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Mitchell Johnson, you bloody beauty

Mitchell Johnson’s menacing bowling performance led Australia to a crushing victory over the world’s number-one Test team, South Africa, this week.

Mitchell Johnson’s menacing bowling performance led Australia to a crushing victory over the world’s number-one Test team, South Africa, this week.

The ruthless left arm paceman took a freak 12-127 at Centurion Park to humiliate the Proteas in their worst loss at home in almost 60 years.

In the space of six test matches Johnson has been the major catalyst in Australia’s cricketing revival and has claimed man-of-the-match honours in four of the most recent encounters.

Johnson has gone from being a divisive inclusion in the Australian Test team to becoming the most valuable player.

The havoc wreaked on South Africa renders Johnson the best bowler in the world and Australia the best performing team but Johnson isn’t ready to get complacent with his performance.

“I want to keep improving as a player, I feel I can keep improving. I felt I bowled well out there,” said the cricketer. “We bowled well as a group, so we all performed well as a team. I’m looking forward to getting back into the nets.

The win gives Australia a one-nil lead in the three-Test series so to celebrate we are taking a closer look at the very talented – and very handsome – Mitchell Johnson.

The hunky cricketer also moonlights as an underwear model for Jockey.

Mitchell Johnson celebrates after getting the wicket of Alviro Petersen of South Africa during day four of the First Test match between South Africa and Australia on February 15.

The bowler flashes a winning smile under the shade of his baggy green.

Johnson doing his best ‘blue steel’ for Jockey.

The cricketer’s steamy underwear campaigns have launched him into sex symbol status.

Sometimes model Mitchell Johnson is cricket’s current powerhouse fast paceman.

Mitchell Johnson of Australia poses during an Australian Test Player portrait session in 2013.

The fast bowler poses with the Ashes Urn on the pitch at midnight after day three of the Fifth Ashes Test match between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground on January 5, 2014.

Mitchell Johnson and Jessica Bratich-Johnson arrive at the 2014 Allan Border Medal at Doltone House in January this year.

Mitchell Johnson poses after winning the Allan Border Medal during the 2014 presentation in Sydney.

Mitchell Johnson celebrates the victory in the first Ashes cricket test match between England and Australia at the Gabba Cricket Ground in Brisbane in November, 2013.

Mitchell with his wife, Jessica Bratich-Johnson and daughter, Rubika, at the Cricket Australia Christmas Day Lunch at Crown Metropol this past December.

Mitchell enjoys a tender moment with daughter, Rubika.

A dashing Mitchell Johnson walks back to bowl during an Australian One Day International training session at WACA in January, 2013.

Mitchell Johnson of Australia prepares to bowl during day one of the Fourth Ashes Test Match between Australia and England in December, 2013.

George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson pose with kids at an Australian cricket team visit to Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth this past January.

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard welcomed Mitchell Johnson during a cricket luncheon held at Kirribilli House in Sydney in January, 2011.

A model poses with Mitchell Johnson and Giann Rooney on the catwalk during the Hot In The City Intimates group show as part of Rosemount Sydney Fashion Festival in 2010.

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Photographer captures the heartache of having a child with autism

A photographer has captured the heartache of having a child with autism in a series of provocative images.
Tanya Giles-Hilder

A photographer has captured the heartache of having a child with autism in a series of provocative images.

Entitled ‘Women who cry quietly: A mother’s turmoil‘, the pictures are the brainchild of Queensland woman Tanya Giles-Hilder, the founder of Beyond the Spectrum Photography, and mum to a beautiful son who has autism.

Tanya teamed up with two friends to shoot several women, all struggling with their own personal crises, to help others understand that it is okay to cry.

“How often, as women, do we open our hearts to each other without judgement?” Tanya says. “There are many women who cry quietly, who are too ashamed or embarrassed to share their feelings, or fear they will be judged, so suffer in silence.

“Life with a child with special needs is filled with light and love, but also with dark thoughts and much turmoil. I know from experience that you need help to move through those dark places and that is what this collection is about: sharing the darkness of our thoughts so we can all say, together, that everything is okay.”

“Broken. In the light of day, in the face of my life, I am the strength. I am the calm. I am everything. 8,760 hours a year. I hold it together. I cannot yell. I cannot scream. I cannot break. In the quiet, in the darkness … this is me.”

“Everything: I can’t get it out! The fear, the anxiety, the guilt, the shame, the stress, the pressure, the EVERYTHING!!!”

