organs. While most would see the twins as one child because of their appearance, Howie explains that they see them as their twins- two separate human beings.

    “Even though there is only one body, we call them our twins,” Howie said. “To us, they are our girls and we love them.”

    To date, there have been on 40 cases of twins born with two faces. Of those 40, very few survived past birth. However, despite the statistics, the girls are currently doing well. “They are breathing perfectly on their own and feeding. They are little Aussie fighters.”

    Because their condition is so rare, the doctors are monitoring Hope and Faith very closely and currently do not know how long they will remain in the hospital. “We have no idea how long they will be in hospital,” said Howie. “We just want to bring them home, happy and healthy to make our family a little bit bigger and a bit more chaotic.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Jordan Belfort: The Wolf of Wall St. Melts Down

    The larger-than-life exploits of Jordan Belfort became the stuff of legend when brought to the big screen by Leonardo Dicaprio. The drugs, the hookers, the midgets, and the way Belfort swindled so many people out of their money was entertaining when played out in a movie. But Belfort’s actions cost people their livelihoods.

    And now he is out of prison, having served only half of his sentence, and he is supposed to be paying back what he swindled from people. Belfort’s deal for his release is that he has to pay 50% of his income as restitution until the total ordered is met, $110.4 million.

    But some say that he is making a killing in Australia with seminars featuring his “Sell me this pen” schtick, and has no intentions of paying money back to his victims in the United States as ordered by his deal.

    Recently the Australian 60 Minutes sat down with Belfort. In the course of the interview, things did not go how Belfort had hoped. The interviewer, Liz Hayes, asked Belfort if his oral contract with his management company was an attempt to hide his level of income so it could not be used as part of his restitution deal with the U.S. government.

    Belfort went ballistic.

    “I am not going to get attacked,” he shouted at Hayes. He kept interrupting her, insisting on moving to another subject. “You’re a very nice woman but this is obviously a hatchet job.”

    Hayes calmly responded that she was not attacking him, but asked her question.

    “I was told it would be a friendly, nice interview,” the Wolf fired back. He then got up from his seat and left the set area.

    “You’ve got a lot of nerve, boy,” he yelled away from the lights and cameras.

    Belfort eventually returned to his seat and continued with the interview. But the topic of whether he is dodging his obligation to repay his victims is a sensitive subject with him.

    Image via YouTube

  • The Frog in the Fish: A Story of Hope

    The Frog in the Fish: A Story of Hope

    Let’s spoil the story first: the frog is okay, he lived, never underestimate the fighting spirit.

    You never know what you’re going to catch, whether it’s an old boot or General Sherman – trash and treasure hide under the seas. Sometimes your catch gets away, and sometimes your catch’s catch gets away after you caught your catch. What?

    At a swamp an hour north from Townsville, Queensland, Australia, angler Angus James removed a lure from a pierced jungle perch fish he was about to throw back in the water. In the brief split second of removing the hook, he peeked in its gapping mouth and found a little green man staring back at him (a White’s tree frog.)

    “I was shocked,” James told News Limited in Australia. “I thought it might have been grass at first, then it blinked. I always carry a camera, so I took the pic and then he jumps out.”

    Like a get out of jail free card, fate’s hand guided James’ which gave Mr. frog a second chance while singlehandedly annihilating the concept of YOLO and jumping over Mr. James’ head.

    “Everyone keeps saying the frog got its second chance at life.”

    James snapped a picture of the frog in fish prison, posted the photo on Facebook, and overnight, became an internet sensation with 40,000 likes and 2000 comments; one of the comments read: “He [the frog] looks like he’s smiling. I guess I would be too if I were him.”

    “It has gone all around the world,” he told News Limited. “So many people have shared it. There’s people commenting on the photo in languages I don’t even understand.

    News Limited of Australia came up with perfect headline when the story broke: “Excuse me, I think I’ve got a frog in my throat…no really, I do have a frog in my throat.

    Images via Facebook, YouTube

  • Huge Great White Shark Tagged In Australia

    Huge Great White Shark Tagged In Australia

    Great white sharks are the ultimate predators of the sea and creatures that many people fear. While great white sharks are only responsible for a small number of shark attacks, they are known as one of the largest and most ferocious shark species.

    Huge great white sharks have recently been spotted near popular beach areas in Australia and other parks of the world. When a great white shark named Joan of Shark was spotted by fishermen near Ellen Cove in Australia, the beaches were closed and nobody was allowed to enter the water until the shark moved on.

