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Crowd cheers as fan booted from US Open after vile Nazi slur

<p>During a US Open tennis match held early on Tuesday morning, a spectator found themselves ejected from the event following an incident involving German tennis player Alexander Zverev.</p> <p>The disruption arose when Zverev, seeded number 12, was locked in a fierce fourth-set battle against Italy's Jannik Sinner, seeded number six.</p> <p>At a critical juncture in the match, just as he was about to serve, Zverev approached chair umpire James Keothavong and pointed out a fan situated right behind the umpire's chair.</p> <p>Zverev raised the issue, stating, "He [the fan] just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is..."</p> <p>Zverev then expressed his strong disapproval, exclaiming, "It's unacceptable, this is unbelievable."</p> <p>In response to Zverev's concerns, Keothavong scanned the crowd and repeatedly asked, "Who said that? Who said that?" amid raucous boos from the audience.</p> <p>The umpire swiftly made a decision, asserting, "We're going to get him out," much to the relief of those watching in Arthur Ashe Stadium.</p> <p>Keothavong also took a moment to remind the crowd to maintain respect for both players. Shortly after, during a changeover, spectators seated near the offending fan identified him, and security promptly removed him from the venue. The crowd responded with cheers as the fan was escorted up the stadium stairs.</p> <p>A US Tennis Association spokesperson, Chris Widmaier, confirmed the incident, stating, "A disparaging remark was directed toward Alexander Zverev. The fan was identified and escorted from the stadium."</p> <p>Despite the disruption, Zverev went on to triumph over Sinner in a gruelling five-set match and secured his spot in the quarterfinals, where he would face the defending US Open champion, Carlos Alcaraz.</p> <p>This epic match, which Zverev won with scores of 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, endured for an impressive four hours and 41 minutes, making it the lengthiest match of the tournament up to that point. The contest concluded at 1:40 am local time in New York.</p> <p>Reflecting on the incident in the post-match press conference, Zverev revealed that while he had encountered fans making derogatory comments before, this was the first time he had experienced an incident involving Hitler.</p> <p>He shared: "He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland über alles’ and it was a bit too much.</p> <p>"I think he was getting involved in the match for a long time, though. I don’t mind it, I love when fans are loud, I love when fans are emotional. But I think me being German and not really proud of that history, it’s not really a great thing to do and I think him sitting in one of the front rows, I think a lot of people heard it. So if I just don’t react, I think it’s bad from my side.”</p> <p>Despite the disturbance, Zverev remained composed and noted, “It’s his loss, to be honest, to not witness the final two sets of that match.”</p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Elton John's final message to crowd at last concert ever

<p dir="ltr">Elton John has officially retired from touring.</p> <p dir="ltr">The 76-year-old award-winning musician took to the stage for the last time ever in Stockholm, Sweden, <a href="https://www.eltonjohn.com/tours" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to his website</a>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Elton had reportedly ended his touring days with <em>Your Song</em> and <em>Goodbye Yellow Brick Road</em>, before sharing a heartfelt message to his fans.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I've had the most wonderful career, beyond belief. 52 years of pure joy playing music, how lucky am I to play music? But I wouldn't be sitting here if it wasn't for you," the music legend told his fans as he closed what he claimed to be his final show.</p> <p dir="ltr">"You bought the singles, albums and CDs and more importantly you bought the tickets to the shows and you know how I love to play live."</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's been my lifeblood to play for you guys and you've been absolutely magnificent – thank you," he added.</p> <p dir="ltr">"I will never forget you guys. I've played so many concerts, how could I forget? You're in my head, and my heart and my soul and I thank you so much."</p> <p dir="ltr">The singer also took to Instagram prior to his final show to share the announcement.</p> <p dir="ltr">"What a journey this tour has been and now we find ourselves at the end of it. Tonight is the final night,” he wrote in the caption.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CucC7nWAQ8K/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CucC7nWAQ8K/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">He posted a clip of a 2018 interview he did with CNN, when he first announced that he was going to retire from touring.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's the last time that I will be touring and traveling the world," John said in the clip.</p> <p dir="ltr">The tour, which had over 300 shows, kicked off in 2018 and was meant to end in 2021 but was postponed due to Covid, and has since been attended by over 6 million fans across the world.</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Music

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"Get out of the water!" Huge shark spotted at crowded beach

<p dir="ltr">Dramatic footage has revealed the moment a shark was spotted swimming in shallow waters at a crowded beach in Florida.</p> <p dir="ltr">In the video filmed at Navarre beach on Monday, a sizeable fin can be spotted zipping past swimmers as panicked onlookers screamed for them to get out.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Get out of the water!" one person screamed, as stunned swimmers ran for their lives.</p> <p dir="ltr">However there was an eerie lack of urgency for a few others who took their time exiting the waters, with no worries whatsoever to the frustration of a bystander who commented: "They're still out there."</p> <p dir="ltr">Cristy Cox, who filmed the footage, told the <em>Pensacola News Journal</em> that the shark was simply chasing a fish, but warned people to be aware of their surroundings.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It all happened so fast! A dolphin was actually side by side with the shark at first and then just disappeared,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The shark was just trying to feed as they are expected and just passed by swimmers.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Everyone was stunned as it moved down the beach chasing the school of fish. We all just have to remember this is natural and we are in their home, so stay alert!”</p> <p dir="ltr">Beach Safety Director Austin Turnbill confirmed to the publication that a shark had been spotted at the beach, but for people to not be alarmed.</p> <p dir="ltr">“There’s sharks in the Gulf, everywhere. We see sharks almost every day and there’s nothing to be alarmed of for 99.9% of the time,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Cristy Cox Facebook</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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5 tips on avoiding crowds while travelling

