What bogans are like around the world

Actor Rebel Wilson, right, promoting the movie Bogan Pride. Source: Getty Images

The Aussie bogan is captured in all its glory in Paul Fenech's latest series 'Bogan Hunters'. Courtesy 7Mate.

IT'S that time of year when we all embrace our inner bogan, slipping on singlets and thongs and grabbing a beer beside the barbie.

Whether you're out and proud or just have your moments, bogan culture is at the centre of being Australian.

But what's the equivalent elsewhere in the world? Here's your guide to the bogans of the globe.

ENGLAND — THE CHAV

Matt Lucas created the archetypal chav with Vicky Pollard in Little Britain. Source: Supplied

The chav typically teams an adidas or Kappa tracksuit with Reeboks, a pushed-up baseball cap and blinging gold jewellery.

Hair is styled with lashing of gel, with girls scraping their locks back into a super-tight ponytail known as a "Croydon facelift".

Variations of the chav around the UK include knackers, pikeys, skangers and spides in Ireland, neds in Scotland and scallies in the north west of England.

In 2006, Prince William wore chav fancy dress to a party at Sandhurst.

Related epithets include "chavette", "chavdom" and of course, "chavtastic".

FRANCE — LA RACAILLE

French movie La Haine explored youth culture. Source: News Corp Australia

You may have thought our Gallic friends were the epitome of refinement.

But France's sprawling suburban banlieues are filled with racailles (or "rascals") — young people who typically dress in white polyester shellsuits, tight jeans or Lacoste baseball caps.

Variants are "Beaufs" or "Jackys", who embrace all things cheesy, and might be seen doing the chicken dance at parties.

CHINA — AH BENG

Ah Beng (also lala zai) is applied to young Chinese men in Southeast Asia who own boy-racer zhng-ed cars and dye their hair bright colours.

They often speak mashup slang known as "Manglish" or "Singlish".

The female equivalent Ah Lian (or lala-lui) sports hair extensions with thick fringes, last season's Japanese fashions and heavy makeup.

ISRAEL — ARS

Arsit — and most other bogan equivalents — are linked with bling. Source: Supplied

Ars is a Hebrew slang term associated with men who wear low-slung jeans and flashy jewellery.

They typically listen to hip-hop or or Mizrahi (Arabic) music. In the US, many are now promoters of a late-1990s variety of Tel Aviv Techno.

The female version is Arsit or Freha, a fashion girl known for super-tight jeans, vertiginously high heels, make up and keen use of her mobile phone.

POLAND — DRES

In Poland, bogans are even named after the tracksuit. Source: Supplied

Dres literally means tracksuit, with the label coming into fashion in the 1990s.

Dresiarze love to display their wealth by wearing gold medallions, leather trousers, obvious labels and very short, cropped hairstyles.

The female equivalent, blachary, typically have bleached blonde or pitch black dyed hair, fake tan, pierced belly buttons, white boots and fake nails.

MEXICO — NACO

Naco (female: naca) historically referred to indigenous people, but morphed to include the "nouveau-riche" and has been appropriated by Mexican hipsters to challenge the country's class divide.

Nacos are usually soccer fans while nacas are addicted to telenovelas (soaps).

They often have Anglo-Saxon names like Kevin.

NETHERLANDS — TOKKIE

The Tokkie family name is now synonymous with bad behaviour. Source: YouTube

Tokkie is the surname of a Dutch reality TV family who gained notoriety in 2004, when they starred in Family Pride.

The Tokkies became the Netherlands' most famous "anti-social" family after they were evicted from their Amsterdam home following a conflict with their neighbours.

Now the name Tokkie has been embraced by Norwegian rappers as a celebration of all things provocative, foul-mouthed and anti-authoritarian.

INDIA — TAPORI

Tapori means "vagabond" or "rowdy" in Hindi. It is often used to describe street gangs in Mumbai with a flamboyant style of dressing.

Taporis are known for whistling at women and spitting great distances.

They now appear in many Bollywood films, and are often celebrated as comical figures.

INDONESIA — ALAY

Indonesia's Alay are known for their tattoos and piercings. Source: Supplied

Alay is a form of popular teen culture requiring in-your-face clothes, music, tattoos and piercings.

Alayen use a hyper-modern form of textspeak almost incomprehensible to other Indonesians, which often encapsulates the writer's philosophy as well as the immediate conversation.

Selfies have become a logical extension of this distinctive tech-culture.

NORWAY — HARRY

Norway's "Harrys" are heavily influenced by English culture. Source: Supplied

Harry, from the English boy's name, is thought to have come into use when Norway voted "No" to EU membership in 1994.

In a bid to stop Norwegians buying cheap products in Sweden, agriculture minister Lars Sponheim branded cross-border shoppers "Harry".

But Swedish shopkeepers started awarding cash to Norwegians called Harry — with a prize for the most "Harry" among them.

Harrys often wear pointed leather shoes with 1920s-style leather "gangster caps" and listen to techno.

BRAZIL — CAIPIRAS

Caipiras are Brazil's rural-dwelling hillbillies. Source: Supplied

Caipira usually refers to rural Brazilians, who stereotypically wear clothes in plaid patterns with straw hats.

Men commonly have moustaches and women have braids, with both sexes known for their distinctive country dialect and dropping their vowels.

Popular Brazilian drink Caipirinha literally means"'little hillbilly girl".

JUST A FEW MORE...

Every nation has its bogans. Which one is most like you? Source: Supplied

Portugal — Serranos, Azeiteiros

Sweden — Raggare

Finland — Juntti

Slovenia — Cefurji

New Zealand — Westie

Russia — Gopnik

Central Canada — Gino

Japan — Yankī

Spain — Cani

Chile — Flaite

Puerto Rico — Títere, Pelagato, Cafre

Lara Robinson as Edwina Bright in Upper Middle Bogan. Source: ABC

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Mystery Indian activist revamping slums

The campaigner turned a dumping ground into a local meeting point. Source: YouTube

AN INDIAN activist is making his country beautiful, one street at a time.

The anonymous campaigner has been calling on citizens to clean up their act.

And his videos are inspiring people all over the world.

He targets ugly, unhygienic eyesores in the country. Source: Supplied

His team do the structural work of moving tree stumps and adding curbs, and then the community helps spruce them up. Source: Supplied

The "Ugly Indian" finds the filthiest streets and corners of a neighbourhood and shows how locals can turn them into safe and attractive places for the community.

His "Spotfix" videos started in Bangalore and have now gone viral, and he has even given a TED talk on why his campaign is proving so effective.

One of the targets he writes about on his website is open dumping grounds, which he says are a common sight in India.

His team revamp these eyesores by identifying the dumpers, giving them an alternative place to put waste and making the area look attractive.

Some walls have become popular public urination spots. Source: YouTube

But families are keen to try to change their areas. Source: YouTube

"Wonder Loos" have transformed walls and roads. Source: Supplied

Where smokers are dropping cigarette butts, his team install attractive-looking bins.

In other areas, he enlists locals to repaint peeling old walls and add seating.

Another issue is filthy footpaths, where shops have been dumping garbage and rat colonies flourishing for years.

"As nobody else seemed concerned, we made it 'our problem'," the campaigner says.

His team simply cleaned up the rubbish and added some pot plants — and no one dumps there any more.

An unsanitary dump outside a public playground. Source: Supplied

Paving, plants and paint give it a new lease of life. Source: Supplied

Some street corners have been piled with rat-infested rubbish for years. Source: Supplied

A new look changes local behaviour, the campaigner says. Source: Supplied

"The combined value of real estate rentals on this street is over $US1 million per month, it hosts over 200 businesses and restaurants, over 10,000 people walk here everyday," he writes of Bangalore's busy Church Street.

"Isn't that a good enough reason to fix it? Fix five such streets and the area gets transformed."

In most cases, the Ugly Indian says people respond to an area being cleaned up and stop dumping and littering, especially if they have somewhere else to dispose of waste.

Where public urination is particularly persistent, he has installed "Wonder Loos" — public urinals that can be attached to an outside wall.

The transformations are breathtaking.

Cigarette smokers get new bins so they won't drop butts. Source: Supplied

A foul spot on Church Street becomes a concealed public toilet. Source: Supplied

Perhaps his biggest achievement is saving lives.

India is rife with "death traps" like unfixed gaps in the footpath. The anonymous activist says there are affordable solutions that anyone can put in place.

Simply adding a paving stone could protect someone on your street from a broken neck.

One of the simplest and most ingenious solutions in his videos is a bright circle painted around a pothole.

Now two-wheelers can see it, avoid it, and escape a crash.

It's a small start, but the team hope to their efforts will help guide India into the future.

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Surfer holds ground against ‘curious’ shark

A close encounter with a shark by a surfer at West Beach, Esperance. Photos taken by Frits Debruyn from Tasmania. Courtesy of Dave Riggs. Source: Supplied

AS surfers scrambled ashore after a shark sighting at a beach where a man lost an arm weeks earlier, there were fears for one man who remained in the water.

