It's Friday! Here are this week's big stories and some that you might have missed
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following newsletter contains an image of a deceased person
The big headlines
- Three US armed service members were killed in Jordan and Iraq this week as the US launched strikes on Iranian military command centres. In response to the 11 consecutive nights of strikes, Iran targeted US military assets across Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.
- Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested by the US Marshals Service in Miami on Sunday. British prosecutors are seeking to extradite the kickboxers-turned-manosphere-influencers on rape and sex trafficking charges, while their lawyers deny the allegations. The offences are alleged to have taken place between 2010 and 2017 with seven different victims.
- Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in the Fifa World Cup final on Monday, but the game was not without controversy. Fifa has opened an investigation into the Argentinian players following the ugly physical altercations that took place after the final whistle. Several players, including Nahuel Molina and Leandro Paredes, face potential bans.
What else happened this week?
Albanese government to tighten AI rules
AI is set to dominate debate at the National Labor Conference in Adelaide that commenced yesterday / Shutterstock
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday that government agencies will be required to follow a framework to ensure AI privacy safeguards are strengthened. The new AI consumer priorities promise to better regulate AI use in Centrelink and Services Australia.
Commonwealth Games begin
The games are free to watch on Seven and 7mate in Australia / Shutterstock
Sport fans’ attention is now on the Commonwealth Games, which has begun in Glasgow, Scotland. More than 3,000 athletes from 74 Commonwealth nations and territories will compete across 10 sports and six para sports, with Australia looking to continue its winning streak.
Russian missile attack follows Ukrainian strikes
Tensions continue to heighten as Moscow’s full-scale war on Ukraine enters its fifth year / Shutterstock
Russia initiated one of its biggest ballistic missile barrages in its war on Ukraine in Kyiv earlier this week, killing at least one person and leaving 16 wounded. The attacks follow a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian warehouses last week, which left eight dead.
Yung Filly appears in Australian court over rape allegations
The trial will continue into next week as more evidence is heard / Wikimedia
British YouTuber and musician Yung Filly faced court in Perth on Monday over rape allegations from September 2024. The rapper pleaded not guilty to six counts of violent sexual assault against a 20-year-old fan while on tour in Australia.
South Australian electorate renamed after Aboriginal leader
Dr O’Donoghue was the first Aboriginal person to train as a nurse at the Royal Adelaide Hospital / Wikimedia
South Australia’s largest electorate, Grey, is set to be renamed in honour of the late Aboriginal leader Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue. The sitting Liberal MP Tom Venning opposed the change, saying rebranding could be costly as the electorate covers more than 92 per cent of the state. The electorate will now be known as O'Donoghue.
Jobseeker system is failing workers, report reveals
CICTAR found that those seeking employment were failed by the employment services / Pexels
An investigation by the Centre for International Corporate Tax Accountability and Research (CICTAR) has found that Australia’s privatised employment services fails workers and enriches millionaires and private equity firms through government contracts. CICTAR recommends that the delivery of employment services should be returned to the public sector for increased accountability
Sydney 2nd most unaffordable city for transport, report finds
The study also found Melbourne and Sydney are the first and second most expensive cities for cigarettes and beer / Wikimedia
Sydney and Melbourne have been marked as the world's second and fourth most expensive cities respectively for public transport by the Deutsche Bank’s Mapping the World’s Prices report. The average Sydney monthly rate is $216 while Melbourne is $197, both up from last year's report.
India's 'cockroach' protestors gassed by police
The protests started after a leak of medical school entrance test papers in May, forcing around two million students to sit the test twice / Wikimedia
Thousands of young demonstrators from India's Cockroach Janta Party gathered in New Delhi on Monday to demand that that country's education minister resign. The protestors were caned and tear-gassed by police as their march on parliament was denied.
Mark Dreyfus testifies at Royal Commission on antisemitism
Dreyfus recalled his office being vandalised and being subjected to verbal abuse following the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel / Wikimedia
Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus shared his experiences of antisemitism during the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in Melbourne at the start of the week. He called for greater online moderation and gun exclusion zones to be set up around Jewish synagogues and schools.
Brisbane woman gives birth to identical quadruplets
The girls are monozygotic quadruplets, where the single fertilised egg splits into four separate embryos / Shutterstock
Brisbane mum Jenitar Na'amoana gave birth to a set of naturally conceived, identical quadruplets in a rare and extremely high-risk pregnancy last week. The four girls were delivered via caesarean section at 28 weeks in a "one in 15 million pregnancy".
And now for some good news
Food delivery driver wins major literary prize in China
The poetry collection first went viral on social media before getting mainstream attention / Pexels
A food delivery rider, Wang Jibing, has won the Lu Xun Literary Prize for his collection of poems, which were inspired by the everyday challenges of blue-collar workers. The poetry collection Low Flight recounts the frustration of working odd jobs to get by. Having struggled with financial hardship, Wang will benefit greatly from the prize’s financial reward. Despite this, he does not plan on quitting his job as a deliveryman as it continues to inspire his writing.
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