<p>Don’t let the frustration of dealing with pushy travellers ruin your trip.</p> <p><strong>1. Book tickets in advance </strong></p> <p>Purchase tickets online before you leave home and skip the crowds and endless lines at your destination. Smart travellers can avoid the queue when visiting abroad – the London Eye, Britain’s Houses of Parliament, Italy’s Vatican Museums, and the Louvre in Paris all help you keep your cool with online ticket sales.</p> <p><strong>2. Talk to people </strong></p> <p>Your hotel’s concierge or the assistant at the tourist office know their city’s attractions inside and out. Have a chat and get their take on the best times to visit popular sites.</p> <p><strong>3. Sign up for special tours</strong></p> <p>Often special organisations get after-hours or behind-the-scenes access to famous places. You’ll get a guided tour and beat the rush. A note of caution – these tours can be costly, but if large crowds routinely ruin your experience, splashing a little extra cash will save your sanity.</p> <p><strong>4. Visit during the week </strong></p> <p>For shorter lines, fewer people, and better opportunities to interact and enjoy the attraction, stop by during the week. In many cases, you’ll have the place to yourself. Take it one step further, and head to museums, galleries or tourism hot spots after 2pm when visiting school groups will have returned to class.</p> <p><strong>5. Watch the weather </strong></p> <p>Spooked travellers often cancel their plans when there are reports of a storm on the approach. While some travel advisories are the real deal, sometimes they’re not as bad as they sound. By keeping an eye on weather broadcasts, brave souls can often score great last-minute deals or empty attractions.</p> <p><em>Image credit: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article first appeared in <strong><a href="http://www.readersdigest.com.au/travel/tips/tips-on-avoiding-crowds">Reader’s Digest</a></strong>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, here’s our best subscription <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.com.au/c/readersdigestsubscribe?utm_source=readersdigest&utm_campaign=RDSUB&utm_medium=display&keycode=WRA85S"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>offer.</strong></span></a></em></p>

Travel Tips

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Expectation vs reality: Reporters share inside look at what cruises are like now

<p dir="ltr">Four reporters have shared their experiences on some of the most popular cruising lines - revealing that their expectations weren’t quite met by the reality of their trip.</p> <p dir="ltr">For Joey Hadden, who booked her first ever cruise on the Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, her sessions of relaxing in the sun came with unexpected crowds and difficulties in finding a chair.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I spent more time waiting in lines than I had anticipated. And I saw much of the world from behind other people's heads,” she wrote of her experience in <em><a href="https://www.insider.com/what-its-like-to-go-on-a-cruise-now-photos-2022-10#and-as-she-explored-more-of-the-ship-during-her-weeklong-stay-she-was-surprised-to-find-that-even-the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-felt-overcrowded-at-times-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">She shared that when she first boarded the ship and excitedly went to watch the ocean as they sailed away from the port, that tall, thick glass and not being able to find a spot to stand stopped her from doing so.</p> <p dir="ltr">Fellow <em>Insider </em>reporter Monica Humphries said her experience with crowds aboard Carnival Vista, which was at partial capacity during her trip in July 2021, saw her waiting in long lines to disembark at each port and for help from the service desk.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-34a72885-7fff-8bfa-d8da-1752b0965c73"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Buffets were another source of contention and crowds for the two reporters, with Humphries also finding that issues with how food was labelled meant she accidentally ate meat twice despite asking what was in her food due to being pescatarian.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci2sCi_OmYu/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci2sCi_OmYu/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Amanda Krause (@amandalynn_14)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Mikhaila Friel, who sailed on the Queen Elizabeth, made the common mistake of sitting by herself on her first night in the dining room - not realising that wherever you sit becomes your table for the rest of the cruise.</p> <p dir="ltr">Surprising temperatures were another common experience, with Friel, Hadden, and Amanda Krause, who travelled on Disney Cruise Line’s Wish, finding that they hadn’t packed enough warm clothes.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Europe in the fall can be pretty chilly, so I wore a coat during my excursions in Amsterdam. However, I wish I'd brought a larger selection of warmer clothes and accessories to wear on outdoor areas of the ship that were affected by the wind, something I hadn't considered,” Friel wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“A woolly hat and a pair of gloves certainly wouldn't have gone amiss.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Krause, who had never travelled by ship before, hadn’t expected the chill that came from the cold air-conditioning inside the ship and wished she had brought warmer clothes to avoid shivering at restaurants and bars, as well as in the Walt Disney theatre.</p> <p dir="ltr">While they reported having an enjoyable time during their cruise experiences, each of the travellers encountered hiccoughs and disappointments that made them all the wiser.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-f0becb41-7fff-b1b7-92ae-503f52e12a06"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Cruising

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Horror crash sees cyclist launch into crowd

<p>The opening session of the track cycling event at the Commonwealth Games has been cancelled after a horrific crash left several athletes and spectators injured. </p> <p>A cyclist and his bike were catapulted over the barrier and into the crowd in an incident that brought down several riders in a sickening scene during the men’s 15km scratch race qualifying at the Lee Valley Velodrome.</p> <p>Medical staff rushed to the area where they were seen tending to British cyclist Matt Walls for more than 40 minutes before he was taken to hospital. </p> <p>England’s Commonwealth Games team then provided a positive update on Matt's condition later in the day. </p> <p>“Matt is alert and talking (as he has been throughout) and is being given medical attention in hospital,” the team statement read.</p> <p>The 24-year-old was trying to avoid riders who had fallen in a crash lower down the banking but as he rode up, he clipped another wheel and went over the top into the crowd.</p> <p>Witnesses said that, because of the gradient of the banking, spectators in the front row had been unsighted for the crash. </p> <p>One man received treatment for cuts to his arm while a young girl also received medical attention.</p> <p>Isle of Man rider Matt Bostock was also taken away from the scene on a stretcher. </p> <p>A Birmingham 2022 spokesperson said three riders and two spectators were treated by the on-site medical team. </p> <p>All three riders were taken to hospital, while the spectators were tended to at the scene. </p> <p>The session was abandoned moments later with one more event still scheduled. </p> <p>England’s Commonwealth Games Team released a preliminary statement sending its best wishes to all those involved.</p> <p>“Following a crash in the cycling men’s scratch race, Matt Walls has been taken to hospital for precautionary checks,” the statement read.</p> <p>“We send our best wishes to the riders and spectators involved in the incident, and will provide a further update when we can.”</p> <p>England’s racing team also tweeted, “Thoughts are with all the riders involved in the crash in the velodrome.”</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

News

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Aussie airports brace for record crowds over Easter

