FROM Tina Arena to Shakespeare, the Valley Fiesta to comedy cooking, here's the top 10 of what Brisbane has to offer this weekend.
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COFFEE culture is thriving in the greater Brisbane area, but with so much choice it's hard to know where you'll find the best brew. Add yours to our list.
The bodies of 20 victims from the MH17 tragedy are on their way back to Malaysia from Amsterdam. Source: AAP
MILLIONS of black-clad Malaysians have fallen silent in tribute to 43 of their fellow citizens killed in the MH17 disaster as the first remains were brought home and laid to rest amid deep sorrow and anger.
PEOPLE across the country of 28 million observed a minute's silence on Friday at 10.55am (1255 AEST), shortly after a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 747 aircraft landed with the remains of 20 people killed when MH17 was blasted from the sky by a suspected surface-to-air missile over Ukraine.
Five weeks after the July 17 tragedy, the coffins and urns were conveyed to white hearses in a solemn ceremony presided over by Malaysia's King Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Prime Minister Najib Razak at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.Muslim-majority Malaysia had declared a day of national mourning, with flags at half-mast, and business, sport, entertainment and other events cancelled or toned down.Residents of the capital Kuala Lumpur overwhelmingly donned black, with many Muslim women in flowing black robes and Islamic headscarves, as state television aired recitations from the Koran and photos of the dead."No words can express the sense of loss in seeing the bodies return, my prayers are with the victims and families of #MH17," Najib said on his Twitter feed.Dozens of Malaysia Airlines cabin crew and pilots, wearing their uniforms and holding Malaysian flags and white flowers, held an emotional vigil near the airport ceremony, some weeping, others praying for their lost colleagues.Shazly, 40, a flight steward who gave only his first name, citing a company request regarding contact with the media, mourned for Nur Shazana Mohamed Salleh, 31, who joined the airline with him in the same 2004 recruitment class."She was a very jovial girl. She loved her job very much. She was very close with all her friends," he said."Life has to go on, even though it's very difficult for us to accept what has happened to our airline. They are our friends."Some wore T-shirts bearing their colleagues' names and the Arabic phrase for "See you in Paradise". Fifteen crew were aboard.Friday's remains included Ariza Ghazalee, 46, and her son Muhammad Afif, 18, part of an entire family of six wiped out in the disaster.It was a far different homecoming than what they had planned - the family was repatriating to Malaysia after three years abroad, and Ariza's final Facebook post had said, "Starting our new migration. Praise God."The special flight arrived from Amsterdam, where bodies have been taken for identification by Dutch authorities investigating the tragedy.All 298 on board Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight MH17 were killed, including 193 Dutch nationals and 38 Australian nationals and residents.The West accuses Russian-backed separatists of shooting down the plane, while Moscow blames Ukraine.The remains were conveyed onward to their hometowns for memorials in mosques, churches and temples - reflecting Malaysia's multi-ethnic make-up.Many were quickly laid to rest amid grief and anger."Their loved ones can no longer hold them. Their bodies came back in boxes," an angry Abdul Rahman Nordin, a friend of Nur Shazana's family, said at a funeral for her and MH17 First Officer Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi outside Kuala Lumpur."Justice must be served. If courts find that the plane was shot down intentionally, then those responsible must be punished with the death sentence," he said.MH17 has compounded Malaysian grief over the troubling and still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 just four months earlier.It vanished on March 8 with 239 people aboard after inexplicably deviating from its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing path.It is believed to have gone down in the Indian Ocean but no trace has been found and the cause remains unknown.With tears welling in her eyes, a former Malaysia Airlines flight attendant who declined to give her name said MH17 was "different from MH370 - at least now we have them back home.""(Justice) is the only hope we have now - that justice is done, for all airlines," she said at a separate funeral outside the capital for her former colleague, flight attendant Dora Shahila Kassim."Justice will prevail one day. That is not up to us."The government says 30 Malaysian MH17 passengers and crew have been identified. Further remains will return in coming days.Malaysia's active social media saw an outpouring of sorrow, with many users expressing hope that Friday's homecoming could help bring closure for both disasters."Welcome home #MH17, and please come back to us #MH370," read one posting.A DRUNK air passenger was tied down by cabin crew after he allegedly tried to bite other passengers and ripped clothing off two crew members on a flight from Melbourne to New Delhi, a news report says.
