Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Peter Hitchens has launched a fresh attack on Russell Brand, claiming that Britain’s liberal establishment remains more sympathetic to the comedian’s views on drugs than to his own opposition to drug liberalisation. The columnist said he was too prejudiced to judge whether Brand was guilty of the crimes for which he had been convicted, but added that he was “sure beyond reasonable doubt” that Brand was “a rather nasty person”. Mr Hitchens also argued that Brand was unfit for any significant role in public life and dismissed his reputation as a comedian, writing that the evidence against him had shown…

A cone beam breast CT scanner that produces three-dimensional images without painful compression is being introduced in Australia, offering doctors another way to investigate cancers that may be difficult to see in dense breast tissue. The Koning Vera system scans each breast in about 10 seconds while the patient lies face down. Its approval for inclusion in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods in September allows commercial supply in Australia and could lead to wider use in clinics. Brisbane Radiology was the first Australian clinic to introduce the technology. Clinic owner Angela Sclavos said women can now attend with a…

Russell Brand has reportedly been subjected to repeated, racially abusive football-style chants by prisoners at Wandsworth Prison, where he is being held ahead of sentencing for rape and three sexual assaults. A source said hundreds of inmates had been shouting a chant containing Brand’s name around the south London jail. The abuse was said to have left the 51-year-old comedian “cowering in fear”. Brand was convicted last Thursday after a four-week trial and is due to be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Monday. The judge has warned him to expect a lengthy custodial sentence. Weekend conditions at Wandsworth were…

An Australian-registered waterbombing helicopter has gone down in a river in Indonesia. No further details about the incident were provided.

Britain’s leading planning barrister has been ordered to remove a rooftop pergola from his £3 million townhouse in South Kensington after councillors rejected a retrospective planning application following a bitter dispute with neighbours. Lord Charlie Banner, 46, and his wife, Ukrainian barrister Tetyana Nesterchuk, 43, installed the wooden structure above their Victorian gated mews home without first obtaining planning permission. The pergola, covered with artificial greenery and festoon lights, appeared in August and prompted objections from residents in the Thurloe and Smith’s Charity conservation area, where alterations to buildings are closely controlled. Georgina Shacklock, who owns a neighbouring three-storey house,…

Donald Trump has offered UFC president Dana White the job of White House press secretary, in an unusual proposed appointment that would put the mixed martial arts executive at the centre of the US president’s communications operation. White said he planned to travel from London to Washington and meet Mr Trump at the White House on Monday. He was speaking at a boxing event when asked about the offer, which the president announced in a post on social media. Mr Trump described Mr White as “the Great Dana White, a violent Fighter and Warrior” and asked him to become the…

Victoria would fight to secure major UFC events if Jess Wilson became premier following the state election. The proposal forms part of Wilson’s pitch to voters, placing the state’s bid to host big UFC events at the centre of her campaign.

Katy Perry told fans that her former husband Russell Brand “should be in jail” during a concert appearance in Oxfordshire last July, a remark that has gained fresh significance after he was convicted of rape and three sexual assaults. The Firework singer made the comment during a question-and-answer session at the Blenheim Palace Festival. Asked to act out her reaction to seeing her ex, she replied: “I hope my ex isn’t here. He should be in jail.” Brand was convicted at Southwark Crown Court last week. The comedian has faced allegations from several women, although the source material does not…

Australia’s Rugby League World Cup semi-final against Samoa is being billed as a contest that could be decided by the two full-backs, with Reece Walsh and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow identified as the players most capable of changing the game in an instant. Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters has chosen Walsh to start on Sunday after weighing up the 24-year-old against veteran James Tedesco throughout the tournament. His selection sets up a direct duel with Tabuai-Fidow, Samoa’s Dolphins star. Former NRL player and Channel 7 expert James Graham said the two full-backs could prove decisive if their forwards create opportunities for them to…

Heavy rain has flooded tens of thousands of displaced people’s tents in Gaza, leaving many without shelter, Palestinian authorities said. Families fled inundated camps in Gaza City, northern areas of the territory and parts of central Gaza after rainfall began early on Saturday. Gaza authorities said around 70,000 tents housing tens of thousands of displaced people had been flooded on the first day of the rains. They also reported that dozens of cracked walls and roofs had collapsed in different parts of the territory, causing injuries, some of them critical. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defence, said…