Drugs and Prostitutes Alleged at Australia’s Seven Network in Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial; Broadcaster ‘Appalled’ by Claims

The wife of Former DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has appeared in court, facing charges of aiding and abetting her husband in alleged sex offences.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Epic war-time survival tale “The Guns of Muschu” has already assembled a weighty cast ahead of a production start in the first quarter of 2025. The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book “The Guns of Muschu,” written by Don Dennis, with an adapted screenplay by Tom Broadhurst and Jack Brislee (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”). The narrative brings to life a pivotal chapter of Australian war history with gritty authenticity, recounting the high body count Operation Copper, a mission during WWII when Australian and New Zealand troops were sent into the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The objective of the mission was to investigate the Japanese defenses on Muschu Island, capture a Japanese officer for interrogation and discover the location of two naval guns on the island that were protecting a harbor.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line,” a documentary feature about the veteran Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has been set as the opening gala title at the Sydney Film Festival. It will have its world premiere at the State Theatre on June 5, kicking off the festival that runs until June 16. The film is written and directed by Paul Clarke and produced by Carolina Sorensen. It was executive produced by Mikael Borglund, Paul Clarke and Martin Fabinyi. It is a Blink TV and Beyond Entertainment feature documentary with principal production funding from Screen Australia and Australian Broadcasting Corporation in association with Screen NSW.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Mckenna Grace, the in-demand actor who appeared in “I, Tonya” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” and recently starred in “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” is set to lead the upcoming film “Everything I Never Did.” The young adult-targeted picture is written by screenwriters D.J. McPherson and Scott Taylor and will be directed by Australia’s Jeremy Sims (“Last Cab to Darwin”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief James Warburton, MD and CEO of Seven West Media, one of Australia’s largest media conglomerates, has resigned following a series of scandals. He was scheduled to depart the company in December, but now exits with immediate effect following a board meeting on Thursday. In a filing to the Australian Stock Exchange, Seven West said that Jeff Howard, currently its chief finance officer, will take over as MD and CEO with effect from Friday.

police records. No bail was set.He was arrested on six charges, including possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and for a pattern of unlawful activity, which are both Class 2 felony charges.Lesser charges include procuring or attempting to procure drug/prescription, identity fraud, forgery and possession of other controlled substances.The Post has contacted reps for YoungBoy for comment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Escapade Media has come on board to take international sales rights to ‘Follow the Rain,’ a feature-length documentary about unknown species of mushroom that has enjoyed theatrical release in its native Australia. The film is directed and produced by Catherine Marciniak and follows Marciniak and Stephen Axford, her partner in production company Planet Fungi, as they explore forests and wetlands charting some of the millions of undocumented forms of mushroom, fungus and mycelium.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Rachel Perkins has been appointed as chair of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) council for a period of three years. She follows previous chairs Russell Howcroft and Debra Richards. AFTRS is Australia’s leading specialist education, training and research institution, supporting excellence in Australian screen and audio storytelling. “Rachel is one of Australia’s leading storytellers, particularly when it comes to First Nations stories,” said Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke. A graduate of AFTRS, writer, director and producer, Perkins founded Blackfella Films, which has gone onto become one of Australia’s leading production companies.

Bring Me The Horizon guitarist Lee Malia will be absent from the band’s upcoming Australian tour, it has been announced.The Sheffield band are due to begin a seven-date run of shows Down Under with a performance at the John Cain Arena in Melbourne tonight (April 10).Further stop-offs are scheduled in Sydney (April 12, 14), Adelaide (17) and Brisbane (20, 21).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Filming has begun on “Return to Paradise,” an Australian spin-off series of the global hit murder mystery franchise “Death in Paradise.” With filming in locations across Sydney and the Illawarra coastal region, the six-part whodunit is produced by BBC Studios Productions Australia with Red Planet Pictures for the ABC in association with the BBC. The BBC will screen the series on BBC One and iPlayer in the U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Vikings” star Travis Fimmel reprises his role as Detective Cormack in a second season of Australian mystery drama series “Black Snow.” The six-part series is now shooting in Queensland, Australia, and has unveiled first-look images. “Australian film and television have never been stronger. Now, with the addition of streaming networks and their reach, I’m so proud that our local productions and their hard work can be recognized not only here, but around the world,” said Fimmel in a prepared statement. The first season of “Black Snow” was nominated as ‘most outstanding drama series’ at the 2023 Logie Awards and received two nominations at the 2024 AACTA Awards – for best drama series and best lead actor in a drama, for Fimmel.

