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Gold medallist sleeps in Paris park to protest "disappointing" Olympic village conditions

<p>A gold medallist has been spotted sleeping in a Paris park in protest of the conditions in the Olympic village. </p> <p>Italian swimmer Thomas Ceccon was captured sleeping atop a white towel in a park located inside the Olympic village by Saudi rower Husein Alireza. </p> <p>Alireza posted the photo to Instagram with the caption, "Rest today, conquer tomorrow."</p> <p>The Italian swimmer, who won gold in the 100m backstroke, had already complained publicly about the accommodations in the Olympic Village, after he failed to reach the 200m backstroke final on Wednesday.</p> <p>Since the commencement of the Paris Games, many athletes have spoken out about the conditions in the Olympic village, saying the beds are uncomfortable, the rooms are poorly air conditioned and the food is poor quality. </p> <p>“There is no air-conditioning in the village, it’s hot, the food is bad,” Ceccon said, according to <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/29673636/thomas-ceccon-sleeping-park-conditions-olympic-village-paris/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>The Sun</em>. </a></p> <p>“Many athletes move for this reason: it’s not an alibi or an excuse, it’s the reality of what perhaps not everybody knows."</p> <p>“I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the final, but I was too tired. It’s hard to sleep both at night and in the afternoon. Here, I really struggle between the heat and the noise.”</p> <p>Andy Anson, the chief of the British Olympic Association, also voiced concerns about how the quality of the village is affecting athletes, telling <em>The Times of London</em>, “There are not enough of certain foods: eggs, chicken, certain carbohydrates.”</p> <p>“And then there is the quality of the food, with raw meat being served to athletes.”</p> <p>A number of athletes, including the entire US women’s tennis team (with the exception of Coco Gauff) have left the village and searched for alternate accommodation for the duration of the Games. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Instagram/Panoramic/SIPA/SIPA/Shutterstock Editorial </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Woman fined after paid car park gets set up around her parked vehicle

<p>Josephine Williams had been leaving her car in a gravel clearing at Westgate in Auckland, alongside other commuters to catch the bus into the city for months. </p> <p>The New Zealand woman was left with a "nasty surprise" when she returned from work on Monday to find a NZ $85 ($77) fine sitting on her windshield. </p> <p>"To my unfortunate surprise - and many others - I was greeted by an $85 parking ticket for a breach and a flyer from Wilson Parking saying paid parking had started that day," Williams told <em>Stuff</em>.</p> <p>"But what breach exactly was made? How was I supposed to know paid parking started that day when there was nothing at all displayed anywhere in the car park?"</p> <p>Williams claimed that the Wilson Parking car park had been set up around her already parked car, even providing dash cam footage that showed her pulling into the gravel clearing at 7.45am, with no paid parking signs or Wilson branding in sight. </p> <p>By 6pm, a large red and white Wilson sign had been put up at the entrance, with "12 hours for $4" written on it. </p> <p>"Wilson deliberately put their sign up sometime after 9am and then took it upon themselves to fine every single car that was already parked there from the morning," Williams said.</p> <p>"$85 is a lot of money - it would have been two weeks' worth of grocery shopping for me," she added. </p> <p>"I'm lucky that I know the law and my rights, but some other people might not. What about students or the elderly or people who don't know English well?"</p> <p>She estimated that there was usually around 50 and 100 cars in the gravel clearing. </p> <p>Wilson argued that the carpark was always there and they had just added more signage, but have since waived Williams' fine after she lodged a request to have it reviewed by Parking Enforcement Services. </p> <p>Wilson Parking also said that they had started to set up the car park and installed a "clear signage" on April 22. </p> <p>"It was not set up around parked cars on 29 April as suggested," a Wilson spokesperson said.</p> <p>"Several payments were made by customers via the Parkmate app from 22 April proving that signage on the site was clear and effective," they said.</p> <p>They added that on April 29 more signs were added to all entry points of the car park. </p> <p>"In acknowledgment of the increased signage added on the 29th at the entry we've made the decision to refund all payments made until 30 April and waive any breach notices issued up to this date."</p> <p>They also denied issuing any breach notices before the signs were put up.</p> <p>"Payment options were available and signed from 22 April - but no infringement notices were issued prior to the 29th."</p> <p><em>Images: Stuff</em></p> <p> </p>

Legal

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"Colossal prick" slammed over outrageous Bunnings parking

<p>A motorist in Perth has been slammed for their "extra selfish" parking act in the carpark of a Bunning's Warehouse. </p> <p>A frustrated fellow shopper captured the parking faux pas and posted the image of the car to Reddit, which shows a ute with an attached trailer parking over four spaces, including one reserved for people with disabilities.</p> <p>"There was no disabled badge and of course there is plenty of trailer parking available at Bunnings," the user wrote, adding that there were suitable bays available closer to the store's entrance.</p> <p>Fellow motorists and shoppers were shocked and appalled by the selfish act, with one Reddit user urging the author of the post to send the photo to both Bunnings and the local council, citing a $500 fine as a deterrent for the future.</p> <p>"Blocking the disabled bay gets extra selfish points," a user commented, while someone else vented, "Not content with being a colossal prick and taking up four spots, decides to go world-class and make one of those spots a disabled parking bay. Some f**king people."</p> <p>The post was flooded by outrage at the audacious parking, with users overwhelmingly agreeing that parking in spaces designated for disabled drivers is inexcusable.</p> <p>After being alerted to the post, Bunnings Regional Operations Manager Hayley Coulson expressed disappointment on behalf of the retailer. "We were disappointed to learn a customer recently used a disability parking bay for their trailer outside our Innaloo store, which our team was unaware of at the time."</p> <p>"These parking bays are incredibly important for the community and we remind our customers that they're only reserved for people with a disability or mobility restrictions."</p> <p>She added, "We're really focused on ensuring disability parking bays are always available for their intended use, and we do our best to communicate regularly with our stores to remind them that these bays are not to be compromised for any reason, at any time."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Reddit</em></p>

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How Jurassic Park changed film-making and our view of dinosaurs

