Russia halts round-the-world hike

Karl Bushby with a frozen beard in 2005. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Picture Media

A BRITISH man hoping to walk around the globe has been stopped in his tracks more than 32,000km in, after Russia denied him entry.

Karl Bushby, from Hull in northern England, started his epic trek on November 1, 1998, in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Everything he owned was stashed in a makeshift trolley he named "The Beast" and he had just $300 in his pocket.

Mr Bushby conquers Alaska with a sled in 2006. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Picture Media

The British hiker on a Canadian road with all his possessions in a trolley. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Picture Media

But upon reaching Russia 13 years later, he was told he was not allowed to cross the border.

He then changed course, traversing the length of South and North America, completing the first recorded crossing of the Bering Strait on foot and travelling two thousand miles into Siberia.

Now 15 years into his trip, he is determined to complete the challenge he set himself.

Mr Bushby, 45, is now walking from Los Angeles, California, to Washington, DC, where he plans to visit the Russian embassy and convince them to grant him entry into their country.

The walk from LA to Washington alone is more than 5600km long.

"There are two rules for the expedition," Mr Bushby says on his website. "Firstly I can't use any form of transport to advance. Secondly, I can't go home until I arrive on foot."

At first, few people thought he could accomplish his goal.

Mr Bushby adopts a low-maintenance look for Colombia. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Supplied

Shielded from the elements on the long open road. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Picture Media

"It's something the world told me I could not do, and which I knew I could do," he said.

He has endured blistering heat and bone-chilling cold, crossed mountains, deserts and jungles, been robbed and detained, evaded armed rebels, been swept out to sea on ice, nearly starved in the rainforest and overcome dozens of other harrowing obstacles.

He says the support and encouragement of people along the way inspires him to keep going.

"In all my travels I've found that 99.99 per cent of people are good and decent, and want to see me succeed. I hope that by fulfilling my dream I'll inspire others to pursue theirs."

Now, only Russia is blocking him from reaching the home straight.

The brave traveller with a backpack and stick en route to Komsomolskiy, Russia. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Picture Media

The 45-year-old adventurer is now walking from LA to Washington. Picture: Karl Bushby/Caters News Source: Picture Media

Mr Bushby is still unsure why he was not allowed to enter the country, but believes it may be related to an accidental crossing into Siberia.

He plans to reach the embassy around September 10 (a year and seven days after he left LA) where he will state his case.

If approved, he will continue from Washington to Russia, which he must pass through in order to complete the mammoth trek.

Should everything go smoothly from there, Mr Bushby hopes to be back in the UK and at the end of his 58,000km odyssey within six years.

20.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Is this how the future will look?

Extreme heat could cause a deadly drought in Arizona. Picture: WMO Source: Supplied

A weather report from 2050 predicts typhoons, mega-droughts and other disasters.

"MIAMI South Beach is underwater", says the forecaster, before scenes of typhoon devastation fill the screen.

Another weather reporter announces that Arizona's mega-drought has claimed another casualty.

Shots of an approaching hurricane flash up as we see families fleeing floods.

Meanwhile, we learn, towns in South Africa and Bulgaria are suffering through searing 50C heat.

This is the United Nations' terrifying vision for 2050, the first in its series of "weather reports from the future".

Forecasters predict coastal areas will be underwater. Picture: WMO Source: Supplied

The stark videos, produced with national broadcasters from Japan to Iceland, are being released ahead of the UN's Climate Summit 2014.

They warn of a year's rainfall in a month, destruction of ocean life and plagues of pests — just 36 years from now.

The World Meteorological Organization invited TV presenter from around the globe to prepare weather reports for 2050, depicting likely local impacts of climate change.

The year was chosen because it is halfway to the end of the 21st century, by which time it's thought average global temperatures could rise by more than 4C, if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase at the current rate.

Families escaping their ruined homes after floods. Picture: WMO Source: Supplied

WMO will release the videos throughout September to support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's call for ambitious action at the UN Climate Summit on September 23 to prevent these worst-case scenarios.