“Hide. I hide. I don’t realise I hide, but I hide. I eat, I eat and I don’t stop. I don’t stop because: right now, in this minute, there is no reason to.”

“Me too. In order for us to reach out to one another and connect, we have to take a step into the land of vulnerability.”

“Do I exist? Or am I a mere continuation of those around me? Where do I begin? Where does everything around me end? It pulls …”

“Where are the tears? I hold back the tears of heartbreak, the tears of grief, the tears of fatigue, the tears of pain, the tears of guilt … I wait for the tears of hope.”

“I am chaos. A thousand cicadas are buzzing in my head. Their tiny legs, rubbing against my skin. My throat is closing over, my jaw is locked. A focus point. That is what I need … If I can just get everything into that one point of pain, then it will be quiet long enough for me to take control back over my being.”

The beginning.

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Prince William vows to destroy all ivory in Buckingham Palace

Prince William has vowed to 'destroy all the ivory in Buckingham Palace'
Prince William feeding a black rhino

The Duke of Cambridge’s comments are the latest move in a “war” declared on poachers by the Prince and hailed as “extremely significant” in the fight against a trade that could see the rhinoceros and elephant become extinct.

Some 1200 items containing ivory are listed in the British royal collection, including a throne from India that once belonged to Queen Victoria which incorporates elephant-ivory plaques.

While some critics have detracted from the proposition, saying it is “pointless” and a “menacing response”, conservationists and government leaders have generally lauded the Prince’s stand.

“It’s difficult to imagine a stronger symbol of the horrors of ivory than Buckingham Palace publicly destroying its own,” Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith told The Independent on Sunday. “Good for Prince William for pushing this.”

Prince William intends for the move to encourage other heads of states to give up their own ivory stocks and collections.

Long a supporter of animal rights charities, the Duke has regularly delivered speeches on the issue and implored world leaders to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ approach towards the lucrative trade.

He is said to have requested that all ivory items in Clarence House be hidden from sight for years.

Last week William launched a new coalition called United for Wildlife. Made up of seven organisations, the goal of the group is to end the illegal wildlife trade.

Prince William said at the launch: “The forces that are currently destroying some of the world’s most endangered species are sophisticated and powerful, but this week we are seeing the creation of an equally powerful alliance, coming together to help fight them.”

On the back of that initiative 46 governments pledged to renounce the use of any products from species threatened by extinction, to support the commercial prohibition on the international trade in elephant ivory until the survival of elephants is no longer threatened by poaching, and to encourage countries to destroy their illegal stockpiles of ivory.

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Prince William calls Helen Mirren “Granny”

Prince William honours Dame Helen Mirren with BAFTA Fellowship Award.
Helen Mirren BAFTA award

The 68-year-old had to wait till the very end of the ceremony at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House to receive her award from the second in line to the throne.

William, who was introduced by the evening’s host, Stephen Fry as Prince will.i.am showed his lighter side while honouring the actress.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge was accompanied by Amanda Berry OBE.

“The recipient of this year’s fellowship is an extremely talented actress who I should probably call granny,” quipped the young Prince, who was making reference Mirren’s 2006 BAFTA winning role in The Queen.

Mirren looked stunning as she walked on stage in a dazzling Jacques Azagury dress to collect her prize from the Prince. She began her speech by blowing a kiss to her husband of 16 years Taylor Hackford and had earlier admitted she was glad she knew she was getting the award ahead of time.

“It’s really nice to go to this sort of ceremony knowing you’ve won. None of those kind of nerves,” the thespian said. “Knowing that you’ve got to make a speech and I never imagined that I would, I always thought of myself as a bit of an outsider really, sort of the naughty girl.”

Mirren later said it was the first time she had met William and remarked that having the Monarch’s grandson present the award made it even more special.

“I think it feels pretty amazing actually, because I don’t think he’d do it if the royal family felt I had messed up,” she said. “So I hope it’s a sign they don’t think I messed up. But I don’t know, and I will never know for sure.”

Actor Jeremy Irons poses with actress Dame Helen Mirren after presenting her with her BAFTA Fellowship award in the winner’s room.

William’s co-host, veteran British actor Jeremy Irons, joined the Prince on stage and had some very kind words to add about his talented colleague.

“Helen Mirren has always been an actress impossible to ignore. Everything she did was always worthwhile, it was always serious, and because of her it was always intrinsically sexy.”