<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/travis-holland-299087">Travis Holland</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a></em></p> <p>In June 1993, director Steven Spielberg released a film that unleashed a wave of technological change in film-making and simultaneously helped to revive popular interest in dinosaurs.</p> <p>Jurassic Park, based on Michael Crichton’s novel, spawned five blockbuster sequels as well as a multitude of spin-off games, toys, novels, and multiple animated television shows. It features a theme park housing de-extincted dinosaurs that break out of their confines and cause havoc.</p> <p>Underpinning the plot is clever genetic engineering that has allowed the Park’s scientists to assume they could control all aspects of the dinosaurs’ development, including their sex, much to their later horror when it becomes apparent such control was never possible.</p> <p>The film franchise has taken an average of over $1 billion dollars at the box office, <a href="https://variety.com/2022/film/box-office/jurassic-world-dominion-box-office-billion-1235380452/">according to Variety</a>.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QWBKEmWWL38?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>From puppets to CGI</h2> <p>According to industry legend and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20102096/?ref_=ttep_ep6">multiple documentaries</a>, Spielberg had planned to use only practical effects, including stop-motion Velociraptors and an animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, well into the filming schedule, he was convinced to also include wholly digital dinosaurs after viewing test footage produced by staff at special effects house Industrial Light &amp; Magic.</p> <p>In <a href="https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477325308/">a critical history</a> of Industrial Light &amp; Magic, Julie Turnock observes that the film “relied on a canny mix of large-scale mechanical effects cut together with a few digitally generated shots”. After its success, ILM embraced digital composition technology more fully and integrated it into many later films.</p> <p>As it stands, Jurassic Park features about 50 shots of digital-only prehistoric creatures, including the first full-body scene of a dinosaur – the sauropod Brachiosaurus - flocking Gallimumus, and the T. rex chasing a Jeep.</p> <p>Industrial Light &amp; Magic <a href="https://www.ilm.com/vfx/jurassic-park/">now claims on their website</a> that “Suddenly, directors could imagine making films in which realistic animals, fantasy creatures, even digital people could perform without restraint.”</p> <p>Nowadays, films and television productions are replete with photoreal computer-generated animals and people and the next revolution in screen production has them projected live behind actors on a series of large screens known as “<a href="https://theasc.com/articles/the-mandalorian">the volume</a>”.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BPUEqvfQuHY?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <h2>Palaeontologists aren’t extinct</h2> <p>Shortly after seeing their first dinosaur, on-screen palaeontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) suggests to his palaeobotanist partner Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) that the de-extinction success of Jurassic Park might make their profession redundant. Their colleague Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) responds, “Don’t you mean extinct?”</p> <p>But far from extinction, palaeontology and associated sciences have seen an extensive rebound in public interest in the thirty years since Jurassic Park was released.</p> <p>In 1975, palaeontologist Robert Bakker <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/24949774.pdf?casa_token=s5us3t_9TrQAAAAA:hxfVrmS11FACTHHYosZSqQMLDJRWJZTE3a4ggr7kIFauNoIvT8WjUJaZ5hxrKkFNqMcn3-68yiuLlH1tWU7k4o--xCDBpQwYPv4tXjF8KTIU8kpHo0vS">popularised the term “dinosaur renaissance”</a> to describe a spate of developing research findings which argued the creatures were endothermic (warm-blooded), active, and related to the birds rather than cold-blooded, slow and wholly extinct as had been the public perception for much of the previous century. This renaissance lasted from about the 1960s into the 1980s and Jurassic Park reflected many of these new orthodoxies.</p> <p>Bakker himself consulted for the film and was referenced by the character Tim Murphy. A Bakker lookalike also appeared in the sequel The Lost World, further reinforcing its role in reflecting these new perspectives.</p> <p>But the film also arrived at the dawn of yet another new age of dinosaur discoveries which Steve Brusatte, in his 2018 book <a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760780524/">The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs</a>, described as “the golden age of discovery”. Brusatte referred to the cohort of scientists making these newer discoveries as “men and women from many backgrounds who came of age in the era of Jurassic Park.” Among their findings are new understandings that many dinosaurs were feathered like their modern avian cousins.</p> <p>Elizabeth Jones recently chronicled the history of the field of “<a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300240122/ancient-dna/">ancient DNA</a>” science, noting the “Jurassic Park effect” playing out on this fascinating area of research:</p> <blockquote> <p>Even as scientists rejected the conclusions or the implications of the <em>Jurassic Park</em> narrative, they drew on the popularity of the book and movie to emphasise the importance of the technical enterprise in which they were engaged.</p> </blockquote> <p>And <a href="https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjes-2022-0131">a recent review</a> of the last 60 years of dinosaur research by celebrated palaeontologist Philip J. Currie suggested “public interest continues to be stimulated by a multibillion-dollar movie, media, and toy industry founded on our interest in dinosaurs.”</p> <figure class="align-center zoomable"><a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530243/original/file-20230606-27-8gx3lo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="" /></a><figcaption><span class="caption">A scene from Jurassic Park (1993)</span> <span class="attribution">IMDB</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>The Jurassic Park legacy</h2> <p>Dinosaurs have long featured in popular media such as films and television. The first animated dinosaur, Gertie, debuted as <a href="https://palaeomedia.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2019/07/24/meet-gertie-the-dinosaurus/">part of a vaudeville performance in 1914</a>. Dinosaurs, including a fearsome Tyrannosaurus featured in Disney’s groundbreaking and famed 1940 film Fantasia. But it was Jurassic Park which truly presented them as believable living creatures for the first time.</p> <p>Though the science of the film has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/feb/08/jurassic-park-dinosaur-inaccuracies">been widely criticised</a> since its release, Jurassic Park succeeded in revolutionising film-making and reigniting a public fascination with dinosaurs even as palaeontology itself underwent a boom in new research efforts. In <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/457392/did-i-ever-tell-you-this-by-neill-sam/9780241648988">his recent memoir</a>, actor Sam Neill described the film’s visuals as “a perfect collision of coming-of-age computer generated imagery… with state of the art puppetry”.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fb5ELWi-ekk?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>The sequels sequels and spin-offs have continued to adapt to changing social expectations, featuring <a href="https://theconversation.com/toss-aside-those-high-heels-how-jurassic-worlds-claire-dearing-lights-a-path-for-women-in-action-films-182334">strong female</a> and <a href="https://www.pride.com/geek/2022/7/21/jurassic-world-camp-cretaceous-goes-out-queer-roar">queer characters</a>, and even <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jurassic-world-dominion-dinosaur-feathers">feathered dinosaurs</a> in response to changing scientific understandings.</p> <p>Perhaps the next Jurassic film will feature a full-lipped <a href="https://www-science-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/content/article/t-rex-lips-new-study-suggests">Tyrannosaurus</a>?<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203147/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/travis-holland-299087">Travis Holland</a>, Senior Lecturer in Communication, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/charles-sturt-university-849">Charles Sturt University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-jurassic-park-changed-film-making-and-our-view-of-dinosaurs-203147">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Universal Pictures</em></p>

Movies

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Harry and Meghan break their silence on "boring and baseless" South Park episode