"Climate change is affecting the weather everywhere," said Ban. "It makes it more extreme and disturbs established patterns. That means more disasters; more uncertainty.

"We can reduce the risks by cutting global greenhouse gas emissions and building low-carbon economies.

"Let's work together to make our societies safer and more resilient."

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said: "Climate change is already leading to more extreme weather such as intense heat and rain. The 'abnormal' risks becoming the norm. We need to act now."

The vision for the world's future is a frightening one. Source: Supplied

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RAAF’s scariest mission yet

There are reports an Australian aircraft has been fired at by militants while delivering aid in Iraq.

Military airlift ... the RAAF's C-17A Globemaster transport jet will land in the northern Kurdish city of Erbil carrying weapons and ammunition for Peshmerga fighters. Source: News Corp Australia

AFTER two humanitarian air drops in northern Iraq, the RAAF is about to embark on possibly its most dangerous mission yet.

In coming days, the RAAF's largest aircraft, the enormous four-engined C-17A Globemaster transport jet, will land in the northern Kurdish city of Erbil carrying weapons and ammunition for Peshmerga fighters.

After leaving its base near Dubai, the jet will fly to Baghdad to clear Iraqi customs before tracking to Erbil.

UNDER FIRE: ISIS TAKES AIM AT AUSSIE AID PLANE

It will conduct a ''tactical approach'' to the airport and it will either speed in low and fast or come in steep and fast from a great height very close to the airfield. The aim is to avoid enemy ground fire.

The big risk comes when the huge aircraft is sitting on the tarmac. Coalition forces would have cleared an area around the field but that is no guarantee of security.

Even after years of operations and with the might of US forces in town, the Kandahar airport in Afghanistan is regularly targeted by enemy rocket fire.

most of the aircrew operating C-17 jets and C-130J Hercules planes have had extensive experience flying around the Middle East. Picture: News Corp Australia. Source: News Limited

Islamic State fighters have far more sophisticated artillery that poses a real threat to aircraft on the ground in ­places such as Erbil.

The best protection for the RAAF aircraft is the millions spent on protection measures for the planes in the past 15 years of ''battle readiness''.

''They are the best equipped in the world when it comes to suppression and counter measures," former Air Commodore John Oddie told News Corp Australia.

Coalition aircraft will be carrying an extensive list of advanced weaponry to ­replace the archaic Soviet-era systems used by the Kurds. Weapons are coming from the US, France, Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic and The Netherlands.

Big task ... safety and security are the key concerns of planners and flight crews undertaking the dangerous missions. Picture: News Corp Australia. Source: Supplied

Flying aid into a combat zone is daunting. Every contingency must be planned in detail from search and rescue options to alternate airports, possible enemy action, allied air support, even crew rest.

RAAF crews and special forces delivering military and humanitarian aid in northern Iraq under Operation Accordion face very grave risks. Most have extensive experience flying around the Middle East area of operations.

The first two missions flown by C-130 Hercules (on August 14 and 31) were air drops of humanitarian aid ­including food and water to civilians under siege by ­Islamic militants. During the first flight to the Mt Sinjar area, the RAAF plane was seen by US observers to come under fire from rebels on the ground.

Big guns ... Coalition aircraft will be carrying advanced weaponry such as this M-16 military-style assault rifle. Picture: Police Media, NSW. Source: News Corp Australia

Mr Oddie said safety and security were the key concerns of planners and flight crews.

"For example, do the rations need to be dropped close to those in need because the bad guys are close by and you don't want them getting hold of it?" Mr Oddie said.

The other crucial factor is weather, with Mr Oddie ­explaining that air drops are ideally conducted from a very low altitude.

"You have to be close enough to the ground to keep the load tight. The higher up you are then the bigger the spread," he said.

20.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Surprise proposal on Amazing Race

On The Amazing Race Australia, Tyson propose to his partner Sally at the end of the Russia challenge.

A PROPOSAL in the Russian snow saw fitness freaks Tyson and Sally get engaged on The Amazing Race Australia on Monday night.