THE pilot of the Air India flight first requested a diversion to Singapore to offload the unruly Indian man, the Times of India reported on Friday.
When it became clear the diversion would take several hours, cabin crew tied the suspect to his seat using ropes and wires, the report said.He was handed over to security after arrival in the Indian capital."Indian carriers have witnessed scores of such acts either by inebriated passengers or other perfectly fine people who suddenly acted strange," a senior pilot told the newspaper, saying such unruly flyers posed a risk.It was fine to punish them strictly back on the ground, but "the critical issue is keeping them in check when the plane is in air," he said.Another pilot questioned Indian airlines' leniency with drinks."Foreign airlines are very strict," he said."Try asking for a third or fourth drink on any western airline and the crew will firmly warn that you will be reported on arrival if you ask for more."Last updated: August 23, 2014
THE former chief executive of biotech business Phosphagenics has pleaded guilty to her role in stealing more than $6.1 million from the company.
A MULTIPLE fatality crash in the Sunshine Coast hinterland has capped off a horror week on Queensland roads.
THE Queensland politician credited with stopping the political advance of Pauline Hanson has called on the PM to freeze out Clive Palmer.
THE results are in: here are the Queensland schools that performed best in the recent NAPLAN testing. And there are a few surprises ...
THE deaths of Sophie Collombet and Eunji Ban in Brisbane's inner city must not be in vain. Here's how we plan to make the city safer.
DANIEL Morcombe would have proudly stood beside his twin Bradley today, relishing the role of best man as his brother married his long-time sweetheart.
PARRAMATTA ignited their finals hopes and upset Manly's minor premiership hunt with a superb 22-12 come-from-behind victory.
THINK you've got a great Friday night planned? It's nothing compared to how the mega-rich party in China. Think champagne, sparklers, and setting cash on fire.
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Last updated: August 23, 2014
AGRICULTURAL equipment maker Deere is laying off about 460 employees indefinitely from an Iowa tractor factory as it continues to adjust to market demand.
A MULTIPLE fatality crash in the Sunshine Coast hinterland has capped off a horror week on Queensland roads.
THE Queensland politician credited with stopping the political advance of Pauline Hanson has called on the PM to freeze out Clive Palmer.
THE results are in: here are the Queensland schools that performed best in the recent NAPLAN testing. And there are a few surprises ...
THE deaths of Sophie Collombet and Eunji Ban in Brisbane's inner city must not be in vain. Here's how we plan to make the city safer.
DANIEL Morcombe would have proudly stood beside his twin Bradley today, relishing the role of best man as his brother married his long-time sweetheart.
PARRAMATTA ignited their finals hopes and upset Manly's minor premiership hunt with a superb 22-12 come-from-behind victory.
THINK you've got a great Friday night planned? It's nothing compared to how the mega-rich party in China. Think champagne, sparklers, and setting cash on fire.
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THE party of Pakistan's famed cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who has led a week of anti-government protests in the capital, has resigned from parliament in its latest bid to drive Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif from power over alleged election fraud.
FROM Tina Arena to Shakespeare, the Valley Fiesta to comedy cooking, here's the top 10 of what Brisbane has to offer this weekend.
10 COFFEE culture is thriving in the greater Brisbane area, but with so much choice it's hard to know where you'll find the best brew. Add yours to our list.
HEINEKEN NV, the Amsterdam-based brewer, has reported first half earnings showing a small drop in both revenues and profits - but says its underlying performance was good.
NET profit was 631 million euros ($A946.45 million), from 639 million euros in the same period a year ago.