<p>Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have broken their silence after being portrayed in an episode of <em>South Park</em>, in which they were ruthlessly mocked and ridiculed. </p> <p>The animated TV show released their newest episode, titled <em>The Worldwide Privacy Tour</em>, which depicted the royal couple embarking on a promotional tour for the Prince's new book titled "Waaaah". </p> <p>After the episode aired, reports emerged that Meghan Markle was left "upset and overwhelmed" by their merciless slating on the show, while a royal commentator speculated that the couple's lawyers were "casting an eye" over the cartoon series.</p> <p>Despite these claims, a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has debunked rumours that they would be suing <em>South Park</em> over the episode, blasting the claims as "boring and baseless" in a statement given to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/why-prince-harry-meghan-markle-will-not-sue-south-park-lawsuit-1782414" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Newsweek</a>.</p> <p>The statement did not mention Harry and Meghan's personal feelings towards the episode, nor did it address claims that the couple's lawyers will be monitoring the show in order to see whether <em>South Park</em>'s creators launch any fresh attacks on the pair in the future.</p> <p>U.S. royal commentator Kristen Meinzer also told Newsweek that is was easy to see why the couple were not taking legal action. </p> <p>She said, "I highly doubt Meghan and Harry are suing a satirical cartoon that famously ridicules everyone."</p> <p>"If anything, they'll know they're in good company with other decent people who've been raked over the coals by the show."</p> <p>"For example, <em>South Park</em> has repeatedly ridiculed Al Gore and his efforts to combat climate change. They made fun of Steve Irwin for being killed by a stingray just a few weeks after his death."</p> <p>"They turned Rob Reiner into a punchline because of his weight. They've never been a bastion of good taste, and they've absolutely been offensive, but again, they're also a cartoon, not a news outlet—and Harry and Meghan are unlikely to take a cartoon to court."</p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

TV

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"You can’t park there, bro”: Perth valet smashes TWO lambos in costly mistake

<p>A valet driver at the Crown Hotel in Perth has found himself in hot water after smashing two Lamborghinis while trying to park one.</p> <p>The luxury vehicles belonged to billionaire Laurence Escalante and both were damaged after they collided in the hotel driveway, a spokesperson for Crown Perth said.</p> <p>Footage captured and shared by Jiu-Jitsu athlete Craig Jones shows the valet driver behind the wheel of a blue Lamborghini Aventador Ultimae, a car valued upward of $940,000, smashing into the rear of a purple Lamborghini.</p> <p>“Help! I’ve really f***ed it up.” The driver said in the footage before running out to assess the damage.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Coa-BoPDhZS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Coa-BoPDhZS/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Craig Jones (@craigjonesbjj)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>In response to the crash, the driver claimed he was “trying to park it just like everybody else,” adding that the pedals were “too close together.” He then claimed he thought he was pressing the brake but instead hit the accelerator, causing him to crash into the rear of the purple Lamborghini.</p> <p>The owner of the luxury vehicles appeared to have witnessed the collision and could be heard questioning the driver.</p> <p>“What are you doing?” Jones said. "He moved it right in his rear ... you can’t park there, bro," he added.</p> <p>A spokesperson for Crown Resorts confirmed the accident is still under investigation, also informing the media there were “no injuries sustained.”</p> <p>"The safety of Crown’s team members and guests remains our priority," they said in a statement to News.com.au. "We are conducting a full assessment of the incident together with those involved.”</p> <p>The Crown is "working positively with us to fix the cars and put this behind us all,” a spokesperson for Mr Escalante told The West Australian. "We appreciate accidents happen and most importantly no one was injured," they said.</p> <p>A similar incident occurred in Sydney in 2018 when a valet driver parked a Porsche Carrera underneath another vehicle. As the driver attempted to park the Porsche, the car reportedly accelerated and ended up under a Sports utility vehicle (SUV).</p> <p>Police were notified and had to cut the driver, who was left unharmed, out of the vehicle.</p> <p><em>Images: Instagram / @craigjonesbjj</em></p>

Travel Trouble

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“You can’t park there”: Elderly driver mistakes brake pads for accelerator

<p dir="ltr">An elderly woman who mistook her accelerator for her brake pads when entering a shopping centre car park saw her vehicle end up on top of another. </p> <p dir="ltr">Shocking images shared to social media show a Honda Civic sitting on top of an expensive Mercedes in Westfield Hurstville, Sydney. </p> <p dir="ltr">It is understood that the driver was a 73-year-old woman who confused her brake and accelerator pedals.</p> <p dir="ltr">She drove through the boom gates before her car somehow drove onto the Mercedes about 9.45am on October 13. </p> <p dir="ltr">A 50-year-old man was taken to hospital with minor injuries following the terrifying incident. </p> <p dir="ltr">CCTV is yet to be released to show exactly how the incident occurred, with many questioning how the car wound up on top of the other. </p> <p dir="ltr">“I honestly don’t understand the physics behind this,” someone commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Imagine coming back from your shopping to see a car parked on top of yours,” another wrote. </p> <p dir="ltr">“You can’t park there,” someone else joked. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Nine News </em></p>

Travel Trouble

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English cottage comes with free theme park tickets

<p dir="ltr">A small cottage in the English countryside is up for sale, and it comes with an unusual bonus for its new owner.</p> <p dir="ltr">The two-bedroom home in Staffordshire has been <a href="https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126610616#/?channel=RES_BUY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed</a> for £200,000 ($NZ 395,000), and if its new owner moves in they can access free tickets to a local theme park.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the Alton Towers Resort website, residents located within a three-kilometre radius can apply for 20 entries to its theme park or water park.</p> <p dir="ltr">With the charming cottage only a four-minute drive from Alton Towers Resort, the new residents will simply need to prove they live there with a council tax bill.</p> <p dir="ltr">As well as free tickets, the home also boasts a private garden, exposed stone walls that feature throughout, and a cosy interior of wooden cabinetry, timber floors, terracotta tiles and lattice windows.</p> <p dir="ltr">Barn-style doors are also found throughout the two-storey house, with the kitchen, lounge, and outdoor porch on the ground floor and two bedrooms and a shared bathroom on the first floor.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-6f4326d4-7fff-4918-df41-9a4a6e64b690"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Rightmove</em></p>

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Why turning old city bridges into new urban parks is such a great idea