Viewers saw popular personal trainer Tyson drop to one knee after months of careful planning on his part. He says he wasn't sure if it would happen until the last minute.

"I'd been wanting to (propose) on the race, but I wanted everything to be perfect," Tyson said. "So if the timing wasn't right, or we weren't getting along … I wasn't going to do it.

"The fact that it was our four year anniversary was perfect. If we had been eliminated I wasn't going to do it. Timing was everything."

Loving couple ... Amazing Race contestants Sally and Tyson are now engaged.

That's a yes then ... Sally tries her ring on for size. Source: Channel 7

Sally, a vet, said she was shocked when her boyfriend popped during their race around the world on the reality show.

"And when it happened, it didn't really register," she said. "Because they've got cameras there, (host) Grant Bowler is standing in front of you, it's a really weird situation. Just being on the race was like a dream. To be in Russia, on the deep, deep snow, that's like a dream as well. And then he proposed.

Romance is alive ... Tyson surprised Sally with a ring he had hidden in his backpack. Picture: Nicole Cleary Source: News Corp Australia

"Walking away I probably asked him about ten times, 'Is that for real? Is this happening?'"

Tyson had smuggled the ring — a bezel set, round brilliant cut diamond in an 18ct white gold split band — in his sock during their travels.

Healthy ... Amazing Race contestants Tyson and Sally share a passion for fitness. Source: News Corp Australia

"I always packed my bag so it was near stuff I wouldn't use at the top," he said.

"I'd casually put my hand down and feel that it was there. Or panic if it had moved.

"There was only once I forgot about it and my bag was searched. It came out, and I saw it. I was like, 'No!'"

Overwhelmed ....Sally's tears of joy in the snow. Source: Channel 7

The pair, who share a passion for fitness, are finally able to tell their families about the engagement, having had to keep the secret for months. And Sally can finally wear her ring in public.

"That's going to make me really happy," she said.

20.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Footy jumper war turns ugly

AFL correspondent Julian de Stoop previews week one of the AFL finals for the bottom half of the top eight in the competition, with the North Melbourne Kangaroos taking on the Essendon Bombers and the Port Adelaide Power taking on the Richmond Tigers.

A typical Richmond sook reacts to having to change his guernsey. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

AND you thought straight men didn't care about fashion.

The AFL world was in uproar over the decision to make Port Adelaide wear predominantly white guernseys instead of black.

Here's what this is all about.

Port Adelaide normally wears a black guernsey with a little bit of white and teal. When it plays away from home, it wears a mostly white guernsey if its strip clashes with the home team's colours.

But this weekend, playing against Richmond in its first home final at its new home ground of the Adelaide Oval, Port Adelaide will be forced to wear the white "away" strip.

Why? Because Richmond doesn't have an away strip which is different enough to Port's home strip. The anger over the AFL's failure to make Richmond adopt a proper away strip

is nicely summarised by the Twitter account @AFLClashPolicy.

We contacted a guy called Nick who runs that account and he told us that there is no transparent policy on this issue from the AFL. Nick said that Richmond is one of two clubs (the other is Essendon) who just think they're too important and historic and the rest of it to bother.

For the record, Richmond does have an away strip, but it's still black with a yellow sash and you pretty much have to be Sherlock Holmes to spot the differences between it and the home strip.

If you didn't know better (and we don't), you'd swear Richmond was taking the piss. We tried to put that exact question to Richmond, but they weren't answering their phones.

One person who was talking was Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas. Here's some of what he had to say about the slap-in-the-face moment when he learned Port would be forced to wear white, not black.

"Well, first we were surprised at the decision. It wasn't really a negotiation. It was a courtesy call [from the AFL] saying this is how it's going to be. It's a home final, we've earned that right and we feel as if we should be wearing our traditional black guernsey. I think our members and our fans and our players would expect that."

Then came the really juicy bit.

"Because the AFL weren't able to foresee this issue or ensure that an appropriate clash gurnesey has been provided by Richmond, Port Adelaide has to bow down and it's not something we particularly enjoy."

We bet it's not. Oof! Take that Gillon McLachlan.

