Good afternoon. The tragic stories continue to flow from Turkey and Syria. One such story is that of a newborn baby girl pulled from the rubble in northern Syria, her umbilical cord still attached to her mother. The child survived, the mother did not.
The latest updates from the earthquake:
Four Australians are missing with the federal government announcing it will send search and rescue teams to help recovery efforts;
The death toll has hit 7,926, and that number is expected to rise “significantly”;
In Turkey, more than 8,000 people have been pulled from debris and 380,000 have sought shelter;
At least 11,342 buildings are reported to have collapsed in Turkey alone;
The Syrian government has been accused of playing politics with aid, after its ambassador to the UN insisted the country be responsible for all humanitarian efforts inside the country. Much of the devastation in Syria has hit its north-western pocket, which is under the control of opposition groups, with whom the Syrian government has been in conflict over the past decade. Aid to these areas has been temporarily halted as a result of the political fallout.
Top news
Malka Leifer trial begins | The former principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school is facing 29 sexual assault and rape offences against students between 2003 and 2007. In opening arguments today, the prosecution alleged Leifer climbed on top of a victim as she slept next to her sister at the principal’s house. Leifer has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Brittany Higgins offers defamation help | The former Liberal staffer has reaffirmed her willingness to give evidence in defamation proceedings after Bruce Lehrmann’s decision to file civil claims against two media outlets – one against the publisher of news.com.au and the other against Channel Ten.
Pamphlets coming on Indigenous voice | Keep an eye out in your letterbox for an information brochure from the federal government outlining the yes and no cases for an Indigenous voice to parliament. The government had previously canned the idea, calling it outdated in the internet age, but today reversed its decision after criticism from the Coalition, Greens and both sides of the campaign.
Aboriginal artist at Venice Biennale | The Kamilaroi and Bigambul artist Archie Moore is to represent Australia at one of the world’s largest art events next year, making him just the second solo First Nations artist to do so.
Betting company fined | … for emailing Melbourne Cup promotions to 772 people experiencing gambling harm. But the small fine of $13,770 has raised red flags among experts who think it won’t be enough to enforce compliance.
Romney, Santos in tense Congress exchange | US president Joe Biden may have delivered the State of the Union address (see key takeaways here), but controversial Republican congressman George Santos was still able to steal some headlines. Santos was caught in a verbal tussle with fellow Republican Mitt Romney, who reportedly told Santos: “You don’t belong here.”
Zoom cuts workforce | … by 15% as the pandemic-driven demand for “Zoom calls” wanes. Zoom is the latest tech firm to announce major job cuts, with its chief executive officer, Eric Yuan, admitting the company made mistakes. “We didn’t take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyse our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably.”
Church considers gender-neutral terms for God | The Church of England is launching a new commission to determine whether to stop referring to God as “he”, after requests from priests to be allowed to use gender-neutral terms.
Hybrid cars pollute more than official numbers say | New research has revealed that popular hybrid cars from BMW, Renault and Peugeot all emit much more than standard lab tests claim. BMW’s 3 Series emitted 112g of carbon dioxide per kilometre, three times its official rating of 36g. Peugeot’s 308 polluted 20% more than its official rating of 27g, while Renault’s Megane was 70% above the official test of 30g.
Full Story
Has Peter Dutton’s soft no campaign against the voice worked?
The latest Guardian Essential poll shows the majority of Australians continue to support the Indigenous voice to parliament, despite the opposition leader’s soft no campaign. What are the risks, then, for Dutton going forward? Political editor Katharine Murphy discusses the poll findings with Essential Media’s Peter Lewis in this 25-minute episode.
What they said …
***
“New Zealand, Australia and America must be held accountable for what they have done, helping the Indonesian military to kill and genocide indigenous Papuans in the past 60 years.” – Sebby Sambom
West Papuan rebels have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after storming a commercial plane that landed in a remote highland area in Indonesia’s Papua province. Sambom, a rebel spokesperson, vowed not to release the pilot “unless Indonesia recognises and frees Papua from Indonesian colonialism”.
In numbers
Not much of a surprise given the mean price for a home in Australia is $889,800. The Property Council of Australia’s latest report also found that 52% of renters do so because they have no other option and 72% of renters can’t overcome the deposit gap.
Before bed read
Those who dare to protest in China risk disappearing. Xi Jinping’s decade-long, iron-fisted crackdown on activists, dissidents, rights lawyers and NGOs had all but eradicated China’s rights defence movement.
But last year’s widespread protests, and the police crackdown that ensued, has rekindled a sense of collective activism, giving birth to a spontaneous “Blank Paper movement”.
“It’s encouraging to know that many people are dissatisfied like me, and that we all want to fight back.” Read the full story.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know. Sign up for our Morning Mail newsletter here.
Contact us
If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email.
If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email customer.help@guardian.co.uk
