It's Friday! Here are this week's big stories and some that you might have missed
The big headlines
- A two-week ceasefire in the Middle East conflict was declared on Wednesday but Israeli strikes on Lebanon, which have killed hundreds, have jeopardised the agreement between Iran and the US. Israel and the US have insisted Lebanon is not covered by the ceasefire, contradicting earlier statements by mediator Pakistan. Iran has shut the Strait of Hormuz in response to the attacks.
- Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated Afghanistan war veteran, has been arrested and charged with alleged war crimes. Roberts-Smith is accused of two counts of murder and three counts of aiding and abetting murder of unarmed Afghan civilians while deployed between 2009 and 2012.
- Artemis II has reached 8,000km beyond the moon, breaking the record for furthest distance travelled into space set by Apollo 13 in 1970, and is now headed back to Earth. The astronauts aboard proposed naming a moon crater Carroll after crew member Reid Wiseman’s late wife, who died of cancer in 2020
What else happened this week?
Government warns fuel won’t get cheaper with ceasefire
Petrol and diesel prices have both risen despite the government halving the fuel excise last week. (Unsplash)
Energy minister Chris Bowen has told Australians not to expect a decrease in fuel prices after the announcement of a Middle East ceasefire.
Wireless festival cancelled
Ye (pictured right) was scheduled to headline all three days of the festival in July. (Wikimedia Commons)
The Wireless music festival has been cancelled after headliner Kanye West, now legally known as Ye, was banned from entering the UK over previous antisemitic statements.
Free nasal spray flu vaccine for children
As with the Covid vaccine, the flu nasal spray is applied in either nostril, offering a painless alternative to the needle. (Shutterstock)
NSW joins South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia in offering the nasal spray flu vaccine to children for free amid diminishing flu vaccination numbers.
Russia launches Good Friday assault on Ukraine
A veterinary clinic was also struck in the attack, killing roughly 20 animals. (Wikimedia Commons)
Fourteen people were killed in Russia’s latest daytime attack on Ukraine, involving 500 drones and dozens of missiles mostly aimed at Kyiv.
Spike in EV sales
The global fuel crisis has led to an uptick in interest in electric vehicles. (Unsplash)
Almost 16,000 electric vehicles were sold across Australia in March, a 42 per cent increase on the previous month likely linked to the fuel crisis.
US journalist captured in Iraq to be released
Kittleson has been released on the condition that she leave Iraq immediately. (Shutterstock)
US journalist Shelly Kittleson has been released by militia group Kataib Hezbollah following her kidnapping in Baghdad last week.
Australian fashion brand sues Kmart and Shein
Sabo Skirt is a women’s fashion company based in Queensland, suing fashion giant Shein (Shutterstock)
Australian fashion label Sabo Skirt claims 21 companies, including Kmart and Shein, reproduced their designs in clothes "not crafted with high quality materials or craftsmanship."
Blake Lively’s claims against Justin Baldoni dismissed
Lively called the three remaining claims "the heart" of her case. (Shutterstock)
A judge has dismissed 10 of the 13 claims Blake Lively made against her It Ends With Us costar Justin Baldoni ahead of a trial in May.
Graham Arnold helps Iraq to World Cup qualification
Arnold was mobbed by joyful Iraqi-Australians when he touched down in Sydney Airport. (Wikimedia Commons)
The former Socceroos manager Graham Arnold led Iraq to its first World Cup qualification in 40 years with a 2-1 win over Bolivia.
And now for some good news
Pedestrian button in national sound archive
The button's sound was immortalised alongside Jack Karlson’s ‘democracy manifest’ spiel and the Reading Writing Hotline jingle. (Shutterstock)
The sound of the PB/5 pedestrian crossing button has been officially inducted into the National Film Sound Archive of Australia’s 2026 Sounds of Australia. Australians everywhere are familiar with the slow tick followed by the staccato beat, which were introduced in 1984 to help visually impaired pedestrians cross the road. Notably the sound was sampled by pop star Billie Eilish in her 2019 hit single Bad Guy.