<p dir="ltr">Aussie travellers are facing ongoing mayhem across the country as airports feel the pressure of the Easter long weekend.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney Airport is at the epicentre of the chaos, with travellers in the airport’s domestic terminals experiencing <a href="https://www.oversixty.com.au/travel/domestic-travel/give-us-patience-chaos-continues-at-sydney-airport" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lengthy queues</a> and hours of waiting to check-in and get through security. </p> <p dir="ltr">With an already stretched staffing system and 82,000 people expected to go through the domestic terminal gates on Thursday - the busiest the airport’s been since 80,000 people filed through on March 6, 2020 - it’s unlikely that the pressure will ease anytime soon.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-72648aaa-7fff-12e4-a353-d8b7b6a6fc84"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">An additional 79,000 people are predicted to travel through the terminals on Good Friday, with numbers dropping to around 60,000 on Saturday and Sunday before picking up again.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Melbourne airport 5:45am.. big queues for bag drops but flights being called out to make sure people aren’t missing them. With traffic into airport too the advice is definitely still to get here early though! <a href="https://twitter.com/10NewsFirstMelb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@10NewsFirstMelb</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/melbourneairport?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#melbourneairport</a> <a href="https://t.co/R0M8HcdoO2">pic.twitter.com/R0M8HcdoO2</a></p> <p>— Caty Price (@caty_price) <a href="https://twitter.com/caty_price/status/1513968147052736512?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">But the chaos hasn’t been limited to Sydney, after Melbourne and Adelaide airports saw similar situations unfolding on Thursday morning.</p> <p dir="ltr">Melbourne is also expecting crowds over the Easter break, with 380,000 people set to walk through the airport over the entire long weekend.</p> <p dir="ltr">Brisbane hasn’t been spared either, with foot traffic of 56,000 predicted for Thursday.</p> <p dir="ltr">In response, Australians have been advised to arrive at least two hours before their domestic flight - or three hours for international flights - and expect delays.</p> <p dir="ltr">Lyall Stranby, the chief executive of Melbourne Airport, told <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/warnings/sydney-airport-chaos-to-continue-with-more-than-80000-people-expected-on-thursday/news-story/d7b9b0d277cd44cf7240de7ca36dcc5d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a></em> impacts of the widespread redundancies among airline and airport staff during the pandemic are still being felt despite efforts to rapidly expand the workforce.</p> <p dir="ltr">“COVID-19 decimated airlines and airports and resulted in thousands of highly-skilled workers being stood down or made redundant,” she said.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7e015a95-7fff-460f-1493-cd76edce2e9e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“The airlines and their suppliers are now scaling up their workforce but given the safety-critical nature of the jobs they do; recruitment and retraining can take time.”</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">As someone who works at Sydney Airport, please be kind to us, we are trying to get you to where you need/want to be. Short staffed due to being dead quiet for like 1.5 years and then suddenly going full speed once the borders opened.</p> <p>We get it, it’s hard for us too</p> <p>— louis (@louis20016) <a href="https://twitter.com/louis20016/status/1512282830478356482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2022</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Travellers in Melbourne have also faced lengthy wait times for their luggage, with some waiting up to an hour to pick up their bags.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sydney Airport chief executive Geoff Culbert said this period has been challenging for everyone, including passengers.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We’ve got staff shortages, we’ve been rebuilding the business from the ground up,” Mr Culbert told 2GB’s Chris Smith on Wednesday.</p> <p dir="ltr">“You go back to November last year, and we were all in lockdown, we were operating at one percent of normal capacity and we all started recruiting for Easter back in December last year, right when we got a sense of the borders were going to open but we just haven’t been able to get enough staff.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Then you add on top of that the Covid issues, on any given day up to 20 percent of staff can’t come to work due to Covid. So we’re running at 60 percent of ordinary staff capacity.”</p> <p dir="ltr">As staff face the crowds, senior staff at Sydney Airport have been told to leave their offices to help manage queues, while retail and IT staff have been redeployed onto the security floor, as reported by <em>news.com.au</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">With airport service staff, including security workers, now recognised as critical workers in NSW and Victoria, they are exempt from isolating for seven days if they are close contacts and have no COVID-19 symptoms.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-115b4b9c-7fff-6be5-306d-6fc435f40145"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: @cajlamb (Twitter)</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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One side-splitting moment made crowd lose it at Shane Warne’s memorial

<p dir="ltr">Amid feelings of joy and teary despair, there was one moment at Shane Warne’s memorial service that saw the crowd erupt with laughter, per <em><a href="https://www.news.com.au/sport/cricket/moment-that-made-the-crowd-lose-it-at-shane-warnes-memorial/news-story/ae03125ea937033e231e46399634d7c9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news.com.au</a></em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">A panel of Warnie’s good friends - including former St Kilda player Aaron Hamill - were asked about his fashion choices, including the Peaky Blinders inspired hats he had been wearing in recent years.</p> <p dir="ltr">Hamill explained how the late cricketer’s love of old school hats led to him making an unusual request.</p> <p dir="ltr">“[Shane] said, ‘I’ve got this great idea’, as he always did,” Hamill recalled.</p> <p dir="ltr">Warne decided to email the producers of Peaky Blinders, which follows a family of gangsters in 1900s England, to say that he was a keen fan of the show and ask if he could be on it.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So he did that and he rang me back and said, ‘I got the email back’,” Hamill continued. “I said, ‘Please, read it out to me’.</p> <p dir="ltr">“‘Dear Shane, thanks very much. We love your enthusiasm, but unfortunately porcelain veneers weren’t around in Birmingham in 1931. But we love your support. Thank you very much.’”</p> <p dir="ltr">With many fans likely picturing Warne’s great big smile in their minds, they burst out laughing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“But that’s what he was like,” Hamill said. “He was ambitious. He was driven. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The panel, hosted by Andy Lee, attracted the most laughs the whole night, which saw more than 55,000 gather at the MCG while a billion people watched it from around the world.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He would be gobsmacked by this,” footy great Sam Newman said of the memorial while he appeared on the panel alongside cricketer Dimitri Mascarenhas, and comedian and actor Glenn Robbins.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ll tell you what, I’m finding it hard to get over, the United Nations are a part of this.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I thought, ‘that is extraordinary. He’s actually infiltrated the United Nations and they are here. That is staggering.’”</p> <p dir="ltr">A United Nations representative spoke earlier in the service of Warne’s involvement with a wildlife conservation initiative called The Lion’s Share. They also announced a new “Shane Warne conservation grant” to “memorialise his service and catalyse more action”.</p> <p dir="ltr">As much as there were laughs during the night, there were also plenty of tears and spine-tingling moments.</p> <p dir="ltr">MC Eddie McGuire read out a letter written by Warne’s brother Jason 30 years ago, in which he predicted the legacy Warne would leave behind.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Now is the time to put everything, and I mean everything, into it and make it work for you,” the letter said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“So, come on, make some more sacrifices and give people the opportunity in 20 years’ time to say ‘Remember Shane Warne. We’ll never get another leggie like him. He was the best spinner Australia ever had’.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Warne’s three children - Summer, Jackson and Brooke - also spoke about their love for their dad and how much they missed him, and fans could be seen wiping away tears.</p> <p dir="ltr">“It has been exactly 26 days since you went to heaven and I miss you more than anything in the whole world,” Summer said, as the first of the three to speak to the crowd.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that you won’t be able to walk me down the aisle on my special day. You’re not going to meet your grandchildren that you’re going to have someday, but instead you will be someone I will tell my kids about and how much of an amazing father you were to me. How good of a grandfather you would have made and how they would have loved and adored you just like I do.”</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-1558e40b-7fff-61aa-8645-7862786f29e5"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The tears were later replaced by cheers as the siblings unveiled the Shane Warne Stand for the first time.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Caring