Surfers and swimmers were on high alert when the creature was sighted at West Beach in Esperance, about 720km south of Perth.

It was the same beach where WA surfer Sean Pollard was lucky to survive after losing an arm and both hands earlier this month.

Yet Andy Johnson made a conscious decision to stay in water, as he tried 'not to freak out and make a commotion' about the 3m great white.

Ice cool or crazy? Andy Johnson eyeballs a 3m great white. Photos taken by Frits De Bruyn from Tasmania. Courtesy of Dave Riggs. Source: Supplied

"I'd rather try to hold my ground against it and not freak out and make a commotion," he told the Esperance Express.

"It seemed just curious and I didn't want to give it a reason to chase me so I tried to behave casually and keep an eye on it.

"But I didn't know it came up quite so close as I was paddling into the wave to come into the beach with the other lads."

These photos, taken by Frits De Bruyn and emailed to PerthNow, showed just how close.

A close encounter with a 3m great white shark by surfer Andy Johnson at West Beach, Esperance. Photos taken by Frits De Bruyn from Tasmania. Courtesy of Dave Riggs. Source: Supplied

Originally published as Surfer holds ground against 'curious' shark

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Islamic preacher knew ‘lone wolf’

In an interview on the 7:30 Report, Peter Lloyd investigates Junaid Thorne.

Extreme Islam...Junaid Thorne has been described by some as a dangerous mouthpiece for militant Islam. Picture: Daniel Wilkins. Source: News Corp Australia

CONTROVERSIAL Islamic preacher Junaid Thorne said the slain Melbourne man who was shot dead after stabbing two police officers was one of his followers.

Speaking to Peter Lloyd for the ABC's 7.30 program Thorne confirmed that Melbourne teenager, Numan Haider, did attend a number of his lectures.

He denied however, offering any advice to the teen in relation to joining rebel groups fighting in the Middle East.

DETAILS EMERGE: Shocking details of teenage terrorist attack

FEARS FOR SAFETY: Islamic 'Sheik' Junaid Thorne reports death threats

Trouble...Junaid Thorne said he does not offer advice to anyone seeking to travel overseas and fight in the Middle East. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

"Anyone that approaches me asking me advice about going overseas, I automatically would alienate that person because I wouldn't trust anyone that asks me stuff like that," Thorne said.

"We know that can get you into trouble and we know that authorities, whether it be ASIO or others, they tend to entrap people."

After the death of Haider, Thorne took to Facebook criticising the actions of police, saying they had provoked the teenager after visiting his home earlier in the day.

When asked by ABC interviewer Peter Loyd about that post he explained, "it was mostly a message to the government that you know you have to back off from Muslims. The policies that you people are pushing it tends to backfire sooner or later. Muslims do feel targeted".

Controversial...Junaid Thorne has given a number of lectures around Australia speaking at Islamic centres known for their hard line views of Islam. Picture: Daniel Wilkins. Source: News Corp Australia

Described by some as a dangerous mouthpiece for militant Islam, Thorne has given a number of lectures around Australia.

He has toured the country twice this year speaking at Islamic centres known for their hard line views of Islam such as the iQraa Islamic centre in Brisbane, the now-closed Al Risalah in Bankstown, and Al Furqan in Melbourne.

Earlier this year Thorne gave a lecture in which he called Jews and Christians "filthy rapists".

He told Loyd that he was misunderstood and the comments had been taken out of context.

"If you go back to the lecture, I said we have our sisters being raped by filthy Jews and Christians. So I'm talking about the ones that actually do that."

Imprisoned...Junaid Thorne reunited with his brother, who was released from a political prison in Saudi Arabia, where he spent over 3 years for speaking against the corruption of the Saudi Government. Picture: Supplied. Source: Facebook

Previously using the Islamic State flag as his background when speaking Thorne could not say whether he was a supporter or not.

"If I were to vocalise my complete support to [Islamic State], that would get me into trouble. If I were to say I don't support them at all, that would be untrue."

Thorne's older brother, Shayden Thorne, was arrested on terrorism charges and was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in a Saudi prison.

"In Saudi Arabia being accused of terrorism doesn't mean that you were plotting an attack or something. It is just because they sense you are a threat to the Government," he said.

Deported...Junaid Thorne was deported from Saudi Arabia last year for protesting his brother's imprisonment. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

Thorne moved to Saudi Arabia with his family when he was nine years old and stayed there for 14 years until he was deported last year for protesting his brother's imprisonment.

Counter-terrorism researcher Anne Aly has spoken out against Thorne, and said he was deliberately vocal and provocative.

"He's said some very offensive remarks about Jews and Christians and these are the kinds of ideas that don't bring Muslims together," she said.

She said that while he did not pose a direct threat, but his ideas were similar to the driving force behind groups like Islamic State.

"I think he is aspiring to be a person who influences people, influences young vulnerable minds. I think he's very misguided and extremely naive."

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The faces of Robert’s ‘murderers’

The two Perth-based sons of murdered man Robert Ellis have spoken of their grief over his death.

Reunion...Police escort Noor Ellis from her cell to Police HQ to meet her son John. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

THESE are the faces of the four people who Bali police allege are among the killers and accomplices in the murder of Australian businessman Robert Ellis in Bali.

The four are - Mr Ellis' wife of 25 years Noor Ellis, the couple's two housemaids and one of the housemaid's boyfriends.

Mr Ellis, 60, was murdered on October 19 this year and his bound body, wrapped in plastic, was found dumped in a rice paddy ditch about 25km from the villa he and Noor shared at Sanur.

EMOTIONAL: Noor Ellis had an emotional meeting with couple's sons

TROUBLED: Noor Ellis asked husband for divorce but he begged her to stay

Behind bars...Mugshot of a housemaid who is one of the suspects in Robert Ellis case. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Behind bars...Mugshot of a housemaid who is one of the suspects in Robert Ellis case. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Behind bars...Mugshot of Noor Ellis, accused of masterminding the murder of her husband. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Behind bars...Mugshot of the suspected executor, a boyfriend of one of the housemaids. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

Police allege that Noor Ellis masterminded her husband's death, paying the killers a total of 150 Million Rupiah or about $A14,200, to do the grisly job. Mrs Ellis denies the allegation, saying that instead she asked the five men to talk to her husband but not to injure him after marital discord between the pair and after she twice threatened to file for divorce this year.

So far one of the five killers - who police allege held Mr Ellis and slit his throat in a small room off the kitchen of the villa - has been arrested.

Adrianus Ngongo, 23, a native of Sumba, was arrested shortly after the killing, attempting to catch a boat from Bali to Lombok. His girlfriend is one of the two housemaids of the Ellis', who has also been arrested.

Tragic trip...John Ellis son of Robert and Noori Ellis visits Bali Police HQ to see his mother. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

Police allege that the two housemaids helped by keeping the couple's dog quiet during the murder and helped dispose of the body.

Another four men are still at large and police have called on them to give themselves up.

One of them, alleged to have wielded the knife which ended Mr Ellis' life, is said to have boasted that he had previously killed another foreigner in Bali.

This week Bob and Noor Ellis' two sons, John and Peter, who live in Perth, came to Bali and had an emotional meeting with their mother at the villa where Mr Ellis was murdered. Photographs of the reunion were taken.

Mr Ellis' body has now been taken to NEw Zealand for burial.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook: ‘I’m gay’

Coming out ... Apple CEO Tim Cook introduces the new Apple iPad Air 2 earlier this month. Picture: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez. Source: AP

APPLE chief executive Tim Cook has opened up about his sexuality for the first time, saying "being gay is among the greatest gifts God has given me".

In an essay in Businessweek, Cook says he has always been a fan of privacy and hates drawing attention to himself but says the words of Dr Martin Luther King often nag at him.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?" Cook wrote, quoting King.

"I often challenge myself with that question, and I've come to realise that my desire for personal privacy has been holding me back from doing something more important," Cook said. "For years, I've been open with many people about my sexual orientation. Plenty of colleagues at Apple know I'm gay, and it doesn't seem to make a difference in the way they treat me.

"While I have never denied my sexuality, I haven't publicly acknowledged it either, until now. So let me be clear: I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," he said.

Proud to be gay ... Apple chief executive Tim cook. Picture: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez. Source: AP

Cook went on to say that coming out publicly was not an easy choice but said he did so in the hope that it might help others who are struggling with their sexuality.

"I don't consider myself an activist, but I realise how much I've benefited from the sacrifice of others," he said. "So if hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he or she is, or bring comfort to anyone who feels alone, or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy."

Cook said that rather than being a burden, being gay has helped him to be a better man.

"It's made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life. It's been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It's also given me the skin of a rhinoceros, which comes in handy when you're the CEO of Apple," he said.