<p>The recent opening of the <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/castlefield-viaduct/features/a-garden-in-the-sky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Castlefield Viaduct Sky Park</a> in Manchester, UK, has brought fresh attention to the growing number of projects that reuse urban infrastructures to create linear parks.</p> <p>When the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2017/jun/07/paris-promenade-plantee-free-elevated-park-walkway-bastille-bois-de-vincennes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Promenade Plantée</a> opened in 1993 on top of an abandoned railway viaduct in Paris, it was reportedly the first of its kind. It provided local residents a green escape, ten metres above the tarmac of the street below, and a beautiful, three-mile meander from the Bois de Vincennes to Bastille. The opening of New York’s fabled <a href="https://www.thehighline.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">High Line</a>, in 2009, further cemented this type of urban regeneration as something for cities to aim for.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ztZl6fYuXhQ?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>Post-pandemic, finding innovative ways to eke out accessible green spaces in the urban environment is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-cities-can-add-accessible-green-space-in-a-post-coronavirus-world-139194" target="_blank" rel="noopener">more urgent than ever</a>. Doing so provides <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-021-10474-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-green-cities-to-become-mainstream-we-need-to-learn-from-local-success-stories-and-scale-up-119933" target="_blank" rel="noopener">environmental</a> benefits alongside <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-investing-in-green-infrastructure-can-jump-start-the-post-coronavirus-economy-139376" target="_blank" rel="noopener">economic</a> ones, by <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12876" target="_blank" rel="noopener">promoting</a> biodiversity, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969721036779" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mitigating</a> air pollution, and in some (though <a href="https://www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2019/09/the-solution-to-urban-heat-is-not-one-size-fits-all/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not all</a>) cases, reducing <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6458494/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the heat island effect</a>.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477844/original/file-20220805-7920-f8qtwx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Plantlife spills over the edges of an elevated railway above a busy intersection" /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">The High Line in Manhattan.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-usa-july-2017-entry-1371108503" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Krzysztof Stefaniak | Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p><strong>How a local approach to high lines is needed</strong></p> <p>Since the 2000s, city planners across the world have tried to replicate what has been called <a href="https://publicjournal.online/the-high-line-effect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“the High Line effect”</a>. Built on top of a disused stretch of elevated freight rail line in western Manhattan, the High Line garnered considerable <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/09/arts/design/09highline-RO.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x4e1dALkhc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">media</a> coverage from the outset. It has been rightly championed as a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/arts/design/15highline.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">success story</a>, attracting eight million visitors a year and <a href="https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/nycs-high-line-park-marks-10-years-of-transformation/1646268/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fostering new economic activity</a>.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/M8H8dqMjUCo?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="100%" height="400" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></figure> <p>But not everywhere else is wealthy Manhattan. By reinvigorating the industrial heritage and cultural identity of a place, this approach can <a href="https://idus.us.es/bitstream/handle/11441/116705/TS2_Libro-de-Actos_-Proceedings-Book-1-655-669.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase tourism</a> which can have mixed results.</p> <p><a href="https://cityparksalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Equity_and_Parks_Funding_7.16.19.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Recent research</a> has shown that without policies in place to ensure that lower-income local communities can enjoy the benefits of newly greened spaces, including health benefits, these projects can actually exacerbate inequality by raising property values and causing the displacement of long-term residents who can’t afford to stay. Urban planning experts talk about green gentrification, as has been noted in the case of the <a href="https://www.chicagoreporter.com/green-gentrification-and-lessons-of-the-606/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">606 linear park in Chicago</a>, among others.</p> <p>Instead of simply trying to copy what has been done elsewhere, this type of regeneration is best done when attuned to the local heritage. As Historic England <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/wellbeing-and-the-historic-environment/wellbeing-and-historic-environment/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has emphasised</a>, the best way to steward heritage sites and the historic environment is by keeping people’s wellbeing in mind. In particular, it’s about giving local people a voice, a place to be active and a sense of belonging.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=322&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=322&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=322&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=405&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=405&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477850/original/file-20220805-26-ub4qtg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=405&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="Signposts at a junction in a pedestrianised green space." /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">The 606 elevated trail in Chicago.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/chicago-usa-september-20-2018-chicagos-1184490604" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Carlos Yudica | Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p><strong>Why reusing existing structures is best</strong></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-reusable-cups-bags-and-bottles-so-why-are-our-buildings-still-single-use-171345" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Adapting</a> existing infrastructure is an integral part of <a href="https://theconversation.com/future-cities-new-challenges-mean-we-need-to-reimagine-the-look-of-urban-landscapes-151709" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rethinking the city</a> in an era of <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/150152/a-july-of-extremes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate emergency</a>. The era of <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1587078" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grand visions for public parks</a> is largely over, as most cities are already full. Both spatially and economically, forming large green spaces from scratch is not possible.</p> <p>Reworking old railway lines and bridges into parks, conversely, contributes to a wider strategy of adaptive reuse and what designers term <a href="https://www.archdaily.com/948304/urban-acupuncture-regenerating-public-space-through-hyper-local-interventions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">urban acupuncture</a>. Since the 1960s, <a href="https://theconversation.com/parks-help-cities-but-only-if-people-use-them-103474" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pocket parks</a> have been created out of small, hidden or overlooked bits of land between existing buildings.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=404&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=404&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=404&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=508&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=508&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477847/original/file-20220805-22-e4y1ly.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=508&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="A pond set between planted beds in an elevated walkway." /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">The Promenade Plantée in Paris.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seoul-korea-21-september-2019-top-1539297443" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joao Paulo V Tinoco | Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p>The hyper-local nature of this type of urban greening makes it easier for residents to access and benefit from these spaces. As pressure increases on how we use resources and keep carbon in the ground wherever possible, <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-021-10474-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">enabling everyone</a> to have access to green space for <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-parks-and-waterways-in-cities-could-prevent-premature-deaths-study-finds-170973" target="_blank" rel="noopener">health reasons</a> is critical.</p> <p>This can be challenging in those cities where a large proportion of residents do not have access to private gardens. Capitalising on a city’s vertical space – as elevated walkways do – is a huge advantage in high-density cities where significant pressure on ground-level space exists. What’s more, the structures being turned into parks are usually found in those parts of a city that are post-industrial and in need of regeneration.</p> <p>In terms of environmental impact, these parks have great potential. Each year the High Line, for example, <a href="https://www.landscapeperformance.org/case-study-briefs/high-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sequesters</a> over 1.3 tons of atmospheric carbon and its tree canopies collect over 24,340 gallons of stormwater.</p> <figure class="align-center "><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=338&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477848/original/file-20220805-12-mu1w4h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=424&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w" alt="An overhead shot of an elevated park in a city centre." /><figcaption><em><span class="caption">The Seoullo 7017 Skygarden.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seoul-korea-21-september-2019-top-1539297443" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Keitma | Shutterstock</a></span></em></figcaption></figure> <p>Further, by reusing existing industrial structures rather than demolishing and replacing them, embodied carbon can be <a href="https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/15481-continuing-education-embodied-carbon-adaptive-reuse" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kept where it is</a>. Research on the <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/143/1/012061" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seoullo 7017 Skygarden</a> in Seoul, a linear park built atop a disused highway overpass which cuts across the city’s main rail station, has shown that rewilding and landscaping urban infrastructures is more cost effective and less environmentally impactful than completely replacing them.</p> <p>There is growing evidence of how important <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/67/9/799/4056044" target="_blank" rel="noopener">biodiversity in cities</a> is, not just during daylight hours but <a href="https://theconversation.com/cities-need-to-embrace-the-darkness-of-the-night-sky-heres-why-149129" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at night</a> too. Reused infrastructure projects can play an important role in providing ecological corridors across <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179121000074" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cities for nocturnal creatures</a>. Supporting both human and non-human life in this way is a valuable step towards <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/cities-ecosystems-biodiversity-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">improving</a> the sustainability and resilience of places.</p> <p>Linear parks thus <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329947799_The_Sustainable_Vertical_City_Research_Project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weave nature</a> into the flow of a city. They support wildlife. They encourage sustainable transport and physical activity (walking, biking, jogging). They are, as landscape architect Diana Balmori puts it in her 2010 book, <em><a href="https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300156584/a-landscape-manifesto/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Landscape Manifesto</a></em>, dynamic spaces: “not peaceful retreats but ways”.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188182/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/nick-dunn-131665" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nick Dunn</a>, Professor of Urban Design, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/lancaster-university-1176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lancaster University</a></em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-turning-old-city-bridges-into-new-urban-parks-is-such-a-great-idea-188182" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