    Joan of Shark had been tagged and can be tracked with a GPS. This allows researchers to know the whereabouts of the shark at all times. The tracking device not only helps keep beachgoers safe, it also allows the researchers to learn more about great white sharks and their habits. The shark was first shot with a temporary tag but was later caught and fitted with a more permanent one in her stomach that will allow researchers to track her for at least 10 years.

    Joan of Shark is the largest shark to be tagged and researchers are anxious to study her. She is more than 16 feet long and is estimated to weigh 1.6 tons.

    “It is the first one we have caught of breeding size,” Mark Kleeman, Shark Monitoring Network project manager said. “It had signs of mating scars, with bites down one side.”

    “This is very exciting and potentially a world first, he continued. It is something we have been striving for and it is great to prove we can handle an animal of that size.The main thing is that tracking larger animals opens up a whole new world. Lots of juveniles have been tagged, but to have a fully-mature female and get 10 years of data out of it is a big thing for us. We are excited by the potential of what this shark can give us.”

    The researchers believe that Joan of Shark will soon move away from the beaches and out to deeper waters. They claim that she is only in the area because she could sense the distress signals of a large humpback whale which was beached earlier in the week and later died. They also warn that more sharks could come into the area over the next few days because of the dead whale.

    What do you think researchers will learn about the newly tagged great white shark?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Malaysia Airlines Wreckage to be Surveyed Underwater

    Malaysia Airlines Wreckage to be Surveyed Underwater

    On April 5, the international search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 had its biggest discovery to date – a ping from below the ocean’s surface. The ping was discovered by the Ocean Shield, an Australian navy ship towing a US Navy ping locator. Three days after the first two initial pings were discovered, two more pings were heard, giving much credence to the idea that the international search had now been limited to a very defined area.

    That area is a five kilometer by eight kilometer area some 963 miles northwest of Perth, Australia.

    Unfortunately for search crews, the second set of pings heard on April 8 was the last hint of life observed from the plane’s black box. Flight MH370 originally crashed on March 8 after leaving Kuala Lampur, heading toward Beijing. The batteries on a black box are only expected to last for 30 days. As it currently stands, it has been 38 days since the search for the missing plane began.

    With the search area now limited and the Ocean Shield ping-locator being no longer of use, the United States Navy has agreed to lend a mini-submarine search vessel to the investigative efforts.

    The Bluefin-21 is an autonomous underwater vehicle that the Navy has used with some success before. The submarine was able to find an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.

    The Bluefin-21 works by using side-scan sonar – a device which can create 3D images of an area by using acoustics rather than light.

    The downside of using the Bluefin-21, however, is that the process is slow. For each portion of the search area crews wish to investigate, the Bluefin-21 will need 24 hours to do its thing – two hours to descend to the ocean floor, 16 hours to map the area, two more hours to resurface, and at least four hours to download all of the images and information.

    All in all, it may take a couple months for the Bluefin-21 to make the five by eight kilometer area.

    “I would caution you against raising hopes that the deployment of the autonomous underwater vehicle will result in the detection of the aircraft wreckage – it may not,” stated Angus Houston, head of the search effort.

    “However, this is the best lead we have, and it must be pursued vigorously. Again, I emphasize that this will be a slow and painstaking process.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Crayfish: Australia’s Newest Species Is Tiny, But Is It a Cannibal?

    Robert McCormack of the The Australian Crayfish Project has discovered a new species of crayfish in Eastern Australia. The discovery of the species Gramastacus lacus was published in ZooKeys, an online journal under the US National Library of Medicine.

    The species lives north of the expanding metropolitan area of Sydney, which places it at extreme risk. Since the crayfish is newly discovered, conservation status is pending, but McCormack speculated that the species is already endangered. The journal supplied a map of known locations:

    The crayfish prefer to live in small creeks and swamps to limit threats from predators, which include eels, lizards, water bugs, turtles and birds. Since the crayfish only grow to a quarter of an inch long, they make an easy target to larger predators and larger crayfish.

    McCormack wrote that the crayfish will avoid “deeper water away from the high density populations in the shallows to avoid cannibalism”. The mention of cannibalism was picked up by the news media, Live Science writer Becky Oskin pointed out the long claws of the crayfish could be used in defense of crayfish who are more inclined to be a cannibals. Although major news networks are fixated on the cannibal aspect, the Earth Times’ Dave Armstrong was more interested in the crayfish’s tiny size. “It’s not often we get to write on some animal so small that it can sit on your finger nail,” he wrote.

