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MUSICThe Hives ★★★★★Forum Melbourne, July 19 To attend a concert by The Hives is to be inducted into a sweaty, euphoric cult for just over an hour of frenetic power – “think of it as a three-hour show played twice as fast,” singer Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist quips. The Hives perform at Forum Melbourne, July 19, 2025. Credit: Richard Clifford The Swedish band was an integral player in the garage rock revival of the early 2000s, and quickly garnered a reputation as one of the best live bands in the world, with Almqvist their braggadocious, energetic ringleader. Decades on, they’re still on top of their game. This tour marks The Hives’ first Australian shows since 2015, when they supported AC/DC in stadiums around the country – and going by the crowd’s fervent reaction throughout the night, it’s clearly a welcome return. Audience members range from grey-haired seniors to excited teenagers – this music unites generations through the power of rock’n’roll. On the first sold-out night of two in Melbourne, large lanterns spelling out the band’s name backdrop the stage, and a long introductory buzzing instrumental builds anticipation. Four men walk out in black and white suits, their backs facing the crowd. Then Almqvist appears, and it’s go time. Almqvist’s on-stage persona is exaggeratedly obnoxious: he swings the microphone cable like a madman, kicks his legs high into the air and sprays fountains of spit skywards in a grotesquely irreverent display. Four songs in, he’s already jumped down into the crowd. Pelle Almqvist’s on-stage persona is exaggeratedly obnoxious.Credit: Richard Clifford Almqvist often taunts the audience: “Has anyone ever been to a rock concert before?” he bellows. The crowd roars in the affirmative. Almqvist doesn’t miss a beat: “Then f–king act like it!” We jump and dance and scream, but Almqvist always demands more. The biggest crowd reactions are for the songs from the band’s heyday, such as Hate to Say I Told You So and Walk Idiot Walk – newer tracks garner a more muted response. But Almqvist’s crowd work makes it all shine – teaching the audience to sing a bass line so he can yell over the top of it, or prolonging a call-and-response section to the point of ridiculousness. In a long-running tradition, Almqvist splits the crowd in two for the final song of the night, Tick Tick Boom. He strides up the middle and implores everyone to get down low, then all jump up at once as he runs back to the stage. It’s pure chaos, just like the band is. Their latest album title says it best: The Hives Forever Forever The Hives.Reviewed by Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen JAZZPat Jaffe’s LUNSEN ★★★★The JazzLab, July 18 Pat Jaffe’s new band is named after an enchanting forest that he discovered while on a student exchange in Uppsala, Sweden. Lunsen (the forest) captivated Jaffe with its combination of tranquil beauty and untamed wildness, and LUNSEN (the band) aims to capture and reflect that dichotomy. Pat Jaffe’s LUNSEN perform at The JazzLab on July 18. 2025. Credit: Dan McKay Friday’s concert at JazzLab was only the quintet’s second outing, and – while all the players were all reading charts and still getting to grips with the music – it was clear that Jaffe had picked the perfect colleagues to bring his vision to life. The Melbourne composer-pianist also introduced each tune with the story of its genesis, setting the scene for the musical tales that were about to unfold. Jaffe has a wonderfully effusive, enthusiastic presence, and his stories were often hilarious – but also touchingly honest and sincere. Likewise, the music contained both irrepressible energy and heart-melting beauty. Glass and Glue began as a delicate duet between Jaffe and bassist Claire Abougelis, before adding subtle horns and spacious cymbals as Jaffe’s rippling piano built into a rousing cascade. Melbourne composer-pianist Pat Jaffe performing at JazzLab.Credit: Dan McKay Wide Pants moved seamlessly between flowing lyricism and majestic propulsion, Jaffe beaming with delight and bouncing on his piano stool as his emphatic chords urged the band forward. Grandma’s Song was gorgeously tender and restrained, while Greg’s Benedict – inspired by South African jazz and underpinned by Marissa Di Marzio’s exuberant drumming – conjured an air of joyful celebration. Now Music featured expressive solos from Thien Pham (on trumpet) and Zac O’Connell (alto sax), and a recurring melodic motif that the audience was invited to hum as the musicians drifted into silence. The night’s final number, Eldorado, was a soulful jazz waltz that swept the band and the audience along in an evocative stream of nostalgia, memory and sheer pleasure. With LUNSEN, Jaffe has turned one of his favourite places in nature into a musical space for discovery, trust, passion and vulnerability. It’s a space I’d gladly revisit any time.Reviewed by Jessica Nicholas MUSICAxis Mundi ★★★★Elision Ensemble, Melbourne Recital Centre, July 18 Served by some extraordinarily skilled musicians, Elision Ensemble’s contemporary music encounter offered some ear-opening experiences as emerging and established composers rubbed shoulders in thought-provoking juxtaposition. An earlier performance of Axis Mundi.Credit: Lauren Murphy American