RUSH HOUR: The stories you need to know today
A PHOTO of a clever tattoo has gone viral after a women posted it to Facebook saying it shows the two sides of her struggle with mental illness.
10am:
That’s it for our live #RUSHHOUR news blog. You can get across the stories you need to know today below or go to news.com.au for the latest headlines.
9:50am:
A Benedictine monk who works at a private Rhode Island school has discovered that finding solitude is no easy feat, even 175 feet in the air.
Brother Joseph Byron was recently relaxing atop the Portsmouth Abbey School’s wind turbine — as he often does — when a drone began encroaching on his secret spot of solitude.
Video taken by the drone, owned by a Californian on vacation, shows Byron sprawled across the turbine’s flat surface, with views of Narragansett Bay in the background.
9:40am:
The life of Bart Cummings will be celebrated with a state funeral and requiem mass expected to be held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. His son Anthony said his family were proud his father will be honoured in such a way.
The legendary trainer who won the Melbourne Cups 12 times died in the early hours of Sunday at the age of 87.
“(Premier) Mike Baird rang yesterday to offer a state funeral and we will accept that,” Anthony Cummings told Sky Sports Radio.
9:30am:
An 18-year-old Ukrainian vlogger known for his daredevil YouTube channel has filmed himself riding atop a moving metro train.
Pasha Bumchik jumps onto the train as it takes off from the station and appears to have an enjoyable, yet dangerous ride.
The best moment in the video comes when he jumps in between two carriages to see the reaction of the passengers, who are decidedly unphased.
The video has been watched over half a million times since being uploaded just over 24 hours ago.
9:15am:
The pace of growth in housing prices across the mainland state capitals has slowed, according to preliminary figures from CoreLogic RP Data.
The analytics firm, which will release the detailed figures tomorrow morning, says the numbers so far point to a of 0.5 per cent gain in August, after rises of 2.8 per cent in July and 2.1 per cent in June.
After prices rose 1.1 per cent in August last year, the latest monthly rise suggests annual growth slowed to about 10.5 per cent in the year to August, from 11.1 per cent over the year to July.
-AAP
9:05am:
A clever tattoo designed to illustrate the difficulty of depression has gone viral after it was posted to Facebook by an Oregon woman.
The tattoo reads “I’m Fine” from one point of view, but from another point of view reads “Save Me”.
Bekah Miles had the design inked on her left leg recently saying she was “ready to talk about her mental illness”.
The 21-year-old posted the image to social media and said: “So today, I got this tattoo. I feel that my leg was the best place for the meaning behind it.”
“When everyone else sees it, they see ‘I’m fine’ but from my viewpoint, it reads ‘save me’ To me, it means that others see this person that seems okay, but, in reality, is not okay at all,” she wrote.
The photo has been shared over 250,000 times and attracted over 300,000 comments of support.
8:50am:
Tens of thousands of Malaysians clad in the yellow of the pro-reform movement have turned out for two days of weekend demonstrations to demand Najib’s removal, shutting down the city centre in a carnival atmosphere of speeches, sing-a-longs and prayer.
The large crowd of protesters camped overnight on the streets of Kuala Lumpur wearing yellow shirts of the Bersih movement — a coalition for clean and fair elections — even after authorities blocked the organiser’s website and banned yellow attire and the group’s logo.
Embattled Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak poured scorn on the protesters who are calling for his resignation following revelations he received some $700 million into his private accounts from state funds.
Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has been spearheading calls for Najib’s resignation, made appeared at the rally with his wife for a second day, telling protesters that people power was needed to remove Najib and return the rule of law.
-With AP
8:40am:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is reportedly being urged by his own cabinet ministers to dump Joe Hockey in the lead up to the 2016 federal election.
If the Canning byelection goes badly for the Liberal Party, certain ministers would like to see the treasurer dunped from the frontbench, reports Fairfax. In such a scenario, Social Services Minister Scott Morrison would be the likely replacement.
The Liberal Party holds the seat of Canning by a margin of 11.8 per cent but recent polling shows a dramatic shift to Labor.
8:30am:
The Atlanta Braves paid tribute Sunday to Gregory Murrey, a longtime fan who died after falling from an upper deck in the stands at Turner Field.
