As the earthquake death toll across Turkey and Syria passed 21,000, one Australian family got the news they had been hoping for. Penny Wong today said one Australian missing in Turkey had been found while two remain unaccounted for after Sydney man Can Pahali was yesterday confirmed to have died.
Australian rescue teams and technical equipment are on their way to the earthquake zone, where the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s relief efforts have been described by some as too little, too late.
In some sorely needed good news from Syria, the baby born in the rubble has found a home and been given a name: Aya, meaning “a sign from God” in Arabic.
Here’s everything we know on day five of the disaster.
Top news
Who will replace Alan Tudge? | Josh Frydenberg won’t be throwing his hat in the ring as a potential successor for the member for Aston, with the Victorian division of the Liberals keen to see a woman preselected. The opposition has been quick to claim “underdog” status in a byelection seen as a crucial early test for the federal leader, Peter Dutton.
Children released from Townsville watch house | Ben Smee reports exclusively that a Townsville magistrate ordered the release of several children being held on remand in the city’s police watch house. It comes amid a volatile debate about youth crime in Queensland, where the police service is “exploring its legal options” after the release.
Australia in a spin | Ravindra Jadeja was the destroyer on day one of the first cricket Test between Australia and India, but a mystery substance he was seen rubbing into his hand raised some eyebrows. Follow our over-by-over blog as Pat Cummins’s team attempt to fight their way back into the contest on day two.
News Corp wields the axe | One in 20 jobs will go at News Corp’s Australian mastheads after the media giant overnight announced quarterly earnings for its news division are in freefall. Results for the Foxtel Group and Dow Jones offset some of the declines, with the company’s Australian streaming products continuing to grow in popularity.
Boris Johnson supporter to exit politics | Nadine Dorries has followed other big Conservative figures announcing they will not fight the next UK election as the party struggles in the polls. The former UK culture secretary used her new TalkTV show to confirm her departure. “Those MPs who drank the Kool-Aid and got rid of Boris Johnson are already asking themselves the question: who next?,” she said.
US Republicans back Christian nationalism | Two-thirds of white evangelicals and most Republicans are sympathetic to Christian nationalism, according to a new survey. The findings come as an increasing number of Americans shift away from religious affiliations and the number of churches across the country declines.
Cheesecake poisoning conviction | A New York woman has been convicted of attempted murder after feeding poisoned cheesecake to her lookalike in a bid to steal her identity. The Queens district attorney, Melinda Katz, said the jury “saw through the deception and schemes of the defendant”.
Full Story
Can Labor set a new standard inside Parliament House? – with Lenore Taylor
For the first time in the history of the federal parliament, members from both parties endorsed a code of conduct for politicians and their staff. Is this enough? Listen to this 19-minute episode.
What they said …
***
“Scheduled mortgage payments are projected to reach between 9.5% and 9.75% of household disposable income by the end of 2023, based on cash rate increases to date.” – Reserve Bank of Australia
The release of the RBA’s quarterly statement on monetary policy on Friday confirms Australia’s interest rate nightmare isn’t over, writes Peter Hannam.
In numbers
Last year, financial losses from SMS scams increased by 188% compared with the previous year, from around $2.3m to over $6.5m.
SMS scams accounted for about 32% of all reported scams in 2022.
Before bed read
It’s been a heavy week – so here are 12 ways to meditate, without actually meditating.
*Antoun Issa contributed to this newsletter today.
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