Europe burns, Jacinta Allan out and avo toast for everyone
It's Friday! Here are this week's big stories and some that you might have missedThe big headlinesAustraliacontinues to top the leaderboardat the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, while Canada and England sit in. . .
It's Friday! Here are this week's big stories and some that you might have missedThe big headlinesAustraliacontinues to top the leaderboardat the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, while Canada and England sit in second and third place respectively. With only a few days of the games left, Australian athletes are likely to continue to impress in the athletics and netball finals, among several other events. Unprecedented wildfiresblazed acrossFrance and Spain this week, with another heatwave is set to hit Western Europe soon. In south-west France, the wildfire burnt through a region four times the size of Paris and encroached on the city of Bordeaux. Meanwhile in Spain, some 100, 000 people were told to evacuate their homes, with their worst wildfire on record. Jacinta Allan resigned as Victorian premier on Tuesday morning, prompting a leadership spill thatresulted in theelevation of former deputy premier Ben Carroll hours later. The new premier’s first move was to announce a royal commission into the construction sector. This followed the controversial handling by the Allan government of alleged criminal infiltration of construction sites. What else happened this week?Didn’t receive the AusAlert? Here’s whyEmergency Services Minister Kristy McBain claimed 94% of cell towers successfully broadcast the alert / WikimediaMonday's test of the AusAlert emergency notification systemleft many confused,with some not receiving the alert at all. Authorities said that people shouldn’t worry, as likely reasons include a device turned off, in aeroplane mode or a lack of mobile signal, due to a damaged nearby tower. Berlin Pride attack suspect killedSaturday marked Berlin’s Christopher Street Day, one of Europe’s most celebrated Pride events / WikimediaA suspected Islamist terror attack on Berlin Pride on Saturday has left one woman dead and almost 30 injured. The suspect, 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, was shot and killed by police after hedrove his vaninto the crowd and pursed others in a stabbing attack. Data breach exposes 900,000 Origin Energy customersThose affected are said to be contacted. / ShutterstockOn Tuesday, Origin Energy announced that around 900,000 current and former customers had theirdata accessedin a security breach earlier in the month. Origin Energy CEO Frank Calabria claims a criminal review is underway and apologised to customers publicly on Wednesday. Indian Education Minister resigns after Janta Party protests‘Cockroach’ protestors were caned and tear gassed by police as their march on parliament was shut down last week / WikimediaIndian Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhanresignedover the weekend after nationwide youth protests in New Delhi. Mr Pradhan took responsibility for the leaking of the national medical entrance exam in May, which forced two million students to resit the test. Katy Perry condemns song use in Iran war videoSeveral other pop stars, including Olivia Rodrigo, Beyonce and Ariana Grande, have also criticised the administration’s use of their music / WikimediaKaty Perry hasdenouncedthe Trump administration for its use of her song Firework in a social media video depicting a US military strike on an Iranian naval ship. Perry released a statement on X criticising the White House for unauthorized use. Labor advocates for assisted dying consults via telehealthDespite the policy change, the prime minister it could undermine medical safeguards with potential for misuse. / WikimediaLabor’s policy around assisted dyingchangedat its recent national conference in Adelaide, as the party considered overturning the law banning consultations via telehealth services. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young and Independent MP Kate Chaney both intend to introduce bills on the issue, aiming at improving access for regional areas. Nganjuwarr people’s native title recognised in KimberleyNative title acknowledges the traditional rights of Indigenous people, putting them in a better negotiating position with local companies / WikimediaThe Federal Court ruled that the Nganjuwarr people in East Kimberley will have theirnative title rightsrecognised last week. More than 97 per cent of the region, including 960 square kilometres of land and waters, is now recognised. Netanyahu accuses Mamdani of ‘fomenting hate’Mamdani has since acknowledged his lack of legal power to arrest Netanyahu, who he called a "war criminal". / WikimediaBenjamin Netanyahuhas accusedZohran Mamdani of "fomenting hate" following the New York city mayor’s threat to arrest the Israeli Prime Minister under an International Criminal Court warrant when he visits the city in September. Hanson loses appeal against discrimination rulingHanson was found to have made an "anti-Muslim or Islamophobic" remark on social media / WikimediaPauline Hansonlost her appealagainst the federal court, which found she racially discriminated against Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in September 2022. She intends to appeal the case in the High Court. And now for some good newsAustralia’s avo supply reaches record high as prices dropAvocado toast will be on all the breakfast menus / ShutterstockThe annual Rabobank Global Avocado Updatehas declaredthat Australia’s supply will reach a record 170, 000 tonnes over the coming seasons. Retail prices are expected to stay relatively low due to the abundance. And maybe with the extra coin, avo-loving young people will be able to buy their first homes!