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"Low IQ": Medvedev beats Kyrgios then takes a swipe at unruly crowd

<p><em>Image: Getty</em></p> <p>Russian world number two Daniil Medvedev had a go at tennis fans after his four-set defeat of Australian star Nick Kyrgios.</p> <p>Medvedev prevailed 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in front of a capacity crowd on Rod Laver Arena.</p> <p>Medvedev did his best to block out the crowd's loud antics during the match, even when they were whipped into a frenzy by Kyrgios. However, Medvedev's poise broke post-match in interviews, taking issue with some people in the crowd for booing or cheering between serves when two-times Australian Open champion turned tennis presenter Jim Courier asked him how he kept his emotions in check.</p> <p>"Sorry, I can't hear you," Medvedev said. "Show some respect for Jim Courier, he won here. Let him speak, please, if you respect somebody, at least respect Jim Courier."</p> <p>Medvedev then further admonished the Melbourne Park crowd in an interview with Eurosport.</p> <p>"Break point, second serve and people are cheering like you already made a double fault. That's just disappointing," he said.</p> <p>"It's not everybody who is doing it but those who are doing it probably have a low IQ.</p> <p>"It's not good for the game I think to do it, because probably people don't know, but when you're getting ready for the second serve, it's a tough moment."<br />Despite admitting the need for the crowd to observe etiquette at times, Kyrgios said he thought rowdy crowds were good for the evolution of the sport.</p> <p>"I thought the atmosphere was awesome," Kyrgios said.</p> <p>"You've got, like, you know, the most entertaining player playing in his home slam on Rod Laver, you'd expect the crowd to be like that.<br />Karl Stefanovic appeared to take issue with the Russian tennis star's comments, as he blasted Medvedev on the<span> </span><em>Today Show</em><span> </span>on Friday morning.</p> <p>“Daniil Medvedev, my accountant has a better personality,” Karl said.</p> <p>“Daniil Medvedev, he makes Ivan Lendl look like Beyonce. Daniil Medvedev,<span> </span><em>Terminator 4</em><span> </span>had more facial expressions.”</p> <p>He added: “Insulting the fans like that – they weren’t actually booing him. He misunderstood what was happening.”</p>

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Crowd goes nuts as man learns he's a dad on the big screen

<p><em>Image: Youtube</em></p> <p>A new dad-to-be has been given the surprise of his life while attending a basketball game – and as far as pregnancy announcements go – this is up there with one of the best we've seen.</p> <p>The Orlando Magic fan was happily watching the big game with his partner when the ‘kiss cam’ panned across to them during a break.</p> <p>The man and his partner looked suitably delighted at the attention – but something about the woman's behaviour was not quite right. Almost as though she knew something ELSE was about to happen.</p> <p>Sure enough, as the camera lingered on the couple, a special message appeared along the bottom of the screen: ‘Congrats James! You are you going to be a dad’.</p> <p>At first James did not notice the message – but slowly it became apparent that the rest of the crowd certainly had, as the cheering swelled to a giant crescendo.</p> <p>Then the magic moment arrived: the dad-to-be finally looked a little closer at the big screen, took a second or two to comprehend what he was reading, and was then completely overcome with shock, surprise and pure joy. His reaction will be preserved forever for the young family, and it really was a tremendous one.</p> <p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fNWuld3hwa8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p> <p>Sadly, James’ team lost the game – going down to the Charlotte Hornets 106-99. But there's no question that he went home a happy man regardless, with a story he will be able to share for many years to come.</p>

Family & Pets

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Melbourne crowd's disgraceful act after Djokovic wins 18th Australian Open

<p>A chorus of boos was heard around Rod Laver Arena before Novak Djokovic and Banil Medvedev addressed the crowd following the Australian Open final.</p> <p>Djokovic secured an incredible ninth titled title at Melbourne Park - his 18th grand slam crown - by defeating Medvedev in straight sets as he put on a stunning display in the Victorian capital.</p> <p>Jayne Hrdlicka, the chair of Tennis Australia appeared on stage during the post-match ceremony on Sunday night and would not have been expecting the backlash that erupted over some of her comments.</p> <p>After congratulating the two players, Hdlicka thanked several people while also addressing the pandemic.</p> <p>Needless to say, a few of her remarks were not well received by the Melbourne crowd.</p> <p>The first moment which spurred a negative reaction was Hrdlicka’s mention of the recent COVID-19 vaccine rollout.</p> <p>“It’s been a time of heartfelt challenge. It’s been a time of deep loss and extraordinary sacrifice for everyone,” Hrdlicka said.</p> <p>“With vaccinations on the way, rolling out in many countries around the world, it’s now a time for optimism and hope for the future.”</p> <p>The comment sparked outrage amongst fans, who could be heard booing from the stands.</p> <p>Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith tweeted: “People booing vaccines at the #ausopen need to take a long hard look at their privilege. Disgraceful behaviour.”</p> <p>The crowd once again booed after Hrdlicka thanked the Victorian Government for their support.</p> <p>Premier Daniel Andrews has plenty of supporters in his home state, but there are also many who are unhappy with the strict lockdowns he’s imposed as Victoria fought to prevent the spread of COVID-19.</p> <p>“There are many other people to thank that enabled this great night to take place in the last couple of weeks,” Hrdlicka said.</p> <p>“The top of that list is a Victorian Government, without you we could not have done this.”</p> <p>Spectators repeatedly interrupted Hrdlicka, with the TA chair eventually losing her patience and coldly saying: “When you’re finished …”</p> <p>Hrdlicka added: “You are a very opinionated group of people, but whether you’re at home or here tonight, we are really thankful that you’re here. We look forward to seeing you next year.”</p> <p>There was plenty of criticism reserved for the crowd's response.</p> <p>Former Australian tennis star Rennae Stubbs tweeted: “These fans booing are disgraceful! Honestly!!! Grow up!”</p> <p>Journalist Isabelle Lane posted: “Embarrassing scenes at this #AusOpen presentation. Tennis Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka booed by parts of crowd when mentioning the coronavirus vaccine rollout and thanking the Victorian government for the event. Hrdlicka notably failed to thank the people of Melbourne/Vic.”</p> <p>Cricket reporter Danyal Rasool tweeted: “Booing the Victorian government, one of the few in the world that actually took the measures that made it possible for them to sit in the crowd to boo in the first place, is a next-level self-awareness fail.”</p>

