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"Not much of me left": Elton John's grim health confession

<p>Elton John has made a blunt admission about his health battles. </p> <p>The 77-year-old singer opened up about his many health issues in a speech at the screening of his new documentary<em> Elton John: Never Too Late</em>, at the New York Film Festival on Tuesday. </p> <p>“To be honest with you, there’s not much of me left,” Elton told the audience. </p> <p>“I don’t have tonsils, adenoids or an appendix,” he continued, according to <a href="https://people.com/elton-john-jokes-not-much-of-me-left-listing-missing-organs-documentary-premiere-8721741" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>People</em></a> magazine. </p> <p>“I don’t have a prostate. I don’t have a right hip or a left knee or a right knee. In fact, the only thing left to me is my left hip.</p> <p>“But I’m still here,” Elton continued. “And I can’t thank you [enough], you’re the people that made me.”</p> <p>The documentary is directed by his husband David Furnish, and American filmmaker R.J. Cutler.</p> <p>Throughout the years Elton has struggled with his health, and just last month he revealed he was recovering from a "severe eye infection" that affected his vision. </p> <p>This occured after he underwent knee and hip replacement surgery. </p> <p>The <em>I'm Still Standing</em> singer also got a pacemaker fitted in back in the 90s, and was hospitalised for influenza and a bacterial infection in 2009. </p> <p>In 2013 he had an abscess on his appendix, and three years later he had suffered from "gastric flu". </p> <p>In addition to all of these health woes he has dealt with hearing loss caused by years of touring. </p> <p>The singer also talked about his retirement from touring at the premiere of his new documentary, following a successful five years of performances and more than 300 shows worldwide. </p> <p>“As you know, I decided to stop touring because I’m 77 years of age,” he said.</p> <p>“I’ve done all there is to do, to play. I’ve succeeded. I’ve been there and I’ve done it.”</p> <p>The documentary explores his 50-year career leading up to his final North American show at Dodger Stadium in 2022. It is set to stream on Disney+ in the US on December 13. </p> <p><em>ADAM VAUGHAN/EPA-EFE/ Shutterstock Editorial</em></p>

Caring

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"The worst is still yet to come": Grim warning for chocolate lovers

<p>Chocolate lovers could be facing a potential nightmare ahead of the festive season as cocoa supplies hit an all time low, driving confectionary prices to a record high.</p> <p>Most of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa, where ongoing inclement weather and crippling crop diseases, coupled with economy-wide pressures like rising labour, packaging and energy costs, have put unprecedented pressure on the chocolate industry in recent months. </p> <p>However, market analyst Rabobank’s Paul Joules told <a title="www.smh.com.au" href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/why-a-global-cocoa-crunch-will-sour-chocolate-for-years-to-come-20240927-p5ke0w.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Sydney Morning Herald</em>, </a> “the worst is still yet to come for consumers”, as the stockpiles of cocoa that manufacturers have been relying on for the past 18 months have run out. </p> <p>“While hedging has protected many manufacturers from the worst effects of the price rises until now, eventually all these forward contracts will get used up, and prices will have to increase to reflect the current cocoa price,” Rabobank’s Soaring chocolate prices report, released last week, read.</p> <p>Rabobank wanted that the increased costs of manufacturing will be passed down to consumers, with dark chocolate lovers being the most affected due to the high concentration of cocoa. </p> <p>Analysis by Mr Joules found that, worldwide, a 100 gram block of chocolate with 70 per cent cocoa content could rise from $4.90 to $6.50, with a “similar increase could be expected in Australia”.</p> <p>“It can take anywhere from six to 12 months for … price hikes to be reflected in the retail pricing of products,” Saxo Head of Commodity Strategy, Ole Sloth Hansen said. </p> <p>“The trend of shrinkflation is likely to become more pronounced. Consequently, while there might not be a stark rise in the price tags of chocolate items, the quantity offered for the same price will see a reduction.” </p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p>

Money & Banking

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"A bit grim": Sam Neill shares cancer update

