Man dies after becoming NSW's first confirmed Australian bat lyssavirus case
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New York Post
26 minutes ago
- New York Post
Teen tragically dies after hitting his head in botched backflip attempt
An Australian teenager died after a celebratory backflip attempt took a tragic turn. Sonny Blundell, who just moved from New South Wales to an apartment in Queensland for a concreting job and to 'start a new life with his girlfriend,' was found unresponsive by his roommate after the stunt on June 24, his heartbroken older sister, Izabella Cromack-Hay, told The Daily Telegraph. 'He hit his head in the lounge room on the ground and had a headache went to bed,' Cromack-Hay told the outlet. '[He] woke up, went to the toilet vomiting and then passed out. That's when his best friend found him unresponsive in the morning.' Advertisement 3 Sonny Blundell died after a backflip attempt took a tragic turn. GoFundMe The 18-year-old was rushed to the Queensland Hospital Intensive Care Unit and suffered 'multiple strokes.' 'The first 24hrs was the most critical which we nearly lost him after having multiple strokes and another bleed which lead (sic) to him needing a drain in his brain,' Cromack-Hay shared on the GoFundMe page that was made to help pay for Blundell's medical bills and rehab. 'There is major uncertainty that Sonny will or will not pull through. He's working his hardest as there could be recovery and rehabilitation.' Advertisement Doctors placed him in a coma and performed brain surgery but he eventually died from his injuries on June 30, his sister confirmed on the GoFundMe page. 'Our beautiful Sonny has grown his wings and passed away,' Cromack-Hay added. 'We are all in disbelief and major pain.' Money raised from the fundraiser will be used to return his body to his family in New South Wales and pay for funeral costs. 'We need to bring Sonny home as his sisters are waiting for him,' Cromack-Hay wrote in a GoFundMe update on June 30. 'We are all here in Queensland trying our hardest to organize this horrible time and prepare ourselves.' Advertisement 3 Blundell was rushed to the ICU after a roommate found him unresponsive. GoFundMe The page has raised nearly $16,000 for the expenses. 'I'll bring you home my boy, my love, my soul and my heart,' his mother, Madeline Blundell, wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. 'My best friend and my shoulder to laugh with and cry. I miss you so much my baby .. ma is here.' Celebratory stunts have had fatal consequences in the past. Advertisement 3 Blundell died from his injuries on June 30, 2025. GoFundMe South African bodybuilder Sifiso Lungelo Thabete died after a botched backflip attempt while he entered an arena before a competition in 2017. In 2014, Indian soccer player Peter Biaksangzuala died from injuries he sustained while celebrating a goal with somersaults.
Sydney Morning Herald
29 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
As China prepares to invade Taiwan, a reality check: sitting on the sidelines won't help us
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's second visit to China – pencilled in for this month – will come weeks before the People's Liberation Army's 98th anniversary on August 1, 2025, a date laden with symbolism as Beijing approaches the military modernisation milestone of its centenary in 2027. Since 2021, US military and intelligence officials have warned that 2027 marks another key milestone: the date that Xi Jinping has instructed his military to have the capability to invade Taiwan. It was a point reinforced by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La defence conference in Singapore in June. And it is a warning the Australian prime minister will have in the back of his mind: China is both a critical economic partner and an escalating security threat. If the People's Republic of China chooses to take Taiwan by force, it will not be a straightforward island invasion but one that is likely to lead to a wide-raging Indo-Pacific conflict with significant implications for Australia. Xi's PRC views Taiwan as a 'a sacred and inseparable part of China's territory'. China's PLA has become one of the planet's most capable forces – with a growing nuclear arsenal, the world's largest standing army and navy, and a sophisticated rocket force. This rapid growth in military strength, which some could equate with China's growing economic and security weight globally as a superpower, has been coupled with a sharp deterioration in relations between Taiwan and the PRC. China has suspended official communications and restricted tourism. China has also ramped up its military operations in and around Taiwan. Following then US speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022, China launched its largest ever military exercises in the area, including ballistic missiles flying over Taiwan. These coercive demonstrations, paired with increasingly hostile rhetoric, have now become the norm. Last year, China's military published a simulated graphic of missiles hitting Taiwan. At the Shangri-La dialogue that same