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Duchess Fergie moves crowd to tears after delivering emotional speech

<p>Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, does extensive charity work but it is often kept under wraps.</p> <p>However, UK Magazine <em><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/celebrities/2019062574616/sarah-ferguson-moves-audience-to-tears-star-mum-awards-hello-magazine/" target="_blank">Hello!</a></em> sought to change all of that as it hosted its first Star Women awards.</p> <p>The Duchess of York received the Inspiration of the Year award for her charity work, which also includes being founder patron of Street Child.</p> <p>Street Child is a UK charity that was established back in 2008 and aims to create education opportunities for vulnerable children in Africa and Asia.</p> <p>The 59-year-old worked the room as she accepted her award, before moving the audience to tears and then later on having them in stitches.</p> <p>In her speech, she promised to help last year’s star mums Lisa Wells at her fundraising ball.</p> <p>However, the Duchess of York quipped: <span>"Maybe you'd prefer one of the other duchesses?"</span></p> <p>The same day as the award ceremony, she appeared on <em>This Morning</em>, where Sarah went into a detailed explanation about her support for a campaign that ensures all ingredients are listed on pre-packaged food.</p> <p>This comes after the death of a girl who died as a result of consuming something with incorrect labelling.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BzIQo4VFBLV/" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BzIQo4VFBLV/" target="_blank">An honour to join Natasha Ednan-Laperouse’s parents Nadim and Tanya to launch @natashasfoundation on @thismorning with @hollywilloughby and @schofe. We need to make her death a watershed moment and support research into a cure #natashaslegacy So proud to have been asked to be patron of @natashasfoundation. Today we’re delighted to welcome Government announcement of Natasha’s Law to support allergy sufferers but there is much more work to do to promote research @itv #natashaslegacy</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/sarahferguson15/" target="_blank"> Sarah Ferguson</a> (@sarahferguson15) on Jun 25, 2019 at 3:16am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>To top off the day, she also attended the British Heart Foundation’s “Bias and Biology” panel, where she advocated for more awareness about the inequalities in women’s healthcare surrounding heart disease.</p>

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"Super-recognisers" accurately pick out a face in a crowd – but can this skill be taught?

<p>Yenny is 26 years old, lives in Melbourne, and has a very specific talent.</p> <p>One day, she was driving her car when she recognised a man who had been several years below her at high school and whom she hadn’t seen for more than ten years. What makes this particularly impressive is that she recognised him from the briefest glimpse in her rear-view mirror while he was driving the car behind hers.</p> <p>Yenny recounts many such amazing feats of recognition and is one of a very small proportion of the population known as “super-recognisers”. She was the top performer on a<span> </span><a href="https://facetest.psy.unsw.edu.au/">national test of face recognition abilities</a><span> </span>in Australia, coming first out of 20,000 participants.</p> <p>Could you learn to spot a face as well as Yenny? Well … maybe. Our<span> </span><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211037">new research</a><span> </span>shows that many training courses offered in this field of expertise are ineffective in improving people’s accuracy in face identification.</p> <p>But other ways of learning how to identify faces may work; we’re just not yet sure exactly how.</p> <p><strong>In-demand expertise</strong></p> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3904192/">Super-recognisers</a><span> </span>are used by police and security agencies to spot targets in crowded train stations, monitor surveillance footage, and track people of interest.</p> <p>During the 2011 London riots, for example, super-recognisers from the Metropolitan Police<span> </span><a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150611-the-superpower-police-now-use-to-tackle-crime">identified more than 600 people</a><span> </span>from very poor-quality surveillance footage – a task that not even the best facial recognition software can perform reliably.</p> <p>So can anyone become a super-recogniser? Can you make up for a lack of superpowers through training? In our<span> </span><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211037">paper</a><span> </span>we assessed the effectiveness of training courses given to practitioners who make facial identification decisions for a living.</p> <p>We reviewed 11 training courses that comply with international training standards from Australia, UK, US and Finland.</p> <p>We found that training courses typically teach facial anatomy – focusing on the muscles, bones and shape of the face – and instruct trainees to inspect faces feature by feature. Novices and genuine trainees completed one of four training courses and we tracked their identification accuracy from before to after training.</p> <p>Surprisingly, we found the training courses had almost no effect on people’s accuracy. This was especially surprising to the people who took the training – an astonishing 93% of trainees thought the training had improved their ability to identify faces.</p> <p>Our research shows that even the world’s best available training – used to train police, border control agents, forensic scientists and other security personnel – does not compensate for talent in face recognition.</p> <p>This is consistent with recent research suggesting that our face identification abilities are largely predetermined by<span> </span><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/107/11/5238.long">genetics</a>.</p> <p><strong>Forensic facial examiners</strong></p> <p>This may come as disappointing news to people who hope to become a super-recogniser. But all is not lost.</p> <p>Scientists have recently discovered that some specialist groups of practitioners show very high levels of accuracy. Forensic facial examiners routinely compare images of faces to turn CCTV images into informative face identification evidence in criminal trials. Recent work shows that they too outperform novices in very<span> </span><a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/115/24/6171">challenging tests</a>.</p> <p>Forensic facial examiners present a paradox for scientists. They perform face identification tasks with a high degree of accuracy, and this ability appears to be acquired through professional experience and training.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0211037">Our study</a><span> </span>suggests there is no benefit of face identification training courses when tested immediately before and after.</p> <p>In addition,<span> </span><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103510">previous work</a><span> </span>has suggested that merely performing face-matching tasks in daily work is not sufficient to improve accuracy. Some passport officers have been working for 20 years and perform no better than others who have been working for just a few months.</p> <p>This paradox suggests there is something particular about the type of training and professional experience that forensic facial examiners receive that enables them to develop visual expertise in identifying faces, and which isn’t provided by standard training courses.</p> <p><strong>How do they do it?</strong></p> <p>In our current research we are working closely with government agencies to uncover the basis of forensic facial examiners’ expertise. For example, we now know that part of their expertise comes from using a very particular<span> </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28045276">comparison strategy</a>, where they break the face down into individual facial features and then slowly and systematically assess the similarity of each feature in turn.</p> <p>Interestingly, the nature of this expertise appears to be qualitatively different to that of super-recognisers – Yenny recognised her old classmate using a quick, intuitive process as she glanced in the rear-view mirror.</p> <p>However, these snap judgements made by super-recognisers may not be suitable for the type of identification evidence that forensic facial examiners give in court, where a careful analysis of facial images is necessary to support identification decisions. Importantly, forensic facial examiners provide detailed reports of the observations used to support their decisions, which can then be cross-examined in court.</p> <p><strong>Trainable vs hardwired</strong></p> <p>Super-recognisers and forensic facial examiners use distinct routes to high performance in face identification.</p> <p>Effective training appears to target the slower, deliberate and analytical visual processing that characterises forensic facial examiners.</p> <p>The faster and more intuitive skill that enabled Yenny to recognise faces of relative strangers in her rear-view mirror is likely to be untrainable, and hard-wired.</p> <p>This raises the question of how to balance these different sources of expertise. It may be that super-recognisers are best suited to surveillance-type roles, such as monitoring CCTV or searching for targets in large crowds.</p> <p>Forensic facial examiners may be better suited to providing identification evidence to the court, which requires thorough explanations of how and why the expert came to their decision.</p> <p>Alternatively, it may be possible to train super-recognisers in the expert skills characterising forensic facial examination, or to form teams that include both types of expert.</p> <p>The aim of our work is to integrate these sources of human expertise with the latest face recognition software to improve the accuracy of face identification evidence. Such a system can make society safer, but also fairer, by reducing the likelihood of wrongful convictions.</p> <p>Can you beat Yenny’s high score of 88% on the super-recogniser test? Find out<span> </span><a href="https://facetest.psy.unsw.edu.au/">here</a>.</p> <p><em>Written by Alice Towler and David White. Republished with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/super-recognisers-accurately-pick-out-a-face-in-a-crowd-but-can-this-skill-be-taught-112003">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