New territory ... Tim Cook (L), with the late Steve Jobs (centre) and Phil Schiller. Picture: Supplied. Source: AP

He said he was proud to work for a company that supported "human rights and equality for all."

However Cook said that being gay was just one part of him.

"Part of social progress is understanding that a person is not defined only by one's sexuality, race, or gender," he said. "I'm an engineer, an uncle, a nature lover, a fitness nut, a son of the South, a sports fanatic, and many other things."

Cook said he arrives in his office every morning to be greeted by the pictures of Dr King and Robert F. Kennedy.

"I don't pretend that writing this puts me in their league. All it does is allow me to look at those pictures and know that I'm doing my part, however small, to help others," he said. "We pave the sunlit path toward justice together, brick by brick. This is my brick."

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Apple and Samsung need to watch out

This could be a contender for Apple and Samsung. Source: Supplied

APPLE and Samsung have officially been put on watch. Chinese company Oppo has unveiled its two latest smartphones, with both being game changers in the mobile industry.

It's new flagship device, the N3 features a 16-megapixel rotating camera which the company claims is the best on any smartphone at the moment.

The rotating camera not only allows for the best selfies possible on any phone, it lets you do things like automatic panoramic photos. The rear fingerprint sensor also allows you to encrypt 'private' photos with your fingerprint so only you can see them when going through your device's images.

Photography is the highlight of the device, on top of its hardware features, new software options allow you to focus on moving objects to help avoid those blurry shots.

Aside from this, the company has focused on battery life, incorporating its 'VOOC' rapid charging with the device, meaning you can charge your phone from 0-75% in half an hour, or enough battery to make a two-hour phone call in five minutes.

A very tidy device. Source: Supplied

The device's screen is a 5.5-inch full-HD display, but the body of the device makes it unfortunately feel much bigger.

The other device announced, the Oppo R5 is now the world's thinnest smartphone, at 4.85mm thin, which is over 2mm thinner than Apple's iPhone 6. The design is very reminiscent of the iPhone 5, however each one is individually hand polished, which, with our brief hands-on offers a device that truly has a premium feel and touch. The 5.2-inch full-HD screen on the R5 is fantastic to look at and thankfully doesn't let down the rest of the device.

Both devices will be coming to Australia, with a local price to be announced soon. US pricing for the N3 is US $649 and US $499 for the R5 which should be an indication of where it will be priced in Australia.

Thin as, bro. Source: Supplied

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Wi-Fi ‘terror network’ delays flight

Terror network ... An American Airlines flight was delayed after concerns over the name of a Wi-Fi hotspot. Picture: ABC Source: Supplied

A FLIGHT from Los Angeles to London was delayed on Sunday after a passenger noticed a suspicious Wi-Fi network name.

US ABC reports that the unnamed passenger noticed a Wi-Fi connection entitled "Al-Quida Free Terror Nettwork" and reported it to a flight attendant.

Passengers on the American Airlines plane were told that there was a maintenance issue with the plane, told to turn off their mobile devices and kept at a remote area of the airport.

"After an hour, (the captain) said there was a security threat and that we didn't have clearance to take off," passenger Elliot Del Pra told ABC.

Incident ... An American Airlines plane was delayed after a suspicious internet network name was reported. Picture: Supplied. Source: AP

The flight did not take off until 1pm the next day with many people forced to stay in LA overnight.

Los Angeles Airport did not explain whose badly named network it belonged to but said in a statement that the matter had been resolved.

"After further investigation, it was determined that no crime was committed and no further action will be taken," the airport said.

Last month on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, a Denver-bound Southwest Airlines flight was diverted to Seattle after passengers noticed wireless hot spot names that included "Southwest Bomb on Board" and, a short time later, "Bomb Location Seat 19E."

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‘Pervert’ fears stop men helping kids

Kim Goldstein, 36 of Mermaid Waters, Gold Coast, playing hide and seek with her 2 Children Maisee, 4, & Harvey, 2. Photographer: Liam Kidston. Source: News Limited

MORE than two thirds of Australian men admit they would be at least somewhat reluctant to help a lost child for fear they would be viewed as a pervert.

Disturbing new research from Pure Profile reveals 23 per cent of fathers would shy away from assisting a child in need, because they might be perceived as having suspect motives.

Reluctant...Dads are afraid to help a child for fear their actions would be interpreted as inappropriate. Picture: News Corp Australia. Source: News Limited

Another 45 per cent of dads admit it would cross their mind that someone might interpret their actions as inappropriate, but if a child was in "great distress" they would go to their aid.

The findings, from a child safety survey of more than 1000 parents across Australia, have been released to coincide with the launch a new GPS tracking device for children, skynanny.net.

Outspoken broadcaster Derryn Hinch, who is an ambassador for the child location device, said the survey results were alarming.

"It's terrible that it has come to this, I was shocked by that, it wouldn't cross my mind," he said.

"It is a sad comment on society that many Australian men will not help a child in distress for fear they will be judged."

Mr Hinch, a long time child safety campaigner, said he believes GPS technology could be a new frontline against child abductions.

In support...Derryn Hinch supports the GPS tracker for children. Picture: News Corp Australia Source: News Corp Australia

"I probably know more about tracking devices than most people, because I wore one for five months," Mr Hinch said lightheartedly, referring to the five months he spent under house arrest for breaching suppression orders by naming sex offenders.

"I couldn't step out of my courtyard," he said.

The SkyNanny device, which can be worn in the pockets of a child's clothing, alerts parents via a smartphone app when their child ventures out of an approved area.

Inventor Jason Petch said he was motivated to create the app after he briefly lost his daughter on a Victorian beach three years ago.

"Even though I only lost her for five minutes, they were the most terrifying five minutes of my life," he said.

Sad...Fathers said they would shy away from assisting a child in need, because they might be perceived as having suspect motives. Picture: News Corp Australia Source: News Limited

But child safety expert Catherine Gerhardt said many parents would only be inclined to think about putting locational devices on their children, if they had experienced a scare in the past.

She said while the product could provide some peace of mind, parents needed to be careful not to instil too much fear into their kids.

"You have to be careful because kids are growing up with so much anxiety thinking there is something nasty around every corner," Ms Gerhardt said.

She said the best way to protect kids was having firm discussions with them about never going anywhere without seeking permission first.

Melbourne mum Maya Asafi, from Caulfield South, says she worries about her two sons Ben, 3 and Daniel 1.

Although they are still quite young and tend to stick by her side, Ms Asafi says she will consider getting a child tracking device when they become a little more independent.

"I think it's only natural to be worried about the kids, at the moment they are young and they are not going anywhere by themselves, but in the future I could see myself wanting something like this," she said.

Warning...Child safety expert Catherine Gerhardt warned that it's important not to instil too much fear into kids. Picture: News Corp Australia Source: News Limited

Queensland mum of two, Kim Goldstein, knows what it is like to be hit by a moment of panic when a child wanders out of sight even briefly.

"My kids don't run away an awful lot, but I know that moment when your heart is in your mouth and you can't see them, and there is a big advantage in something like this," she says of the GPS child tracking device.

Kim Goldstein, 36 of Mermaid Waters, Gold Coast, with her 2 Children Maisee, 4 and Harvey, 2. Photographer: Liam Kidston. Source: News Limited

Ms Goldstein, who has a four year old daughter Maisee and a two year old son Harvey, said she would consider having her children carry a location device in a busy shopping centre, an airport or at a show like the EKKA.

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The crazy new Melbourne Cup fashion trends

Jessica Green and Josh Torr modelling Melbourne Cup fashion at Palazzo Versace. Styled by Simone Bennett-Smith. Photo: Kit Wise Source: News Corp Australia

MIXING up the traditional suit is a fresh take on racewear for men this Melbourne Cup Carnival.

The carnival officially launched at Flemington Racecourse on Monday. More than 330,000 racegoers are expected to attend the four days, which begin with Derby Day on Saturday.

Menswear designer Jeff Banks will be the master of ceremonies for the Myer Fashions on the Field competition.

He encourages men to break away from strict suits and try a jacket and trousers that roughly go together, but don't exactly match, perhaps in different checks.

"It doesn't have to be a suit anymore, it can be a mixture of the two," Banks told AAP.

"You don't have to have everything co-ordinated but it's a difficult one to pull off and you've got to get it absolutely right otherwise it can look like a dog's dinner."

Getting the mixing look right is difficult, but can make you stand out. Source: News Corp Australia

Banks says ties are getting wider and more flamboyant, while having shoes in pristine condition is always in style.

"Men that have great shoes — women tend to focus on that," he said. "I don't know why but I think that maybe it's an indication that they're well heeled and they've got some money and maybe that's the guy you should go after."

Banks said men should avoid wearing a hat and visit the hairdresser instead.

"There are very few men these days that can carry off a hat and what tends to happen is they start off looking fine and then gradually, after they have had a few drinks, the hat goes on the back of the head and they kind of look like bookies' runners. So for me I avoid it, I think a great haircut is better than a good hat.

