Starc claims 400th Test wicket
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Perth Now
14 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Albanese to cap China trip with panda diplomacy
Pandas and bionic ears are on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's agenda as his six-day tour of China reaches its final leg. Mr Albanese touched down in Chengdu, in China's southwest on Wednesday afternoon, where he announced the Sichuan capital would be given hosting rights to an Australian Open wildcard play-off tournament for a second year running. In the sweltering 37C heat, the prime minister turned down the offer of a hit on centre court, instead hailing the role of sport in boosting people-to-people and cultural links between Australia and China. "I know that my dear friend (former professional tennis player) Glenn Busby comes here and coaches and spends a lot of time here each year, and he tells me that China will dominate the sport in the years to come," he said. Chengdu, a provincial hub home to 21 million residents, is best known outside of China as the home of giant pandas. Mr Albanese will visit a breeding research centre at the forefront of efforts to save the species from extinction. As well as a beloved cultural icon, pandas are a central part of China's efforts to exert soft power in the world. In a meeting with local party secretary Wang Xiaohui, Mr Albanese said pandas "have been such an important feature" of building positive relations between Australia and China. He noted the two new pandas who were loaned to Adelaide Zoo in 2024 in the latest example of panda diplomacy. "I thank this province for our two newest guests who have been so well received," he said. But Chengdu has another, arguably more impactful, connection to Australia. Cochlear, the Australian hearing device company, bases a manufacturing and research plant in the city, which the prime minister will visit on Thursday. More than 50,000 Chinese patients have had hearing loss restored by a Cochlear device, making it one of the company's largest markets. But with a population of 1.4 billion, there is plenty of scope for expansion "Chengdu is home to inspiring examples of world-leading Australian and Chinese co-operation in science, technology, research and education," Mr Albanese will say at a medtech luncheon. Both governments had a responsibility to invest in research and an opportunity to deepen co-operation in medical manufacturing, he will say. "This also depends on continuing to break down barriers by supporting the free and fair trade that enables Australian medtech companies to access the market here in China."
Perth Now
14 minutes ago
- Perth Now
A protester, a crash and a near-miss for Jayco at Tour
It was meant to be a quiet day before the Tour de France hits the high mountains -- yet it turned into anything but as leader Tadej Pogacar crashed and Australian team Jayco AlUla missed out agonisingly on victory as a protester tried to disrupt the sprint finale. Pogacar took a heavy tumble with four kilometres left of the dramatic 11th stage on Wednesday, and was grateful that Tour honour was upheld when, up ahead, the peloton eased up, allowing the under-pressure champion, who'd already lost about 20 seconds, to rejoin. Meanwhile, a thrilling duel between Norway's Jonas Abrahamsen and Jayco's Swiss champion Mauro Schmid was nearly compromised by the protester, in a T-shirt reading "Israel out of the Tour" and waving a Palestinian scarf, who burst on the course 50m from the line. Eventually, as a security officer did a nifty job in tackling the invader, Schmid, who'd been on course to win the Australian team's first stage of the 2025 Tour, got pipped by half a wheel by Uno-X Mobility's Abrahamsen, who completed a fabulous comeback after a recent accident. In the day's central drama, Irishman Ben Healy, while retaining the leader's yellow jersey, agreed with two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, Pogacar's main rival for the title, that the peloton should all knock off the pace after his crash. Pogacar had gone down heavily into a kerb when Tobias Johannessen cut across him at speed, clipping wheels. The Norwegian rider later apologised, revealing that he had later received hate messages on social media. Pogacar quickly remounted, after some help at roadside, and was left hugely thankful for the gesture. "I'm quite okay, a bit beaten up, but we've been through worse days," the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader said. "Thanks to the peloton in front, they actually waited. They could have taken time. Really big respect to everybody in front. Thanks for your support, guys." In the GC, Healy remains 29 seconds clear of Pogacar, with Olympic champ Remco Evenepoel third 1:29 down on the Irishman and Vingegaard fourth at 1:46. All, though, is expected to change on Thursday's stage 12 with the race's first Pyrenean high-mountain showdown with a summit finish on the famed Hautacam. Only then will it be seen if Pogacar, who's so far looked untouchable, has endured any lasting effects from his spill. Abrahamsen's victory was his reward for attacking from the very start of the stage, a 156.8km loop around Toulouse. It ended with him and Schmid, who'd surged from the breakaway, nearly getting caught by a charging Mathieu van der Poel, who fell just short in third place. "I broke my collarbone four weeks ago. I cried at the hospital because I thought I wouldn't make it to the Tour de France," the emotional Abrahamsen explained after his maiden Grand Tour win. "I hoped, and every day I did everything I could to come back. To stand here in the Tour de France and to have won a stage is amazing."