Technology

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Roger Federer’s classy act after opponent attacked by crowd

<p>Roger Federer has defended his opponent Alexander Zverev after the Swiss tennis champion’s fans booed Zverev on Saturday as he beat Federer in a stunning victory at the ATP finals.</p> <p>Zverev, 21, beat the 20-time grand slam champion fair and square 7-5 7-6 (7-5) as he claimed his third victory after his sixth meeting with Federer, but the monumental occasion was overshadowed by the booing of the crowd.</p> <p>Federer, who took charge of the match, was beating Zverev by one point with the score at 4-3, but after a ball slipped from a ball boy’s hand into Zverev’s line of vision, the 21-year-old stopped the play mid-rally.</p> <p>When the point was replayed, Zverev served an ace.</p> <p>After the controversial moment, Zverev obtained a few more points causing Federer to lose the match, which is no easy feat.</p> <p>But Zverev’s victory wasn’t welcomed by Federer fans as his on-court interview was drowned out by loud boos from those who believe the young tennis player's win was unfair.</p> <p>Speaking to reporters, Federer said: “Look, I understand the frustration. It’s just unfortunate circumstances.</p> <p>“Booing, I never like it. We see it in other sports all the time, but in tennis it’s rare.</p> <p>“So, when it happens, it gets very personal and we take it very direct. I think it’s unfortunate that this happened. Sascha doesn’t deserve it.</p> <p>“He apologised to me at the net. I was like, ‘Buddy, shut up! You don’t need to apologise to me here. Congratulations on a great match and a great tournament so far.’</p> <p>“He didn’t do anything about it. He just called it how it was. He felt it affected play. There is a rule that if something like this happens, obviously you replay points.”</p> <p>Federer mentioned how he approached the ball boy to find out if he had dropped the ball.</p> <p>“He said, ‘Yes, I did drop the ball.’ From that standpoint, it’s okay, no problem, that happens. It’s all good. I hope he doesn’t have a sleepless night. It’s not a big deal at the end of the day. This is life, this is sport. Definitely not mad at him. It’s all good,” he said.</p> <p>But despite Federer’s support, Zverev said the reaction from the crowd left him disheartened.</p> <p>“I was a little bit sad at the end with the booing and reaction of the crowd,” he said.</p> <p>“I was very emotional afterwards. The booing went into cheering kind of afterwards, which kind of helped me.</p> <p>“I was really upset afterwards in the locker room, I’m not going to lie. I had to take a few minutes for myself.</p> <p>“But, you know, I hope the crowd and the people who were booing maybe look at what actually happened, maybe just realise that I’ve maybe not done anything wrong.”</p>

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The heartwarming moment that brought the Invictus Games crowd to tears

