Andre's TV show halted after death

Singer Peter Andre has postponed the airing of his reality show after the death of his older brother Andrew last week. Source: Getty Images

GRIEVING Peter Andre has asked for the airing of his reality TV show to be postponed - because it features scenes of his older brother, Andrew, dying of cancer.

The singer, 39, is ''devastated'' by the death of Andrew, 54, who lost his battle with kidney cancer last Sunday.

Some parts of the most recent episode of Peter Andre: My Life were filmed just over a week before Andrew's death and showed his family spending the final days with him.

The show's synopsis says, "As brother Andrew's condition worsens, the singer finds Emily is on hand to help him enjoy his new-found passion for art, and it is not long before he is inspired to have a dabble at painting his muse."

British TV producers were initially planning on airing the episode as a tribute to Andrew, including a message at the start and end acknowledging his death.

But The Sun newspaper reports that after a request from Andre's management the program has been postponed to later in the week out of respect to the family.

Andrew was diagnosed with cancer earlier in February after complaining of stomach pains.

Earlier this month Andre postponed his tour of the UK, so he could spend time with his ailing brother.

Andrew had been living with his wife Magda in the singer's Sussex home and died surrounded by his loved ones.

The singer's spokesperson said: "Everyone was at Andrew's side - his wife, daughter, Pete and their parents -the whole family.

"Andrew woke up, looked around at everyone to say goodbye, and then fell asleep. He passed away in his sleep. It was very peaceful.

"This is the first member of Pete's immediate family to pass away and he is obviously devastated.

"The whole family is in shock and need time and privacy to grieve."

The singer's ex-wife Katie Price sent her support to Andre as he grieves for his brother.

The former model tweeted her condolences, writing "My thoughts are with the Andre family at this difficult time xx".

Peter Andre has two children, Junior and Princess, with Katie and considers her disabled son Harvey to be his own child.

23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Smoking volcano has nations on alert

A family watches the Copahue volcano spewing ashes from Caviahue, Neuquen province, Argentina. Authorities in Chile and Argentina issued yellow alerts due to the eruption of the Copahue volcano, placed in the border between both countries. AFP/Antonio Huglich Source: AFP

INCREASED activity at a volcano on the border of Chile and Argentina has authorities in both countries on alert.

The Copahue volcano in Argentina's Neuquen province and Chile's Biobio region began spewing ash and gas early on Saturday, but officials say it's still in an early eruption stage.

Chile's Mining Minister Hernan de Solminihac says the volcano's smoke plume led Argentine emergency officials to issue a yellow alert and constantly monitor its activity in case of a full eruption.

View of the Copahue volcano spewing ashes behind the lagoon of Caviahue, Neuquen province, Argentina. AFP PHOTO / Antonio Huglich

Flights expected to pass by the area around the volcano have been warned.

Officials say there's no need yet to evacuate people near the volcano, which is part of the Andes mountain chain.

View of the Copahue volcano spewing ashes from Caviahue, 1500km southwest of Buenos Aires. The authorities of Chile and Argentina issued yellow alerts due to the eruption of the Copahue volcano, placed in the border between both countries. AFP / Antonio Huglich

A volcano in southern Chile erupted last year, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the evacuation of more than 600 people.

View of the Copahue volcano spewing ashes from Caviahue, Neuquen province, Argentina. The authorities of Chile and Argentina issued yellow alerts due to the eruption of the Copahue volcano, on the border of both countries. AFP / Antonio Huglich

23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Deni gets hitched, again, but no Marcia

Singer Deni Hines in her wedding dress at the reception at Middle Head. Picture: Adam Taylor Source: The Daily Telegraph

SHE'S something of a professional bride - married twice before and formerly a wedding singer, even performing at the nuptials of Ricki-Lee Coulter.

But when it came time to walk down the aisle for a third time yesterday, pop singer Deni Hines chose a "quiet and simple" afternoon ceremony to tie the knot with her "soul mate", financier Daniel Moses.

