Australia spared from higher Trump tariffs
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
28 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Lions star left gobsmacked by coach's comment - 'We're going to send you home!'
Courtney Lawes was crushed to learn that he was being sent home from the British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa in 2021, in a merciless prank from Warren Gatland. The England and Brive flanker, now 36, confronted the then-Lions head coach during breakfast, seeking answers about his declining playing time. Lawes had featured for nearly every minute in the team's warm-up against Japan, played the full match against Sigma Lions, and then another 70 minutes facing the Cell C Sharks. But after being benched for the subsequent fixture against South Africa 'A', and learning he would miss the final warm-up against the Stormers, he was anxious to discover if he had made an error. Determined to resolve the situation, he approached Gatland to question why he wasn't getting selected. Speaking in a column for The Telegraph, Lawes said: "I was beginning to worry that I had done something wrong. I caught up with him at breakfast. 'Sorry Courtney, we're going to send you home,' he said, straight-faced. Before bursting into laughter. Thankfully he was winding me up. Phew. "I just needed some clarity to give me something to get my head around everything. Thankfully, Gats just said that he was happy with my form so far and that I was getting looked after because of a neck niggle that I have been managing." Gatland also offered insights to the press about Lawes' absence from some games at the time, explaining: "He's had a lot of time earlier in the tour where he was involved in a lot of games. Agai,n another one we want to freshen up. "We're really happy with the way he has been contributing and playing. He's had a bit of a stiff neck that has kept him out a bit of the contact stuff so we're just making sure we manage him. There's nothing wrong with him. Courtney Lawes was a part of the 2021 Lions squad (Image: PA) "It's from his early involvements and the amount of minutes he has had in those early games. Again it is giving him more time so he's fresh and ready to go for training and available for selection next week." Lawes also shared a light-hearted moment from the South Africa tour, mentioning how Alun Wyn Jones was the butt of jokes for arriving late. He added: "I told him it was nice of him to finally join us having missed all the hard bit and turn up for the Tests. He does not like being wound up but he took it OK. "There has to be at least a significant fine for turning up late on tour. I will make that suggestion to Mako, our fine-master. I am sure there will be a fine for each week he has missed." The Lions are currently on a tour of Australia (Image: Getty Images) The Lions are preparing to conclude their Australian tour on Saturday without Lawes, who hung up his international boots in October 2023. The Lions have had a phenomenal summer so far, securing victories in eight out of their nine matches; their sole defeat was a 24-28 loss to Argentina in a warm-up game. Their latest match on Saturday ended with a thrilling 29-26 win over Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a game that will be remembered as an instant classic. The Lions were down 23-5 in the first half as Australia made an impressive comeback, only for the visitors to mount an extraordinary comeback with tries from Dan Sheehan, Tom Curry, Huw Jones, Tadhg Beirne and conversions from Finn Russell, culminating in Hugo Keenan's last-minute winner.
Metro
29 minutes ago
- Metro
Tim Minchin explains the ‘pretentious' reason he turned down hosting chat show
He might now have found success in comedy, music, television and theatre, but Tim Minchin admits that no one ever thought he was 'particularly talented'. The Australian creative, 49, was born in Northampton before his parents moved back to their home country, where he was raised in Perth, the most isolated city in the world. It was there that Tim initially pursued a career in the arts, studying contemporary music but as he admits, 'graduated without actually being able to read music'. Throughout his 20s, he wrote songs, played in bands, acted in plays, and composed for theatre, but struggled to get noticed. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Sarah, the couple moved to Melbourne, but it was still an uphill battle. 'I was 29 at that stage and really did think I wasn't very rock n roll or grunge or what people wanted and thought I'd just be a poor songwriter, but literally the next year everything changed,' he tells Metro on the day his latest album TimMinchinTimeMachine is released (the album is a curated anthology of previously unreleased material). 'It's only got more and more unbelievable with the things I've been able to do since. I was really struggling throughout my 20s to get any traction and couldn't get an agent or record deal,' he said. It was Tim's 2005 comedy show Darkside that saw him finally capture the attention of the right people. He went on to debut it at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where he received the Perrier Comedy Award for best newcomer. In the two decades since, Tim hasn't taken anything for granted, working his ass off, continuing to release music, featuring on a range of comedy panel shows, appearing in Californication, Robin Hood and The Artful Dodger, composing the Groundhog Day musical, and writing and starring in the comedy drama Upright. But it was being asked to write the music and lyrics for Matilda the Musical that changed everything. After it debuted in 2010, the show won a record-breaking seven Laurence Olivier Awards and has since gone on to be awarded four Tony's. Its success allowed Tim to achieve financial stability and make calculated career moves – including turning down multiple offers to host his own talk show. Reflecting on the decisions that could have made him a regular fixture on our screens (and undoubtedly rake in millions), Tim said he doesn't regret the risk he took. 'Lots of channels approached and asked me, but that just happens once you reach a certain level and start selling out arenas, which I did. They all asked me and asked what show I wanted to make,' he recalled. 'I said I was an actor and wanted to make drama and they went 'yeah right'. I said I didn't want to be known as a talking head. I've been asked so much over the years to host documentaries or shows…and I kept saying I didn't want to be a presenter, I wanted to be an artist. 