Sales were down 1.4 per cent to 1.2 billion euros, which Heineken, the largest brewer by sales within Europe, said was due to the strong euro.Stripping out currency and acquisition effects, Heineken said its sales prices were up 1.5 per cent, and sales volumes rose 3.9 per cent.Chief Executive Jean-Franois van Boxmeer said on Wednesday the company's operations grew on a like-for-like basis in almost all regions in the first half but warned that growth in underlying profit and revenues would "moderate" in the second half.Meanwhile Danish brewer Carlsberg says uncertainty in its eastern European and vast Russian market continued to weigh on its financial performance during the second-quarter of the year.Carlsberg said on Wednesday net profit grew slightly to 2.2 billion kroner ($A42.63 million), up from 2.1 billion for the same period a year ago, on a modest revenue increase to 19.2 billion kroner for the three-month period ending June 30 against 19.06 billion kroner.The group said its eastern European markets are "increasingly challenging and uncertain", and expects them to deteriorate further in the second part of 2014 especially with consumption declines in Russia and Ukraine.Carlsberg's full-year net profit was expected "to decline by mid- to high-single-digit percentages".AN unemployed French woman has been jailed for calling the police 637 times in the space of 48 hours last week, French media is reporting.
THE 24-year-old was given a six-month jail sentence, half of which was suspended, on her twelfth court appearance on Tuesday in the central town of Bourges.
She has been charged with harassing the police.The woman, who was found by psychiatrists to be suffering from depression and severe personality disorders, had been given four months probation for a similar offence in July, Le Parisien newspaper reported.She had refused hospitalisation, reports said.The public prosecutor accused her of acting like a "punching ball"."The more we punish you, the more you keep coming back," he was quoted as saying.APPLE'S stock has touched a new high, reflecting investors' renewed faith in CEO Tim Cook's ability to outwit the competition and expand the technological hit factory.
WEDNESDAY'S milestone represents a dramatic turnaround in sentiment since Apple's shares reached its previous split-adjusted peak of $US100.72 ($A108.97) in September 2012.
After peaking at $US100.77 on Wednesday morning, shares slipped three cents to $US100.50, giving Apple a market value of $US602 billion - far more than any other publicly held company.Apple's stock had fallen to a split-adjusted $US55.01 in April 2013 to wipe out about $US300 billion in shareholder wealth amid worries that the California company had run out of ideas without the late Steve Jobs as its mastermind.The anxiety escalated as sales of iPhones and iPads slowed amid the growing popularity of less expensive smartphones and tablet computers made by Samsung Electronics and other rivals relying on Google's free Android software.Now, there are signs that Samsung's devices are losing momentum while Apple prepares to release the next version of its iPhone and investors wait for Cook to deliver on his promise to introduce a product that will open up new opportunities.The breakthrough is widely expected to be a smartwatch that will include sensors to help people monitor their health.Hewing to its secretive ways, Apple hasn't provided details about its upcoming products.Cook, though, has been raising hopes that Apple is poised to create a new product category for the first time since the iPad's release four years ago."We've got some great things that we're working on that I'm very, very proud of and very, very excited about," he told analysts in April.BRITISH Prime Minister David Cameron has broken off his holiday for talks on the threat posed by ISIL jihadists following the "shocking and depraved" apparent beheading of US journalist James Foley.
CAMERON was returning to his Downing Street office in London to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria as experts worked on trying to identify the executioner in the beheading video, who spoke with a British accent.