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Ancient insect calls for update to Jurassic Park soundtrack

<p>For the past 150 years, the single known specimen of a species of katydid-like insect known as <a href="http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1129138" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Prophalangopsis obscura</em></a> has sat quietly in the London Natural History Museum but now some scientists have worked out what it would have sounded like.</p> <p>A British/Austrian team, used some seriously fancy equipment and an understanding of the physics of insect acoustics to work out what this species would have sounded like when it sang for a mate, giving insight into the ancient insect soundscape of the Jurassic period.</p> <p>Katydids are grasshoppers and crickets.</p> <p>This holotype, or single known specimen, is one of only eight remaining species from the 90 or so which were abundant during the Jurassic period.</p> <p>The research team has shown the sounds produced by this particular insect would have been similar to, although distinguishable from, other related species around this period.</p> <figure class="wp-block-audio"><audio src="../wp-content/uploads/2022/08/journal.pone_.0270498.s002.wav?x88132" controls="controls"></audio><figcaption>The reconstructed calling song of <em>Prophalangopsis obscura</em>. Credit: Woodrow et al. 2002/PLOS ONE, CC-BY 4.0</figcaption></figure> <p>The chirp produced by <em>P. obscura</em> is a pure tone, emitted at around 4.7 kHz — well-within the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10924/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">range of human hearing</a>.</p> <p>Aside from helping researchers understand what the insect world sounded like when dinosaurs roamed the Earth some 145 to 201 million years ago, the findings also suggest that early insects of this type were limited to frequencies below 20 kHz.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> </div> <p>This is important because the other species of <em>Prophalangopsis </em>known today have evolved to be flightless, using their wings exclusively for sound production and attracting a mate. These evolved species have also developed ultrasonic sound production organs to assist in deterring ground-based predators.</p> <p>That <em>P. obscura </em>retained its ability to fly — even just short distances — and did not develop ultrasonic capabilities, suggests it followed a different evolutionary path to the other species still in existence today, giving extra insight into the evolution of this species and their relatives.</p> <p>But, how do you hear an insect that has been dead for 150 years?</p> <p>Like katydids and their relatives, <em>P. obscura</em>, produced sound by scraping one of its wings with a ‘file’ (or row of teeth). These vibrations would then by amplified by special structures within the insect’s wing and radiated out into the surrounding environment.</p> <p>Scientists at the University of Lincoln, the Natural History Museum, London, UK and Karl-Franzens-University, Graz, Austria used a technique called micro-scanning Laser-Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) to scan and then reconstruct the wings and sound-producing organs of the holotype. They then applied knowledge of close relatives of the species, they were then able to infer the “carrier frequency” (the central frequency at which the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jeb.13179" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">overall sound reaches its maximum energy</a>).</p> <p>Due to its low frequency and pure tone, the song <em>P. obscura</em> sang may have reverberated far and wide across the Jurassic landscape.</p> <p><img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=201424&amp;title=Ancient+insect+calls+for+update+to+Jurassic+Park+soundtrack" width="1" height="1" /></p> <div id="contributors"> <p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/ancient-insect-jurassic-sound/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">T<em>his article</em></a><em> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/clare-kenyon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Clare Kenyon</a>. Clare Kenyon is a science writer for Cosmos. She is currently wrangling the death throes of her PhD in astrophysics, has a Masters in astronomy and another in education, and has classroom experience teaching high school science, maths and physics. Clare also has diplomas in music and criminology and a graduate certificate of leadership and learning.</em></p> <p><em>Image: Charlie Woodrow</em></p> </div>

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A regal tour like no other: New Zealand locations with a nod to royalty

<p dir="ltr">From Queen streets and Queen’s parks to the entire town of Queenstown (which was named after Queen Victoria), there are a host of spots named after New Zealand’s head of state that deserve a look-see on your next visit.</p> <p dir="ltr">It isn’t just the Queen who has a Kiwi namesake either, with Albert Town, near Wānaka, named after Queen Victoria’s husband and the town of Alexandra being named after her daughter-in-law.</p> <p dir="ltr">But many of these date all the way back to the Victorian era and places named after the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, are more select.</p> <p dir="ltr">According to the <em><a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/queens-birthday-new-zealand-locations-with-a-nod-to-royalty/R7YE2WY5GEJYJEBGTY56HWMTAM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NZ Herald</a></em>, this list of royally-inspired locations has dwindled to make way for new developments and because of natural disasters.</p> <p dir="ltr">Of those that remain, here’s a list of spots well-worth visiting.</p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Parks galore</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Queen Elizabeth has been the inspiration for two parks that should be on your royal travel bucket list: one in Masterton and the other on the Kāpiti Coast.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-c7292c66-7fff-061e-67b9-758100f34854"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Stretching over 638 hectares, Queen Elizabeth Park on the Kāpiti Coast was opened by the monarch during her first royal visit, months after her coronation in 1953. It boasts a vast expanse of beaches, dunes, wetland and farmland, includes a large holiday park and an ancient pā site (a Māori hill fort).</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/06/qeii-park.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Queen Elizabeth Park features beaches, wetlands, and more, spread across 638 hectares. Image: Greater Wellington Regional Council</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0fb5a92a-7fff-22d1-49f4-03928b8c8d60"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">Masterton’s Queen Elizabeth Park, on the other hand, was founded during Queen Victoria’s reign and later renamed. The park is known as one of the best and most child-friendly parks in the country, with a castle-like playground, flying fox, BMX track, steam-powered miniature train and pedal-boat rides on the lake. It also includes a deer enclosure accessed by a swing bridge across the Waipoua River.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/06/qeii-park2.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Masterton’s park boasts one of the country’s most child-friendly parks, and even houses an deer enclosure.Image: Destination Wairarapa</em></p> <p dir="ltr"><strong>Recreation and sports</strong></p> <p dir="ltr">After Christchurch’s Queen Elizabeth II park - built to host the 1974 Commonwealth Games - had its stadium and pool complex damaged in the 2011 earthquake, the Taiora QEII Recreation and Sports Centre was built in its stead.</p> <p dir="ltr">The big draw for the park is its aquatic centre, with its hydroslide for big kids and its play pool for tiny swimmers, and its spa, sauna and steam room.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-60a61d2b-7fff-3d12-9e13-44cf67d0c24e"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Destination Wairarapa / Getty Images</em></p>

