Author: DispatchTimes News Desk

Severely ill sea lions and fur seals are washing ashore along California’s coast in unusually high numbers, overwhelming rescue teams and forcing them to prioritise the animals in most urgent need of help. The Marine Mammal Center said the latest surge had been particularly concentrated around the Monterey Peninsula, with cases also reported in Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco, Marin and Sonoma counties. More than 100 California sea lions have been treated for suspected domoic acid poisoning this year, exceeding the centre’s usual annual total of between 70 and 90 cases. Around 30 sea lions were rescued in a…

Two workers have been rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal nine days after flash floods swept through the Trishuli River valley, raising hopes that others may still be found. The men were pulled from the Upper Trishuli 3A Hydropower Station in Rasuwa district during a continuing operation by Nepalese soldiers and rescue teams. They were identified as Sanjay Sah, a mechanical foreman, and Kabir Maharjan, a mechanical supervisor, by the office of Nepal’s energy minister. The pair were found around 170 metres inside the tunnel and taken for medical treatment in Kathmandu. Rescuers heard voices from underground on…

Two workers have been rescued alive from a hydropower tunnel in Nepal, nine days after catastrophic flooding buried the site and left hundreds of people missing. The men were brought out of the Trishuli 3A project in Rasuwa on Friday, 4 September, after rescuers heard voices beneath the mud and debris blocking the underground passage. They were identified as 30-year-old mechanical foreman Sanjay Shah and 45-year-old mechanical supervisor Kabir Maharjan. Both were said to be in a stable condition and were flown to a hospital in Kathmandu. Footage showed one survivor being carried from the tunnel covered in mud, while…

Blayde Pettitt, a 13-year-old boy from Queensland, has died after crashing on a modified e-scooter while spending time with friends near a McDonald’s restaurant in Childers. Emergency services were called to Macrossan Street shortly after 6pm on Wednesday, 26 August, following the single-vehicle crash. Blayde suffered serious head injuries and was flown to Queensland Children’s Hospital in a critical condition. Queensland Police said he died in hospital on 29 August. The Forensic Crash Unit is continuing to investigate the circumstances of the collision. A fundraising appeal set up on behalf of Blayde’s family said he had been with friends at…

Cassandra Thorburn has taken a pointed swipe at her former husband Karl Stefanovic after revealing she has completed treatment for a rare form of breast cancer and has not heard from him since making her diagnosis public. Thorburn, 55, was diagnosed with triple-negative occult breast cancer in February. The condition is unusual because cancer is found in the lymph nodes or surrounding tissue without a primary tumour being visible in the breast. Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald, she said she had become determined to control her own story after years of being portrayed by sections of the media as…

A police chase involving a reportedly stolen SUV was under way near South Los Angeles on Thursday night, with aerial news crews tracking the pursuit through the area. SkyFOX was over the scene on September 3 as the suspect was pursued by authorities. The precise route of the chase and the circumstances that led officers to begin following the vehicle were not immediately clear. ABC7 Los Angeles also reported that authorities were pursuing a suspect in a reportedly stolen SUV through South Los Angeles. No injuries, arrests or details about the suspect had been confirmed in the latest available reports.…

A 41-year-old man has died after allegedly being attacked by a neighbour during a dispute over noise at a unit block in Sydney’s north-west. Police were called to the property on Lister Avenue in Ermington at about 1am on Friday, 4 September, following reports of an assault. Officers from Ryde Police Area Command allege a 30-year-old man punched the older man several times in the face before he fell down a flight of stairs. The alleged assault then continued, police said. Police began CPR at the scene before NSW Ambulance paramedics took the injured man to hospital, where he died…

A Sydney banker has been accused of attacking his Australian partner with a saucepan and boiling water at a luxury hotel in France. David Cao allegedly struck Callum Forbes on the head before pouring boiling water over his body during the incident on 28 July at the Château de Perreux in Nazelles-Négron, central France. Mr Forbes, 36, suffered second-degree burns to his face, torso, neck and upper arms, as well as a burst eardrum and serious head injuries that required stitches. French authorities arrested Cao, 37, about 36 hours later in Lille, close to the Belgian border, after he allegedly…

Photographs said to show Wheel of Fortune announcer Jim Thornton viewing a chatroom associated with people with paedophilic thoughts on an aeroplane have emerged after Sony Pictures Television suspended him from the programme. The images, published by TMZ, appear to show Thornton using a laptop during an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Los Angeles in May. A fellow passenger reportedly raised concerns with cabin crew, who alerted authorities before the aircraft arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. American Airlines confirmed that Flight 1276 was met by law enforcement on 14 May “following concerns reported by a customer onboard”. Thornton…

The family of an 18-year-old man arrested over the deadly Chelan Hills Fire has rejected allegations that he started the blaze, while investigators continue to pursue five other people believed to have been involved. Michael Yakimov, from Kent, Washington, was arrested on 2 September after Douglas County Sheriff’s Office detectives said they had developed probable cause linking him to the fire, which began shortly after midnight on 4 July. Authorities allege Yakimov was part of a group firing illegal fireworks from the back of a white Dodge pick-up truck. One of the fireworks is alleged to have landed in dry…