The villainous Celebrity Apprentice contestant and Moses, a sometime musician, have been seeing each other for 18 months.

Just as the searing temperatures started to drop about 4pm, the couple wed before a small group of family friends at Sergeant's Mess in Middle Head, overlooking Sydney Harbour National Park.

The 41-year-old wore a vintage-looking cream silk dress and fastened her veil with a bejewelled tiara.

Hines has been vocal about her desire for children and has made comments about hoping to be pregnant as soon as possible.

Having had brief marriages to INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly and British record producer Dennis Charles, Hines believes Moses is "the one".

"If you'd have told me a couple of years ago that I'd fall for a slightly balding finance guy, I would have laughed at you," she said in August.

"But this man is the love of my life."

The singer has had a publicly volatile relationship with her mother, showbiz veteran Marcia Hines, who could not be seen among the guests yesterday.

Marcia stood up for her daughter earlier this year over the deluge of hate mail Deni received following her headline-grabbing turn on Celebrity Apprentice , where she clashed with beauty queen Jesinta Campbell.

Her wedding is being covered by a women's magazine.

Moses proposed earlier this year, presenting his now wife with a self-designed 1.5 carat ring from upmarket jewellers Fairfax & Roberts.

Ever-blunt, speaking in an interview last year, Hines said: "I plan to be pregnant by the end of the year, but Daniel doesn't know that yet."

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Perverts may make the most of Poke app

Teenagers can face child pornography charges for "sexting" and experts say many young girls are pressured into sending  racy pictures to their boyfriends. Picture: ThinkStock. Source: news.com.au

FACEBOOK'S new photo and video messaging app that mimics infamous sexting app Snapchat has raised concerns it could encourage sexting among teens, and even enable sharing of child pornography.

The Facebook Poke app, which allows users to send each other photos and video that "self destruct" after a few seconds, has already become the most popular free download on iTunes since it was officially launched on Friday.

Users can send messages or pictures instantly to any of their Facebook friends and opt for them to self-delete after one, three, five or 10 seconds.

It is almost identical to controversial messaging app Snapchat, which has attracted worldwide criticism for enabling teens to engage in "sexting" - texting nude or sexy photos - with a perceived lack of consequences.

However there is nothing to stop users of either app taking a screenshot of messages they receive which can be forwarded to others.

Facebook Poke throws up an alert if it detects a recipient taking a screenshot of a message, but users are virtually powerless to take any action to prevent that screenshot being shared.

It is also unclear whether images and video sent through Facebook Poke end up stored on the social media network's servers even after they have self-deleted, or for how long.

Facebook could not be reached for comment.

Sydney psychologist and teacher Collett Smart told News Ltd apps like Facebook Poke and Snapchat could make teens vulnerable to exploitation and could even provide an easy way for criminals to share child porn.

Ms Smart said that over the past six months, she had counselled countless girls who had been pressured into sending nude photos to their boyfriends as a "sexy present", and this app would only cause more harm.

"We have all sorts of issues with child porn and we're supposed to be protecting kids from exploitation and apps like that in no way protect young kids," she said.

"They don't have the capacity to know the dangers.

"Who actually wants to take photos of your holiday on the beach, or your school graduation or something like that and have them dissolve in 10 seconds? We're not dumb, we know what this app will be used for."

A recent parliamentary inquiry in Victoria heard one in five children aged 10 to 15 had either sent or received a sext.

Anyone under the age of 18 taking, sending or receiving naked pictures can be charged with child pornography offences, which carries penalties of up to 15 years in jail and placement on a sex offenders register.

TIPS TO HELP YOU PROTECT YOUR CHILD

Have a Facebook account and try to "friend" your child if possible.

Have access to your child's facebook account and passwords.

Keep technology in public areas of the house, out of children's bedrooms.

Restrict children to using your iTunes account for downloads, so you can monitor them.

