Hit by a sonic boom, locals say the RAAF went quiet: Guardian 10 News First investigation
At 10.37am on 26 June 2023, the sleepy Queensland town of Greenvale was rocked by a gigantic blast in the sky. The 'blast' was an F-35, the most advanced aircraft in the Royal Australian Air Force, breaking the sound barrier directly overhead. Locals told the Guardian's Andrew Messenger the shockwave in its wake shattered windows, smashed light fittings and shook roofs. In a joint Guardian and 10 News First investigation, they say the RAAF has been quiet ever since
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Daily Mail
44 minutes ago
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Teacher who sent student 35,000 messages before pursuing sexual relationship learns her fate
A female teacher who sent 35,000 messages to one of her students before having a sexual relationship with them after they graduated, has been banned from her job. Former Carey Baptist Grammar teacher Eleanor Louise Yorke was 26 in 2020 when she began dating an 18-year-old former student of hers, who cannot be named for legal reasons. Yorke had started working at the illustrious co-ed private school in 2017, teaching biology and chemistry to Year 12 students. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, Yorke and the Year 12 student talked online over Microsoft Teams. In 2020, the then-17-year-old student sought additional help with schoolwork, as they struggled with lockdowns, which turned into the pair speaking daily. The Victorian Institute of Teaching found Yorke sent the student 35,000 messages. 'It was also alleged that Ms Yorke then began a sexual relationship with the student after they had graduated and turned 18 and this relationship continued for a year,' a VIT statement read. On Thursday, the institute cancelled the now 31-year-old's registration and banned her from education for three years, starting from March, The Age reported. The disciplinary panel highlighted in its decision that there were several incidents. '[It] occurred over a period of years, changing in nature from professional interactions into personal, intimate discussions and culminating in a sexual relationship. 'This deliberate rejection of professional standards by a teacher whose skills and talents had led to rapid promotion was one for which the panel could find no justification, nor was there any satisfactory explanation.' 'The emails show an increased emotional bonding developing through the extensive number of messages,' the panel also said. 'There were also increasingly frequent references to taking the teacher's relationship with the student to a new level once the student had completed year 12.' In March, VIT had heard there was no sexual or intimate relationship between the pair while the student was studying at the school. On one occasion, Yorke asked the student if they should end their communications and told the hearing she tried to 'reset' boundaries. Yorke said their relationship was, however, entirely consensual, but she was worried about the circumstances. 'Even though we spoke about our concerns with [the power imbalance], it still exists,' she told the regulator. In the decision this week, the disciplinary panel noted the relationship had happened anyway. 'This relationship occurred despite [Yorke] being aware of the clear warnings against violating professional relationships with students,' the panel said. Yorke also told the March hearing she had been 'deeply lonely' at the time and had not yet 'come out'. Carey Baptist Grammar became aware of the relationship in 2023 and stood Yorke down over concerns for professional standards. Yorke, who described losing her job as 'horrible', has previously said she is now pursuing a career in psychology and claimed she had no desire to return to teaching.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Wild moment brave tradie rushes to rescue woman from raging inferno engulfing her suburban house - and how she wanted to do the unthinkable
A carpenter has described the moment he rushed into a blazing inferno to wake up an elderly stranger just moments before her bedroom was engulfed in flames. The two-storey home on Theresa Street at Smithfield, in Sydney 's west, caught fire just before 7am on Thursday. Omar Masri had been driving to work when he spotted thick plumes of smoke rising from the property. He assumed it was 'just as shed fire' but only when he got closer did he realised the actual home was well alight. Mr Masri's first thought - that he would 'just go past' to make sure someone was aware of the fire - turned into him springing into action when he saw flames bursting through some of the home's windows. He said smoke started appearing from another area on the left of the property as a hissing powerline overhead showered the front lawn with sparks. A man then emerged from inside the house and told the tradie that his mother was still inside, prompting Mr Masri to selflessly venture into the flames. He went checking from room to room, hoping the flames would keep their distance, until he found the elderly woman asleep in an upstairs bedroom. 