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Welcome to Quick Q – Monday Media’s weekly Q&A series dedicated to finding out more about the personalities that matter most in the Australian media landscape.Every week The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age asks key figures across corporate media, business, sport, federal politics, radio, television and culture to answer a series of questions about their lives, careers, hobbies and news habits.This week’s conversation is with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.Treasurer Josh FrydenbergCredit:Alex EllinghausenHow did you get your big break?It was an opportunity to work for Alexander Downer who was then foreign minister. I studied in the United Kingdom doing a Masters in International Relations at Oxford and I had done my thesis on Indonesia. In particular a notion called “dwifungsi”, which is the dual role of the Indonesian military and politics and strategic affairs. I really wanted the opportunity to work in the field of foreign policy. So when the opportunity came around to work with Alexander Downer I seized it. He became a great mentor and somebody I learnt a lot from. He certainly wasn’t perfect, but he had very strong convictions and courage. That was a great experience.What are your daily news media habits?I am a voracious consumer of…

Tom Aspinall continues to climb the heavyweight ladder with another finish win. At UFC London’s main event, the Brit made quick work of Alexander Volkov, tapping out ‘Drago’ in the first round with a straight armbar. On Twitter, pro fighters reacted to the finish. If aspinal wins early give him Jon Jones — Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 19, 2022 Aspinall is a legit title challenger! Great hand speed, good TDs, great GnP strikes, young and fun to watch! #UFCLondon— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 19, 2022 Man this guys a monster that was too easy heavyweight has a real problem— Belal Muhammad (@bullyb170) March 19, 2022 I love watching perfectly timed takedowns He fought an incredibly smart fight#UFCLondon— Emily Ducote (@ducote_brunette) March 19, 2022 Tom Aspinall does not move like he's 252lb!! What an absolute performance!!! He has the potential to be a real contender at the top of the Heavyweight division #UFCLondon— Megan Anderson (@MeganA_mma) March 19, 2022 Congrats to Tom Aspinall . Big win .. the division has a new title contender. #UFCLondon— Merab “The Machine” Dvalishvili (@MerabDvalishvil) March 19, 2022 What a performance by Aspinall! Absolutely bodied a veteran in Alexander Volkov. The heavyweight division has a legit…

Il suffit parfois de quelques mots pour changer une vie. Ces mots, ce sont ceux partagés sur Twitter par Léonine, le pseudo utilisé par l’avocate nantaise Stéphanie Resche. Dans une suite de courts messages poignants, elle raconte l’histoire d’une jeune femme de 25 ans qu’elle appelle Violette.Cette histoire, c’est celle d’une emprise. Celle d’un beau-père sur la jeune femme qui l’appelle « papa » et qu’il viole depuis qu’elle a 12 ans. Un homme qui veut la garder pour lui. À tel point, raconte l’avocate sur Twitter, qu’à partir du moment où il découvre que Violette « a quelqu’un, il ne mange plus, il ne dort plus, il devient fou ».Bon, les amis. J’ai tergiversé, j’ai retourné la chose dans tous les sens, et puis je me suis décidée. Je vais vous raconter l’une des histoires les plus tristes qu’il m’ait été donné de connaître, parce qu’il le faut. ⬇️— Léonine (@AvocatavecunE) March 17, 2022 Mais, détaille Léonine, l’homme qu’elle appelle « G » a également construit une prison financière autour de la jeune femme en lui demandant de contracter des crédits en son nom. « Une voiture avec des grosses jantes. Une piscine hors sol. Une télé écran plat.…

Ken Paxton, pictured in 2015, intentionally misgendered Rachel Levine with a tweet Thursday.APTexas Attorney General Ken Paxton has come under fire after intentionally misgendering former Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine late this week, according to reports.Paxton made his transphobic remark on Twitter on Thursday after Levine, who coordinated the commonwealth’s initial response to the coronavirus pandemic before being appointed to the Biden administration, was included among USA Today’s Women of the Year.Paxton tweeted out a photo of Levine from USA Today that featured the headline “Meet these exceptional Women of the Year,” and wrote, “Rachel Levine is a man.”Levine is the nation’s highest-ranking transgender official and is the first female and openly transgender four-star admiral.Twitter flagged Paxton’s tweet saying that it “violated the Twitter rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s best interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”The Huffington Post said that Levine’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Paxton, whose tweet drew swift backlash on the social media platform, did not only target Levine to close out the week. He also tweeted a congratulations to Emma Weyant Friday night for “being the real Division 1…

Celebrate holi with this hilarious memes. (Tweeted by @Prachurjya29)What better way to celebrate Holi than with gujiya, gulaal, and some memes?Happy Holi! The festival of colours is here. The special day celebrating the victory of good over evil is enjoyed with much fervour be it with gujiya, pichkari, gulaal or gubbare. And if you are someone who isn’t involved in the festivities for reasons known to you, don’t worry, we have got you covered. Because funny folks on the Internet have carried on the yearly tradition of bringing the much-needed humour relief we all needed. Here are a few Holi memes that will make you chuckle. Holi is one of the most beautiful festivals of India, blended with vibrant colours, love, joy and happiness. Needless to say, this celebration has a special kind of charm and essence and is incomplete without splashing each other with colours and Gulaal and gorging on delicious sweet, and Thandai.Meanwhile, Rishikesh is one of the most popular destinations to celebrate Holi. There are several tour companies holding camps this Holi weekend where you can indulge in various activities and enjoy Holi amidst the mountains with your favourite bunch of friends. You’ll also enjoy rafting, bonfires…