 

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DJs starts Boxing Day sales online

Boxing Day sales doors opening at David Jones last year. Picture: Fiona Hamilton Source: Herald Sun

HIGH-end department store David Jones is breaking with 174 years of tradition to start its annual stocktake sale a day early.

For the first time, its web-savvy shoppers will be able to snap up bargains online on Christmas Day.

David Jones boss Paul Zahra said the online option allowed the retailer to look forward to a bumper stocktake sale.

"We expect it to be the best clearance ever," he said. "It's an important time and we expect it to be big.

"We've seen year-on-year increases for clearance and when you add other channels, people have even more options to buy," he said.

Be inspired with our Christmas gift guide

Starting the sale early online last year gave rival Myer its biggest-ever web trading day.

David Jones is expecting a similarly positive result.

Myer said yesterday its stocktake sale would start online at 9 o'clock tonight.

Myer spokesman Steve Carey said the decision to start the sale earlier marked the distinction between online and physical stores.

"It's ... at a time when all the bricks-and-mortar stores were closed. It's also giving customers more time to shop online at a convenient time," Mr Carey said.

But for customers who preferred store browsing to net surfing, Mr Zahra said the Boxing Day tradition at David Jones was still alive and well. The Melbourne and Sydney stores will throw open their doors at 5am on Wednesday.

"It's a genuine sale and customers recognise that," Mr Zahra said. 

Australian Retail Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said the earlier start was a sign of things to come.

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Shopper docket fuel deal under the pump

The ACCC will take a closer look at Coles' decision to extend it shopper docket fuel discount deal to see how it is affecting independent petrol stations. Picture: Ross Schultz Source: News Limited

A DECISION by Coles to extend its 8c-a-litre petrol discount until Easter will be investigated by the ACCC as part of its probe into shopper dockets.

The doubling of the usual saving means that Coles shoppers who've spent at least $30 in a single transaction can cut the cost of refilling a Holden Commodore at an affiliated service station by $5.68 per 71-litre tank.

The initiative has attracted the attention of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is already examining whether supermarket docket deals "in the long term lead to consumer detriment".

The fear is that the major supermarket chains will run independent servos out of business then jack up prices.

The consumer cop began an investigation into petrol discounts in July this year. While it has not publicly discussed details of its inquiries, it has said it is scrutinising the "size and duration of the discounts".

An ACCC spokesman said yesterday: "The current episode of extended discounting will be considered as part of that investigation."

However, history suggests the ACCC will probably not end up intervening. In 2004 it found shopper docket petrol scheme provided "significant benefits to consumers" and in 2007 it concluded that they "continue to generate a public benefit in the form of lower petrol prices for consumers, particularly with respect to price-conscious consumers".

Still, ACCC boss Rod Sims recently said that petrol remains, by a considerable margin, the top issue that consumers raise with him.

Coles brushed off questioning about the ACCC investigation, saying it was focused on helping customers save money.

"We know that families are looking to save money wherever they can," said Coles Express general manager Peter Short.

Woolworths does not have a current petrol offer beyond the normal 4c-a-litre discount, a spokesman said yesterday.

The current national average petrol price - $1.40/L - is about the same as it was a year ago, according to Australian Institute of Petroleum data.

And it is about 8 per cent or 12c/L cheaper than four years ago when a weaker Australian dollar was forcing up prices.

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Aussies take off on super-boats that fly

Oracle Team USA's incredible AC72 yacht takes flight in San Francisco Bay during testing for the America's Cup.

• 34th America's Cup promises dramatic thrills and spills
• 'Dream Team' skippered by Aussie sailor Jimmy Spithill
• Hydrofoiling boats can capsize dramatically at 40 knots

AUSTRALIA'S finest sailors will star in the America's Cup next year, crewing the world's fastest racing yacht as it battles the challenger in beautiful San Francisco Bay.