year, China's current Defence Minister, Admiral Dong Jun, said Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party will be 'nailed to the pillar of shame in history' and that 'anyone who dares separate Taiwan from China will only end up in self-destruction'. Loading It is within this context that Hegseth, at the Shangri-La dialogue, referred to the threat from China as 'imminent'. My recent trips to Taiwan indicate there is mixed sentiment in the security community as to the likelihood of a Chinese military invasion. In late 2023, then Democratic Progressive Party president Tsai Ing-wen said China's current economic and political challenges would probably hold it back from attempting an invasion in the near term. In May this year, however, Taiwan's current president – while generally reticent to talk on the prospects of an invasion – compared Taiwan's present plight with 1930s Europe. A September 2024 poll of 1200 Taiwanese people conducted by the country's Institute for National Security and Defence Research showed that, while most saw China's 'territorial ambitions as a serious threat', they did not think this was likely to manifest in an attack on Taiwan. This view is perhaps understandable. Taiwan's geography, shallow coastal waters, mountainous terrain and limited invasion windows due to weather make any military assault a monumental task. Such a challenge that the US abandoned plans to invade Taiwan during World War II under Operation Causeway.
The Age
29 minutes ago
- The Age
As China prepares to invade Taiwan, a reality check: sitting on the sidelines won't help us
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's second visit to China – pencilled in for this month – will come weeks before the People's Liberation Army's 98th anniversary on August 1, 2025, a date laden with symbolism as Beijing approaches the military modernisation milestone of its centenary in 2027. Since 2021, US military and intelligence officials have warned that 2027 marks another key milestone: the date that Xi Jinping has instructed his military to have the capability to invade Taiwan. It was a point reinforced by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at the Shangri-La defence conference in Singapore in June. And it is a warning the Australian prime minister will have in the back of his mind: China is both a critical economic partner and an escalating security threat. If the People's Republic of China chooses to take Taiwan by force, it will not be a straightforward island invasion but one that is likely to lead to a wide-raging Indo-Pacific conflict with significant implications for Australia. Xi's PRC views Taiwan as a 'a sacred and inseparable part of China's territory'. China's PLA has become one of the planet's most capable forces – with a growing nuclear arsenal, the world's largest standing army and navy, and a sophisticated rocket force. This rapid growth in military strength, which some could equate with China's growing economic and security weight globally as a superpower, has been coupled with a sharp deterioration in relations between Taiwan and the PRC. China has suspended official communications and restricted tourism. China has also ramped up its military operations in and around Taiwan. Following then US speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022, China launched its largest ever military exercises in the area, including ballistic missiles flying over Taiwan. These coercive demonstrations, paired with increasingly hostile rhetoric, have now become the norm. Last year, China's military published a simulated graphic of missiles hitting Taiwan. At the Shangri-La dialogue that same year, China's current Defence Minister, Admiral Dong Jun, said Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party will be 'nailed to the pillar of shame in history' and that 'anyone who dares separate Taiwan from China will only end up in self-destruction'. Loading It is within this context that Hegseth, at the Shangri-La dialogue, referred to the threat from China as 'imminent'. My recent trips to Taiwan indicate there is mixed sentiment in the security community as to the likelihood of a Chinese military invasion. In late 2023, then Democratic Progressive Party president Tsai Ing-wen said China's current economic and political challenges would probably hold it back from attempting an invasion in the near term. In May this year, however, Taiwan's current president – while generally reticent to talk on the prospects of an invasion – compared Taiwan's present plight with 1930s Europe. A September 2024 poll of 1200 Taiwanese people conducted by the country's Institute for National Security and Defence Research showed that, while most saw China's 'territorial ambitions as a serious threat', they did not think this was likely to manifest in an attack on Taiwan. This view is perhaps understandable. Taiwan's geography, shallow coastal waters, mountainous terrain and limited invasion windows due to weather make any military assault a monumental task. Such a challenge that the US abandoned plans to invade Taiwan during World War II under Operation Causeway.