Did Drake and Rihanna join others celebrities who quietly unfollowed Megan Thee Stallion? Fans have reacted to the latest development that Rihanna and Drake have unfollowed Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion. As if that wasn’t weird enough, Rihanna also removed Megan Thee Stallion‘s Fenty collaboration from the Fenty Beauty website. Megan Thee Stallion has not reacted to the developments, but Rihanna and Drake follow a growing list of celebrities who have unfollowed Megan in recent times. Among those who reportedly unfollowed her so far are Nicki Minaj, Ciara, and Beyonce. The “WAP” rapper is currently embroiled in major drama with Tory Lanez over a trial into a shooting incident in which she was injured. Megan is alleging that Lanez was the one who shot her after an argument while they returned from a party at Kylie Jenner’s house. Tory Lanez has pleaded not guilty to charges while the trial date is set for April 5. On Thursday, fans reacted to the news about the artists unfollowing Megan as they came up with theories about what appears to be the industry turning against Megan Thee Stallion. “It’s her legal battle with rap a lot. U don’t go against the bosses,” one…

SINGAPORE — Word got out about a youth who sexually assaulted at least 10 underage girls while he was still in secondary school, when several victims banded together to share their personal accounts in a public Twitter thread. One of his victims, a 17-year-old girl, started the thread, which has since been shut down. She posted the accused's photo with the caption: “A rapist requested to follow me on Instagram, should I expose what he did to me?” Other victims approached her and with their permission, she shared their experiences on the thread. On Thursday (March 17), the accused, now aged 18, was sentenced to at least 12 months of reformative training — a regimented rehabilitation programme for offenders under 21 who commit relatively serious crimes. Offenders are given a minimum period on the programme, subject to how they respond to the rehabilitation. It is a harsher punishment than probation, which allows young offenders to continue with their education or employment while serving their sentences. The youth cannot be named due to a court order to protect his victims’ identities. He pleaded guilty last month to four counts of sexual penetration of a minor. Another 29 other similar charges, including…

Twitter said it has "labeled or removed" more than 50,000 pieces of content that broke its policy on manipulated media in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the company shared in a blog post today. Additionally, the platform removed roughly 75,000 accounts for “inauthentic behavior” and spam. Though this number encompassed users not specifically engaged in war propaganda, it included accounts associated with #IStandWithPutin, a hashtag that went viral last month thanks to a coordinated campaign of fake accounts.Unlike previous times where a single government or a state information campaign was to blame, Twitter found a wide range of actors were responsible for manipulating the platform, such as those recirculating old conflict footage as if it were new, as well as the many Ukraine-related fundraising scams that have cropped up in the wake of the invasion.Last month Twitter also promised to not amplify any tweets from users that included links to state-affiliated media (a step-up from its old policy, which was not to amplify or promote tweets that were only directly from accounts of the state-affiliated media). Since February 28th, Twitter says it has labeled more than 61,000 unique tweets that included links to state-run media. It estimates doing…

Ukrainian emergency employees and volunteers carry an injured pregnant woman from a maternity hospital that was damaged by shelling. The woman and her baby died after Russia bombed the maternity hospital where she was meant to give birth. ASSOCIATED PRESS Russian authorities have woven a web of false information across social media about their forces’ attack on a Ukrainian hospital last week even after earlier attempts by the platforms to halt this disinformation campaign. Nearly 20 Twitter, Facebook and Telegram accounts belonging to Russian embassies have dispensed the disinformation, which seeks to discredit news reports that Russia shelled the Mariupol hospital and its maternity ward, killing two adults and a child and injuring 17. The incident has drawn rebukes from the White House and other Western leaders, while Ukrainian President Zelensky called it an “atrocity.” A photo of a pregnant woman carried away from the rubble on a stretcher has been shared widely on social media—it appears above—and has quickly becoming one of the most dramatic images from the Russian invasion into Ukraine. She and her baby both later died. The Russian embassy in Britain last Thursday published several tweets in the past week about the hospital falsely claiming the…

A fake Twitter account pretended to be a Russian editor who went viral for protesting the war on live television. Archives and screenshots show that this is the second member of the media it’s pretended to be in recent days. Information is already heavily censored in Russia. President Vladimir Putin has greatly intensified censorship during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is now a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison to disseminate what Russia defines as “fake news” about the military. Independent media and journalists have largely complied with the new law. Some have fled. On Monday evening, Marina Ovsyannikova took a stand for free expression. Ovsyannikova, an editor on the state-run Channel 1, walked onto a live broadcast to oppose the war. Osyannikova yelled, “Stop the war!” the New York Times reports, and carried a sign reading “No war” in English and “They’re lying to you here” in Russian. A Russian rights group that’s representing her also released a video in which she said she was “deeply ashamed” to have helped produce “Kremlin propaganda,” the Times reports. Ovsyannikova was swiftly detained by police. She was fined and released on Tuesday. Her bravery made her an international…