'She wasn't breathing good, her nose was all black from the smoke. It was very, very smoky - it was nearly pitch black,' Mr Masri told Daily Mail Australia. He managed to rouse the woman and the pair went back downstairs to the front door - but it was here that the woman's behaviour took Mr Masri by surprise. As he tried to guide the woman outside she stopped and told him she wanted to stay inside. 'I have no idea why. I was just saying ''the fire is too big, you have to come'' and kept urging her to leave.' The confused carpenter eventually convinced the homeowner to follow him to safety. 'Once I told her the firies (firefighters) were here she agreed.' Mr Masri had managed to film parts of the incident and, in a video taken just after the two escaped outside, it showed the fire raging inside the woman's bedroom. 'It was just a couple of minutes later,' he said. The front window of the bedroom had been blown out and flames were reaching several metres above the roof. Fire and Rescue NSW then arrived a few minutes later. Neighbours from the small, suburban cul-de-sac filed into the street to watch as firefighters battled the blaze. Police confirmed two occupants received treatment from paramedics before they were transported to local hospitals. One of them remains in a serious condition. Fire crews worked to control the blaze for hours, with the structure officially declared 'fully destroyed' later on Thursday. At one point the roof of the home partially collapsed after flames ripped through it. Firefighters also battled a 'live' feed of electricity after the power pole outside the house collapsed. Crews remained at the scene well into afternoon, putting out lingering 'hotspots' and monitoring for any potential structural collapse and or embers that could light other properties. Firefighters successfully prevented the flames from reaching neighbouring homes. Fire and Rescue NSW said specialist fire investigators will now work to determine the cause of the blaze. Ambulance NSW told Daily Mail Australia they attended to one of the occupants at the scene.
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Outrage after cat fur clothing sold in Australia
Clothes made of cat fur were discovered being sold in Victoria despite the Australian government's promise to crack down on the practice, an advocacy group said. An investigation by Collective Fashion Justice and Australia's Animal Justice Party found that children's vests containing cat fur were sold while being labelled as fake fur or sheep wool. Forensic testing revealed the vest sold by fashion brand Suttons UGG was made of domestic cat fur and rabbit fur. However, the vest was labelled as "100 per cent Australian sheepskin or wool". Similarly, two beanies with pom-poms sold at a Queen Victoria market in central Melbourne were found to be falsely labelled as 100 per cent "acrylic". A test by British fibre analysis firm Microtex revealed they were made from fox and raccoon dog fur. The discoveries have led to calls from animal rights groups and the Animal Justice Party for a statewide ban on the sale of all animal fur. The Australian Fashion Council, earlier this yea,r banned the use of fur, wild-animal skins, and wild feathers from runways. "Every Victorian would be shocked to know that they could go to the store and accidentally buy something made from cat fur, when they may have a cat at home themselves," Collective Fashion Justice founder Emma Hakansson said. Suttons UGG, which has retail stores in Sydney and Melbourne, in a statement to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, admitted the label on the vest was "wrong". A spokesperson told the broadcaster they had been informed by the manufacturer that the vest was made from a "kind of special fur", and the company could not "100 per cent confirm" whether that included cat. The Australian government banned the import and export of cat and dog fur in 2004. In 2020, a Consumer Affairs Victoria investigation into the mislabelling of fur products found that every product independently tested by the taskforce was wrongly labelled. Shortly after, fur sellers were issued warnings. Georgie Purcell, the Animal Justice Party MP for Northern Victoria, has called for the sale of fur to be banned. "The message from the community couldn't be clearer – fur is out of fashion. Whether it's cat, dog, rabbit, or fox – the one constant is that it's all cruel," she said. "The time for regulation is done. The only thing left to do is to completely ban fur, just as other jurisdictions around the world have already done."