Domestic Travel

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Three men handed jail sentences after careless, drunken act in a national park

<p>Three tourists who were filmed getting too close to feeding brown bears in the wild have been handed prison sentences and the additional punishment of thousands of dollars worth of fines.</p> <p>David Engelman, 56, from Sandia Park, New Mexico, and Ronald J. Engelman, 54, and Steven Thomas, 30, both from King Salmon, Alaska, pleaded guilty to leaving the trail in Alaska’s Katmai Park to get closer to the animals.</p> <p>The men were identified after they were captured on a park webcam as they waded out into a salmon run to take selfies as the bears were feeding.</p> <p>All three men were fined $US3000 each ($A4260) and given a year probation. David and Ronald Engelman were sentenced to one week in prison, while Steven Thomas received a 10-day sentence.</p> <p>In addition, each man is prohibited from entering any national park for one year.</p> <p>Judge Matthew Scoble called their behaviour “drunken capering, and a slap in the face to those who were there”.</p> <p>The proceeds from the fines would go towards the Katmai Conservancy, a non-profit that looks after the running of the park.</p> <p>The incident happened in Autumn of 2018, causing outage. The men were eventually identified by the National Park Service Investigative Services, with help of the livestream footage.</p> <p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F8qkHl18xf0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>“The conduct of these three individuals not only endangered other visitors and wildlife officers at Brooks Falls, they also potentially endangered the life of the bears,” lawyer S. Lane Tucker said.</p> <p>Had the incident resulted in death or injury, Mr Tucker argued it would have had a huge impact on tourism to the area and the animals would have had to be killed.</p> <p>The National Park Service were alerted to the incident by viewers of their ‘bear cam’ which was being broadcast live to YouTube.</p> <p><em>Images: YouTube</em></p>

Legal

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Kyrgios' classy response to parking furore

<p dir="ltr">After being the subject of some car-related naming and shaming, tennis champion Nick Kyrgios has parked the drama and attempted to “make amends”.</p> <p dir="ltr">Kyrgios took to Instagram to assure fans he is parking in “the right spot” after he was called out by a fellow resident of the inner Sydney suburb of Zetland via Facebook.</p> <p dir="ltr">“I’ve parked in the right spot, I’ve made amends,” he said in the clip.</p> <p><span id="docs-internal-guid-cb74e5f5-7fff-c8b8-3ebd-e2b798888a0f"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Sorry for my inconvenient parking for one day, I’ve parked in the right spot. We’re in the middle of an NRL season guys so let’s talk about other sporting athletes, not where I’m parking … it’s all good now.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/kyrgios-car.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Nick Kyrgios shared a clip on Instagram confirming he had parked in a different spot and that it was “all good now”. Images: @k1ngkyrg1os (Instagram)</em></p> <p dir="ltr">Though the other resident didn’t directly name the star athlete, he heavily implied that Kyrgios was the “famous and quite notorious tennis player” who had been repeatedly parking their lime green Tesla in a car share zone.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Looking for some advice here, it’s a tricky one, we have a car share allocated spot right out the front of our apartment building,” the neighbour began his Facebook post, which was accompanied by a series of photos of the car.</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-82e07ca5-7fff-ed13-d566-2e04c5d20164"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">“Recently a very well known famous and quite notorious tennis player has decided that he is somehow entitled to park in it with his own vehicle.</p> <p dir="ltr"><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/05/zetland.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="664" /></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>The Zetland local also shared photos of the culprit’s car parked in the car share zone. Image: <a href="https://au.sports.yahoo.com/tennis-2022-nick-kyrgios-under-fire-entitled-parking-job-030301447.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo News</a></em></p> <p dir="ltr">“I don’t want to name and shame the guy but he’s very famous and parks in this car share space almost nightly, meaning that anybody that has a Go Get or Car Next Door vehicle has no option to park there, as you can see the other night our friends had to park their Car Next Door vehicle illegally behind him as he had parked his car in the dedicated car share space?”</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-6d213b36-7fff-0ca1-9eb9-49c5a7606287"></span></p> <p dir="ltr">The neighbour went on to ask whether he should “just let this guy go” because he’s an athlete, adding that it was more about the “principle and setting a good example” than the $400 fine that Kyrgios - who has earned $9 million in prize money during his career.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ304XEJLxv/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ304XEJLxv/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Nick Kyrgios (@k1ngkyrg1os)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Among the mix of commenters who defended or criticised Kyrgios, his partner, Costeen Hatzi, also shared her two cents, writing that he “didn’t realise” what kind of spot he was parking in.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Hey all, to be fair, he didn’t realise it was a car share spot,” she commented.</p> <p dir="ltr">“He parked there to allow other car spots for those who can’t find parking in the area.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Nick understands and will move his car. Thank you all for your kind messages.” </p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-21dfdfd4-7fff-6ff9-1d55-a698d7ee9863"></span></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: @k1ngkyrg1os (Instagram) / Yahoo News</em></p>

Legal

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Using valuable inner-city land for car parking? In a housing crisis, that just doesn’t add up