"And gentlemen, please avoid white shoes."

Myer ambassador Kris Smith at Royal Randwick. Picture Cameron Richardson Source: News Corp Australia

Myer Fashions on the Field ambassador Rebeccah Panozza said for women, it's important to select a dress that flatters your figure so you feel comfortable.

She said monochrome would be big, as well as structured headwear and fun pieces like cats ears on headbands and crowns.

"They add a little bit of funk to a really feminine dress," Panozza said.

Milliner Natalie Bikicki said metal ears on headbands were on trend and easy to wear with your hair down.

"It's a little bit of a variation compared to the regular lace pieces that most people are donning right now," she said.

She said the added the advantage with headpieces is even if you wear them the 'wrong' way you can still look chic.

"I've had photographs of my beautiful clients and they send it to me and I'm like 'do I tell them you're wearing it back-to-front?'," she said. "At this point, no. It's too late and they're happy so I'm happy."

Myer Fashions on the Field Ambassador Rebeccah Panozza with 2000 cup winner Brew. Picture: Nathan Dyer Source: News Corp Australia

Australian Hollywood star Margot Robbie, models Jennifer Hawkins and Megan Gale, and Italian designer Margherita Maccapani Missoni, are among celebrities expected to attend.

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The secret army cleaning the web

There is a secret army of content moderators keeping graphic scenes out of your feed. Pictured, a young woman browses on a tablet in Bangalore. Source: AFP

DESPITE ongoing problem of online harassment, most of us go online these days with the reasonable expectation that we can look at baby pictures on Facebook without being surprised by a gruesome photo of a beheading, or search for music videos on YouTube without running into a videotaped rape or animal abuse.

It would be nice if this was because everyone online was behaving themselves, but as Adrian Chen found in a recent piece for Wired, there is an army of labourers who spend their days cleaning up the internet so the rest of us can use it in relative peace.

"As social media connects more people more intimately than ever before, companies have been confronted with the Grandma Problem," Chen writes.

"Now that grandparents routinely use services like Facebook to connect with their kids and grandkids, they are potentially exposed to the internet's panoply of jerks, racists, creeps, criminals, and bullies."

The workers are often based in places like the Philippines. Source: Supplied

The solution is to hire workers to spend all day combing over sites that depend on user-generated content to take that stuff down.

The army of comment moderators is huge, "well over 100,000," Hemanshu Nigam, the head of online security firm SSP Blue, told Chen.

Most of them work overseas, though many American companies do have squads in the United States to handle stuff that needs a little more cultural context. Chen visited offices in the Philippines, where people are paid a few hundred bucks a month to sift through the garbage people post online.

Sitting at a computer all day seems, at least, to be a better deal than working in a factory for similar pay, but as Chen discovered, the psychological toll of this work is immense.

A lot of the job involves taking down pornography, of course, but a lot of it is taking down hateful, sadistic, and terrifying stuff. (There's also a lot of overlap.)

The pictures moderated include animal abuse and torture scenes. Pictured, shark fins are dried at a factory in Hong Kong. Pic: AP/Kin Cheung. Source: News Limited

"The worst was the gore: brutal street fights, animal torture, suicide bombings, decapitations, and horrific traffic accidents," Chen writes, regarding one American who took the job thinking it would be easy but had to quit because it began to get to him. Most people just aren't capable of looking at torture, rape, and animal abuse all day and shrugging it off.

A psychologist who works in the Philippines likened the problems the moderators had to PTSD. One woman in particular is "especially haunted" by a video she took down, about half an hour long, that appeared to be of a man raping a teenage girl who she described as "blindfolded, handcuffed, screaming and crying."

Seeing that just once would be hard to get over, but having to deal with that stuff daily seems impossible to fathom.

Workers often suffer from PTSD as a result of their job. Source: Supplied

Back in the 1990s, the rise of the internet created a porn panic, as parents and politicians worried that the new technology would make it all too easy for kids to see naked people having sex.

Since then, the worst fears about porn have come to pass, and anyone can see hardcore porn any time of day from anywhere. But it turns out that ubiquitous porn was the least of our problems. Far more upsetting is the way that the internet allows people to share "the infinite variety of human depravity," as Chen puts it.

The gore, the sexual abuse, the animal torture, the hate speech, the harassment? It all makes watching a video of a consensual sex encounter seem downright wholesome.

Of course, even the consensual porn gets to the moderators after awhile, because workers "feel desensitised" watching porn all day and some suffer sexual dysfunction. But, for good and bad, they still aren't desensitised to the rest of it.

"They begin to suspect the worst of people they meet in real life, wondering what secrets their hard drives might hold," Chen writes of the moderators. Some women are so afraid that they refuse to hire babysitters anymore.

The largely unknown job takes a major toll on workers personal lives. Source: AP

Chen brings us inside a world, and introduces us to a job, that most of us didn't know existed. He does not, however, offer any solutions, probably because the problem is massive and defies easy fixes.

One thing is certain: Setting aside a group of people to absorb all the psychological impact for the rest of us is not good enough. The internet has been mainstream for a couple of decades now. It's time to stop treating it like it's a fantasy landscape, accept that it's an extension of real life, and start imposing some of the controls on the web we use in real life, such as tying a person's online behaviour to his or her real identity and having law enforcement intercede when things get out of hand.

If we can't bear to do that just yet, then at least let's pay the people who are tasked with cleaning the place up for the rest of us a lot more money.

This article was written by Amanda Marcotte from Slate and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.

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Nova’s ‘freaky’ sex scandal

Former world 200m sprint champs Ato Bolden and Olympic champ and now senator Nova Peris hosting an Athletics clinic for kids together. Picture: News Corp Source: News Limited

SENATOR Nova Peris sought taxpayers' money to help her to carry out an extra-marital sexual tryst with Olympic medallist Ato Boldon in 2010, an NT News investigation has revealed.

Ms Peris, who was working as a communication officer with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies at the time and as ambassador for Athletics Australia, sought funds from Athletics Australia and other sources to pay for Mr Boldon's trip to Australia from Los Angeles to take part in a 10 day official "Jump Start to London" program for young athletes.

She also used that trip to carry out a "just like a Tim-tam... black on black" affair with Mr Boldon. She was married to Daniel Batman at the time.

Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago (r) during the Men's 100m qualifying heat at the World Track and Field Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, 1997. (AP Photo/Michel/Lipchitz) Source: AP

"Ato…tell me babe…what u want … Make a bit of money and spend time together … I will take time of from work to be with u," Ms Peris wrote in an email exchange obtained by the NT News.

Mr Boldon responded: "Purpose is time with u plus attend trials plus help them promote the trials and possibly guest broadcast on the tv station carrying it…need hotel ticket plus 15,000 US…"

Nova Peris-Kneebone with her Commonwealth Games gold medal & draped in an Australian flag. Picture: Gregg/Porteous. Source: News Corp Australia

Athletics Australia confirmed they did pay for Mr Boldon's flight to Melbourne from Los Angeles and covered his accommodations and some "incidentals" while in Australia.

READ: SENATOR INVESTIGATED FOR ABUSING OFFICIALS

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READ: SENATOR NOVA PERIS' MAIDEN SPEECH

A spokesman confirmed Ms Peris had personally selected Mr Boldon for the "Jump Start to London" program and that he "capably fulfilled his role as mentor and ambassador." Athletics Australia would not disclose the total amount for the 10 day trip that ran from April 9 – 19, 2010 and refused to disclose any other information citing confidentiality.

Then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard with Nova Peris at Parliament House in Canberra, after Nova Peris was announced as the preferred Senate Candidate for the Northern Territory. Picture: News Corp Source: News Limited

"We also have a relationship with Senator Peris who is a reputable former athlete and someone who we want to maintain a relationship with," said Cody Lynch.

In other emails obtained by the NT News, Ms Peris sends multiple nude pictures of herself to Mr Boldon and speaks candidly about her views on race relations in Australia.

"...You should be compensated for your long haul travels across the pacific.. sexually of course… but only .. a tired traveller should kick back for a few days," Ms Peris says on Feb 28, 2010.

Ato Boldon while in Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games. Picture: Darren Seiler Source: News Corp Australia

On March 5, 2010 Mr Boldon asks for something to tide him over until their rendezvous.

"Looks great.. when do I get some nude pics from u?"

Ms Peris responds on the same day: "Really, u want me to send some!!!! That is some freaky stuff Mr B..u like freaky??"

On March 6, Ms Peris emails Mr Boldon a nude photo of herself to which he responds: "Ohh ok lol".

"Tester before naughty," Ms Peris explains in a follow-up.

Ato Boldon, Prue Jackson and Maurice Greene during an Inside Sport magazine photographic shoot at Movie World amusement park in Brisbane in 2001. Source: News Limited

Ms Peris responded to questions posed by the NT News last night, saying she "categorically rejects any wrongdoing".