    The Australian Crayfish Project is a volunteer research organization which seeks “to find and identify every species of freshwater crayfish, and document their biology, distributions and habitat requirements”. Started in 2005, the twenty year project was created to discover the large range of biodiversity in Australian crayfish. In 2011, the project discovered Euastacus morgani, another Australian crayfish. The world may hear of ever newer species before the project is over.

    Image via US National Library of Medicine 1, 2

  • Shark Attack Victim’s Husband Speaks About Incident

    Rob Armstrong knew something was wrong.

    A bird came out of nowhere and swooped down on him, almost as if it were trying to warn him of the grave danger he and his wife Christine would soon be in.

    It was shortly afterwards that Armstrong and his swimming group noticed a large whaler shark heading in their direction.

    No one panicked.

    The group simply tightened their swimming formation and headed back to the safety of the beach. Once ashore, the sense of relief was palpable.

    “We thought everything was safe and we just hugged each other,” said Armstrong. “Then we found that Chris wasn’t in the change rooms.”

    Rob Armstrong hadn’t been concerned about his 44-year-old wife because his 70-year-old swimming buddy had seemed the more likely target of the predatory animal.

    Realizing that Christine Armstrong had not made it to land, members of the swimming group quickly took an inflatable rescue boat out to where the shark had been sighted.

    It was then that Rob Armstrong and the others made the heart-breaking discovery: His wife had likely been devoured almost whole during a horrific shark attack.

    Armstrong believes that Christine experienced a “quick death” and didn’t suffer.

    “The shark was such a size and it’s consumed her basically completely,” he said, “She wouldn’t have even known it happened.”

    It has been reported that only the victim’s swimming cap, goggles, and scant human remains were recovered from the water. What little was found is scheduled to undergo forensic testing.

    Authorities are still trying to locate the rest of Christine Armstrong’s body.

    Tathra Beach, the site of the incident, was briefly closed. It has since been re-opened to the public with the support of the Armstrong family.

    Rob Armstrong insists that his late wife died doing something that she loved. He’s also confident that she will be missed by many.

    “Chris only knew one way in life and that was love, and everyone loved her.”

    Image via YouTube

  • Tara Reid Reveals She Kissed Tom Brady

    Tara Reid Reveals She Kissed Tom Brady

    Tara Reid, actress of American Pie and Sharknado, revealed she has indeed kissed football player Tom Brady. According to the Daily Mail, Kyle And Jackie O were interviewing her on their Australian breakfast radio show segment, “60 Seconds Of Kiss”, when she revealed the kiss.

    “He’s pretty good looking,” she said of Brady. She revealed she also kissed Koby Abberton, who is a member of the Australian surfing gang, the Bra Boys.

    When asked about Jason Biggs, her co-star of American Pie, the actress said, “no way!”

    There is no mention of the Tom Brady fling on Reid’s Twitter profile. However, she did show off her bikini body from a day off of filming:

    And her new engagement ring:

    Which turned out just to be a prop from her new movie:

    Her current project, Charlie’s Farm by director Chris Sun is currently being filmed in Queensland, Australia on a tiny budget of 1.5 million. According to the Courier-Mail, she has hope that “there’s going to be a couple of them. This could be a huge franchise. Having someone who’s done so many films like myself heightens the interest in it. That’s the beauty about what you do and being famous is that you can help a lot of people.”

    The Daily Mail reported that Reid has been enjoying her time in Australia making the film. “‘I’m not really missing the internet at all. I don’t have to read anything about myself I can just focus on the film and have a good time. I did an interview the other day and they were mentioning the gossip that’s happening right now around the world and I had no idea what they were even talking about. I kind of like that, it was refreshing,” she said “It’s amazing here, we’re in the middle of nowhere and there’s no paparazzi. It’s not like being home when they’re outside your house and they watch every little move you make. Here it’s very comforting for me.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Malaysian Airlines: Chinese Satellite Spots Object

    Another image of debris has been picked up by a Chinese satellite on Saturday, giving new hope for possible answers to the near three-week missing Malaysian flight MH370.

    The image is in close proximity to the other satellite images found by an Australian satellite earlier this week, in the remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean, a vast expanse of deep and endless water.

    China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said on its website that a Chinese satellite took an image of an object 22 meters (72 feet) by 13 meters (43 feet) around noon Tuesday. The image location was about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of where two other objects were discovered.

    “The news that I just received is that the Chinese ambassador received a satellite image of a floating object in the southern corridor and they will be sending ships to verify,” Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters Saturday said.