bassoonist Ben Roidl-Ward scaled the heights and depths of Liza Lim’s Axis Mundi with breathtaking dexterity, while Richard Haynes revelled in the huge technical and expressive demands of John Rodgers’ Ciacco for solo bass clarinet. Both scores embraced a kaleidoscopic spectrum of sounds, including guttural elements spiked with multiphonics and microtonal inflections of pitch. Elision Ensemble’s contemporary music encounter, Axis Mundi, offered some ear-opening experiences/Credit: Lauren Murphy Mexican composer Julio Estrada’s yuunohui’nahui’ehecatl featured a titanic trombone cadenza in which Benjamin Marks punctuated his playing with sounds of breathing and vocalisation. This writing, reminiscent of the performance art of 20th century Italian composer Luciano Berio, later included Marks and trumpeter Tristram Williams facing each other, so that the trumpet’s bell could be placed into the trombone’s in quasi-erotic fashion. By contrast, Charlie Sdraulig’s Air began with barely audible susurrations, perhaps evoking the distant memory of a seaside scene. Yuin woman, Brenda Gifford from Wreck Bay in New South

As they met the ball, May’s right shoulder collected Evans across the face and sent him flying to the ground. “It was pretty quick, I don’t really know,” Curnow said after the game. “I reckon in those situations it’s really hard because it’s split-second. “So in the end, I don’t know, maybe we’re going down the path of ‘would have liked to see Maysie do a tackle there, so he can help Frankie play out the rest of the day’. “But in saying that, it’s hard work out there, mate. Like, Maysie has got to change in an instant.” When pressed whether May had a duty of care to stop and lay a tackle, Curnow said, “I don’t know, I didn’t really see it that way”. “When I saw the review (on the big screen), I was obviously worried about Frankie and supporting him,” he said. Steven May will be under scrutiny for this incident with Carlton’s Francis Evans.Credit: Fox Footy Experts on Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show discussed the prospect of May copping a three-match ban from the MRO, but Isaac Smith, who played in premierships for Hawthorn and Geelong, said it was almost impossible to predict the outcome for May. He said and one factor that might count against the defender was the fact he didn’t stay low. “I think you can see him getting no weeks and you can see him getting four weeks,” Smith said. Speaking after the match, Blues coach Michael Voss said both May and Evans were making a play at the ball. “Maybe one person was one step late, which obviously … then the incident happens,” he said. Charlie Curnow marks in front of Steven May on Saturday night.Credit: Getty Images “(I’ll) let the tribunal take care of it, really. I mean, it’s up to them to be able to adjudicate what they think is fair.” May later suffered a concussion when he was kneed in the head by Tom De Koning during a last-quarter marking contest and will miss next Sunday’s match against St Kilda. Voss said Evans was “banged up on the nose” but “actually pretty good” after the game. “He’s disappointed because he was playing a fantastic game of footy. He was doing an unbelievable role for us, and we obviously lost a pretty important player,” Voss said. Hawk has surgery on lacerated kidney Scott SpitsHawthorn utility Finn Maginness went under the knife in a Hobart hospital on Saturday night after suffering a lacerated kidney in the club’s win over Port Adelaide earlier in the day. The club said Maginness reported mild abdominal discomfort post-match, and the 24-year-old was sent to Launceston General Hospital where the kidney injury was diagnosed. Finn Maginness with coach Sam Mitchell after the win.Credit: AFL Photos Maginness, a father-son recruit playing in his fifth season for the Hawks, was then flown south to Royal Hobart Hospital where the club said he underwent a procedure. Hawthorn head doctor Liam West said Maginness was likely to spend time in Hobart before he was able to return to Melbourne. “Finn’s health is clearly our number one priority, and right now, the most important thing is that Finn is OK, is in the right place and he will recover fully,” West said in a report on Hawthorn’s website. “Finn will continue to spend this initial period of medical observation during his recovery in Hobart before any timeline for his return to play can be determined.” The Hawks have yet to pinpoint the moment when Maginness suffered the injury against Port, a match in which Hawthorn and Port were level at quarter-time before the home team broke clear and increased their lead at each subsequent change to win by 38 points. Hawthorn temporarily jumped into the top four after the win. With forward Mitch Lewis back in the team after a 12-month absence due to an ACL injury, they have selection pressure ahead of Thursday night’s clash against Carlton at the MCG. The Hawks took on Port without Mabior Chol (groin) while Cam Mackenzie and Changkuoth Jiath were dropped. Lewis was subbed out in the third quarter against Port in wet and wild conditions in Launceston on Saturday. Curnow back on track after 35-day drought Danny RussellAfter four long rounds without a goal, star Blues forward Charlie Curnow had a night to remember in his side’s win over the Demons, including kicking the sealer in