"During his trip Mr Boldon promoted athletics, attended and promoted specific events and conducted clinics for young Indigenous athletes," she said. "Other organisations, including the West Australian Government, supported some events during the visit. I understand Athletics Australia was pleased with the outcome of the visit.

"The highs and lows of my athletic career – and now political career – are public.

"The highs and lows of my private life are matters for me and my family."

In earlier emails from February 26, 2010, Ms Peris assures Mr Boldon she will find the money for him.

"…all expenses paid meals & accom and a fee!! Don't know what it is I was thinking around the $10k I don't know bub…if your purpose was to come here and make a bit of money or holiday…it was not in the budget to bring any profile athletes out but…I am goin through the indigenous grants mob….they can do was I have suggested…but I am not sure what they can do …"

Athlete Nova Peris-Kneebone displays her gold medal won in the women's 200 final at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur. Picture: News Corp Source: News Corp Australia

In other emails Ms Peris tells Mr Boldon that Sally McGrady from Athletics Australia would be arranging his payment and that Nova set it up so he would not have to pay tax on his earnings.

"I am happy to do one up for you just give me your account details and I will get the waiver form so u don't have to pay tax, u get the whole amount as a one of payment etc…" she wrote on March 11, 2010.

"Let me know babe if this is ok? I just want to do everything right for you."

Ms Peris was married to Olympian Daniel Batman, the father of two of her three children, at the time. In another email to Mr Boldon on March 14, Ms Peris wrote about forgetting her anniversary because she could not focus on anything but him and their upcoming sexual exploits.

"Do you think I should break it to my husband yet?" Ms Peris writes. "That I am running away from him for 10 days with you??? Did I tell u I forgot our anniversary the other week!! 2nd March, married for 9 years…ooopppps…I came home and he said, do yo have anything to say, I said um no why?, he said to look on the bed, so I did, there were roses and a card and a gift, gold bracelet… 'happy anniversary'…

"All I could say was sorry I have had a lot on my mind lately..:)"

"What an awful wife you are lol oh and why break it now when u have almost a month til I get there...," Mr Boldon responds.

Ms Peris has spoken before about race not affecting who she partnered with. She told the Sydney Morning Herald in March 2014 about her current husband Scott Appleton that, "I don't see colour. I see the man I love."

Comments in emails from March 17, 2010 seem to undermine her public statements on race.

"Its hard to keep a good woman down, and a black woman like me at that..!!" she writes to Boldon. "White men can't control black women they think they can but can't, If I was to marry a black man here u have to marry the family lol .. and that is just too much, I am the eldest of 45 cousins.. on my side imagine family reunions lol…"

Ms Peris continues that her husband (Batman) will probably leave her in the next five to 10 years, but does not give a reason.

" ... I don't want to say oh s*** I wish I had of f***** Ato when he came to Australia … lol..cause I regret that I didn't 10 years ago, wish I wasn't the reserved person I was back then the shy girl..lol...

"so my dear friend I am waiting for you… finally BLACK… just like a Tim-tam..black on black xxx"

Former world 200m sprint champ Ato Bolden hosting an athletics clinic for kids with at Lalor in Victoria. Picture: News Corp Source: News Limited

Later that same day, Ms Peris writes Mr Boldon again, outlining her inability to focus on anything else.

"Ok now I have to go and give a talk to 200 kids and all I am going to be thinking about is f****** you now lol

"Ok Nova you can do this lol ... focus lol xxx"

The next day Mr Boldon responds with: "I wanna f*** u sitting on my lap alot."

In other emails, Ms Peris details how she was working to obtain additional money for Ato Boldon from various other sources including indigenous groups, Commonwealth Bank, Collingwood Football Club and Channel 10 in Melbourne.

The exact total of money Mr Boldon received is unclear but in an email from mid-March, Ms Peris writes that she had managed to round up $22,000 for him, on top of the money Athletics Australia paid.

"It's not that I don't think it is unreasonable, and i totally agree you should be paid up front, its just that the money is government funds, with govt funding here, the normal procedure is to apply for grants, and because the money is discretionary funding they pay to an organisation then they pay you ..." she wrote.

"...this is all black money babe.....but rightly so being used for the interest of indigenous kids babe....white people hate black people in this country, and don't like for things to happen if there is no salt in the mix...."

Senator Nova Peris. Picture: Ray Strange Source: News Limited

In later emails, Ms Peris outlines how she and Mr Boldon would get "a bucket of money" through a foundation set up by the current Senator to promote sport and healthy living. That endeavour did not materialise.

Ms Peris had dreamt up the idea of a "global foundation" that would be known for "delivering outcomes (sports, health and education) ... for indigenous people." Later in one email, Ms Peris talks of all the great things they will do and turns her attention to Olympic darling Cathy Freeman.

"Like Freeman here, she is so so dumb (sad but true) and has a national profile of running fast achieving awesome things but seriously can't talk for shit, and has zero communication skills ..."

Olympic medallist Kathy Freeman is described as having "zero communication skills" in one email. Picture: Kit De Guymer Source: News Limited

In an email dated April 6, 2010 – a few days before he arrived in Australia – Mr Boldon writes that he is looking for houses in Australia and is serious about establishing the foundation that at one point was named "Black Gold".

Ato Boldon raises his arms in victory as he wins the men's 100-meters at the NCAA Track and Field championships in Eugene, Oregon, in 1996. (AP Photo/Jack Smith). Source: AP

"I have a great feeling about all of this and now is the time as you know ..." he wrote. "So lets do this and take care of your people and get paid well for it and have sports be the least of what we are known for when we are long gone."

Mr Boldon did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.

Ms Peris said in her statement: "Documents provided to the NT News are private. It appears they were not lawfully obtained by a third party.

"I cannot vouch for the veracity of emails I have not seen."

Originally published as Nova's 'freaky' sex scandal

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‘Ebola’ boy, 5, isolated in NYC

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state wants to encourage health workers to go to West Africa to treat Ebola, amid concerns about the impact of new state rules on mandatory quarantines. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

Under observation ... a boy, five, with possible Ebola symptoms is being observed at Bellevue Hospital in NYC. Picture: Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy who just returned from West Africa is in isolation at a New York City hospital after showing symptoms of Ebola, according to law enforcement sources.

The child was vomiting and had a 39.4-degree fever when he was carried from his home by emergency workers wearing hazmat suits, neighbours said.

"He looked weak," said a neighbour. "He was really, really out of it."

ABC 7 reported the boy is being observed in isolation but has not been quarantined.

The boy returned to New York with his family from Guinea on Saturday night, and five members of the family were being quarantined inside their apartment, sources said.

The boy was taken to Bellevue Hospital where US Ebola patient Dr Craig Spencer is currently being treated.

Victim ... Dr Craig Spencer, 33, is currently being treated for Ebola in New York City. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Nurses working in teams of two are currently treating Dr Spencer, "with one serving as a buddy watching the other," said Health and Hospitals Corporation spokeswoman Ana Marengo.

Officials said the 33-year-old Médecins Sans Frontières volunteer — who worked with Ebola patients in Guinea — has entered the next stage of the illness with gastrointestinal symptoms. He is in a stable condition.

Dr Spencer received antiviral therapy soon after being admitted on Thursday and has also reportedly been administered plasma from Ebola survivor Nancy Writebol, an aid worker who contracted the disease in Africa.

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‘Ebola’ boy, 5, isolated in NYC

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says the state wants to encourage health workers to go to West Africa to treat Ebola, amid concerns about the impact of new state rules on mandatory quarantines. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

Under observation ... a boy, five, with possible Ebola symptoms is being observed at Bellevue Hospital in NYC. Picture: Getty Images/AFP Source: AFP

A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy who just returned from West Africa is in isolation at a New York City hospital after showing symptoms of Ebola, according to law enforcement sources.

The child was vomiting and had a 39.4-degree fever when he was carried from his home by emergency workers wearing hazmat suits, neighbours said.

"He looked weak," said a neighbour. "He was really, really out of it."

ABC 7 reported the boy is being observed in isolation but has not been quarantined.

The boy returned to New York with his family from Guinea on Saturday night, and five members of the family were being quarantined inside their apartment, sources said.

The boy was taken to Bellevue Hospital where US Ebola patient Dr Craig Spencer is currently being treated.

Victim ... Dr Craig Spencer, 33, is currently being treated for Ebola in New York City. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

Nurses working in teams of two are currently treating Dr Spencer, "with one serving as a buddy watching the other," said Health and Hospitals Corporation spokeswoman Ana Marengo.

Officials said the 33-year-old Médecins Sans Frontières volunteer — who worked with Ebola patients in Guinea — has entered the next stage of the illness with gastrointestinal symptoms. He is in a stable condition.

Dr Spencer received antiviral therapy soon after being admitted on Thursday and has also reportedly been administered plasma from Ebola survivor Nancy Writebol, an aid worker who contracted the disease in Africa.