<p>When I first moved to New Zealand – even after living in some of the highest-priced US property markets – I was taken aback by house prices. My shock was reinforced by the condition of the houses, many of which lack sufficient insulation, adequate heating or cooling, or double-glazed windows.</p> <p>I wondered why I’d pay so much for a house that needed so much attention. Then I overheard someone quip, “In New Zealand, you pay for the land and the house comes for free.” Suddenly things made a lot more sense.</p> <p>Unlike in the US, where land is valued at a small fraction of the “improvements” (the building that stands on the section), in New Zealand it’s the exact opposite.</p> <p>But it also raised a big question: in a country where the cost of land is so exorbitantly high and the supply of housing so scarce, how could so many surface car parks exist?</p> <p><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/423711/original/file-20210929-20-1wzh8e5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="" /> <span class="caption">Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter: apartments, restaurants, playgrounds – and car parks.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></p> <h2>The price of parking</h2> <p>Take Auckland, for example, arguably the most housing-constrained market in New Zealand. Specifically, the still developing Wynyard Quarter on the downtown waterfront presents a clear case of car parking over potential housing.</p> <p>One of the several abundant surface car parks is located on Jellicoe Street. It encompasses 8,146 square metres of tar, paint and parked cars. The massive lot has a NZ$37,000,000 <a href="https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/property-rates-valuations/Pages/rates-details-results.aspx?an=12343250744">valuation</a>, with the improvements valued at $1,000,000 — presumably all that pavement and paint.</p> <p>The next part is a bit more difficult to swallow. The land is valued at just over $4,500 per square metre. With the average parking spot occupying 15 square metres, that means each spot is worth about $68,000.</p> <p>That’s just for the parking spots themselves, not all the land required for people to drive in and out and around the car park.</p> <p> </p> <h2>What parking earns</h2> <p>Now things get interesting. The Jellicoe Street car park is maintained by Auckland Transport which provides people who drive to the CBD the courtesy of a free initial hour of parking followed by a rate of $6 per hour.</p> <p>So for just $18 drivers can park for four hours. On the weekend those four hours of parking will cost a mere $6.</p> <p>Assuming a parking space is fully occupied during all operating hours (from 7am to 10pm Monday to Sunday), it could optimistically take in $480. Extended over an entire year, a single space might earn just under $25,000.</p> <p>Ignoring overhead costs and more realistic occupancy rates, it would take almost three years for a single open-air parking space to earn back the cost of the land it sits on. Perhaps this sounds economically viable. But what isn’t in this equation is the actual, very high cost of cheap and plentiful parking.</p> <h2>Parking expectations</h2> <p>The widespread availability of low-priced parking in high-demand locations has significant impacts on our cities. When people expect parking to be available in these locations, they often choose to drive rather than use a more sustainable mode such as public transport. This means people buy more cars and take more trips by personal vehicle.</p> <p>When cheap parking spots fill up during peak hours, people tend to <a href="https://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=ENV/WKP(2019)4&amp;docLanguage=En">cruise for a parking space</a> rather than search out slightly more expensive and less convenient alternative locations. That is, they circle a car park or a city block until someone else leaves. When enough drivers do this it <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/money/19-04-2021/its-car-vs-car-on-the-central-auckland-street-where-parking-is-free/">creates more</a> congestion, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.</p> <p>The long-term availability of cheap urban parking also implies that parking in such locations is a public good. People expect parking to always be in these places and will fight to keep the land from being used for higher and better purposes.</p> <p>This is where the rubber hits the road. Open-air parking is the least productive use of important urban land. In the midst of the greatest <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/money/2021/02/housing-crisis-auckland-housing-affordability-among-fastest-deteriorating-in-the-world-report.html">housing affordability crisis</a> in perhaps a generation, we could stand to lose some of this car space in favour of apartments.</p> <h2>People before parking</h2> <p>According to the <a href="http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/central/pdfs/appendix12.pdf">Auckland District Plan</a>, a one bedroom/one bathroom apartment should occupy about 45 square metres — precisely three parking spaces.</p> <p>The good thing about an apartment building compared to an open-air car park is that we can build it up. Instead of some 200 spots for cars, we can build more than 600 apartments across ten storeys.</p> <p>Rather than storing a couple of hundred cars for part of the day, with bare pavements overnight, we could provide living space for up to 1,200 people around the clock.</p> <p>We could do the same thing with the car park across the street and the one a block over and so on — until we are a city and a country that focuses more on housing people than parking cars.</p> <p>It will be hard to let go of the car parks. Where some see an <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-council-plans-to-sell-downtown-carpark-with-new-skyscraper-likely-instead/SGE2OD2KCB3AOY33WKYXSAJJPM/">opportunity for urban regeneration</a> through the development of under-utilised space, others see the loss of car parking as another <a href="https://www.autocar.co.nz/autocar-news-app/life-s-about-to-get-tougher-for-auckland-cbd-workers-with-cars">impediment</a> for city workers to overcome.</p> <p>But we simply have too much space in our cities dedicated to the car. Our land is far too valuable to pave over. It’s time to use a fraction of that space to house many people instead of a few machines.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/168745/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/timothy-welch-1252494">Timothy Welch</a>, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-auckland-1305">University of Auckland</a></em></span></p> <p>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/using-valuable-inner-city-land-for-car-parking-in-a-housing-crisis-that-just-doesnt-add-up-168745">original article</a>.</p> <p><em>Image: Shutterstock</em></p>

Real Estate

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Most expensive parking space in the world

<p>A parking space has sold in Hong Kong in what is believed to be the most expensive sale of its kind. </p> <p>According to the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.afr.com" target="_blank">Australian Financial Review</a>, the space in the luxurious Mount Nicholson residential project in Hong Kong was sold for $1.7 million <span>by Wharf Holdings and Nan Fung Group.</span></p> <p><span>William Lau, a sales director at Centaline Property Agency in Hong Kong, told South China Morning Post, “it is definitely the most expensive car parking spot in Hong Kong”.</span></p> <p><span>Mr Lau said that the hefty price tag for the parking spot pales in comparison to how much residents at Mount Nicholson had paid for their high-class properties.</span></p> <p><span>In 2017, a single buyer purchased two apartments for a combined price of $192 million.</span></p> <p><span>"What concerns them most is that they need space to park their cars and not the money. They have bought it for their own use and not as an investment," he said.</span></p> <p><span>Property in Hong Kong has long been referred to as the most expensive square metre in the world.</span></p> <p><span>Mount Nicholson is located in the western side of Hong Kong's island, </span>which is an exclusive hill known as The Peak. </p> <p>This high-class area is home to some of the most expensive properties in the world. </p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

Real Estate

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Woman jailed after walking on natural wonder in US national park