"If true, the murder of James Foley is shocking and depraved. I will today chair meetings on the situation in Iraq/Syria," Cameron said on Twitter.The video posted on Tuesday on the internet showed a masked militant beheading a man resembling Foley, who has been missing since he was seized in Syria in November 2012.Downing Street said in a statement on Wednesday that Cameron would meet with Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and other senior officials "to discuss the situation in Iraq and Syria and the threat posed by ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, also Islamic State) terrorists".Wednesday was to have been the second day of the prime minister's break in Cornwall, southwest England.Hammond voiced his "absolute horror" at the apparent beheading, which he said is "just is one more example in a catalogue of brutality by this organisation", referring to ISIL.He said "atrocities" carried out by ISIL as it has seized swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria were driving the international community's efforts to support Iraqis and Kurds in pushing back against the "evil organisation".He also said the apparent attack showed the security threat posed by European extremists fighting with IS if they attempted to return home.The masked executioner in the video speaks English with a British accent."On the face of it, it appears to have been a British person. We'll have to do some more analysis to make quite certain that that is the case," Hammond said.Around 400 Britons are believed to have gone to Syria over the past two years.British extremists are among the "most vicious and vociferous fighters" in the ISIL ranks, said Shiraz Maher, an expert on jihadism.Maher, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King's College London, said they had been operating as suicide bombers and executioners."Foreign fighters going out to Syria are not going out there to be backseat riders. They are going out to be full participants in the war, to be at the forefront of the conflict," he said.He said he and his colleagues were "fairly satisfied that it's a Brit" in the video "due to the colloquialisms" used, as well the accent."We have a database of several hundred fighters in Syria and myself and my colleagues are frantically looking through it to try to pin him down," he added.France on Wednesday lashed out at the apparent execution of Foley, labelling it a "barbaric" and "disgusting" act."This is a barbaric act that plays on fear," government spokesman Stephane Le Foll told reporters after Francois Hollande convened his first cabinet meeting after the summer break.In a statement Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said that if confirmed, the "disgusting assassination would show the true face of this 'Caliphate of Barbarism'."It merits the firmest condemnation from the international community and strengthens our determination to fight against the 'Islamic State' in accordance with Resolution 2170 of the UN Security Council" that condemns the activity of ISIL.Fabius added his condolences to the flood of messages of support. "In such a sad moment, our thoughts go to the relatives of the journalist - a great professional, acclaimed by all in France - and in particular to his mother Diane Foley, whom we hosted last April," the minister said."More than ever, France is committed to the right of journalists to work safely. There can be no impunity for those that carried out these barbaric acts."Thousands of people have already posted messages of condolence on the Facebook site Free James Foley.FALLING property prices in China and unregulated borrowing will have to be monitored closely to make sure it is not a risk to the world's second largest economy, the RBA says.
RBA governor Glenn Stevens says the Chinese economy is going along okay despite some volatility in monthly economic data.
"The real issue is the financial part of the economy," he said.Mr Stevens is confident that as the Chinese government deregulates the banking sector, there will be less shadow banking.Shadow banking is when some lending institution operate outside of the regulated banking system.Mr Steven acknowledged that property prices in China were falling, which could be a risk to its economy."I cannot really say with any accuracy at all just how this will unfold," he said in Brisbane."This is an issue that authorities have been alert to for quite a some time."SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS FOR PARENTS, RELATIVES AND FRIENDS WHEN IT COMES TO CHILDREN:
- ASK FIRST, POST LATER
If you don't know how a parent feels about having photos of their kids posted on Facebook, Instagram or elsewhere, ask before uploading a photo and before you tag the parents in a photo. This goes even for close relatives. Actually, it's not a bad idea to ask everyone you post a photo of if they're cool with it, especially if the snaps were taken at a party, swimming pool or any other less buttoned-up situation. It can prevent awkward conversations later.- LIMIT AUDIENCESFacebook's privacy settings are complex, but they also offer granular settings that let you pick who can see your updates. One way to do this: Create a "secret" group and add the members you want. The problem here is that anyone in the group can add new members to the group.Another way to limit the audience of each post you share is to click on the right tab under your update, which may currently say "friends" or "public." Click on "custom" and choose which of your Facebook friends you want to share with and which ones you'd like to exclude. It's simpler on Instagram, where you can either lock your account or set it to public.- TALK TO YOUR KIDSOpinions on the age at which parents should start talking to their kids about internet and social media use vary. Some parents start as soon as their child is old enough to use a smartphone, which can be as early as two or three years. Amy Heinz, who blogs about her kids, often talks to her eight-year-old about posts she writes about him, but says her younger children, who are five and three, know about the blog but "don't have a concept" of what it means exactly. Caroline Knorr, parenting editor at the nonprofit Common Sense Media, waited until her son was 15 before posting a photo of him on Facebook - and asked his permission first.- GO THE OLD-FASHIONED ROUTESome parents opt for emailing or texting photos to one person or to a small group rather than sharing them more widely on social media. Online storage services such as Google Drive and Dropbox also let you distribute photos privately, as do photo-sharing sites such as Flickr. Of course, there's always the old-fashioned snail mail method, if you can still find a place to print snapshots.- DON'T EMBARRASS THEMThat photo of your little one with pea soup all over her face, or the one that shows her first time on the potty might be funny at the time, but think about what she may think of the photo if it's still online when she's a teen. Today's generation of parents did not grow up with the reality that their private moments growing up will be documented and often posted on the internet for all eternity. Before posting a photo or anecdote, take a moment to imagine a conversation about it with your child 10 or 15 years from now.BEHOLD the cascade of baby photos, the flood of funny kid anecdotes and the steady stream of school milestones on Facebook.
