11-year-old boy becomes sixth death following jumping castle tragedy

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2021

Brittany Coles

Six children have now died following a tragic jumping castle accident at a primary school in Australia

The children fell an estimated 10 metres after the jumping castle was picked up by a powerful gust of wind.

A sixth child has died, Chace Harrison was just 11-years-old, one of the youngest part of this heart breaking tragedy.

Chace Harrison died in hospital on Sunday afternoon.

His death follows those of 11-year-old Addison and 12-year-olds Zane, Jye, Jalailah and Peter.

Two children remain in a critical condition in Royal Hobart Hospital and one other is in recovery at home.

Tributes and flowers have been laid outside Hillcrest primary school… all in mourning for those siz little lives lost

The children were grade five and six students, who were celebrating an end-of-year event in the town of Devonport in Tasmania.

The state’s Police Commissioner says the children were meant to be celebrating, not mourning.

Several fundraisers have been launched to support the families of the children who died in the tragedy

More than a million dollars has been raised in the community to support those mourning the tragedy.

It’s unthinkable heartbreak right before Christmas.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this will leave families completed devastated.

He visited the Primary School with his wife Jenny… they paid their respects and this was the note they left with flowers

The Prime minster says an extra $800,000 will also be made available to fund trauma counselling.

Quarter of a million dollars will go to first responders involved in the aftermath of the accident and over half a million will go to the broader community.

Four forensic child interviewers will travel there from Sydney over the coming days.

A report will be prepared by the coroner, as tributes continue to pour in for the families and wider community

Authorities are working to preserve hand written notes and establish a more permanent memorial.

‘Sweet kind, old soul’ – five children dead in jumping castle incident in Australia

TikTok CEO testifies as U.S. considers nationwide ban

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

Veronica Dudo

FBI says TikTok threatens U.S. national security

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified in Washington D.C. on Thursday.

The hours-long fiery hearing on Capitol Hill was incredibly tense as Chew was grilled by both Republicans and Democrats.

With bipartisan support, both parties are pushing for a nationwide ban on the app which the FBI has said threatens the national security of the United States.

TikTok says it has 150 million America users – almost half the country.

The CEO gave testimony to try and reassure lawmakers and Americans that TikTok is not an agent of the Chinese Communist Party, but critics aren’t convinced.

Chew was bombarded with questions from representatives from both sides of the aisle about the company’s ties to the CCP, security, data storage, well-being, and mental health.

Many lawmakers are growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of answers from the company.

Congress is now weighing a nationwide ban on the popular social media platform amid concerns that it is used to harvest Americans’ information and harm children online.

Protests continue across France over pension reforms

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

ticker NEWS

Protestors blocked a terminal at an airport and sat on train tracks

The ongoing nationwide protests in France over plans by the government to raise the retirement age by two years saw another day of disruption – events which President Emmanuel Macron has recently compared to the storming of the U.S. Capitol by Donald Trump supporters two years ago.

Protestors blocked a terminal at Paris’s Charles De Gaulle airport.

Protesters also sat on train tracks, and reportedly triggered a brief fire in the yard of a police station in once city.

Protests have been mostly peaceful, but tear gas has been used against them on occasions.

The plan is to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

For comparison, the U.S. is slowly raising its retirement age to 67 and the UK plans to go to 68.

Polls have long shown that a majority of voters in France oppose the move.

Macron earlier in the week said he was standing firm on the law and that it would come into effect by the end of the year.

The government says the change is needed to keep pension budgets from running a deficit – failure would create an annual deficit of about $14 billion by 2030.

World

Prosecutors allege Donald Trump misled people on potential arrest

Published

2 days ago

March 24, 2023

ticker NEWS

The move prompted Republicans in Congress to interfere with the course of justice

Manhattan prosecutors say Donald Trump has misled people to expect he would be arrested, prompting Republicans in Congress to interfere with the course of justice.

A probe is currently under way into his alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

On Saturday, the former President said he would be arrested on Tuesday.

This saw three Republicans launching an offensive against the District Attorney, who is a Democrat.

They accused him of abusing authority, while also seeking communications, documents and testimony.

A grand jury hearing evidence in the Stormy Daniels case is yet to issue an arrest warrant for Trump.

The attorney’s office has since sent the committee chairmen a letter.

It says the lawmakers’ accusations “only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation he would be arrested”.

It also confirms the attorney’s office is “investigating allegations that Donald Trump engaged in violations of New York State penal law.”

If indicted, Trump would be the first U.S. President to face criminal charges.