zero_gravitas

On Sunday August 23rd 1851 a hard fought riot broke out in Sydney. Whilst such disturbances were common place at the time this particular riot is interesting in that it was sparked by the arrest of a sailor for wearing women's clothing, was led by military men and involved attacks on a number of police watch-houses. Despite police and newspaper reports of the incidents being confused and often contradictory the riot tells us much about attitudes of Sydney's population towards cross dressing, police and the law.

Until late last month, beekeepers who sold the rare native honey, which retails for up to $500 per kilogram, were operating in a grey area and did not have the law on their side.

On July 22, it finally gained Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) approval.

"Originally our honey didn't meet the current standard that was written for honey bee honey. It was more watery, the pH was different," committee chair Dean Haley said.

• In short: A man is in hospital after he was hit by a whale's tail while fishing near Tweed Heads.
• Authorities located the men and brought them back to shore.
• The man sustained superficial facial injuries and is in a stable condition.

• In short: Musicians passed a vote of no confidence in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's managing director and operating officer on Friday night after the cancellation of a performance by a pianist who spoke about the conflict in Gaza.
• The move has also prompted well-known band The Cat Empire to postpone three shows with the MSO.
• What's next? The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra says it will conduct an independent review into its policies

• In short: The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra admits it made an error when it pulled pianist Jayson Gillham from an upcoming performance over comments he made about the killing of journalists in Gaza.

• The MSO said it made an "error" in cancelling his performance, but maintains their concert was not an appropriate place to express personal views.

• What's next? The orchestra's August 15 concert, which was expected to go ahead without Mr Gillham, has now been cancelled due to security issues but the MSO wants to reschedule the performance.

The unlikely gourmands are pilfering thousands of dollars of farmed black truffles a night, but a PhD student has been working to get them to change their ways.

Canonical URL: https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/the-bandicoot-bandits-causing-a-truffle-kerfuffle-20240806-p5jzyv.html

• In short: More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli air strike on a Gazan school, according to local media.
• The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has confirmed they attacked the school, but claimed it was harbouring Hamas militants.
• What's next? Ceasefire talks between Israel and its adversaries are expected to resume next week.

• In short: A 47-year-old man has been charged after allegedly stealing over $600,000 worth of limited edition Bluey coins.
• Police allege the man was an employee at a warehouse where the Australian Mint packages were being held before their release.
• Police says only 1,000 of the coins have been accounted for a most will now be in circulation.