the tight victory. Curnow opened the scoring in the first 36 seconds of the game, receiving a handball from Ollie Hollands that allowed him to break a 35-day goal drought. His third major of the night was even more memorable. With two minutes on the clock, and the Blues leading by two points, Curnow took a free kick from the 50m line on a 45-degree angle and nailed the set-shot. “I’m sure it’s been really frustrating for the fact that he hasn’t been able to hit the scoreboard, as you’d like, but he’s kept turning up,” coach Michael Voss said after the game. Carlton teammates mob Charlie Curnow after he kicked the sealer.Credit: via Getty Images “So for Charlie to get the rewards and to be able to finish the way he did … he looked like he wanted to take that moment, which was pleasing to see, and, obviously, he was able to close out the game for us.” Loading Curnow was keen to play down his own achievements after the match, highlighting that his younger teammates Flynn Young and Matt Carroll had kicked their first goals for the club. He also praised energetic forward Ashton Moir who booted a career-high four majors against the Demons. “He’s terrible at ping pong, table tennis, I smoked him all week, same as Will White, but he’s an energetic guy,” Curnow said. “You know how he plays? That’s what he’s like off the field – bouncy, energetic, always trying to make other people laugh and have a good time. “Anyone with that sort of athleticism and

By Alan Feuer and Matthew Goldstein July 20, 2025 — 2.37pm In the swirl of money and suntanned women that was their Palm Beach-and-Manhattan set, Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein spent nearly 15 years mingling side by side as public friends. There were lavish dinners with boldface names at Epstein’s mansion on New York City’s Upper East Side and raucous parties with cheerleaders and models at Trump’s private club and residence at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. In between, there were trips back and forth from Florida to New York on one of Epstein’s private jets. But behind the tabloid glamour, questions have lingered about what Trump’s long association with Epstein says about his judgment and character, especially as his allies have stoked sinister claims about Epstein’s connections to Democrats. Mar-a-Lago in 1996.Credit: Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images After their relationship ruptured, the disgraced financier ended up behind bars not just once, but two times, after being accused of engaging in sex with teenage girls. One of the young women who later said Epstein groomed and abused her was recruited into his world while working as a spa attendant at Mar-a-Lago. Another accuser recalled being eyed by Trump during a brief encounter in Epstein’s office, and claimed that Epstein had told Trump at the time, “She’s not for you”. Another woman has said that Trump groped her when Epstein brought her to Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet him. This past week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump gave Epstein a note for his 50th birthday in 2003 that included a sketch of a naked woman and a cryptic reference to a “secret” the two men shared. Trump has denied writing the message and filed a libel lawsuit Friday challenging the story. The New York Times has not verified the Journal report. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida in 1997.Credit: Getty Trump has never been accused of wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case, and has said he had “no idea” that Epstein was abusing young women. In response to a request for comment about the president’s history with Epstein, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said Trump had barred Epstein from his Mar-a-Lago club “for being a creep”. “These stories are tired and pathetic attempts to distract from all the success of President Trump’s administration,” she said in a statement. Trump and Epstein largely went separate ways after a falling-out around 2004, taking drastically different paths – one toward jail and suicide, the other toward further celebrity and the White House. Loading As criticism of the handling of Epstein’s case mounted over the years, some of Trump’s staunchest allies promoted theories that the government had covered up the extent of his network to protect what they have described as a cabal of powerful men and celebrities, largely Democrats. Now, that story has entangled Trump himself in what amounts to one of the biggest controversies in his second White House stint. The conflict has come primarily from his own appointees, who, after months of promoting interest in the files, abruptly changed course and said there was no secret Epstein client list and backed the official finding that Epstein had killed himself. Still, under mounting pressure from his own supporters to release the government’s files on Epstein, the president this past week ordered the Justice Department to seek the unsealing of grand jury testimony in the criminal case brought against Epstein in 2019 and one year later against his longtime partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence on a sex-trafficking conviction. She has asked the Supreme Court to consider her appeal. Even if they are released, the transcripts are unlikely to shed