<p>The Invictus Games is a tournament that symbolises hope, rehabilitation and creates a wider understanding for those who put their lives on the line to serve their country.</p> <p>And on Monday, two spirited competitors represented exactly that, with not a dry eye in sight as spectators were left watching the events unfold.</p> <p>Paul Guest, a British mine warfare specialist, was left frightened and unable to play after a helicopter flying above triggered his PTSD.</p> <p>The 54-year-old was in the middle of his wheelchair tennis doubles match at Sydney Olympic Park while the incident occurred. Guest, who was injured while serving in Northern Ireland, was so shaken up that he needed to pause the game and regroup.</p> <p>It wasn’t until his Dutch teammate Edwin Vermetten came to stand by his side to comfort him that he felt at ease.</p> <p>In an act of pure kindness, Vermetten immediately rushed over to Guest once he understood what was happening.</p> <p>The Dutch player held Guest by his shoulders and pulled their foreheads together before he began singing in what could only be described as a moment of camaraderie.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BpPFxFYAm3t/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BpPFxFYAm3t/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank">A helicopter flying over the Sydney Olympic Park precinct triggered an immediate emotional response in a British wheelchair tennis player but his Dutch partner who brought him around by singing a Disney movie theme song to him. “For him, this was the moment he let go, and he did, he literally let it all go.” Click the link in our bio to read more about his story. #IG2018 #GameOnDownUnder</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/invictusgames2018/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_medium=loading" target="_blank"> Invictus Games Sydney 2018</a> (@invictusgames2018) on Oct 22, 2018 at 5:42am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Vermetten said it was the song “Let It Go” from the Disney film <em>Frozen</em> that helped Guest recover from his fears.</p> <p>“I took him by the face and said, ‘Look at me. We are a team so let it go,’” said Vermetten, speaking to <em><a href="https://www.invictusgames2018.org/latest/helicopter-triggers-emotional-scenes-at-wheelchair-tennis/">Invictus Games</a></em>.</p> <p>“’Look into my eyes and sing the <em>Frozen</em> song’, and we did.</p> <p>“For him, this was the moment he let go, and he did, he literally let it all go,” he said.</p> <p><img style="width: 0px; height: 0px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821525/gettyimages-1052729362.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/f1e1364ae6454d08874a76705c415d66" /></p> <p>Those watching the heartwarming moment unfold were left in tears as they witnessed two men in an embrace, singing to help dismiss their fears.</p> <p>After Vermetten comforted Guest, the pair went on to win the match in a third set tie break. Despite only meeting a few days ago, the pair have become the best of friends.</p> <p>Guest was a part of the British Armed Forces and served in Northern Ireland before suffering from injuries relating to his neck and spine during duty in 1987.</p> <p>The incident resulted in partial deafness and an impairment in his sight, and he was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.</p> <p>Guest attempted to commit suicide four times after he was discharged from the Armed Forces, it was then that his wife forced him to seek help.</p> <p><img style="width: 500px; height: 333.3333333333333px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7821524/gettyimages-1052716920.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b984f6ab80d749be95558254f717d638" /></p> <p>“On the fourth occasion when I tried to commit suicide, my wife literally dragged me off to get help,” he told <em><a href="https://www.clactonandfrintongazette.co.uk/news/15458725.wounded-veteran-who-felt-worthless-after-discharge-finds-pride-thanks-to-invictus-games/">The Clacton Gazette</a></em>.</p> <p>“She contacted <a href="https://www.helpforheroes.org.uk/">Help for Heroes</a> (a charity organisation that provides support for service men and service women and their families), I became a Band of Brother and the rest is history.</p> <p>“The Invictus Games has given me something to aim for. Pulling on the Invictus Games uniform is like pulling on my Navy uniform.</p> <p>“I feel part of a team again, like I belong. I’m proud to be representing my country once again.</p> <p>“Without Help for Heroes and without the goal of the Invictus Games I honestly wouldn’t be here today. I recently lost a good friend of mine called Michael. He sadly took his own life recently and I promised at his graveside I would never give up.”</p> <p>And he made sure to stick to that promise after his emotional setback at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, where he went on to win the tennis doubles match with his teammate.</p> <p><em>If you are troubled by this article, experiencing a personal crisis or thinking about suicide, you can call the Depression Helpline at 0800 111 757 or visit <a href="http://depression.org.nz/">depression.org.nz</a>.</em></p>