<p>Actor Sam Neill has shared a heartbreaking update on his cancer journey, which he has said he will eventually succumb to. </p> <p>Last year, the 76-year-old revealed that he was battling rare blood cancer, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.</p> <p>After undergoing chemotherapy that failed to work, Neill's doctor switched him to an anti-cancer drug which has put him in remission for more than 12 months. </p> <p>The treatment requires him to have infusions every two weeks, and while his condition is currently stable, the drug will eventually stop working. </p> <p>Speaking candidly to the <em>Herald Sun</em> about his condition, he said while he is maintaining a positive outlook, the gruelling treatment is impacting the way he lives his life. </p> <p>“It’s just meant that every second week it was a case of forget about the weekend because that would be a bit grim,” he explained of his treatment schedule. “But other than that, it’s great to be alive and working and in beautiful places, like York.”</p> <p>Last year, Sam insisted while he wasn’t afraid of death after battling the disease, he “would be annoyed” because he still has plenty he wants to achieve.</p> <p>“I’m prepared for that,” Neill said at the time, adding that while dying would be “annoying” he’s not “remotely afraid” of it.</p> <p>“The last thing I want is for people to obsess about the cancer thing because I’m not really interested in cancer," he added. "I’m not really interested in anything other than living.” </p> <p><em>Image credits: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

Caring

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King Charles’ grimmest guest exposed

<p dir="ltr">In the months leading up to King Charles III’s extravagant coronation, the guest list was a hot topic. </p> <p dir="ltr">From “will she or won’t she?” discussions surrounding Meghan Markle to the “who’s who?” of British high society, there was always something on hand to pick apart. But one guest that no-one had seen coming - except perhaps in some of the internet’s darkest jokes - was the Grim Reaper.</p> <p dir="ltr">The cloaked figure was spotted during Charles’ May 6 coronation at Westminster Abbey, scurrying past a doorway with a long thin staff in hand, reminiscent of the reaper’s scythe or Charon’s ferry oar.</p> <p dir="ltr">Those determined to see some Harry and Meghan drama transpire joked that it may have been the prince’s wife in disguise, or even the late Diana back for “revenge”, and social media was rife with jokes, though most were of the opinion that the mysterious guest was none other than the fabled Grim Reaper. </p> <p dir="ltr">One Twitter user wasted no time in sharing a clip of the figure’s appearance at the abbey, asking if anyone else was seeing the same thing. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anyone else just notice the Grim Reaper at Westminster Abbey? 👀<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Coronation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Coronation</a> <a href="https://t.co/77s4XIY17i">pic.twitter.com/77s4XIY17i</a></p> <p>— Joe (@realjoegreeeen) <a href="https://twitter.com/realjoegreeeen/status/1654774890237394945?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">“Yep, had to pause &amp; rewind to get a pic,” one like-minded soul wrote in response, “couldn't decide if it was Death (Pratchett would be proud) or maybe Darth Vader!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“High security should allow the identity of the grim reaper to be revealed.  No doubt this is an official walk-in,” another said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I thought I was seeing things when this happened,” one user admitted, “would love to know who it was.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“Diana getting her revenge,” another decided. </p> <p dir="ltr">There was, of course, another possibility, as someone pointed out when they wrote “Charles got pranked.”</p> <p dir="ltr">When footage was uploaded to TikTok, alongside the caption “NAH IT CANT JUST BE ME THAT SAW IT”, the response was similar, with the video collecting over 31k comments, and 21 million views. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Grim reaper Casually invited to the coronation as a security guard,” one user said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“That is Diana,” another declared.</p> <p dir="ltr">Meanwhile, someone was simply of the opinion that “Lizzy [was] coming back for her crown”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Thankfully, they weren’t left to ponder it for long, with a Westminster Abbey spokesperson putting the grim theories to rest, confirming the figure’s identity as a member of the abbey community. More specifically, as a verger, an individual who assists with religious services but who is not actually a member of the clergy itself.</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Twitter</em></p>

International Travel

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Grim discovery in Maddie McCann suspect's van