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Gallen wins points verdict in hyped fight with SBW
The fight didn't match the hype but Paul Gallen has earned boxing bragging rights over his old rugby league rival Sonny Bill Williams, winning a contentious split points decision in their much-vaunted Sydney clash. Two judges scored it 77-74 and 76-75 in favour of Gallen while a third had New Zealander Williams winning 77-74 in Wednesday's relatively tame affair at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena. After all the spite and verbal barbs landed over the previous decade, the fight simply didn't hit the heights as both men laboured, working to their traditional strengths. Former Australian and Origin Gallen (15-3-1, 8 KOs) attempted to put pressure on from the start, while Williams, who is 12 centimetres taller, utilised his jab and movement. The 39-year-old dual rugby code international Williams tried to thwart Gallen's charges by holding and clinching, and was deducted a point by referee Les Fear In the seventh round. Williams wasn't interviewed in the ring after the fight and declined to attend the post-fight media conference. "I definitely lost one round, I think the second round and there was one other pretty close one and he got a point taken off, so how the hell is he winning (on one judge's card)?" Gallen said. "I got the win. That's all that matters and it will be there forever. "I'm 44 years old in less than a month's time. "Sonny just came upon to me and said he wants to have a coffee man-to-man and I'm on for that. "I've finished my fights, I'm getting with my life. "I'm not going to gloat, it's been a long time coming. I got the job done and that's all that matters," added Gallen, while also revealing he had come down with COVID two weeks before the fight. On the undercard, world-ranked Victorian Kris Terzievski moved closer to a bridgerweight world title shot by retaining his two regional titles with a sixth-round stoppage of Gold Coast-based New Zealander Troy Pilcher. Terzievski (14-1-2, 11 KOs) put Pilcher (10-2-1, 8 KOs) down with a body shot In the fifth and referee Fear stopped the fight after two more knockdowns in the sixth. Earlier, two sons of famous fathers each had a quick win on the undercard. With his father and former world champion Antony Mundine in his corner, 25-year-old super middleweight Rahim Mundine (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Fijian opponent Joe Vatusaqata (1-5-1, 1 KO) in the second round. Heavyweight Alex Leapai Jr, improved to 5-0-1 (4 KOs), with a first round knock out of Herve Silu Mata 3-4 (2 KOs) Leapai's father, also named Alex, unsuccessfully challenged former IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. Another winner on the undercard was New Zealander David Nyika, who bounced back from his loss to IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia with a fifth-round stoppage of fellow Kiwi Nik Charalampous. The fight didn't match the hype but Paul Gallen has earned boxing bragging rights over his old rugby league rival Sonny Bill Williams, winning a contentious split points decision in their much-vaunted Sydney clash. Two judges scored it 77-74 and 76-75 in favour of Gallen while a third had New Zealander Williams winning 77-74 in Wednesday's relatively tame affair at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena. After all the spite and verbal barbs landed over the previous decade, the fight simply didn't hit the heights as both men laboured, working to their traditional strengths. Former Australian and Origin Gallen (15-3-1, 8 KOs) attempted to put pressure on from the start, while Williams, who is 12 centimetres taller, utilised his jab and movement. The 39-year-old dual rugby code international Williams tried to thwart Gallen's charges by holding and clinching, and was deducted a point by referee Les Fear In the seventh round. Williams wasn't interviewed in the ring after the fight and declined to attend the post-fight media conference. "I definitely lost one round, I think the second round and there was one other pretty close one and he got a point taken off, so how the hell is he winning (on one judge's card)?" Gallen said. "I got the win. That's all that matters and it will be there forever. "I'm 44 years old in less than a month's