Mind

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Easy crowd pleaser recipes

<p>If you own a Thermomix, you’ll know how quick and easy it is to whip up a restaurant-quality dish in next to no time. </p> <p><strong>Salmon, Asparagus &amp; Potato Salad</strong></p> <p>15 min prep time | 40 min total cooking time | 2 portions</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients:</span></strong></p> <ul> <li>½ garlic clove</li> <li>3 sprigs fresh dill, leaves only, plus extra for garnishing</li> <li>½ lemon, zest only, no white pith (optional)</li> <li>1 tbsp lemon juice (approx. ½ lemon)</li> <li>80g sour cream</li> <li>1 tbsp olive oil</li> <li>1 pinch salt, to taste</li> <li>1 pinch ground black pepper, to taste</li> <li>900g water</li> <li>250g potatoes (approx. 2-3 potatoes), peeled and cut into pieces (2-3cm)</li> <li>250g fresh boneless, skinless salmon fillets (approx. 2 fillets)</li> <li>1 bunch green asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into quarters</li> <li>20g pickled capers, drained</li> <li>40g mixed baby leaf salad, to serve</li> </ul> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Method:</span></strong></p> <ol> <li>Place garlic, dill and lemon zest (optional) into mixing bowl and chop 10 sec/speed 7. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula.</li> <li>Add lemon juice, sour cream, olive oil, salt and pepper and blend 10 sec/speed 4. Transfer dressing into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place into refrigerator. Rinse and dry mixing bowl.</li> <li>Place water into mixing bowl. Insert simmering basket and weigh potato into it. Place Varoma into position and weigh salmon into it. Steam 15 min/Varoma/speed 2.</li> <li>Place asparagus onto Varoma tray, insert Varoma tray and steam 3 min/Varoma/speed 2.</li> <li>Remove asparagus from Varoma tray and run briefly under cold water to cease cooking. Remove simmering basket with aid of spatula. Set potatoes, asparagus and salmon aside to cool for approx. 15 minutes.</li> <li>Transfer potatoes, asparagus, dressing and capers onto serving platter and combine. Break up salmon into pieces and place on top of potatoes. Add mixed salad leaves and gently combine.</li> <li>Garnish with extra dill and serve immediately.</li> </ol> <p> <img width="500" height="333" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7815749/corn_coriander_fritters_avocado_tahini_l_j1p2501_opt_500x333.jpg" alt="Corn _coriander _fritters _avocado _tahini _L_J1P2501_opt"/></p> <p><strong>Corn &amp; Coriander Fritters with Avocado Tahini</strong></p> <p>20 min prep time | 1 h 15 mins total cooking time | 4 portions</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Ingredients:</span></strong></p> <p><em>For the Avocado Tahini</em></p> <ul> <li>1 avocado, flesh only</li> <li>2 tbsp tahini</li> <li>20g lime juice (approx. 1 lime)</li> <li>2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil</li> <li>1 pinch salt, to taste</li> <li>1 pinch ground black pepper, to taste</li> </ul> <p><em>For the Corn &amp; Coriander Fritters</em></p> <ul> <li>3 spring onions/shallots (approx. 60g), cut into quarters</li> <li>10 sprigs fresh coriander, leaves only</li> <li>100g kale, leaves only, stalks removed</li> <li>140g natural yoghurt</li> <li>2 eggs</li> <li>110g self-raising flour</li> <li>½ tsp salt, to taste</li> <li>½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, to taste</li> <li>500g fresh corn kernels </li> <li>2 pinches cayenne pepper</li> <li>Oil, for frying</li> </ul> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Method:</span></strong></p> <p><em>For the Avocado Tahini</em></p> <ol> <li>Place all Avocado Tahini ingredients into mixing bowl and blend 5 sec/speed 5.</li> <li>Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula and mix 3 sec/speed 5. Transfer into a serving bowl and place into refrigerator until ready to serve.</li> </ol> <p><em>For the Corn &amp; Coriander Fritters</em></p> <ol> <li>Without cleaning mixing bowl, place spring onions/shallots, coriander and kale into mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 7, with aid of spatula.</li> <li>Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula and chop 3 sec/speed 7. Transfer into a bowl and set aside.</li> <li>Place yoghurt, eggs, flour, salt and pepper into mixing bowl and mix 10 sec/speed 5.</li> <li>Add corn, cayenne pepper and reserved spring onion/shallot mixture and mix 20 sec/spin/speed 3, until combined.</li> <li>Place a large frying pan over medium heat and brush with oil. Working in batches, pour 2 tbsp fritter mixture into pan and cook for approx. 3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through. Transfer into a thermal serving bowl or onto a plate and cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining fritter mixture to make approx. 16 fritters total. Serve fritters with reserved avocado tahini.</li> </ol> <p> <img width="500" height="375" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7815750/summer_icecream_cake_l_j1p5901_opt_500x375.jpg" alt="Summer _icecream _cake _L_J1P5901_opt"/></p> <p><strong>Ice Cream Cake</strong></p> <p>10 min prep time | 4 h 50 min total cooking time | 8 portions</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Ingredients:</span></strong></p> <p><em>For the Berry Coulis</em></p> <ul> <li>50ml coconut oil, plus extra for greasing</li> <li>200g fresh raspberries (can be substituted with 200g frozen raspberries)</li> <li>100g caster sugar</li> <li>20g lemon juice, freshly squeezed (approx. ½ lemon)</li> </ul> <p><em>For the Ice Cream Cake</em></p> <ul> <li>230g shortbread biscuits</li> <li>70g blanched almonds, toasted</li> <li>50g raw sugar</li> <li>2 eggs</li> <li>300g pouring (whipping) cream, chilled</li> <li>½ tsp rose water</li> <li>50g dried cranberries</li> <li>50g shelled unsalted pistachios</li> <li>100g green seedless grapes, plus extra for decorating</li> <li>100g red seedless grapes, plus extra for decorating</li> <li>Fresh raspberries, for decorating (optional)</li> <li>Fresh strawberries, for decorating (optional)</li> </ul> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Method:</span></strong></p> <p><em>For the Berry Coulis</em></p> <ol> <li>Place all ingredients into mixing bowl and cook 4-6 min/90°C/speed 4, until slightly thickened. Transfer into a small jug and set aside to cool. Clean and dry mixing bowl.</li> </ol> <p><em>For the Ice Cream Cake</em></p> <ol> <li>Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a spring form cake tin (20cm) with baking paper and set aside.</li> <li>Place shortbread biscuits and almonds into mixing bowl and mill 10 sec/speed 10. Transfer mixture into base of prepared tin then, using the back of a spoon, press down lightly. Bake for 10 minutes (180°C). Leave to cool completely (approx. 30 minutes).</li> <li>Insert butterfly whisk. Place sugar and eggs into mixing bowl and cook 6 min/60°C/speed 4. Transfer into a bowl and place into refrigerator to cool (approx. 30 minutes). Clean and dry mixing bowl and butterfly whisk.</li> <li>Re-insert butterfly whisk. Place cream and rose water into mixing bowl and whip 10-20 sec/speed 4, until soft peaks form, watching carefully through hole in mixing bowl lid to avoid over-whipping. Transfer cream into chilled reserved custard and using spatula, fold to combine. Add remaining Ice Cream Cake ingredients, excluding fresh raspberries and strawberries, to reserved custard mixture and fold through using spatula.</li> <li>Pour custard mixture into reserved cooled base and then pour half of the reserved berry coulis over custard. Using a wooden skewer, stir berry coulis through custard mixture to create a marble effect. Place into freezer to set for a minimum 4 hours. Once frozen, decorate with raspberries, strawberries and extra grapes. Serve with remaining berry coulis.</li> </ol>

Food & Wine

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The most crowded cities in the world

<p>Get ready to feel the crush…</p> <p><strong>Dhaka, Bangladesh</strong></p> <p>The Bangladeshi capital barely makes the top 20 of the world’s largest cities, but it does take the crown as the world’s most crowded. Its population is around 17 million, yet all those people are crammed into a relatively small area and the population density is 44,500 people per square kilometre. Much of this comes from the city’s huge and crowded slums, home to up to 40% of the population. Compare that to central Sydney, which has a population density of less than 1,300 people per square kilometre, and you’ll realise how crazy the numbers really are.</p> <p><strong>Manila, Philippines</strong></p> <p>Manila comes in a very close second in the crowded city stakes, with around 41,500 people per square kilometre. That’s around twice the density of New York City. Once again, a huge proportion of its population is crammed into slums or makeshift communities where rickety structures house thousands of people in single room dwellings. But at the same time, Manila has a booming financial district, busy port and well-preserved historic area called the Intramuros.</p> <p><strong>Tokyo, Japan</strong></p> <p>Tokyo is a strange city. It is the world’s largest by population, home to an incredible 38 million people across the metropolitan area. That’s more people than live in Australia, New Zealand and all of the South Pacific combined, just in the one city. But at the same time, Tokyo always feels clean, orderly and well run. It’s obvious that there are lots of people around, but you don’t feel crowded in the same way as many other Asian cities.</p> <p><strong>Sao Paulo, Brazil</strong></p> <p>There’s a good reason Sao Paulo is known as a megacity. The population in the city itself is around 12 million, but add in all the other cities and towns that cling to its fringes and that jumps to over 21 million. It’s the largest city in South America and is just outside the top 10 in terms of global rankings. It also holds the title of the most crowded metro system in the world, packing in 11 passengers per square metre in rush hour.</p> <p><strong>Paris, France</strong></p> <p>The City of Light is Europe’s most densely populated city with around 25,000 people per square kilometre. That makes it five times as crowded as Melbourne and four times as crowded as Sydney. You only have to look at the Metro lines to see how much the French have managed to pack into the capital. There are more than 300 stations and 62 interchanges in a 10 kilometre area. At least that means you never have to walk far between stops! </p> <p>Have you ever been to these cities?</p>

International Travel