<p><span>Since the night Madeleine McCann disappeared, her “anguished but unbroken” parents Kate and Gerry have never let the world forget their daughter.</span></p> <p><span>It’s been 13 years since she went missing, but they never stopped searching for answers, and say they hope she is still alive.</span></p> <p><span>But the evidence presented to </span><em>60 Minutes Australia</em><span> could hold vital clues to Maddie’s 2007 disappearance.</span></p> <p><span>On June 4, German authorities made a shock announcement declaring the three-year-old dead, and leading to that announcement is believed to be a disturbing discovery in the campervan of Christian Brueckner.</span></p> <p><span>According to </span><em>60 Minutes</em><span>, over 8000 disturbing pieces of evidence, including videos and pictures of his alleged crimes – along with the swimsuits of little girls – were discovered in the van inhabited by the 43-year-old German sex offender.</span></p> <p><span>When Maddie was taken, on the night of May 3, 2007, Bruekner lived in a house in Monte Judeu, only 8km away from the Ocean Club apartment in Portugal from where the three-year-old disappeared. He also had a “vile and disgusting” shack only 3km from the hotel.</span></p> <p><span>Currently in prison for the torture and rape of a 72-year-old woman, Brueckner was recently named by German police as the most likely offender in Maddie’s disappearance, which is now being treated as murder.</span></p> <p><span>After raiding a deserted factory owned by Brueckner, police discovered thousands of videos and photos of his alleged crimes, </span><em>60 Minutes</em><span> reported.</span></p> <p><span>Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters, who is leading the investigation into Brueckner, told the program he was not able to say if there is or isn’t any pictures of Maddie.</span></p> <p><span>“I mean he was into child pornography and torture and he did crimes against children at a very young age and according to the current information, he also filmed his offences,” Mark Hofmann, a Berlin-based Crime &amp; Intelligence Analyst who also works with German police, told reporter Liz Hayes.</span></p> <p><span>Police also revelead that back in 2013, Brueckner wrote in a paedophile chat room about how “bad” he wanted to abuse a little girl.</span></p> <p><span>“He’s very, very clear about his fantasy, about abducting children and torturing them and using them for a couple of days. So these are very clear words,” Mr Hoffman said.</span></p> <p><span>Mr Hoffman said he believes that if Brueckner abducted Maddie, it’s also likely he killed her.</span></p> <p><span>“And killing is likely for different reasons. Number one, it’s likely because it’s part of the fantasy, but number two, it also just could have practical reasons not to be arrested for this crime, because she was old enough to talk,” he told Hayes.</span></p> <p><span>Christian Brückner has not yet been charged with any crime relating to Madeleine McCann’s disappearance or death.</span></p>

Legal

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Grim warning as cyber-crime continues to rise

<p>Barely a day seems to pass without hearing about a <a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/finance/money-banking/2017/03/accc-warns-fake-online-stores-are-targeting-shoppers/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>brand-new internet scam</strong></span></a> lurking in our inboxes, and if a recent report from online security company Symantec is anything to go by, the threat of cyber-crime is only going to get worse.</p> <p>The Symantec Annual Threat Report highlighted both the<a href="http://www.oversixty.com.au/news/news/2017/04/accc-warns-about-new-internet-scam/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong> growing number of instances of cybercrime</strong></span></a> and the increasing sophistication of the scams.  </p> <p>Symantec security expert Nick Savvides said email attacks were at their highest level in five years, with one in every 121 emails expected to contain a malicious link or attachment.</p> <p>Mr Savvides told <a href="http://www.News.com.au" target="_blank"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>News.com.au</strong></span></em></a>, “The cyber-criminals wouldn’t use this method if it wasn’t successful and they are always improving the content of their emails to make them very convincing.</p> <p>“For example, while many people have learned that the federal police will never send you a speeding fine by email, pretty much every Australian is buying goods online, so the fake invoice, fake delivery docket or parcel pick up emails can be very convincing.”</p> <p>So how do we avoid these common internet scams? Well, Symantec have offered a few tips to help keep your computer clear of any malicious online viruses.</p> <ol> <li>Change the default passwords on your devices and services.</li> <li>Keep your operating system and software up to date.</li> <li>Be extra careful on email.</li> <li>Back up your files.</li> </ol> <p>Have you ever fallen victim to cyber-crime? If so, how did you cope?</p>

Money & Banking