“The Atlanta Braves are deeply saddened by the loss of Greg Murrey at last night’s game,” the Major League Baseball team said in a statement following the incident which took place early Sunday morning AEST.
“Greg was a valued and longtime season ticket holder and an incredibly passionate Braves fan. This tragic loss is felt throughout Braves Country, and the thoughts and prayers of the entire Braves organisation continue to go out to his family and friends.”
They also recognised Murrey with a moment of silence before Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees, displaying his picture on the video scoreboard.
-AFP
8:15am:
A man armed with an axe terrorised residents and threatened firefighters after setting cars, a fire truck and a house alight during a rampage in Melbourne’s north last night.
Firefighters were forced to turn a high-pressure water hose onto the 25-year-old, but not even that stopped him from setting fire to their fire truck, reports the Herald Sun.
It’s alleged the man, from Tarneit, set fire to a BMW, a Holden sedan, a ute and a vacant house. The man then continued on down the street and allegedly threatened two people with the axe before stealing their wallets.
Police had to call in the dog squad to apprehend the man.
8am:
Many took to social media yesterday afternoon to express their disappointment after Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes was booed by St Kilda supporters at Etihad Stadium.
Saints fans were among those lending their support to the former Australian of the Year, deriding fellow supporters over their behaviour.
Meanwhile, Eddie McGuire said the fans were being “parochial” and the real test will come during finals footy.
@adamroy37 please know that as a stkilda fan I was NOT ok with the booing today. It's disgraceful. #sorry
As a Saints member, I'd like @stkildafc to take a stand & remove any members who are found booing Goodes. You can report it via 0427 767 768
@stkildafc shame on your supporters boo'ing Goodes #istandwithadam
7:45am:
A video showing an Israeli soldier scuffling with Palestinian women and youth at a West Bank protest has been viewed more than 2 million times on Facebook, shining a light on Israeli military policies in the territory.
The video sparked accusations from critics that Israel is too heavy-handed in its confrontations with Palestinian protesters, especially minors.
In Israel, the video was seen as capturing the antagonism Israel’s soldiers face from stone-throwing Palestinian protesters and raised concerns for the soldiers’ safety.
In the edited video, the masked soldier is seen holding a 12-year-old boy, his arm in a cast, in a chokehold in an attempt to arrest him. The soldier is swarmed by the boy’s female relatives, including his mother and sister, who pull at his skin and uniform and slap him.
-With AP
7:35am:
A bizarre fashion trend is taking hold in Taiwan which is seeing young people pose for pictures wearing plastic bags.
Apparently the trend is popping up on social media sites and involves doing the groceries before making an outfit out of the baggage.
The trend is proving especially popular among teenage girls and one of the requirements is to have the brand of the plastic bag visible in the photos, according to Korea Boo.
Judging from the new trend, Mugatu’s “derelicte” fashion line from the movie Zoolander is no longer so ridiculous.
7:20am:
Cambodia appears to have gone cold on the idea of resettling more refugees from Australia’s detention centre in Nauru.
The first four arrived in June, after Cambodia received a $40 million aid sweetener and Australia allocated an extra $15.5 million for resettlement costs.
“We don’t have any plans to import more refugees from Nauru to Cambodia ... I think the less we receive the better,” Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak told The Cambodian Daily.
Refugee advocate Ian Rintoul told ABC radio that efforts to promote the Cambodian resettlement option to asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru have largely fizzled out in recent weeks.
“They made it clear over and over again they weren’t interested,” Mr Rintoul said.
He said even inducements of $10,000-$15,000 had failed to entice people.
-AAP
7:10am:
A woman who claims to be allergic to wi-fi has been awarded a $1,000 a month disability allowance.
A French court ruled Marine Richard, 39, should be eligible to the welfare after she successfully argued that her condition has forced her to retire from urban areas, reports the BBC.
The allergic condition remains unsubstantiated by medical experts but is known as electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS) and sufferers’ claim exposure to mobile phones, Wi-Fi and televisions can cause severe discomfort.
Ms Richard’s lawyer said the ruling sets a legal precedent for thousands on people.
7am:
Millions of stargazers around the world enjoyed the year’s first celestial phenomenon, the supermoon, in stunning detail last night.