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School staff accused of ‘gang-rape’

JIS is one of Asia's top schools, and has a large body of Australian students. Source: Supplied

A PRESTIGIOUS international school in Indonesia has been confronted by accusations of staff raping children as young as five.

Parents have made allegations of gang rape, sexual abuse being video-taped and institutional cover-ups at Jakarta International School.

The saga began in March, when the parents of a five-year-old boy alleged that he had been anally raped by cleaners in the school toilets.

The families of three children have accused teaching staff at JIS of rape. Source: Supplied

They said they noticed something was wrong when the child became aggressive, began wetting himself at school and started having nightmares in which he screamed, "Please don't hurt me, please let me go", The Independent reported.

His mother discovered bruises on his stomach and anus, she said, and the boy then told his parents what had allegedly happened. A medical exam was said to have revealed anal infections, pus and lesions.

Six members of staff from cleaning contractors ISS were arrested, but the boy's mother went public with the details after being disappointed with the slowness of the school's response, her lawyer Andi Asrun told Fairfax media.

Four of the five men admitted to the crime, but later retracted their statements, saying they were obtained under torture, The Independent said. The fifth man died in custody — apparently committing suicide by drinking bleach. The last person arrested was a woman.

School cleaner Agun Iskandar went on trial for the alleged sexual abuse in August. Source: News Corp Australia

A second mother came forward a few weeks later and said her son had also been attacked by cleaners, but had fought them off.

At the time, the school said little in public, and calls for its closure grew louder, alongside graffiti sprayed on the gates, harassment of students as they left and attacks on the school's lax dress code.

The first set of parents launched a $14 million lawsuit, not long before further scandal broke in late April, when it emerged that US paedophile William Vahey had worked at the school from 1992 to 2002.

The second mother later told Fairfax media that her son's abusers were school administrator Neil Bantleman and Indonesian teacher's assistant Ferdinand Tjiong, in conjunction with the cleaners. They deny the allegations.

A letter from the accused teaching staff on a petition calling for their release. Source: Supplied

The mother said her son was taken to school offices, and given drugs either intravenously or in a "light blue potion" before being sexually assaulted, often on video. No video footage has been found.

She said he was threatened with death if he told anyone about the rapes, which allegedly numbered more than 20.

At this point a third alleged victim emerged, a friend of the first two children.

In late May, the first parents increased their claim against the school tenfold to $142 million, saying their son would require care for the rest of his life. The second mother sent emails identifying the alleged perpetrators to 12 sets of parents with pre-school children, saying her son had identified them as victims.

The families of three children say they were attacked by teaching staff. Source: ThinkStock

By June 11, all three parents were saying that teaching staff were involved.

Police transcripts leaked to the Wall Street Journal revealed claims by the alleged first victim of secret rooms in the school and a "magic stone" used to anaesthetise the children.

The documents identified eight other boys who were allegedly abused this year at the school.

Bantleman and Tjiong were arrested on July 14, but the school's founding embassies weighed in publicly, issuing a statement saying they were "deeply concerned" about the teachers' detention and that: "We are surprised at these developments given the presumption of innocence in Indonesian law."

The school said it was co-operating fully with police, but also expressed doubts about the claims against its staff, suggesting the ideas may have been planted in the children's heads.

There are suggestions that the children involved may have fallen victim to the power of suggestion in questioning. Source: Supplied

Headteacher Timothy Carr told the Wall Street Journal: "How credible were those original allegations when they were delivered by someone who has changed their story so dramatically over time?"

The teaching staff involved are suing the parents for defamation, with Bantleman's wife Tracey insisting there is no evidence and Tjiong's wife saying her husband is "ashamed" of the Indonesian justice system.

But the first and second mothers accused the school of a cover-up, and lawyer Mr Asrun said the school had "tarnished its image".

JIS educates more than 2000 children of well-off expats and Indonesians, including many Australians, and is one of Asia's top schools.

It is now holding weekly vigils, attended by some parents, in support of the staff members, and a petition to release them has gained more than 10,000 signatures.

But one mother said she had withdrawn her child from the school because "everyone was constantly talking about his case. It was just too heavy for me."

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Aussie teacher ‘hunted’ in Lebanon reveals ordeal

Australian mother Mahassen Issa was charged with adultery and disowned by her family. Source: Channel 7

THE Australian mother and schoolteacher who was allegedly trapped in Lebanon facing adultery charges raised by her own husband has shared her story in an exclusive interview with Sunday Night.

Mahassen Issa, 29, who was charged with adultery in June after she flew to Lebanon to be with her new partner, Mohammed Awick, claims she was unable to leave the country and was "hunted" by authorities after her estranged husband triggered the charges.

"I've been followed, harassed, threatened," Ms Issa tells Seven reporter Steve Pennells in the interview, which took place while she was still on the run from authorities in the foreign country.

Pennells spent several weeks with Ms Issa in Lebanon and said the situation "got worse and worse" while he was there and recalled the pair "being followed at one point."

Mahassen Issa made a spontaneous decision to fly to Lebanon to be with Mohammed Awick. Source: Supplied

Refused contact with her two young children (aged six and nine) back in Australia, she can be heard in the interview saying, "I have to go back to my children ... just put my kids on the phone."

Ms Issa secretly fled Australia and her husband Bassem Abou Lokmeh to be with Mr Awick and within days found herself wearing a white dress and pledging her commitment to him — a mistake she now admits to be the biggest of her life.

Ms Issa "was supposed to be there [in Lebanon] for two weeks," Pennells told news.com.au. "She was blocked from leaving and her home back in Sydney was rented out, all her belongings were taken."

Pennells added that Ms Issa never married Mr Awick, it was simply a commitment ceremony.

Mahassen Issa was only planning to stay in Lebanon for two weeks. Source: Supplied

Pennells added that Ms Issa didn't tell anyone she was flying to Lebanon, instead she told friends she was planning to spend two weeks in Melbourne. "It was a spur of the moment decision — a spontaneous, impulsive decision."

Over the next two months Ms Issa alleges she became a fugitive from Lebanese authorities. An arrest warrant was issued, she was accused of bigamy and adultery, and now faces punishment under strict Islamic law.

"She was scared, there was definitely an arrest warrant and she was definitely blocked from airports," Pennells confirmed.

"My crime here, under sharia law, is adultery," Ms Issa says in the Sunday Night exclusive.

Despite being disowned by her own family, the Sydney-born primary school tutor says her new boyfriend never turned his back on her.

"He [Mr Awick] risked it all, his whole life, for me and I'm the one bringing this trouble onto him. And he took it, and he said it's OK,'' she says.

"He was the one lugging luggage up and down streets, running around at 2 o'clock, 3 o'clock in the morning trying to find us a safe haven."

"He risked it all" — Mahassen Issa with boyfriend Mohammad Awick. Source: Supplied

Ms Issa turned up at Bankstown Local Court earlier this month but it's not yet known how, or when she managed to return to the country. Ms Issa refused to comment when questioned outside the court, having signed a deal with Seven's Sunday Night.

Her October 9 court appearance was reportedly over a withdrawn apprehended violence order against Mr Lokmeh, allegedly relating to threatening phone calls and text messages she claimed to have received from her former husband.

A lawyer for Mr Lokmeh said his client was exonerated regarding the AVO.

Pennells said that Ms Issa has been reunited with her two children upon returning to Sydney but said "the battle isn't over yet."

Bachelor of education Mahassen Issa with husband Bassem, mum Nala and sister Salma at her graduation ceremony in Rydalmere, 2007. Source: DailyTelegraph

When asked about her fears that her new partner would leave her, she said: "I was scared that he would. I was honestly scared that he would, because anyone would run. I would.

"If I was in a predicament like that and I was going to go to jail, I'd run. But he didn't. And I never left him and he didn't leave me."

An emotional Mahassen and Mohammed during their interview with Sunday Night. Source: Channel 7

Australian divorce proceedings require separation of at least a year. Ms Issa claims she separated from her husband in September last year but continued to live in the same house, while he claims they were together until April this year.

Sunday Night, hosted by Chris Bath, airs Sundays at 8pm on Seven.

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Steenkamp ‘was set to leave Pistorius’

Mother ... June Steenkamp, mother of Reeva Steenkamp, said her daughter was planning to leave Oscar Pistorius before she was shot dead. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

June Steenkamp has insisted she does not want revenge on Oscar Pistorius after he killed her daughter.

THE mother of Oscar Pistorius' girlfriend believes that her daughter was about to leave the disgraced athlete when he shot her dead in what a South African judge ruled to be culpable homicide.

June Steenkamp — mother of 29-year-old model Reeva Steenkamp — also told Britain's newspaper The Times that she and her husband Barry were haunted by images of the shooting, for which Pistorius was sentenced to a five-year jail term.