'I'm not a trained actor or trained in composition and it takes a lot of suspending my self-doubt to go 'I think if I hold the line there's a chance, I might get to be an artist, not a comedian/ presenter'.' Although Tim admitted that might sound 'pretentious', he was willing to take that gamble – and it paid off when he was offered Matilda. '[That show] made me financially secure so I could take risks, but it also made me believe I was a real composer and could actually make things that could land in culture and not just be a fleeting joke. I was glad I held off on taking the big bucks. And once you're on a late night show you get famous and aren't walking the streets anymore,' he added. Despite his string of successes, Tim admits that he 'never really had one of those big career dreams' to chase. That admittedly felt surprising to me, after watching him become one of our shared home city's most successful artists. Coming from a city on the literal end of the earth, it's commonplace for young people to dream about 'escaping' their mostly middle-class existences. It's just as encouraged for parents to send their children out into the world, too, with Tim and I both sharing stints in London, a rite of passage for many. Although he has taken plenty of gambles over the years, Tim describes our shared 'luck' as one of the reasons he's been able to push himself. 'Some people think that daddy got me a car or mummy paid my rent but there was none of that. They were like 'good luck and here's $500 towards your first car'. It's a very Australian thing. I knew if everything went to shit though I could go home and had somewhere to sleep and that is unbelievable privilege and luck.' In 2013 advice he gave to university graduates at a commencement speech in our home city made waves, currently having over 5.6 million views on YouTube and being the basis of his recent book, You Don't Have To Have A Dream. In the speech, he imparted nine life lessons with his trademark wit and humour, with one surprisingly poignant line including: 'Don't seek happiness. It's like an orgasm; if you think about it too much, it'll go away.' More than a decade on and having just completed a tour of the UK to mark 20 years since his career took off, I ask what advice he'd now give to himself at the same age. Being incredibly candid, he explains: 'It's hard to imagine what advice I'd give myself. I worked so hard because I never thought I had the right to be an artist. My folks didn't mind that I wanted to be a muso…but no-one was ever telling me I was special. 'No one ever thought I was particularly talented…I never got the roles in the school plays. I just thought I had to work hard. I wouldn't want to give myself any advice that lets young me know that it works out ok because I might not have put my head down. 'The central lesson in the speech was to just be really, really good at what's in front of you and dedicate yourself to that and let the future take hold. That was something I did intuitively and now I look back and understand it to be a way of thinking. Just stop f***ing worrying about the ladder and take the next step.' So, what's the next step for Tim, who has had a notably hectic schedule for years now? More Trending 'I've got the Australian version of the tour in November and between now and then I am going to try and make a start on a new stage musical I am really keen on, but I can't talk about what it is,' he teased. 'And then next year I really want to write a TV show I have an idea for. I have two or three stage musicals I have ideas for. Next year needs to be a writing year. Even though I love touring, I've done it a lot a last few years.' Whatever it is, it's likely it will be a worthwhile gamble… Tim Minchin's new album, TimMinchinTimeMachine is out now. The RSC's Matilda The Musical is currently playing in London and will concurrently tour the UK and Ireland from this Autumn. You Don't Have To Have A Dream is out now. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: New fear unlocked after 16-inch stick insect found deep in Australian jungle MORE: 'I stayed with my boyfriend after he was jailed for sexual assault – here's why' MORE: I spent four days on a train in the Australian outback — it was my idea of hell
New Straits Times
an hour ago
- New Straits Times
Marathon man Wellbrock eyes 1,500 gold, Meilutyte fastest in 50 breaststroke
SINGAPORE: German iron man Florian Wellbrock will look to add to his bumper haul of gold medals from the world championships in Singapore after qualifying fastest for the 1,500 metres freestyle final on Saturday. The 27-year-old swept all before him in the open water programme last month, becoming the first swimmer to win all three individual events while helping Germany claim the team gold at Sentosa Island. Having moved to the pool, Wellbrock posted a time of 14:44.81 in the 1,500 to top a quality field including Tunisia's 800 champion Ahmed Jaouadi, who was 0.14 seconds behind. Bobby Finke, the American back-to-back Olympic champion, and Australian Sam Short will also be medal threats in a mouth-watering final on the final day of competition on Sunday. Defending champion Daniel Wiffen, Ireland's first male world medallist in swimming, was forced to withdraw from the event due to ongoing effects of appendicitis he suffered in June. In the women's 50 breaststroke, world record holder Ruta Meilutyte is eyeing back-to-back titles after finishing fastest in the heats. Thirteen years after winning the Olympic 100 gold at the London Games aged 15, the Lithuanian showed she is still a force in the shorter distance with a time of 29.82, the only sub-30 swim at the World Aquatics Championships Arena. Eastern Europe was well represented in the 50-metres events in the morning session, with Russian short course world record-holder Kliment Kolesnikov, competing as a neutral athlete, fastest in the backstroke heats with a time of 24.08. Russian athletes are allowed to take part in World Aquatics events under a neutral banner on condition they have not publicly supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine and have no affiliation to the Russian military. South African Pieter Coetze, who was second quickest in 24.36, is bidding for a third backstroke medal of the meet after winning the 100 and taking silver in the 200. Paris Olympics silver medallist Meg Harris of Australia qualified fastest for the women's 50 freestyle semi-finals in a time of 24.32, 0.07 seconds ahead of Dutch sprinter Milou Van Wijk. Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen, who upset Mollie O'Callaghan on Friday to successfully defend her 100 freestyle title, also eased through. The U.S. qualified fastest (3:21.48) for the final of the non-Olympic mixed 4x100 freestyle relay ahead of France and the Netherlands. Australia were bundled out in the heats, though, in a shock for the swimming powerhouse which holds the world record and finished runner-up to China last year with a second-string team. Later on Saturday, American great Katie Ledecky and Canadian sensation Summer McIntosh will battle for the women's 800 freestyle gold in one of six titles on offer on the penultimate day of the meet.