The Port Adelaide Football Club submitted an application to the AFL to wear a black-and-white prison bar guernsey for Sunday's First Elimination Final against Richmond at the Adelaide Oval.

The black-and-white prison bar strip is homage to Port Adelaide's heritage as the Port Adelaide Magpies in the SANFL.

"Both our community and the broader football public have been very supportive of our club's strong stance on this matter today and I thank them for that," Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said.

"But just as significantly the AFL have listened to this feedback and have been willing to support us with the alternative option of wearing our traditional prison bar guernsey.

"We thank the AFL for listening to our club and our community on this very important matter.

"And we are also very grateful to the Collingwood Football Club for taking a pragmatic view in the best interests of Sunday's final and agreeing for us to wear black and white stripes."

Mr Thomas stressed however that AFL and Collingwood approval was only the first step in Port Adelaide wearing its heritage guernsey this weekend.

"The real concern we have is that we may not be able to get the guernseys produced in time," Mr Thomas said.

"But rest assured Port Adelaide fans, we will be working closely with our supplier ISC to do our absolute level best to get the guernseys produced for Sunday's historic final.

"We will be in a position to make an announcement one way or another in the next 24 hours."

Late tonight, the AFL granted Port Adelaide permission to wear its heritage "prison bar" jumper in Sunday's elimination final.

AFL general manager of football operations Mark Evans said the League was prepared to place the Power in their prison bar jumper as long as they wore white shorts.

"While Collingwood is the club that has the right to wear black and white stripes within the AFL competition as its primary guernsey, they have agreed for Port Adelaide to wear its heritage prison bar guernsey with white shorts as a pragmatic resolution to produce the best outcome for this final," Evans said in a statement.

For all the angst from the Port Adelaide side of the fence, as you can imagine there wasn't a lot of sympathy coming from Richmond fans.

Some have taken to Twitter to point out that, hold on a sec, Richmond actually does have some other strips it could wear.

And even if they wore their nornmal strip and Prt wore theirs, do they recally clash that badly? This guy makes a fair obvservation.

Hughesy weighed in, as Hughesy does. And because there's a cosmic law of the universe that all Dave Hughes tweets must be embedded and or/retweeted, here goes.

And another one.

Here's a possible solution from the famous mustard jacket no longer worn by the AFL CEO, who sticks to sensible dark suits nowadays.

Jokes aside, this issue is about the AFL seeming to favour Victorian teams on matters of tradition. Footy fans are almost universally agreeing today that the AFL has done a lousy job of acting impartial on this issue, failing to pay respect to the team which came fifth over the team which came eighth. And footy fans don't often agree on aything.

The question really is if Port Adelaide can manufacture a jersey in five days, why can't Richmond?

Originally published as Footy jumper war turns ugly

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This the best way to disarm ISIS?

A still from a parody by Palestinian TV show Watan ala Watar. Picture: MEMRI Source: Supplied

TERRORIST group ISIS has shown the world it is deadly serious, but some social media users are trying to defeat the militants through satire.

The spoof news stories and fake Twitter accounts now flooding the internet have left many feeling uncomfortable, since the bloodthirsty Islamic State is responsible for numerous executions of its enemies.

MORE: Gulf monarchies condemn Islamic State

The hashtag #ISISmovies has been doing the rounds for a fortnight now, with suggestions including Return of the Jihad and No Country for Literate Women.

Doctored images often adapt the Islamic State's propaganda material, which it has long been disseminating via Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.

When ISIS leader Abubakar Al Baghdadi appeared in a video last month speaking at a Mosul mosque, Twitter users ridiculed his expensive-looking watch with a fake advert.

A spoof account for ISIS commander Abu Waheed mocked up a Jihadi Vogue magazine cover, featuring articles "Why khaki is back" and "Dress for success: Fashion tips for the Caliphate".

The parody account's profile reads, "Likes clubbing and being beauty queen" and typical tweets include photoshopped images of ISIS leaders partying with One Direction in Baghdad.