    The latest image seems to be just another clue in the mysterious and futile search for the Boeing 777, which went missing March 8 less than an hour after leaving Kuala Lumpur heading to Beijing with 239 people on board.

    After about a week of confusion, and many suspicious officials withholding information, authorities said pings sent by the aircraft for several hours after it disappeared from radar left officials to strongly assume that the plane ended up in one of two huge arcs: a northern area stretching from Malaysia up to Central Asia, and a southern area that stretches in an arch toward Antarctica.

    The objects are extremely difficult to locate and many search teams have been involved in the effort to locate them, however, the weather and vastness of that area of ocean is making it difficult.

    Search aircraft are flying from Perth, AU, to the site, which is nearly 1500 miles to the suspected site, and with limited fuel and visibility for searching, they have found nothing.

    The efforts are being reinforced as two military planes from China arrived Saturday in Perth to join Australian, New Zealand and U.S. aircraft in the search. Japanese planes will arrive Sunday and ships are already in the area or on their way.

    Many experts feel that the search should continue on land as well, because even if both satellites detected the same object, it may be unrelated to the plane.

    Image via YouTube

  • Baby Graves Found in Family Back Yard

    Baby Graves Found in Family Back Yard

    According to AFP News, Australian police are digging up a family backyard, looking for what has been described as “multiple secret baby graves”.

    In what sounds like the makings of a scene from “True Detective”, police are looking for tiny burial spots after receiving a tip that the family had secretly borne multiple babies that had then disappeared.

    “I can confirm we are conducting investigations into information received regarding allegations a number of child births have been concealed on the property,” Detective Inspector Mick Dowie told news agencies.

    While Dowie did confirm that there was one family involved int he investigation, he did not reveal whether the family was cooperating with the investigation or not, referring simply to the fact that police had been left to do their own digging.

    “You can draw your own conclusions from the fact that we’re doing an excavation,” he said.

    Australian News reports that the investigation began on one property, but has recently been expanded to a second property owned by the couple.

    Some neighbors have described the couple as “weird” and “religious”, and that they were the first to come to mind when they heard that something was up in the area. But other neighbors have said they were “terrific”. Some wondered at the likelihood that the couple could have done anything this bizarre.

    “We don’t know what to make of it. We can’t imagine what to make of it. Obviously coppers don’t go to these lengths unless they’ve looked at it and consider it worthwhile,” one neighbor said.

    The area where the police are digging is know as Gin Gin, Queensland, and is about 230 outside of Brisbane, Australia. It is a rural locale with sugarcane plantations and cattle ranches throughout the area, but the total population is only about 1000 persons.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kate Middleton and Prince William Hire A Super Nanny

    Kate Middleton and Prince William were reportedly on a recent hunt to find a nanny to care for Prince George. A new report claims they’ve found one. The royal couple has reportedly hired a 30-something super nanny from Spain, and she is said to have ample experience working with “high flying families.”

    The new nanny has been hired just weeks prior to Kate and William’s royal tour of New Zealand and Australia. She’s already on the job, too, as she was spotted–accompanied by a security guard–walking the little prince in his carriage in Hyde Park while Kate and William enjoyed a brief getaway in the Maldives.

    “She has worked with other prominent high-society families in the past,” a royal source said during a recent interview. “It was from there that the Cambridges heard of her and hired her.”

    “She is not married and doesn’t have a boyfriend as her life is totally dedicated to the family she is working with,” the source continued. “She is known for being totally professional – married to the job.”

    It has to be extremely hard to hire a nanny in the “normal world.” Leaving one’s most precious assets in the care of another human being about whom you rely on references to assess is tough. When the little charge in question is a prince, all sorts of added security measures and background checks weigh in to the process. It clearly involves way more than just Kate Middleton and Prince William sipping tea with a few candidates while discussing child care experience.

    And just imagine what it must be like for this thus far unnamed Spanish super nanny–suddenly thrust into the spotlight, caring for a prince.

    “Every now and then the nanny stopped to check on the baby and make sure he was wrapped up warm in the chilly weather,” a source said of the nanny and the prince. “There was a personal protection officer with her as they walked, with more following them and there were police cars patrolling the park.”

    This definitely isn’t your average nannying position.

    The new nanny has reportedly now traveled with additional staff ahead of the New Zealand and Australia tour, where she will care for Prince George while Kate Middleton and Prince William go about their royal duties.

    There a definitely some major perks to this nannying gig, but ones that come with an incredible–perhaps even overwhelming–responsibility. It will be interesting to see what Kate and William think of their new hire at the end of the royal tour.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons