Good afternoon. Optus is gradually restoring services after a nationwide outage left millions of customers and businesses without mobile and internet access.
The cause of the outage remained unclear, the Optus chief executive, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, said. Hospitals across the nation were affected, while Melbourne’s entire train network was brought to a halt due to the outage.
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman said it was able to assist Optus customers with refunds and compensation claims.
Top news
Australian family flees Gaza | The foreign minister, Penny Wong, said an Australian family of three was able to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing. Wong added that 28 Australians have now left Gaza, with 76 still remaining. Meanwhile, a man allegedly involved in a clash during a pro-Palestinian rally outside the Sydney Opera House will fight an assault charge as his lawyer waits for footage of the incident.
Israel accused of targeting humanitarian convoy | The Palestine Red Crescent Society has accused Israeli forces of targeting a convoy carrying “lifesaving medical supplies” in Gaza City. The Biden administration says it would oppose a reoccupation of the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military. Concerns of a regional spillover persist, with Israel striking Lebanese territory multiple times in the past 24 hours and a drone attack targeting a US-led coalition base in northern Iraq.
Sidney Nolan paintings to be sold for first time in almost 75 years | Two works by Sidney Nolan that haven’t changed hands since they were painted more than 70 years ago – including one believed to be the first he ever sold commercially and a Christmas gift to his wife – are heading to auction this month. The paintings are expected to go for $300,000 to $700,000.
Ketamine use hits record peak in Australia | The latest wastewater monitoring report from the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission showed a record-high use of ketamine, and methamphetamine and cocaine usage reaching the highest levels in three years, based on data from April and June 2023. The report came as Victoria recorded its highest number of overdose deaths in a decade.
Australia’s miracle comeback at the Cricket World Cup | Glenn Maxwell produced one of the most astonishing one-day innings of all time to rescue Australia from what appeared to be certain defeat against Afghanistan and steer them to victory by three wickets in Mumbai.
PwC to cut more than 330 jobs | The consultancy giant will close its “skilled service hub” in South Australia after a scandal over the misuse of Treasury information. More redundancies are expected across the national workforce.
Voters add abortion rights to Ohio’s constitution | In a major victory for abortion rights supporters, more than 57% voted in favour of adding abortion to the state constitution.
China releases methane reduction plan | The plan is a sign that China is moving closer towards a new climate agreement with the US. Xi Jinping and Joe Biden are expected to meet at the Apec summit in San Francisco next week.
Canada’s insufficient plan to cut emissions | Canada’s emissions reduction plan is insufficient to meet its target to cut emissions by 40% to 45% below the 2005 level by 2030, according to a new a report released by the country’s auditor general.
Full Story
Why the Qantas AGM blew up
Listen to this 25-minute episode discussing what happened at the meeting and the many challenges still facing the national airline.
What they said …
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“With all the money that is gained by fossil fuels, Australia needs to take a leadership role in helping people decarbonise and promoting technologies that decarbonise.” – Surangel Whipps Jr, Palau president
The remarks were made ahead of Anthony Albanese’s arrival in Cook Islands for the Pacific Islands Forum.
In numbers
Australia saw an output drop between 10 and 30%.
Before bed read
Australian Epic – the Chaser’s musical doco series – is often fun and sometimes excruciating, writes Luke Buckmaster. Read his review.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: VAT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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