Thin long

TUMBARUMBA, Australia: Tears come to Adrian Brayne’s eyes as he talks about what little he managed to save when flames engulfed his rural property.  His dog is safe and so is a small jar of soil, collected from his grandfather’s vineyards. “It’s a bit silly. But these are the things that matter,” he says. The winemaker in the Snowy Valley of New South Wales has lost a lot over the past few weeks. The region has been punished by a devastating bushfire season that has had local communities on edge, and under siege, for weeks. Tumbarumba, a historic timber town, found itself wedged between two large fire fronts that slowly but destructively merged together into a mega fire that on Monday (Jan 20) was still more than 332,100 hectares in size and uncontrolled. Brayne’s 10-hectare vineyards are just a small fraction of the vast swathes of bushland and forest - as well as more than local 100 homes - that have burned since the blaze ignited last month. But for the 35-year-old, … [Read more...] about ‘A long road back from here’: Small winemakers feel the pain of Australian bushfires

REUTERS: Fulham have signed wing back Ola Aina on a season-long loan from Italian Serie A side Torino, the promoted Premier League club said on Friday (Sep 11). Fulham also have an option to make the 23-year-old's arrival permanent and the Nigeria international said he was happy to return to London where he was born and raised. "It feels amazing to be back closer to my family, back in the capital," Aina told the club's media channel. "There's a great bunch of lads here. I'm really good friends with Big Hec (Michael Hector) and Josh Onomah." Aina, who came through neighbouring Chelsea's youth system, spent the last two seasons with Torino, where he played 69 times with his versatility allowing him to play on either flank. "I feel very comfortable on either foot, I can fill in wherever needs be," he added. "I'd say I'm pretty quick and I like to attack, but I also like to help the team and do the dirty work as much as I can." Aina's signing follows the capture of … [Read more...] about Football: Fulham sign Torino wing back Aina on season-long loan

If the long jumper can add a small distance to his personal best, he will become the first Vietnamese athlete to jump 8m and prove he belongs on the world stage. Long jumper Nguyen Tien Trong sets up a new record of 7.98m at the National Athletics Championships in 2019 in HCM City. Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Tiến Trọng “It is two centimetres. “Just only two centimetres. “I will make two centimetres this jump.” Nguyễn Tiến Trọng thinks about this tiny distance every day in training. If the long jumper can add the small distance to his personal best, he will become the first Vietnamese athlete to jump 8m and prove he belongs on the world stage. National record holder Born in 1997 in Cẩm Giàng District, Hải Dương Province, Trọng was taller and bigger than any of his friends at school. He was chosen to take part in the provincial track-and-field competitions where he caught the eyes of the Military team’s scouts. He became an athlete when he … [Read more...] about Long jumper Trong aims to complete eight-metre promise

SINGAPORE: The Elections Department (ELD) has apologised to voters for the long queues at polling stations on Friday morning (Jul 10), adding that it had done away with the requirement to wear disposable gloves as this had contributed to long wait times. “ELD would like to apologise to voters for the longer than usual queues that they have experienced this morning," said the department in a statement on Friday afternoon. “More voters had turned up this morning than expected outside their assigned voting time-bands," it said. “This, together with measures that had been put in place to ensure safe voting, had led to long queues.” In an update, ELD said as of 4pm, the queue situation at "the vast majority of polling stations" had improved "considerably", with fewer than 20 voters in the queue for about 70 per cent of the polling stations. " We would especially like to apologise to senior voters for the inconvenience caused to them," said ELD. It also said it had increased … [Read more...] about GE2020: ELD apologises for polling station queues, says gloves requirement contributed to long wait times

SINGAPORE: Voting hours at polling stations in Singapore have been extended to 10pm "so that voters can cast their votes", said the Elections Department (ELD) on Friday (Jul 10). Voting in Singapore's 13th General Election was originally scheduled to end at 8pm. "In exercise of his powers under section 39(3) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the Returning Officer has extended the polling hours of polling stations in Singapore except polling stations in SHN (stay-home notice) designated facilities," said ELD in a press release. GE2020 live: Singapore voters head to the ballot box on Polling Day "These polling stations will remain open until 10pm so that voters can cast their votes. While the queue situation across most polling stations has improved, a small number continue to see long queues. This extension in hours will allow enough time for all voters to cast their votes," added the press release. A special voting hour between 7pm and 8pm had been set aside for … [Read more...] about GE2020: Voting hours extended to 10pm; ‘small number’ of polling stations continue to see long queues, says ELD