Prince William greets fans outside the event on the red carpet.

The actress joins legendary alumni as the Fellowship has previously been given to the likes of Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Richard Curtis and Michael Palin.

“This is the greatest professional honour I can imagine, certainly one I never dreamt of as a schoolgirl in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex,” she said during her acceptance speech. “To join that list of legendary names is overwhelming.”

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Ellen Page comes out as gay

Ellen Page

Photo: Getty Images

“I’m here today because I am gay,” she told a conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in Las Vegas.

“And because … maybe I can make a difference. To help others have an easier and more hopeful time. Regardless, for me, I feel a personal obligation and a social responsibility.”

In an honest, personal and emotionally moving speech, the 26-year-old actress spoke about the personal torment she endured as a result of being “scared to be out”.

“I’m standing here today, with all of you, on the other side of all that pain. I am young, yes, but what I have learned is that love, the beauty of it, the joy of it and yes, even the pain of it, is the most incredible gift to give and to receive as a human being. And we deserve to experience love fully, equally, without shame and without compromise.”

The speech took place at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s inaugural Time to Thrive conference, which promotes safety, inclusion and well-being for LGBTQ youth. The Q stands for questioning.

Page told the audience that she was there as “an actress, representing – at least in some sense – an industry that places crushing standards on all of us”.

“Standards of beauty. Of a good life. Of success. Standards that, I hate to admit, have affected me.”

Photo: WireImage

Photo: WireImage

Photo: WireImage

“Sometimes it’s the little, insignificant stuff that can tear you down. I try not to read gossip as a rule, but the other day a website ran an article with a picture of me wearing sweatpants on the way to the gym. The writer asked, ‘Why does [this] petite beauty insist upon dressing like a massive man?’

“Because I like to be comfortable. There are pervasive stereotypes about masculinity and femininity that define how we are all supposed to act, dress and speak. They serve no one. Anyone who defies these so-called ‘norms’ becomes worthy of comment and scrutiny. The LGBT community knows this all too well.”

The publication responsible for the article is E! Online, which has since deleted the relevant web page.

In 2007, Page was thrust into the global spotlight following her starring role in the hit film Juno where she played a pregnant teenager and earned an Oscar nomination.

Page’s speech also praised others who have taken similar steps to come out publically, such as American football player Michael Sam, who by announcing he was gay this month could become the American National Football League’s first openly homosexual player.

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Liz Hurley and Shane Warne back together

Liz Hurley and Shane Warne appear to back together after they were spotted in each other's company for the first time since last November
Elizabeth Hurley and Shane Warne

It’s reported that Shane Warne didn’t stop smiling as he unloaded a carload of designer luggage alongside Hurley at her home in west London.

During a radio interview last week, Warne hinted at a reunion but was coy about their relationship status.

Speaking on KIIS 106.5 to Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O, he said “I’m just sitting on the fence on that one.

“But we’ll see how things unfold over the next few months … I’ll inform you soon.”

Liz Hurley shopping

The day before Hurley and Warne were spotted, Hurley was seen out food shopping with her son. Photo: Ada/GC Images via Getty Images

Media revelations often feature a mention in news stories, but for Shane and Liz, Twitter may have given away more than usual.

They are said to have inadvertently confirmed their split last month when the Australian cricket legend stopped following Hurley’s Twitter account.

But the couple are now following each other once again.

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First glimpse of Zara Phillips and baby Mia Tindall

Zara Phillips has stepped out for the first time since becoming a mother, taking her one-month-old daughter to the races.
Zara Phillips and Mia

Zara Phillips pushes her baby daughter Mia Grace at the races at the weekend.

Zara bundled up warm to take Mia Grace on her first public outing at the Barbury point-to-point races in Wiltshire.

The new mum made sure her tiny daughter was kept hidden from prying eyes, not taking her out of her pram the entire time they were there.

Zara seemed happy to be photographed herself, however, smiling as she lugged her stroller across the paddocks to get closer to the action.

Zara Phillips and Mia

Zara welcomed baby Mia last month. It is her first child with husband Mike Tindall, who is said to be besotted with his little girl.

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Delta Goodrem left ‘broken’ by bullying internet trolls

Delta Goodrem has opened up about her battle with Twitter trolls who wanted to derail her every move.
Delta Goodrem Instyle

Delta, who currently features on the cover of Instyle Australia, was the only female judge on the reality TV contest for two years in 2012 and 2013, alongside Seal, Keith Urban, Joel Madden and Ricky Martin.

