Hi. It's Wednesday, January 19 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
One thing you should know
A man has been charged with the murder of nine-year-old Charlise Mutten, whose body was found in a barrel yesterday, five days after she was last seen in the Blue Mountains.
- Police believe the 31-year-old man acted alone in the alleged murder
- The accused is engaged to the little girl's mother
- Charlise was reported missing last Friday
The child's body is yet to be formally identified but police say the remains found in the barrel are consistent with the primary school student.
Charlise lived with her grandmother at Coolangatta in Queensland, but was holidaying in the Blue Mountains with her mother and her mother's fiance.
What else is going on
- The NSW, ACT, SA and Victorian governments have all announced that eligible residents will be able to get their COVID vaccine boosters three months after their second dose, instead of waiting four months
- The federal government will provide a fee rebate to any students or backpackers who come back to Australia in the next few months in an attempt to help prop up a number of industries facing worker shortages
- Prominent Trump ally Rudy Giuliani has been subpoenaed by the US congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot, along with three other members of the former president's legal team
What Australia has been searching for online
- Microsoft. The company is in the process of executing the biggest acquisition in the industry's history, buying gaming powerhouse Activision Blizzard (including franchises like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and Candy Crush) for $US68.7 billion ($95 billion)
- Big Bash. Cricket Australia says paceman Mohammad Hasnain has been reported for a suspected illegal bowling action, but that because he's already gone home to Pakistan, he'll be tested at a facility in Lahore rather than CA's ICC-approved Brisbane facility
One more thing
Did you catch Nick Kyrgios's Australian Open first-round win last night? It was quite the match.
His opponent, British qualifier Liam Broady, didn't have quite as much fun as the Aussie — he says he was on the receiving end of sledging and booing from the John Cain Arena crowd and says he was shocked by the behaviour, calling parts of the experience "absolutely awful".
"It was pretty crazy out there. But [I'm] glad to have got it out of the way."
Kyrgios jokingly described Tuesday night's crowd — even at a reduced capacity — as a "zoo" in light of its behaviour.
You're up to date
Thanks for joining us.
ABC/wires