time. "Sonny just came upon to me and said he wants to have a coffee man-to-man and I'm on for that. "I've finished my fights, I'm getting with my life. "I'm not going to gloat, it's been a long time coming. I got the job done and that's all that matters," added Gallen, while also revealing he had come down with COVID two weeks before the fight. On the undercard, world-ranked Victorian Kris Terzievski moved closer to a bridgerweight world title shot by retaining his two regional titles with a sixth-round stoppage of Gold Coast-based New Zealander Troy Pilcher. Terzievski (14-1-2, 11 KOs) put Pilcher (10-2-1, 8 KOs) down with a body shot In the fifth and referee Fear stopped the fight after two more knockdowns in the sixth. Earlier, two sons of famous fathers each had a quick win on the undercard. With his father and former world champion Antony Mundine in his corner, 25-year-old super middleweight Rahim Mundine (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Fijian opponent Joe Vatusaqata (1-5-1, 1 KO) in the second round. Heavyweight Alex Leapai Jr, improved to 5-0-1 (4 KOs), with a first round knock out of Herve Silu Mata 3-4 (2 KOs) Leapai's father, also named Alex, unsuccessfully challenged former IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. Another winner on the undercard was New Zealander David Nyika, who bounced back from his loss to IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia with a fifth-round stoppage of fellow Kiwi Nik Charalampous. The fight didn't match the hype but Paul Gallen has earned boxing bragging rights over his old rugby league rival Sonny Bill Williams, winning a contentious split points decision in their much-vaunted Sydney clash. Two judges scored it 77-74 and 76-75 in favour of Gallen while a third had New Zealander Williams winning 77-74 in Wednesday's relatively tame affair at Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena. After all the spite and verbal barbs landed over the previous decade, the fight simply didn't hit the heights as both men laboured, working to their traditional strengths. Former Australian and Origin Gallen (15-3-1, 8 KOs) attempted to put pressure on from the start, while Williams, who is 12 centimetres taller, utilised his jab and movement. The 39-year-old dual rugby code international Williams tried to thwart Gallen's charges by holding and clinching, and was deducted a point by referee Les Fear In the seventh round. Williams wasn't interviewed in the ring after the fight and declined to attend the post-fight media conference. "I definitely lost one round, I think the second round and there was one other pretty close one and he got a point taken off, so how the hell is he winning (on one judge's card)?" Gallen said. "I got the win. That's all that matters and it will be there forever. "I'm 44 years old in less than a month's time. "Sonny just came upon to me and said he wants to have a coffee man-to-man and I'm on for that. "I've finished my fights, I'm getting with my life. "I'm not going to gloat, it's been a long time coming. I got the job done and that's all that matters," added Gallen, while also revealing he had come down with COVID two weeks before the fight. On the undercard, world-ranked Victorian Kris Terzievski moved closer to a bridgerweight world title shot by retaining his two regional titles with a sixth-round stoppage of Gold Coast-based New Zealander Troy Pilcher. Terzievski (14-1-2, 11 KOs) put Pilcher (10-2-1, 8 KOs) down with a body shot In the fifth and referee Fear stopped the fight after two more knockdowns in the sixth. Earlier, two sons of famous fathers each had a quick win on the undercard. With his father and former world champion Antony Mundine in his corner, 25-year-old super middleweight Rahim Mundine (2-0, 1 KO) stopped Fijian opponent Joe Vatusaqata (1-5-1, 1 KO) in the second round. Heavyweight Alex Leapai Jr, improved to 5-0-1 (4 KOs), with a first round knock out of Herve Silu Mata 3-4 (2 KOs) Leapai's father, also named Alex, unsuccessfully challenged former IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2014. Another winner on the undercard was New Zealander David Nyika, who bounced back from his loss to IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia with a fifth-round stoppage of fellow Kiwi Nik Charalampous.