IT all makes Sonia Rao, a stay-at-home mother of a one-year-old in the US, "a little uncomfortable".
At a time when just about everyone and their mother - father, grandmother and aunt - is intent on publicising the newest generation's early years on social media sites, an increasing number of US parents like Rao are bucking the trend by consciously keeping their children's photos, names and entire identities off the internet."I just have a vague discomfort having her photograph out there for anyone to look at," says Rao."When you meet a new person and go to their account, you can look them up, look at photos, videos, know that they are travelling."Reasons for the baby blackout vary. Some parents have privacy and safety concerns. Others worry about what companies might do with their child's image and personal data. Some simply do it out of respect for their kids' autonomy before they are old enough to make decisions for themselves."I have a no tolerance policy," says Scott Steinberg, a business and technology consultant. Steinberg says he shares no photos, videos or any information about his child.As for Rao, she stays active on Facebook. She's happy posting photos of her dog, but not the many snapshots of her daughter and the pet together - no matter how cute they are. Rao does share baby pictures, via email or text, but only with close friends and family.Facebook, for its part, encourages parents to use the site's privacy setting if they want to limit who can see baby photos and other posts. It's possible, for example, to create a group of close friends and relatives to share kid updates with. But that's not enough for some users.A big reason parents are wary, even if they use social media sites themselves, is that the companies "have not been very transparent about the way they collect data about users," says Caroline Knorr, parenting editor at the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which studies children's use of technology."Facebook's terms of service and privacy (policies) - no one reads it, it's too obscure."Some parents look back to their own childhoods, when they were able to make mistakes without evidence of those blunders living on - forever - online.People have shared baby photos since the dawn of the camera, and stories about kid's shenanigans long before that. Parents who decide to keep photos of their children and other data off social media say they still want to share those things, but are bothered by the idea of online permanence.Parents who enforce strict blackout rules are still in the minority. In a 2011 poll conducted at the University of Michigan, 66 per cent of Generation X parents (people born in the 1960s and '70s) said they post photos of their children online, while more than half said they have shared news about a child's accomplishment online.Aisha Sultan, a fellow at the Michigan institute where the poll was conducted, thinks the results might be different if the same questions were posed to respondents today."Back (then) there wasn't a lot of conversation about this," says Sultan, who is a parenting advice columnist."When parents first started joining Facebook in large numbers it wasn't the primary concern. We felt like we were in control of information we were sharing with friends and family."Facebook's privacy blunders over the years, not to mention frequent updates to its confusing privacy policies, changed all that. Now, Sultan says, parents are more aware of the little control they have over their personal data online.Politicians have begun to pay attention to the issue, too. A new California law requires online services, websites or apps that collect personally identifiable information to remove content that minors have posted, if requested. The measure goes into effect next year."It's a good start, but I don't think it replaces a lot of parental conversation, regulation and oversight," Sultan says.