"Her clothes were packed. There is no doubt in our minds: she had decided to leave Oscar that night," she wrote in her new book, serialised in the Times, adding that her daughter had confided to her that she "had not slept" with the runner and was "scared to take the relationship to that level".

Dated ... Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2012. Picture: AP Source: AP

Pistorius, the first double amputee Paralympian to compete against able-bodied athletes at the 2012 London Olympics, said he shot Steenkamp four times through a locked door to the bathroom in his Pretoria home because he mistakenly believed there was an intruder inside.

In Reeva: a Mother's Story, June Steenkamp wrote that she was "shocked" that the athlete was found guilty only of culpable homicide, or manslaughter.

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Oscar Pistorius shot dead Reeva Steenkamp. Picture: AP Source: AP

Oscar Pistorius is sentenced in Pretoria, South Africa. Picture: AP Source: AP

She called Pistorius "arrogant", "moody", "volatile" and "combustible", saying he was a "trigger-happy" gun lover who was "possessive" of her daughter.

"It was Reeva's bad luck that she met him, because sooner or later he would have killed someone," she added.

Both parents were haunted by "the vision of Reeva suffering this terrible trauma," she told the paper. "Her terror and helplessness. Her yells for help piercing the silent night air."

Proceeds from the book will help ease the family's financial difficulties, and help kick off fundraising efforts to set up a foundation for abused women in South Africa, according to the English-born mother.

Heartbreaking ... Reeva Steenkamp's father Barry Steenkamp cries as he is comforted by his wife June during court proceedings. Picture: AP Source: AP

"I think she would have wanted us to have some money," she said. "Imagine going through this trauma, suffering, pain and having no money. Sometimes not even for food or anything."

But financial security will not ease the pain of losing a daughter, she added.

"You can laugh about some things," the 68-year-old told the Times. "It's not like you are miserable all the time. It's just this wrenching pain that you get in your heart.

"It's always there. The minute your eyes open in the morning, or if you wake up in the middle of the night, there it is."

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Ebola fears for Brisbane patient

The World Health Organisation says the number of people infected with Ebola has risen to more than 10,000.

NINETEEN people are being isolated in home quarantine in Brisbane as a precaution against spreading the Ebola virus, as a teenage woman undergoes tests for the deadly disease in hospital.

The 18-year-old is being kept in an isolation ward at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital after developing a fever yesterday.

She arrived in Australia 12 days ago from Conakry in Guinea, with eight members of her extended family, including six children.

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The group is one of four West African families who have arrived in Brisbane in the past couple of weeks from Ebola virus hot spots.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said they all had agreed to remain in home quarantine until the 21-day incubation period had expired.

"They've been extraordinarily co-operative. These people have gone directly from the airport into home quarantine," Dr Young said.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said there was no risk to anyone on the same flight at the African woman as she did not have symptoms at that time. Pic: Marc Robertson.

"We're supporting these people. They don't need to go out and shop, we're providing them with food.

"They've got everything they need. They have no need to leave the house."

Dr Young said the families had been taking their temperatures twice a day since arriving in Queensland and the 18-year-old had advised a public health officer of her fever when she was contacted yesterday.

Paramedics wearing full personal protective equipment took the young woman to the RBWH, where she was put in an isolation room.

"There'll be one nurse for each shift who only looks after her, doesn't look after any other patient, and she won't be allowed any visitors," Dr Young said.

"All of the staff going into that room will be wearing full personal protective equipment."

Dr Young said RBWH staff looking after the teenage woman had been advised to maintain a "one-metre distance" from their own families as a precaution.

She said the woman's family members remained in home isolation but none had experienced any symptoms and were "perfectly well".

The 18-year-old patient was taken to RBWH after reporting a fever. Pic: Jamie Hanson

"There is no risk for the community at all because she hasn't left the house or had any visitors in the time that she's been here in Brisbane," Dr Young said.

"She's been very responsible as has her whole family.

"We were told about the arrival of this family. A decision was made that the safest response would be to ask these people to go into home quarantine. They agreed. We had people meet them at the airport."

Her first blood tests for Ebola virus will be known this morning but she cannot be cleared until the results of a second test in three days' time are returned.

"It's unlikely that she has the disease because she doesn't remember coming into contact with anyone with Ebola virus disease," Dr Young said.

The Chief Health Officer said she had no concern for the people who travelled into Australia on the same flights as the West African woman.

"You need direct contact with the secretions of someone who is sick," Dr Young said.

"She didn't excrete the virus on the plane so it was impossible for anyone to get infected."

The isolation room at RBWH where suspected patients with Ebola stay. Pic: Peter Wallis

"You need to have symptoms and be excreting the virus, in vomit, in faeces, in sweat, in urine and she doesn't have any symptoms."

The woman's fever had by last night abated and Dr Young said it's unlikely she has Ebola.

"But she's been in an area that there's been a significant number of cases so there's always that potential," Dr Young said.

A NSW MP on Sunday night came under fire for making fun of the Queensland Ebola scare.

Liberal MP Peter Phelps launched a series of bizarre, insensitive tweets that mocked the sunshine state for being "beautiful one day; pandemic the next".

The Brisbane scare comes as an Australian man living in Thailand is under Ebola watch.

The man had recorded an elevated temperature and was been told to stay at his home in Thailand after returning from the Democratic Republic of Congo, where 49 people have died of Ebola.

The unnamed man returned to Thailand on October 17 from the DRC, where he works in the oil-drilling industry.

New York and New Jersey have ordered a mandatory quarantine for medics who treated Ebola victims in Africa.

He lives in Trat province, 312km southeast of Bangkok.

Reports said Trat Hospital had been asked by the Thai public health office to prepare "to put a patient under investigation", after he recorded an elevated temperature when he was tested at Bangkok international airport.

A doctor at Trat Hospital's emergency unit said the man had been told to "remain at home" under observation, until November 5, three weeks after returning from Africa.

"He doesn't come to the hospital, he just stays at home," the doctor told AAP.

The order is in line with the mandatory 21-day quarantine for medics returning to the US who may have had contact with Ebola patients in west Africa.

The Ebola outbreak in the DRC, reported by the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is unrelated to the outbreak in west Africa, where nearly 10,000 people have been infected and almost 5000 have died from the virus.

In DR Congo, the CDC has reported 67 cases of Ebola and 49 deaths.

The concerns over the Australian comes as Thai medical authorities are set to reveal the results of blood tests on a British man, 68, who was found dead in his apartment in Phuket on October 23.

The suspected Brisbane case comes after a New York doctor tested positive last week, and as an Australian man is under Ebola watch in Thailand.

The man, who had travelled from Lagos in Nigeria on October 7, went to a local hospital on October 15 after fainting. Doctors treated him for a heart condition and sent him home.

The Thai Health Department is monitoring about 25 people who had been in contact with the man.

Research scientists at Thailand's Mahidol University announced recently they were successful in developing an antibody treatment for Ebola using human gene therapy.

The Thai researchers are receiving assistance from the World Health Organisation and the US National Institute of Health to continue their research.

Thailand is closely monitoring visitors from Ebola-affected states, with more than 2400 people screened without detecting any cases.

In his weekly address, President Obama focuses on Ebola saying patients can beat the deadly virus, after seven Americans treated; all seven survived. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

Originally published as Ebola scare sees 19 in quarantine

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‘Most bogan rendition ever’

Shannon Noll has copped some criticism after singing the national anthem at the Cox Plate. Courtesy Channel Seven

Cox Plate viewers and racegoers were not very complimentary of Shannon Noll's singing efforts. Source: Channel 7

WE haven't heard a rendition of the Australian national anthem so bad since an Argentinian singer butchered it at the Wallabies v Pumas in Mendoza earlier this month.

But Shannon Noll, true blue Aussie and boy from the bush, almost managed to outdo him today - if the feedback from racegoers and home viewers watching the Cox Plate are anything to go by.

Shannon Noll sings during the Cox Plate at Moonee Ponds. Source: Channel 7

The former Australian Idol runner-up took to the stage before the big race at Victoria's Moonee Ponds this afternoon to sing the national tune, apparently pronounced, "Advernce Austraya Fair."

Within seconds, Noll was being slammed on Twitter for "butchering" and "murdering" what was labelled "the most bogan rendition" of the anthem ever heard.

Taking the criticism on board, Noll responded to at least one of the #haters:

Have a listen to Nollsie in the video above (or the full version at the bottom) and let us know what you think.

Fair criticism or "what about me, it isn't fair?"

Noll sings to the Cox Plate crowd. Source: Channel 7

In the meantime, here's just some of the feedback.

Here's the full clip:

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The movies getting all the Oscar buzz

Will you be mine? Robert Downey Jr gets into the rough and tumble of screenings for the Academy in New York earlier this month. (Photo Rob Kim/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

FOUR months out from the 2015 Academy Awards, there is one thing pundits agree on: this is going to be one of the most competitive races in many years ... in the Best Actor and Best Picture category.