Elsewhere, tweets from "Teddy Bear of the Mu-mineen" Abu Zamil include: "Whenever Abu Zamil call someone Sheikh I really saying 'Pimp' in my mind".

He is joined by Abu kabab al Fatassi, "Food and nutrition advisor to the Calipha", who shares these words of wisdom: "Want to join our jihad but you dont have the facial hair yet? Order IS-beard now and get two for the price of one! #IS".

Even official news outlets are getting involved.

Lebanese website Now News published a satirical story reporting that ISIS had cancelled its invasion of Lebanon because of "crazy traffic, bro".

The article refers to the extremist group as "Idiot Sycophants of Islamist Saboteurs, a self-described anti-Botox, pro-C4 explosives militia successor to al-Qaeda in Iraq."

Palestinian satire TV show Watan ala Watar created a clip depicting ISIS militants as bungling clowns.

The people producing these pictures, posts and videos see social media as a battleground where ordinary people can fight back against ISIS's so-called "Twitter jihad".

But others are unable to laugh at the sickening behaviour of ISIS, and see these parodies as trivialising the violence and destruction wreaked by the group.

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Bex medicine was a major killer

We take them to relieve pain, but what exactly is Panadol and Nurofen and are some pain relief claims really true?

Killed more than pain ... Housewives were urged to "have a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down" to help them get through the day in the 1960s. Source: Supplied

EXCLUSIVE: It was billed as mothers little helper but "a cup of tea, a Bex and a good lie down" turned out to be a killer prescription and new research shows kidney cancers plunged after the pain killer was banned.

Bex, Vincents, APC and Veganin contained the addictive pain killer phenacetin. They were heavily advertised as pick me ups from the 1930s to the late seventies.

Some housewives took as many as three doses a day of the powder that could be dissolved in water or a cup of tea to help them get through the day.

When they were linked to high rates of kidney disease, the over the counter medications were banned in 1977.

In the mid-1970s kidney failure caused by the medicines was the reason 15-20 per cent of patients using dialysis needed the treatment and it also boosted the need for kidney transplants.

Now new research from Cancer Council NSW has mapped the effect the ban had on rates of a type of kidney cancer — renal pelvis cancer.

Bex ... Renal pelvis cancer deaths plummeted when the medicine was banned, says Cancer Council NSW. Source: News Limited

Cancer Council NSW, World Health Organisation research has found that incidence rates of renal pelvis cancer decreased by 52 per cent in women and 39 per cent in men between 1983-1987 and 2003-2007.

"The drastic drop in incidence of renal pelvis cancer, documented in this latest report, is another reminder of the importance of being able to monitor cancer rates after legislative changes are introduced to reduce risks among our population," Cancer Council NSW research director Professor Freddy Sitas said.

There are around 1,000 cases of this type of kidney cancer diagnosed each year and the survival rate is not good.

How to get through the day ... Bored housewives were urged to take a Bex, a cup of tea and a good lie down. Source: News Limited

Australian nephrologist Professor Priscilla Kincaid-Smith discovered the connection between the drug and kidney cancer when she noticed people presenting with neuropathological changes in the tubules around the pelvis, Professor Sitas said.

Women were most affected because the pain killers were heavily advertised in women's magazines.

"You could get it over the counter and it was quite addictive," Professor Sitas said.

The decline of renal pelvis cancer incidence in women was stronger in states where the use of products containing phenacetin was the most widespread, particularly in NSW and Queensland.

Rates for cancers in other unaffected parts of the kidney like the ureter have remained about the same over this period.

Other research has found that the proportion of patients needing renal dialysis as a result of pain killer use has fallen from 25 per cent in the seventies to just under 10 per cent in 1998.

"By documenting the direct impact of this legislation on Australian health we have brought some closure to a 40-year story," Professor Sitas said..

"Thanks to almost complete cancer registration in Australia, we have been able to track the decline of this epidemic of kidney cancers that affected Australian women and men over almost 40 years.

"Without continued funding into cancer research, studies such as this would not be possible."

Similar evidence is available following campaigns which publicised the link between lung cancer and smoking.

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