Tuesday, July 29 in the news.....
- A QANTAS flight bound for Melbourne was forced to return to Adelaide Airport on Sunday night when the landing gear doors failed to close. The incident came only three days after a Qantas Boeing 747-400 made an emergency landing in Manila after a gaping hole appeared in its fuselage. Many on the flight were angry, but also terrified, of returning to Adelaide to stay and possibly, explore, again. One passenger screamed for the flight to keep going even if it had the potential to crash before landing in Melbourne.
Thursday, July 24 in the news.....
- An Australian man's dare went horribly wrong when he tried to play chicken with cars on a freeway wearing only his underwear. The 18 year old was critically injured after being hit by a four-wheel drive on a freeway in the southern city of Melbourne in the early hours of Wednesday. It was ranked 97th stupidest thing done by an Aussie this week.
- Disgraced former West Coast Eagles player Ben Cousins has arrived in Melbourne as he sets out to rekindle his AFL career. Cousins, who was last year sacked by West Coast and suspended by the AFL for one year for bringing the game into disrepute amid his battle with drug addiction, has registered to play with VFL team Port Melbourne, he has also privately expressed interest in other Melbourne clubs unrelated to football.
- U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, on a foreign tour he hopes will boost his election chances, will give an outdoor speech in Berlin on Thursday that is expected to draw a massive crowd. Known for his stirring, heartfelt and emotionally powerful speeches, Germans are expected to be treated to a grand old Hitler-style time.
- A Pakistani official says an army helicopter has saved two Italian climbers from one of the world's highest mountains. When asked for further details the official added, "Well they weren't here to fight Al-Qaeda, unless they were going to kill them laughing".
Wednesday, July 23 in the news....
- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama toured Israel's Holocaust memorial Wednesday, laying a wreath in memory of the 6 million Jews who died and saying, 'Ultimately, this is a place of hope.' He then muttered under his breath, 'because maybe we can get the rest of them next time'.
- 50 Cent has sued Taco Bell, claiming the fast-food restaurant chain is using his name without permission in advertising that asks him to call himself 99 Cent. The rapper's court papers say the ad is part of Taco Bell's "Why Pay More?" campaign, which promotes items for under a dollar. 50 Cent said he's never seen such underhanded methods to move products since he sold crack.
Sunday, July 20 in the news.....
- At 53, Greg Norman is 18 holes away from becoming the oldest man to win the British Open, after taking a two-stroke lead overnight. Although golf observers said there was a good chance he could win it again in 20 years time.
- The new Batman movie, 'The Dark Knight,' raked in $66.4 million in its opening day to set the single-day box office record, according to its distributor Warner Bros. Some big-name actors are concerned about its massive success, saying after a film shoot is done they'll accept no drinks from studio executives or prescriptions from studio-related doctors.
Saturday, July 19 in the news....
- Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama started a campaign-season tour of combat zones and foreign capitals, visiting Kuwait and then Afghanistan - the scene of a war he says deserves more attention and more troops. A Taliban leader agreed with Obama's assessment when they met for a discussion on strategy.
- An elderly woman was attacked by a large kangaroo on a farm in Australia and was lucky to be alive after a pet dog leapt to her aid, her son said. Police authorities have asked anyone who has seen the roo to call the Crimestoppers hotline.
Friday, July 18 in the news.....
- US Mortgage giant Freddie Mac is considering raising capital by selling as much as $10 billion in new shares to investors, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Investors who plan to commit suicide within one year are the likely target demographic for stockbrokers to feed the placement.
- Pope Benedict called for all religions to unite against terrorism and resolve conflicts peacefully on Friday and heard an Islamic leader urge Christians to overcome 'misconceptions and prejudices' about Muslims. While he was giving the heartfelt appeal, a Russian Marxist sat at the back and laughed about how the atheist Soviets created modern terrorism.
- A Yemeni likely to be the first person tried before the US war crimes court at Guantanamo naval base was the driver for Osama bin Laden. His camel will not be used as part of the evidence.
- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama raised $52 million in June, his campaign said on Thursday. Immediately after, 50 Cent held a press conference and called Barack Obama the greatest hustler in black entertainment history.
Friday, July 4 in the news.....
- The most senior judge in England yesterday gave his blessing to the use of Sharia Law to resolve disputes among Muslims. He declared: 'Those entering into a contractual agreement can agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law.' The judge then declared England legally had no balls anymore.
- More than 100 Chinese tourists arrived in Taiwan on Friday on the first regularly scheduled direct flight from the mainland in nearly six decades in a sign of warmer ties. Only 98 of the tourists were spies.
- A ferry sank in a river in Myanmar's cyclone-battered Irrawaddy delta, killing nearly 40 people, state-media reported Friday. It was later discovered that 20 died before it sank as soldiers on the banks shot at the ferry.
- The Australian Government would commit every cent raised from an emissions trading scheme to help families and businesses adjust to paying a price for carbon, Climate Change Minister Penny Wong says. The minister said that most Australians have never heard of the term 'robbing Peter to pay Paul' anyhow, and that such an analogy was incorrect, because the Labor Government was not robbing Peter to pay Paul, it was taxing Peter to pay Peter back, which made complete sense to regular Australians and no sense to anyone who actually pays attention.
- California firefighters made a desperate stand as darkness fell on Thursday to save more than 4,000 homes and other structures from a pair of out-of-control wildfires burning about 170 miles apart along the California coast. The wildfires were attributed to over-speculation in the housing market.
