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9 News
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- 9 News
For Mick Fanning, the shark attack 'was just something that happened'
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here When live broadcasters on the eastern cape of South Africa captured the terrifying moment a shark trailed Australian surf icon Mick Fanning just minutes into the 2015 J-Bay Open Final, viewers across the world gripped their couches and braced for the worst. But as the 10th anniversary of the champion wave rider's brush with death looms, Fanning is remarkably relaxed about his miraculous escape from harm. "It was just something that happened," he told . The infamous shark incident during the 2015 J-Bay Open Final was broadcast around the world. (World Surf League via Getty Imag) "To be honest, it wasn't like a flick of the switch moment where I was gonna change my whole life. "I just had to do work on myself to get myself back to, you know, surfing and stuff like that." After the near-attack in July 2015, Fanning returned to Jeffreys Bay the following year where he took out the competition, before retiring from WSL competition in 2018 as a three-time world champion. Since then, the Ballina-bred surfer has turned his focus - and perhaps his broader legacy - to charity. In March 2022, TV cameras were again fixed on Fanning, who again donned his signature wetsuit as he traversed deadly flood waters on his jet ski , carrying essential supplies and helping dozens of locals in the Northern Rivers to safe ground. Mick Fanning has used his jet ski to help flood impacted victims in Murwillumbah. (9News) "I know that area really well," Fanning said. The 43-year-old learned to surf in Ballina before honing his skills after moving to the Gold Coast as a teenager. "It's a place that I love and I got plenty of friends down there so I had a lot of friends that were affected by it all." From there, Mick Fanning's Charity Golf Day was born. The inaugural event raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the flood recovery. Three years on, that figure is approaching $2 million, but the circumstances across the region are devastatingly similar. "It seems like it's just happening every other year now," Fanning said. "I guess on the ground and in doing all the rescue work and helping people get back on their feet, you build relationships and ... we've just found that a lot of people are still really struggling. "It's been three years on now and ... people are just finding out that the grants they thought they were going to get are not coming through. "Some people are just, you know, losing that hope." Fanning will be joined by celebrity mates and supporters today for his fourth annual Charity Golf Day. (Supplied) The golf day has helped raise almost $2 million for charities supporting the flood recovery effort. (Supplied) Fanning hopes some of the community's faith can be restored when a star-studded lineup of Aussie sporting legends and celebrities converge on the green at Coolangatta and Tweed Heads Golf Club today for the fourth annual Charity Golf Day. "We're just here to let them know that we're still here we're still thinking of them and still trying to help where we can," he said. "There's some incredible people that are all coming out to support and yeah, we're very thankful for all their support and donating their time." Famous faces such as Dylan Alcott, Ellyse Perry, Hamish Blake, Sally Pearson, Karl Stefanovic and Shannon Noll will be swinging their drivers alongside generous supporters to raise vital funds for on-the-ground charities including Givit, Human Nature, and Hands On Hearts. This year, $1 million and a Mercedes-Benz are on the line if players can snag a hole-in-one. "It keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger and you know we try and add something new and exciting each and every year," Fanning said. "It's pretty massive that we can do things like that and just keep making the day bigger and better and hopefully raise more money for those in need, and actually raise more awareness." Fans who want a chance to win a year's supply of Balter beer, or would like to make a donation or purchase merch designed by street artist Sid Tapia, can visit the Mick Fanning Charity Golf Day website . floods national Australia Mick Fanning charity celebrities CONTACT US Property News: The last inner Sydney suburbs where houses cost under $2m.
Irish Daily Star
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Star
Inside Pope Francis' bitter feud with JD Vance and final snub hours before death
U.S. Vice President JD Vance met the late Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, a day before he passed away , amid their ongoing feud that began when the Pope condemned the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Vance, a Catholic convert, spent Easter weekend in Rome with his family. He attended Good Friday services in St. Peter's Basilica after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Friday. He was scheduled to meet with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and later met the Pope for a few minutes in a hotel reception room where the Pope was staying while recovering from pneumonia. Read More Related Articles Donald Trump branded 'dumbest President ever' after six-word comment about Congo Read More Related Articles Deranged Donald Trump posts mad 184-word Easter message taking aim at all his enemies Vance met the Pope for a few minutes to exchange Easter greetings. (Image: VATICAN MEDIA/AFP via Getty Imag) The Pope , 88, offered the VP three large chocolate Easter eggs for the Vance children, a Vatican tie, and rosaries. The exchange lasted a few minutes, during which Vance thanked the Pope for seeing him and exchanged Easter greetings. The duo has publicly disagreed in the past over a multitude of issues, primarily the immigration crisis. Pope Francis was sharply critical of the sweeping immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump's officials. He wrote a letter to U.S. bishops in February, warning that the forceful removal of migrants deprives them of their inherent dignity and 'will end badly.' Furthermore, the Pope stated that deporting migrants "places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness." Citing the Book of Exodus and Jesus' own experience, Francis said people have a right to seek shelter and safety in other lands and described the deportation plan as a 'major crisis.' 'What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly,' he said. However, Vance defended the administration's actions on immigration policy, doubling down that the "stay in Mexico" and family separation policies are justified by love and the order of love. The latter became a point of contention as the duo disagreed on interpreting Catholic social doctrine, especially the concept of "ordo amoris," which translates to the order of love. Vance added that the America-first crackdown follows the concept of caring for one's family first, followed by neighbors, community, fellow citizens, and later for others. The Pope refuted Vance's interpretation of the concept. While he did not refer to Vance by name, he said, "Christians know very well that it is only by affirming the infinite dignity of all that our own identity as persons and as communities reaches its maturity." "Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. In other words, the human person is not a mere individual, relatively expansive, with some philanthropic feelings! The human person is a subject with dignity who, through the constitutive relationship with all, especially with the poorest, can gradually mature in his identity and vocation," The New Republic quoted the pope at the time. Vance acknowledged the Pope's criticism but stated that he would continue to defend his views, even referring to himself as a "baby Catholic" who is unaware of certain "things about the faith." A day after their meeting, Vance took to X to offer his condolences. "I just learned of the passing of Pope Francis. My heart goes out to the millions of Christians all over the world who loved him. I was happy to see him yesterday, though he was obviously very ill. But I'll always remember him for the below homily he gave in the very early days of COVID. It was really quite beautiful. May God rest his soul," posted the vice president.