Peter Andre has asked his two eldest children Princess, 16, and Junior, 18, to "cuddle mum for me" as they flew over to Australia to visit their grandmother, Thea, 88, who has been diagnosed with vascular dementia and Parkinson’s disease.The singer, 51, recently became a father of five as his wife Emily welcomed a baby girl, their third child together. And sharing a sweet post, he praised Junior and Princess, who he shares with ex-wife Katie Price. Peter hailed the teenagers as 'amazing' as they travelled hours to see their new baby sister before even more travel just days later to head Down Under.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Lord of the Rings,” “Elvis” and “Faraway Downs” star David Wenham is to reprise one of other his best-known roles in upcoming feature “SPIT.” The picture is a sequel to 2003 comedy crime thriller “Gettin’ Square,” in which Wenham played Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitteri, a recently-released ex-convict and Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) played an older brother trying to keep the kid out of trouble. Production of “SPIT” has got underway in Gold Coast and Brisbane, Queensland and will continue through May. The new film is directed by ‘Gettin’ Square” and “The Railway Man” director Jonathan Teplitzky, from a screenplay by Queensland-based writer and lawyer Christopher Nyst. It is produced by Trish Lake of Queensland-based Freshwater Pictures alongside Greg Duffy, Felicity McVay and Wenham. It received major production investment from Screen Australia with local distribution by Transmission Films and international rights sales managed by Moviehouse Entertainment.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Romantic comedy series “Top End Bub” will begin production next month in Australia as a sequel to hit 2019 feature film “Top End Wedding.” Stars Miranda Tapsell (“The Sapphires”) and Gwilym Lee (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) will reprise their roles. The series is created, executive produced and written by “Top End Wedding” writers Joshua Tyler and Tapsell and produced by Goalpost Pictures.

Christine Quinn has been granted a restraining order against her estranged husband Christian Dumontet!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief YG Entertainment, the firm behind K-pop sensation Blackpink, has appointed Yang Min-seok as its new, sole CEO. The younger brother of company founder Yang Hyun-sun, he was previously joint CEO with Hwang Bo-kyun. The announcement was made shortly after YG’s annual shareholder meeting that closed the books on a year in which revenues climbed 65% to $430 million. The firm, which recently denied that it had paid $30 million to retain its position with Blackpink (but saw the girl group’s individual members sign personal representation contracts with other agencies) is busily launching BabyMonster, another all-female act that is seen in some circles as a successor to Blackpink. BabyMonster, which was formed late last year through reality TV show “Last Evaluation 2023,” is a seven part group with members from Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo and Taiwan-based LGBT streaming platform GagaOOLala will this month release “At 25.00 in Akasaka,” a live-action drama series in the popular Boys Love (BL) genre. Based on a popular manga by Natsuno Hiroko, the underlying comic has sold over 1.2 million copies. The series explores the romance between a renowned actor and an aspiring talent, cast as leads in a BL drama that wins the hearts of audiences worldwide.

Two males were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences in Ardwick this morning.

Bruce Springsteen joined country superstar Zach Bryan on stage at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center last night (March 27) – check out the footage below.The Boss took time out from his own tour, which is currently on the West Coast of the US, to fly over to New York for the appearance.Bryan was sporting a Springsteen shirt for the performance, and the two musicians played a version of Bryan’s as-yet-unreleased song ‘Sandpaper’, as well as his 2019 song ‘Revival’, for which they were joined on stage by Maggie Rogers.@springsteen on stage with Zach Bryan @barclayscenter tonight! Love that Zach is wearing a Springsteen tour shirt as he performs! Video by @AdamZagoria #springsteen #Zachbryan pic.twitter.com/ktgzwRaGLA— Spring-Nuts (@SpringNuts_) March 28, 2024Zach Bryan, Bruce Springsteen and Maggie Rogers on Revival in Brooklyn pic.twitter.com/S27jytJ4r8— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 28, 2024The 2024 leg of Springsteen’s current world tour restarted last week after the Boss had to postpone a hefty chunk of shows in 2023 due to health concerns.The worries arose towards the end of last year, when the singer-songwriter needed to be treated for peptic ulcer disease, and was forced to delay all of his shows after playing in New Jersey on September 3.On March 19, he returned to the stage in Phoenix, Arizona, playing a set incorporating tracks from across his extensive discography, ranging from his first album, ‘Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J.’, through 2022’s ‘Only the Strong Survive’.Later this summer, The Boss is set to return to this side of the pond for his 2024 UK and Ireland tour – find any remaining tickets here.

Faye Webster, The War on Drugs and David Byrne are set to appear on a new charity compilation to help benefit independent abortion providers in the US.‘Noise For Now, Vol. 2’ is the latest release from the non-profit organisation of the same name, which has gained prominence since the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v.