much light on the relationship between the two men, which did not figure prominently in either criminal case. What seemed to draw them together, according to those who knew them at the time, was a common interest in hitting on – and competing for – attractive young women at parties, nightclubs and other private events. Donald Trump and his future wife Melania, Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell in 2000.Credit: Getty Palm Beach Neighbours Trump and Epstein appear to have met around 1990, when Epstein bought a property about 3 kilometres north of Mar-a-Lago and set about staking a claim in Palm Beach’s moneyed, salt-air social scene. Trump, who had purchased Mar-a-Lago five years earlier, had already established his own brash presence in the seaside enclave as a playboy with a taste for gold-leaf finery. The two had much in common. Both were outer-borough New Yorkers who had succeeded in Manhattan. Both were energetic self-promoters. And both had reputations as showy men about town. In 1992, an NBC News camera captured the pair at a Mar-a-Lago party that featured cheerleaders from the Buffalo Bills, who were in town that weekend for a game against the Miami Dolphins. Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in 1992.Credit: Screengrab At one point in the footage, Trump can be seen dancing in a crowd of young women. Later, he appears to be pointing at other women while whispering something in Epstein’s ear, causing him to double over with laughter. Months later, when Trump hosted a party at Mar-a-Lago for young women in a so-called calendar girl competition, Epstein was the only other guest, according to George Houraney, a Florida-based businessman who arranged the event. Houraney recalled being surprised that Epstein was the only other person on the guest list. “I said, ‘Donald, this is supposed to be a party with VIPs,‘” Houraney told the Times in 2019. “You’re telling me it’s you and Epstein?’” Houraney’s then-girlfriend and business partner, Jill Harth, later accused Trump of sexual misconduct on the night of the party. In a lawsuit, Harth said Trump took her into a bedroom and forcibly kissed and groped her, and restrained her from leaving. She also said that a 22-year-old contestant told her that Trump later that night crawled into her bed uninvited. Harth dropped

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao’s return at 46 has ended in a draw as Mario Barrios retains his belt. July 20, 2025 — 2.37pm Read More

By Phuong Nguyen Updated July 20, 2025 — 3.41pm Ha Long Bay, Vietnam: The death toll from a tourist boat accident in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay climbed to at least 38 with several people still missing, the government said, as rescuers continued to search for survivors while bracing for the approach of Typhoon Wipha. The vessel capsized on Saturday afternoon carrying 48 tourists and five crew members in one of the worst boating accidents in recent years in the popular tourist area. “At least 38 of those on board have been confirmed dead and 10 rescued,” the government said in a statement. The official Vietnam News Agency reported that all the tourists were Vietnamese, including several children. Dozens of rescuers, including border guards, navy personnel, police and professional divers, have been deployed. Although the sea had calmed, weather conditions limited visibility, making rescue operations difficult. Rescuers managed to retrieve the sunken boat, the government said. Image from a video showing people on a capsized tourist boat being rescued in Halong Bay, Vietnam, on SaturdayCredit: AP Survivor Dang Anh Tuan, 36, said a storm quickly covered the sky, bringing high winds and pouring rain. He said the passengers asked for the boat to turn back to shore, but the crew reassured them they were almost at their destination and kept the boat moving forward. “It rained for about 15 minutes, and then the boat started to shake vigorously, tables and chairs were jostled around and seconds later the boat overturned,” the fire extinguisher salesman said. “Water gushed in and I lost all orientation. I tried to breathe. But more water came in. Rescue workers search for survivors after a tourist boat capsized in Halong Bay, Vietnam.Credit: AP “I took a deep breath, got rid of my life vest and dove down. I saw a streak of light and followed it to swim out, escaping the boat, and then I climbed on the overturned boat to look for help.” Tuan – who has only minor cuts – was a holiday with 11 university friends, only three of whom survived. He and three others clung on to the capsized boat and its propellers for two hours until the rain stopped and rescued arrived. The accident took place about 5pm AEST on Saturday, soon after Typhoon Wipha entered the South China Sea. Authorities reported strong winds, heavy rainfall and lightning in the area at the time of the incident, adding that these conditions were not yet influenced by the approaching typhoon but were due to wind patterns over the northern region. Ha Long Bay, about 200 kilometres northeast of Hanoi, attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. Boat tours are particularly popular. In 2011, the sinking of a tour boat in Ha Long Bay killed 12 people, including foreign tourists. Reuters, AP Most Viewed in World Loading Read More