1. Ugly scenes in Denmark overnight, with a radio DJ belting a baby rabbit to death, on air.
The DJ, whose name is Asger Juhl, claims that he was trying to make a point about animal cruelty. He took the dead rabbit home and ate it with his children, and notes that millions of animals die each day for the purpose of human consumption.
In the wave of outrage that followed, the radio station put out a statement saying the rabbit, Allan, had a good life compared to those animals raised for eating.
“This is not an empty provocation; the presenters of the program ate the animal after killing it,” the statement said.
“Consumers generally do not kill animals themselves but we buy and eat animals that have led sad lives.
“We wanted to expose the vast hypocrisy surrounding our relationship with animals. We knew that we would be accused of provocation. And yes, we indeed wanted to provoke the public and to stir a debate.”
2. The film may have flopped but Nicole Kidman has received buckets of praise for her kindness, patience and skill while making Grace of Monaco.
The film, which premiered to terrible reviews in Cannes, was never shown in cinemas in the US but was broadcast on the Lifestyle channel on Monday.
The script writer Arash Amel, who argued non-stop with producers and directors while the film was being made, tweeted throughout, explaining where and how things went wrong.
But Arash made plain that he absolutely loved Nicole, saying: “Nicole was the best. Terrific to work with on every level.”
His Twitter picture is actually a copy of the Grace of Monaco script, signed by Nicole.
Of the scene in which Nicole’s character gives a lengthy speech, he said: “Nicole did this whole speech in one go, three or four times for angles.”
He also said: “How amazing Nicole looks.”
Toward the end, he wrote: “I’m now lying in a dark room, drinking bone broth to recover.”
3. The wife and children of one of Australia’s most notorious terrorists – including one child who was pictured last year holding a severed human head – are seeking to return to Australia.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Khaled Sharrouf’s wife, who was born with the name Tara Nettleton, is trying to get her five kids home.
Tara converted to Islam at age 17 and had the first of her children with Khaled soon after.
She followed her husband to Syria in 2014.
Tara’s Dad, Peter, wants his grandchildren to be allowed to return home to Australia, saying they are victims of their mad father.
4. The world’s most expensive house is up for sale.
And you thought Sydney real estate prices were crazy?
Bloomberg reports today on what may be the world’s most expensive house: a $500 million mansion in Bel Air that will have four swimming pools and acres of lawn that can’t be watered because California is in drought.
The house is being built by a movie producer, Nile Niami, who made Patriot with Steven Seagal. He’s turned his hand to property development, and last year sold a house to the world’s richest rapper, Diddy, for $40 million.
Of course, asking $500 million ain’t getting: Bloomberg says only five $100 million properties sold last year. Besides which, the record for property currently stands at $221 million for London penthouse.
There is a $425 million estate for sale in France’s Cote d’Azur but so far, no takers.
5. Ever wondered if your best years are behind you?
The BBC says maybe yes, maybe no.
Yes, you should have tried to run the 100 metres in under 10 seconds back when you were in your 20s and, if you wanted to win the Nobel Prize, well, most of the people so bestowed made their discovery before the age of 40.
On the other hand: sex. It’s great in your 50s (apparently). And as for happiness, it peaks in your 60s.
“There’s no age at which we are best at everything,” says Josh Hartshorne at Harvard University, who conducted much of the research.
6. And in sports news, Carlton coach Mick Malthouse has farewelled the game with grace, after being sacked by Carlton.
For non-AFL types, Carlton is a blue-blood club, with a record-breaking number of premiership flags.
Malthouse is a legendary coach, leading three teams to the flag. But Carlton is now at the bottom of the ladder, so he’s been sacked.
In a statement, Malthouse thanked Carlton Football Club “for my brief time at the club.”
“More generally I want to thank the AFL and the wider football community for allowing me to be part of their game.
“I have loved it all, the good and the bad.”
He added: “To the media I wish you well — despite our constant battlefield……you might even miss me!”
Already true.
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