The Aussies are coming: Oracle Team USA's Australian sailors. Top row: Jimmy Spithill, Tom Slingsby, Darren Bundock. Bottom row: Kyle Langford, Joe Newton, Sam Newton. Photo: Oracle

Sailing is a noisy pursuit, typically. Bow crashes on wave, sails heave and billow, ropes grind. But the cutting-edge technology at the sport's pinnacle has introduced a new, eerily silent moment.

It's when the giant catamarans for next year's America's Cup turn downwind, and the sail towering above them - bigger than the wing of a Boeing 747 - catches the wind behind.

The yachts roar with astonishing speed, faster than the wind itself, and then, as the crew take their positions, it happens.

Lift Off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 hydrofoiling during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

No more clash of bow against wave, or chop on the surface. It's quiet, but for the tiny hiss of a fin scything through the water below.

The entire rest of the boat, carrying the crew perched on a side, is - literally - flying.

Lift Off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 hydrofoiling during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

Tom Slingsby, the Australian Olympic gold medalist and one of the many Australians crewing for America 30 years after Alan Bond's triumph in Perth, says the experience is "surreal" and "almost like being on a spaceship".

Thirty years after Australia II's winged keel helped break the US stranglehold on sailing's most prized trophy, a group of Australians renowned as leaders and innovators are at the forefront of the America's Cup challenge again. They will take these inherently perilous yachts around San Francisco Bay next year.

Lift Off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 hydrofoiling during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

On board Oracle Team USA, gung-ho Australian skipper Jimmy Spithill defends the Cup he won in 2011, backed by a tactician, coach and core crew members from the land Down Under.

The yacht's massive 40m high sail generates so much thrust the boat lifts out of the water to glide on hydrofoils at up to 75km/h.

Lift Off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 hydrofoiling during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

Sailing upwind there is so much noise that the only way crews can communicate is via earpieces, downwind everything goes eerily silent.

"It's an amazing feeling," says Slingsby, the team's Australian tactician. "At top speed all the drag is out of the water and the entire boat is skimming on tiny little fins."

Sydneysider Spithill, an excitingly aggressive competitor nicknamed "Pitbull Jimmy" by fans, certainly put the $10m catamaran through its paces when he "pitch-poled" it at high speed during testing, digging it into the water and sending his crew flying.

WATCH as Oracle Team USA's AC72 dramatically capsizes during training on San Francisco Bay.

The last thing the crew heard before the flip was Spithill yelling: "keep an eye on your mates."

"We did something we were hoping we would never do," he says. "Capsize an AC72."

Oracle Team USA's AC72 capsizes dramatically during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

With a 14m wide rope mesh platform between the boat's two hulls and no safety harnesses, some sailors fell the equivalent of seven storeys into the water. Thankfully, there were no serious injuries, although the crash is rumoured to have caused damage totalling $2m.

Oracle Team USA's AC72 capsizes dramatically during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

"We've been pushing the boat all the time, every day we push it more and more, and we finally found our limit," says Slingsby, who won sailing gold for Australia in London.

Jimmy Spithill captains ten sailors aboard Oracle's six tonne, $10m carbon fiber yacht, a remarkable racing machine four times lighter than Alan Bond's Australia II, which in 1983 wrestled yachting's most important trophy away from the USA for the first time in 132 years.

Thirty years on, billionaire American software tycoon Larry Ellison has bankrolled the expensively assembled California-based Oracle team, but its core personnel are all Australian.

On board, Slingsby will help Spithill marshall fellow Australians Sam Newton (bowman), Will McCarthy (grinder), Kyle Langford and Joe Newton (trimmers), while Aussie coach Darren Bundock ensures the racers are ready for the greatest challenge of their lives.

Home Sweet Home: Oracle Team USA's AC72 during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

September's finals series will be contested in the shark-infested waters of San Francisco Bay, with contestants battling unpredictable winds swirling off the city's skyscrapers and one of the fastest tides on Earth rushing beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Team USA's "wing" is so powerful it is best described as a cocked trigger primed to explode.