The singer, who will judge on The Voice Kids later this year, told InStyle that she was left “deeply affected” by the comments she was inundated with while on the high rating show.

Delta with her fellow montors Joel Madden, Seal and Ricky Martin.

“No matter what I did, people had their own thoughts about me already and perhaps they weren’t accustomed to me having opinions,” Goodrem lamented.

“At the time I was devastated, absolutely broken. I never wanted to be controversial. I’m in this for the music.”

Goodrem says she has been passionate about performing from an early age and recalls the moment she was left star struck by fellow Aussie artist, Olivia Newton-John.

“I was seven, and I had this beautiful moment meeting Olivia Newton-John in New York. My mum and I were having a hot chocolate after seeing Phantom of the Opera. I said to Mum, ‘There’s Sandy!’

“Olivia heard my Australian accent and came over. She was lovely and … it has stuck with me my entire life.”

Delta took this cheeky selfie with her fellow The Voice Kids mentors Joel and Benji Madden.

Delta was linked to The Voice Australia host, Darren McMullen last year and quashed rumours of a relationship with Seal revealing that she is happily single.

“I can’t imagine being in a relationship right now,” she said. “I’m feeling very empowered.”

Delta has been living over in LA and working on a new album which she feels will be very different to others she has previously released.

“The songs are a little more upbeat, grittier and feistier than before,” she said. “I’m feeling freer than I’ve ever felt. I have no limit to what I’m doing and I’m letting people see my fun side.”

Delta’s debut album in 2003 was the seventh bestselling record in Australian history.

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Celeb couples raunchy videos

Celebrity couples often ride on the fame of their other halves success – so why not star in their music videos too.

Celebrities have been doing it for years but recently they’ve stepped it up a notch, or should we say added an extra touch of sizzle to the perfomance.

Kim Kardashian and Kayne West are akward to watch in Kayne’s overtly sexual Bound 2 video. While John Legend’s wife Chrissy Teigen gets naked in his hit video All of Me.

The question is, do you think celebrities should keep their intimate moments private or do you love a rare look into their bedroom dynamics?

Watch and decide here!

Kayne and Kim steam up the screen in Kayne’s song ‘Bound 2’.

Beyonce and Jay Z show why they’re the power couple of the industry in ‘Drunk in Love’.

Is John Legend’s wife Chrissy the real star of his worldwide hit ‘All of Me’?

Katy Perry and John Mayer agree on one thing in their duet, you can’t choose ‘who you love.’

We wonder what ‘secrets’ Seal and Heidi Klum have kept after their public break-up.

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon tell their ‘love story’ in Mariah’s gushy video clip.

Taking it back to when Bennifer were the hot couple and JLO was still ‘Jenny from the block.’

Axl Rose and his ex Stephanie Seymour star in the epic Guns N’ Roses clip ‘November Rain.’

Anna Kournikova makes out with her ex-boyfriend Enrique Iglesias in his ‘escape’ video.

Pink’s hit ‘Just give me a reason’ shows an intimate side to her relationship with Carey Hart.

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Emily Blunt gives birth to daughter, Hazel

Hollywood couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinski have welcomed their first child, a girl who they have named Hazel.
Emily Blunt

The couple made the announcement via the first-time father’s Twitter account, tweeting “Wanted to let the news out directly. Emily and I are so incredibly happy to welcome our daughter Hazel in the world today! Happy bday!”

It has been publicised that the couple, who were married in 2010 in Italy, have been planning for children and want a big family.

“We want to have children; I just don’t know when yet,” Blunt said at the time of their marriage.

“I’m just not sure about the timing of all of that. We’re both from big families so I think it’s something we want.”

Blunt, 30, whose breakthrough role was the catty English assistant in The Devil Wears Prada, was last spotted just a few days ago in Hollywood on casual day out with John, 34, star of TV sitcom The Office.

Emily and John out on 4 January.

Blunt continued working throughout her pregnancy, filming roles that do not lend themselves to a woman expecting.

Alongside Tom Cruise, she has been filming science-fiction film Edge of Tomorrow, playing a Special Forces soldier fighting a hostile alien race.

When spotted filming Disney’s Into the Woods, a cinematic adaptation of the Broadway musical, her costume reportedly disguised her pregnancy.

Both films are expected to be released next year.

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