Australia’s east coast got their first taste of the supermoon just after the moon rose around 7pm AEST, while the rest of the country was forced to wait until 1am this morning.
The full moon is called a supermoon due to it appearing between 12 and 14 per cent larger and shining around 25-30 times brighter than normal. This is due to the moon’s position being slightly closer to Earth than normal.
6:50am:
Whatever you did on the weekend, it likely didn’t compare to this.
Competitors dressed as goldfish and sharks were among over 100 people vying to become the world bog snorkelling champion at an unusual swimming competition in Wales Sunday.
Contestants at the 30th annual World Bog Snorkelling Championships donned masks, snorkels and flippers to swim two lengths of a 55-metre peat bog outside Llanwrtyd Wells as quickly as possible.
They were cheered on by around 300 spectators who lined up along either side of the murky brown stream running through marshland.
Asked what the appeal of bog snorkelling was, one of the event’s organisers, Jen Walsby, said: “I don’t know, I’ve done it myself and it’s cold and brown and you can’t see much. It’s just the madness that comes with it and the challenge.”
-AFP
6:40am:
During the final round of the Barclay’s PGA event on Sunday, golfer Brian Harman pulled off an unbelievable achievement by recording two hole-in-ones in the same round.
According to The New York Post, the odds of achieving such a feat are one in 67 million.
Those odds were calculated by the PGA Tour and account for the ability of professional-level players. It was Harman’s 1,567th time playing a par-3 on the PGA Tour, and his first ever ace.
“I’m still in a little shock about it,” said Harman. “It’s pretty crazy to play a hundred-some-odd tournaments and never have one, but to have two in the same tournament is pretty awesome.”
6:30am:
A three-year-old boy has died and two adults are fighting for their life after a unit fire in southeast Queensland.
Fire fighters were called to the unit complex in Beenleigh just before 10pm last night last.
The two adults received serious life threatening injuries and two of the children have also been injured, said police. While a 3-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the fire is unknown and police have established a crime scene to investigate the blaze.
6:20am:
Thai police have charged a foreign man over last week’s deadly Bangkok bombing, the first arrest connected to an attack that has rattled the junta-run kingdom and damaged its tourist-haven reputation.
The man was arrested after a morning raid on an apartment in Nong Chok district on the eastern outskirts of the capital by security forces who allegedly found him with bomb-making equipment linked to the August 17 blast, which killed 20 people and wounded scores more.
It’s believed the suspect is a Turkish national but the report is yet to be officially confirmed.
6:10am:
Labor and the Greens are demanding an explanation from Immigration Minister Peter Dutton about the intention of a cancelled operation involving Australian Border Force.
The minister’s office has admitted it received information about the activity planned for Melbourne over the weekend, but it was only noted because it was routine and low level.
The opposition and Greens want Mr Dutton to take responsibility and explain the intention of the operation, which the agency first said would include talking to people that crossed its path.
The federal government says it’s not policy to randomly stop people in the street to check visas and it was not going to happen.
-AAP
Border Force's threatening media release: Abbott didn't see it, nor Dutton, nor Quaedvlieg nor Don Smith who's quoted in it. Truly bizarre.
6am:
Fox 5 San Diego weather reporter Brad Wills had a dramatic escape during his latest report. Well at least he probably thinks so.
Wills was preparing to cross live to the studio from a local beach to report on the heat gripping the city when an unwanted visitor disrupted his calm.
When a winged insect flew into his air space, he absolutely lost it. The reporter lets out a rather embarrassing wail as he tried to dodge and swat the bug.
“Are we live?” he asked the cameraman. “Oh boy,” he added as he tried to regather himself.
The priceless reaction has been posted to the channel’s Facebook page and watched nearly half a million times.
Brad Wills got a little scared by a big bug this morning on live TV: go.kswbtv.com/1EqaBeN
Inside feud that brought Sydney to a halt
Five months of transport disruptions and chaotic commutes were brought to an abrupt halt this week after a fiery fight between the unions and the government.
Driver charged over meat cleaver incident
A man has been charged after reports a driver allegedly wielded a meat cleaver at other drivers on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Commuters warned of further travel chaos
Commuters are being urged to brace for another day of cancellations and delays as the rail union and the NSW government take their fight to court.