"The new boats are amazing," enthuses an excited Spithill, the youngest man ever to win an America's Cup, who grew up sailing on Pittwater, at the tip of Sydney's northern beaches.

"It's a completely different event from just a few years ago, a complete change."

"It's really stadium sailing. The races last about 30 minutes, and get very physical. Skippering one of these boats is a lot like driving a race car: the harder you push, the faster you go."

Lift Off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 hydrofoiling during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

America's Cup contenders are rolling out technological advances akin to the engineering that characterises Formula One's relentless search for speed and aerodynamic advantage.

With Olympic gold medalists as coach and tactician, plus Great Britain's four time Olympic champion Ben Ainslie at the helm, Spitall's crew is being dubbed yachting's "Dream Team".

Manned by the strongest and smartest sailors in the world, bankrolled by rich tycoons, and backed by sponsors such as Red Bull and Tag Heuer, the defender and one equally expensive competitor will fight it out on the most testing course in America's Cup history.

Over two weeks next September, in front of the Cup's biggest ever live audience, the super yachts will vie for supremacy, framed by Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Home Sweet Home: Oracle Team USA's AC72 during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

"San Francisco Bay is a real test," says Spithill. "It's a very windy bay, the currents are always changing, and it's very tight. One boundary is close to shore, the other moves. It's very demanding, and pushes the boat and the crew to the edge. It's a lot like Formula One."

But unlike Formula One's iconic racetracks, an America's Cup course is never the same.

And while F1 simulators can reproduce almost every aspect of the bitumen, helping drivers prepare in advance, sailors have a whole stack more variables to contend with, including wind, water, gradient and sheer. Which all adds up to speed, danger and excitement.

WATCH dramatic race footage of Jimmy Spithill capsizing Oracle Team USA's AC45.

"Back in the monohull-era there was no risk and the racing wasn't great for TV," says Spithill.

"Now there is real risk involved and sailing is becoming an amazing spectator sport, both in person and on TV. We push it hard, and viewers get engaged with that."

Lift off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

More Batboat than traditional yacht, Oracle Team USA's 22m long AC72 has been designed to be pushed to the limits, with a bow raked backwards to make the powerful boat more stable.

When it reaches top speed the boat sits out of the water on foils, a technology Made in Australia.

Lift off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

"There's very little drag when we are hydrofoiling," says Oracle's five-times America's Cup winning senior engineer, the Dutchman Dirk Kramers: Basically, we're flying."

"It's a very tricky business, getting the whole boat up on foils, with only the board and rudder in the water, and it's tricky keeping control when there are only certain things we can adjust."

Gutted: Jimmy Spithill after Oracle Team USA's AC72 capsized dramatically during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

With a thick rule book, and strict boat design parameters, teams are kept on a level playing field.

Carbon fiber has dramatically reduced the weight of Cup yachts in recent years, with a commensurate increase in speed. Oracle's AC72 weighs six tonnes, when predecessors topped the scales at up to 24 tonnes.

"Weight is drag," says Kramers. "Lose weight and you go fast: very fast."

Add a sail unlike any seen before and the potential for speed, and for disaster, is unprecedented.

Oracle Team USA's AC72 capsizes dramatically during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

"It's a very demanding boat," says Spithill. "It's not like you cruise out and put a sail up, the wing always wants to go, it always creates a lot of thrust. Sailing it takes a lot of concentration."

"We tipped it over from pushing it very hard, that's the risk that is now in the sport today. I don't think tipping is a good thing, but people can see that it is difficult. It engages the audience."

Oracle Team USA's AC72 capsizes dramatically during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

"The danger level has gone up a lot," agrees Kramers. "Safety is a big issue. Our boat is 14m wide, so if you fall off you are falling six or seven stories, jumping into the water or holding on."

"The guys carry safety equipment, knifes, breathing apparatus, and we have a chase boat ready to help. We're really pushing these yachts - but you wouldn't want to take them too far offshore."