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A woman has received a jail sentence and hefty fine after walking directly on dangerous thermal features at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">26-year-old Madeline Casey from Connecticut pleaded guilty to the misdemeanour offence and served seven days in jail. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"Although a criminal prosecution and jail time may seem harsh, it's better than spending time in a hospital's burn unit," acting US Attorney Bob Murray said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In July, Madeline and a friend ignored safety signs and left the protective walkway to walk directly on the ground. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The ground is fragile and thin and scalding water just below the surface can cause severe or fatal burns.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“More than 20 people have died from burns suffered after they entered or fell into Yellowstone's hot springs," park spokesperson Morgan Warthin said in the statement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The judge ordered Madeline to pay US$2040 in fines, fees and community service as well as her week-long jail stint. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;"><br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She is also banned from re-entering Yellowstone National Park during her two year probation. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This incident has prompted park officials to stress the importance of adhering to safety signs through the park. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Madeline is just one of many people who have ignored safety signs at the park and landed themselves in trouble. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In May last year, a woman was burned after falling into a thermal feature at Yellowstone when it was closed due to the coronavirus pandemic.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She told park rangers she was moving back to get photos when she fell in the hot thermals. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Two men last year were caught trespassing on the cone of Old Faithful, which is a closed thermal area. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">They were sentenced to 10 days in jail and five years of probation, as well being ordered to pay $738 restitution and banned from the park for five years.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Park Chief Ranger Sarah Davis said, “Visitors must realise that walking on thermal features is dangerous, damages the resource, and illegal."</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credit: Getty Images</span></em></p>

Travel Trouble

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Unveiling the world’s first underwater art sculpture park

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The world’s first underwater sculpture park has been unveiled off the coast of Cyprus. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The sunken forest by the Museum of Underwater Sculpture in Cyprus (MUSAN) was created by Jason deCaires Taylor, and cost roughly $1.6million to bring to life.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The incredible park is made up of 93 sculptures: some of which weigh up to 13 tonnes. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With his newest installation, Jason aims to put the spotlight on "rewilding our natural spaces" and "reforesting areas of barren habitat" through the complicated relationship between people and nature. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jason spoke with CNN Travel, and said the installation was inspired by issues the world is currently facing. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I tried to incorporate as many references to climate change and habitat loss and pollution as I could, because those are really the defining issues of our era."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He said, "I'm kind of hoping that it leaves the visitor with a sense of hope along with a sense that the human impact isn't always negative. That we can reverse some of the things we've done.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each of the sculptures was lowered below the surface by cranes, and were placed at such a depth so that the areas may be “enriched” over time by their presence. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">MUSAN is accessible to divers and snorkellers, and Jason hopes that it will bring more visitors to the marine protected area of Cyprus, which he describes as having "some of the best visibility I've ever been in."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jason is currently working on new installations for Australia's Museum of Underwater Art in Townsville, and northern Queensland on the Great Barrier Reef, which has lost half of its corals over the past two decades.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Image credits: Instagram @jasondecairestaylor</span></em></p>

Art

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I thought it was a parking fine!

<p>When a Melbourne mother finished her shopping at her local supermarket and went to her car, she found what looked like a parking fine on her windshield.</p> <p>But when she opened it she found a stranger had left an envelope with $20 and a note inside.</p> <p>“I looked at the parking sign which was 1.5hours and I knew that I was less than an hour,” she posted on the Facebook group - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/515507852491119">The Kindness Pandemic.</a></p> <p>“I picked up the envelope and looked inside to find the most beautiful act of kindness,” she added.</p> <p>Alongside the $20 note was a message which read: “Times are tough right now.”</p> <p>“Please treat yourself to something small to help with your or your children’s mental health. You’re not alone. Lifeline: 13 11 14.”</p> <p>The mother was touched by this act of kindness and she added to her Facebook post: “Whoever you are out there: you made my day! Thank you #somuchgratitude.”</p> <p>Dozens of others applauded the stranger for their genuine act of kindness with one posting: “angels do walk amongst us.”</p> <p>Another person wrote: “Oh wow, this made me cry! Such a beautiful kind thing to do. Thank you to whoever put the note...this could save someone’s life.”</p> <p><strong>Melbourne COVID lockdown update</strong></p> <p>Melbourne is a little over two weeks into its sixth lockdown, which has been extended until September 2.</p> <p>The city passed the ‘200 days in lockdown’ milestone on Thursday this week.</p> <p><em>Photos: Facebook</em></p>

Caring

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Woman left seriously injured in ALDI car park brawl

<p><span>A woman is recovering after being injured in a violent mass brawl at a supermarket car park.</span><br /><br /><span>Police say an argument that turned violent erupted in an ALDI car park off Garratt Way, Manchester, at 4 am on Sunday.</span><br /><br /><span>Officers found nearly 50 people scattered across the lot and a woman in her 30s left seriously injured.</span><br /><br /><span>It is alleged she was hit by a car, however her injuries are not life-threatening.</span><br /><br /><span>No arrests have been made but police who live in the area claim they heard screams coming from the car park.</span><br /><br /><span>One resident said he was woken up by loud noises as he tried to sleep.</span><br /><br /><span>"I heard shouting and screaming,” he recounted.</span><br /><br /><span>“I just thought it was normal things but then the screaming didn’t stop. I saw a lot of people in the parking lot screaming at each other."</span><br /><br /><span>The ALDI store remained open to shoppers the following morning however the car park was taped off as investigators searched the scene.</span><br /><br /><span>“Police were called at 4 am this morning (Sunday 15 August) to a report of a large fight involving nearly 50 people at a car park off Garratt Way, Manchester,” a statement from police said</span><br /><br /><span>"On officers' arrival, the group dispersed and a woman in her 30s was being treated in an ambulance. It is believed a vehicle had collided with her, and she suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries.</span><br /><br /><span>"No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing."</span></p>

Legal

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So can I park here or not!?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A video of a confused Sydney driver and a bizarre parking sign has gone viral on Tiktok, with many sharing his bemusement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mark McLachlan uploaded the clip after spotting something was off about the sign last week.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Erected next to a strip of street parking bays, the sign featured a “no parking” symbol and seemingly contradictory words: “motor vehicles excepted”.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the clip, he switched between the sign and himself looking at it with utter confusion several times.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The humorous video saw hundreds of 122,000 viewers joining in on the fun in the comments.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“So you can park there as long as you don’t park there,” one person jokingly suggested.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“No parking? But yes parking?” another queried.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Others pointed out the sign was referring to trailers, boats, horse floats, and caravans being prohibited in the parking bays.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think they’re trying to tell you not to park motorhomes and trailers, but truly I cannot be 100 percent sure,” one wrote.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Many others simply appreciated Mr McLachlan’s take on the situation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You captured the essence perfectly in this video, I felt every part of the confusion,” one said.</span></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tiktok: marcmclachlan1 / Tiktok</span></em></p>

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