As for Best Actress, that statuette seems to be Julianne Moore's to lose.

While movie folk still talk about "Awards Season" (running from September through to March, it actually eats up half a year), Oscar predictions nowadays start dribbling in from May, when a handful of prestige titles premiere at Cannes.

Julianne Moore leads the ladies with a moving performance in Still Alice (Icon) Source: Supplied

The heat is then turned up come September when studios begin screening their awards bait for the first time at four taste-making festivals: Venice, Toronto, Telluride and New York.

(In Australia, Awards Season titles tend to be held from cinemas until January/February, in order to capitalise on the hype.)

The crowded 2015 Best Actor field welcomed its first contenders when Cannes threw up Steve Carell playing against type in Foxcatcher as a paranoid millionaire who appoints himself benefactor of the US Olympic wrestling team, and Timothy Spall as a famously eccentric British painter in Mr Turner.

Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo are both on the Oscar radar for real-life tale of paranoia and tragedy, Foxcatcher (Roadshow) Source: Supplied

Toronto pushed two more Brits playing real-life genii to the fore: Eddie Redmayne as physicist Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything and Benedict Cumberbatch as WWII code-cracker Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

Sometimes festival launches rule an actor out, rather than in. Case in point: Robert Downey Jr.

His return to drama with The Judge was tipped to herald a return to Oscar-ville (he's been nominated twice, in 1993 for Chaplin and 2009 for Tropic Thunder). But the response to The Judge has been lukewarm both from critics and the paying public.

This Best Actor race is too crowded for lukewarm.

The Academy loves a tale of real-life struggle: actors Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne meet physicist Stephen Hawking, subject of their film The Theory of Everything (Universal) Source: Supplied

So who's at the head of the pack? Michael Keaton. The former Batman winged it out of Telluride and straight to No.1 nominee status with Birdman, the story of a washed up cinematic superhero attempting a comeback. Sound familiar?

It's not just Keaton's spectrum-blowing performance but the life-imitating-art factor that will appeal to voters. At 63, he has never been nominated and has not headlined a hit since the '90s. Keaton is also considered one of the industry's good guys, so it's hard to imagine anyone begrudging the veteran a reward for a lifetime of beloved movies.

Michael Keaton plays an actor who can't escape his superhero past in Birdman. Sound familiar? (Twentieth Century Fox) Source: AP

Films released outside the Awards Season window really have to shout to be heard once the floodgates open.

Richard Linklater's Boyhood, released in August, has the groundbreaking 12-years-in-the-making angle as well as universal acclaim on its side. It's an especially strong contender in the Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress (for Patricia Arquette) categories.

Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, released in March, did such strong business for an art house film (locally, it became the highest-grosser in the 22-year history of boutique Melbourne venue Cinema Nova), that its sublime silliness should stick in the memories of voters when it comes to Best Picture and Best Actor (for Ralph Fiennes).

Then there are those films no one has seen as yet, but the pedigree of which screams "Oscar Bait". They'll be vying for space with The Imitation Game, Gone Girl, Birdman et al when it comes to Best Picture.

Angelina Jolie's biggest directorial outing yet, Unbroken, the true story of a US Olympic runner and POW; Interstellar from Christopher Nolan, one of the few filmmakers (along with Gone Girl's David Fincher) who seems to appeal equally to audiences and the Academy; Star-packed fairytale mash-up musical Into the Woods, led by Queen Oscar herself, Meryl Streep; Clint Eastwood's American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as the US military's real-life top sharpshooter; Selma, an Oprah Winfrey and Brad Pitt-backed biopic that follows Martin Luther King (played by David Oyelowo) on his 1965 voting-rights marches.

Memories of Patricia Arquette's depiction of motherhood spanning 12 years in Boyhood will linger with voters (Universal) Source: Supplied

And writer-director J.C. Chandor's gritty 1980s crime drama A Most Violent Year, starring Oscar Isaac and Academy pre-approved Jessica Chastain, is considered a chance to edge some bigger-name opposition out of the race once it premieres next month.

That the Best Actress field is far less populated than Best Actor this year isn't simply about a lack of quality films or performances.

Sasha Stone, founder of tracking and analysis site Awards Daily, last week wrote: "What I've observed in the 16 years I've been watching films get released ... and the awards race that follows, tells me that movies by or about women have to resonate with men and women to get attention.

"Where a Terms of Endearment or a Broadcast News might have been considered universal enough once upon a time, those movies can't even get made anymore, let alone get anywhere near the Oscar race."

Reese Witherspoon finds herself in Wild. Could she also find an Oscar? (Twentieth Century Fox) Source: Supplied

As for those who have made it onto the 2015 field, Julianne Moore as a professor and mother who learns she has early-onset Alzheimer's in Still Alice is lengths ahead of Rosamund Pike as the missing wife in Gone Girl and Felicity Jones as Hawking's other half in The Theory of Everything (with the caveat that the studio behind Theory may choose to campaign for Jones in the Best Supporting category instead. Ahh, Oscar politics!).

Reese Witherspoon's 1700km trek following a divorce in Wild is also gaining traction, while pundits are waiting on seeing Amy Adams in painter biopic Big Eyes and Chastain in A Most Violent Year before solidifying their Top 5.

Similarly, the Best Supporting Actress field is slender, with Arquette leading the likes of Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game, Laura Dern in Wild and Emma Stone in Birdman.

Veteran character actor J.K. Simmons teaching his way to glory in Whiplash (Sony Pictures) Source: Supplied

The Best Supporting Actor category remains a toss-up, though most money right now is going to J.K. Simmons' vein-popping performance as a sadistic music teacher in Whiplash.

Mark Ruffalo in Foxcatcher, Edward Norton in Birdman and Ethan Hawke in Boyhood are also circling, while pundits wait on Albert Brooks' turn as a lawyer in A Most Violent Year.

The nominees for the 87th Academy Awards will be announced on January 15.

Then will follow six weeks' worth of contention as to who should, could, will or won't actually win when those gold statuettes are handed out on February 22.

OSCAR BAIT: WHEN CAN WE SEE IT IN AUSTRALIA?

November 6

Interstellar

December 26

Mr Turner

St Vincent

Regular punters and Academy watchers alike are breathlessly awaiting Interstellar (Roadshow) Source: Supplied

January 1

The Imitation Game

January 8

Into the Woods

January 15

Unbroken

Birdman

January 22

Wild

American Sniper

There's no holding Benedict Cumberbatch back: if The Imitation Game doesn't win him an Oscar, something else will (Roadshow) Source: Supplied

January 29

Foxcatcher

Still Alice

The Theory of Everything

February 5

Inherent Vice

February 19

Big Eyes

February 26

A Most Violent Year

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Meet the man who eats 20,000 calories a day

Strongman Robert Oberst treats his body like it's a machine. Source: Getty Images

"MY BODY is a machine. It's a vessel for work. If you want your car to run well, you put good fuel in it. Same with your body."

Those are the wise words of American strongman Robert Oberst, the 2.03m, 180kg mountain who is no stranger to $450 weekly grocery bills — just to feed himself.

"I have six meals a day. If I don't eat enough, I get shaky, I get headaches," Oberst told the Munchies website.

"My body is running on a level now where it's used to having good fuel. If I cut that supply off, my body just revolts."

Across those six meals a day, Oberst consumes 15,000 to 20,000 calories — at least five times the recommended daily intake for Australian males.

He eats directly before going to the gym because it enables him to workout harder for longer.

"When you go to the gym and your body's fuelled up with good nutrients and protein, when you get to the point when you're working hard and you're hitting your last reps, you're burned out, there's something else in there driving you," Oberst explains.

"Instead of reaching down and there's nothing there, you have some power left."

Oberst packs his trolley with eggs. He says he could easily eat a carton a day. Source: YouTube

Oberst's diet consists of largely of eggs, meat, pasta and rice. And lots of it.

For breakfast, he'll eat 8-10 eggs and then snack on whole boiled eggs throughout the day.

For lunch, he'll often have two large steaks.

Dinner is a pasta meal, which also includes meat.

And in between it's more meat and more eggs, plus he finds room for six cups of rice.

The main rule is Oberst consumes 1.6kg of meat per day, which can come from various sources.

Meat, meat and more meat. Source: YouTube

"Basically, I clean out the meat section," he says of trips to the supermarket, where he packs his trolley with beef, turkey and pork.

"It's got to taste good and it has to have a high protein content," he says.

He eats no cheese and no dairy.

"It's very strict," Oberst says. "I get one day off every four weeks where I can eat what I want."

The 29-year-old is currently the second strongest man in America but "I am working my arse off take first place".

Oberst competes an the truck pull in China. Source: Getty Images

A former American football player, Oberst worked as a bouncer at a bar before a colleague encouraged him to join strongman.

He describes his job as "travelling around the world and lifting up heavy weird objects".

"I get paid to be the freak show. I'm fine with that."

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