Oracle Team USA's AC72 capsizes dramatically during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

"We need 30 people and a big crane just to to get it into the water, and as you lift the wing the boat just wants to fly. She always wants to go sailing."

With multimillion dollar budgets and up to a hundred engineers beavering away in the boatyard, today's America's Cup teams resemble well oiled F1 operations. But by pitting man against the elements with limited technological assistance, the race retains its purity.

Once the boat enters the racing area there is no communication between shore and land, all decisions are made onboard," says Kramers.

There are no engines or motorised winches on Oracle - the most powerful yacht ever built is powered by the muscles of its sailors, and remains forever at the vagaries of wind and tide.

Competed for since 1851, when the schooner America defeated the Royal Yacht Squadron in a race around the Isle of Wight and took the trophy back to the New York Yacht Club, the Cup spent 132 years in the USA before Alan Bond's Australia II finally ended America's stranglehold.

Go Aussie Go: Australia II snatches the America's Cup in 1983. Photo: WA Museum Source: Supplied

The Royal Perth Yacht Club's 1983 victory, after 26 unsuccessful challenges, marked a new era for the America's Cup, and sparked joyous scenes across Australia.

Interviewed that day at a dawn celebration in Claremont, Western Australia, then Prime Minister Bob Hawke famously said "Any boss who sacks anyone for not turning up today is a bum".

Lift Off: Oracle Team USA's AC72 hydrofoiling during testing in San Francisco Bay. Photo: Oracle Team USA Source: Supplied

Sydneysider Spithill is hoping a few of his friends back home will be enjoying a day off next September. "Most of my mates are footie players or racing drivers," says the skipper.

"Before they weren't into sailing, now it's high-paced, like a V8 supercar race, they're hooked."

On the 30th anniversary of our greatest sailing triumph, the Aussies are coming again.
 

23.08 | 0 komentar | Read More

Speech driving apps a 'distraction'

Texting while driving is dangerous, but new apps that turn your texts into speech may be just as distracting, police say. Source: News Limited

SMARTPHONE apps that read out and respond to text messages while you're driving are a dangerous distraction and should not be used, police warn.

Text Star, available for Australian Android phones in early 2013, automatically replies to all texts and emails with a preset message of your choice whenever it detects you travelling faster than 16km/h.

Another free android app that's already on the market, DriveSafe.ly, uses text-to-speech technology to automatically read out loud text messages and emails the instant they're received, so you can keep your hands on the wheel and avoid a hefty fine and demerit points.

Police and road authorities say while such apps would help drivers avoid fines for holding or operating a mobile phone, which is prohibited in all states, they could still result in fines for driving while distracted, or even cause accidents.

SA Police Traffic Support Branch's Superintendent Bob Fauser said while use of the apps would not constitute an offence for full licence holders, they were a dangerous distraction and should not be used.

"Inattention and distraction cause about a third of all South Australia's fatal road crashes and a little less than half of all serious injury crashes," he said.

"This new technology will only add to the distractions."

Research into driver distraction has shown that using a mobile phone while driving, even in hands-free mode, can increase the chance of a crash by as much as four times.

Supt Fauser reminded parents considering the apps as a safety measure for teenage children that learner's permit and P1 provisional licence holders were banned from using any mobile phone function, including hands-free features.

"For learner's permit and P1 provisional licence holders the use of these apps would still constitute an offence,'' he said.

Authorities also warn that while these apps may seem an attractive safety measure, learners and provisional licence holders in many states including SA are banned from using mobile phones in any way while driving.

The Drive Safe.ly app requires the driver to switch it on before starting their journey. Then automatically reads out - over a loudspeaker - any text messages or emails received until it is switched off again.

The hands-free app is also available for Blackberry and iPhone, however the iPhone version will only read emails.

Text Star, currently only available in the US, uses GPS to detect when a user is travelling faster than 16km/h and automatically launches a "Personal Texting Assistant" to reply to incoming SMS or email.

Users can create messages such as "I can't respond to your text as I am driving" to be sent on their behalf.

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