Afternoon Update: tributes flow for Australian killed in Gaza strike; Facebook axes news tab; and why millennials are quitting the rat race
Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
Tributes are flowing for Zomi Frankcom, a 43-year-old Australian aid worker who was killed by an alleged Israeli airstrike in Gaza late on Monday.
The senior manager with World Central Kitchen was reportedly killed along with six international and Palestinian colleagues. The aid workers were helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza.
“We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves, delivering food to the people of Gaza,” Frankcom’s family said in a statement. “She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit.”
Anthony Albanese described her death as “completely unacceptable” and said the government would call in the Israeli ambassador. The Israel Defense Forces said it was “conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident”.
Top news
Donald Trump averts asset seizures in civil case | Trump posted a $175m bond in his New York civil fraud case, averting asset seizures that could have hobbled his business empire. He was found liable for fraudulently inflating his net worth to secure better loan and insurance terms. In a separate case, the New York judge overseeing a forthcoming criminal trial – in which Trump is accused of falsifying records to hide a sex scandal – has barred the former president from making inflammatory comments about the judge’s family members.
Aviation firefighters to strike | Leaked risk assessments carried out by Airservices Australia reveal that Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide airports were found to be at extreme risk if there was a fire or aircraft incident because of a lack of firefighting resources.
Alice Springs youth curfew potentially ‘unlawful’ | The Northern Territory Police Association has received legal advice that the youth curfew in Alice Springs may be unlawful. The curfew was imposed last week by the chief minister, Eva Lawler, after civil unrest in the town, with anyone under 18 banned from going into the CBD between 6pm and 6am.
Tim Tszyu can have rematch of boxing bloodbath, rival’s team says | The Australian’s immediate future has been uncertain since he relinquished his WBO super-welterweight belt to Sebastian Fundora on Sunday. Tszyu suffered a gruesome head gash during the bout but battled on while virtually blind for 10 rounds. Fundora’s team has now promised a rematch, honouring a verbal agreement between the two camps.
Victorian SES rescue four people from vehicles in water | Almost 500 requests for help were made to emergency services as heavy rain, thunderstorms and winds lashed the state on Monday and overnight. The state agency commander of the Victorian SES, David Baker, says it has been the wettest day in Melbourne since around 5 March 2020.
Facebook shuts news tab | The news tab was inaccessible for users in Australia as of Tuesday, but parent company Meta said it would take a number of days to fully shut it down in Australia and the United States. The technology giant has been criticised by the Australian government and media outlets over its decision to stop paying publishers for news content.
Google to destroy billions of private browsing records | Users have alleged that Google’s analytics, cookies and apps let the Alphabet unit improperly track people who set Google’s Chrome browser to “incognito” mode and other browsers to “private” mode.
Adidas bans fans from adding ‘44’ to German team football shirt | Adidas has banned football fans from customising the German national shirt with the number 44 due to its perceived resemblance to the symbol used by Nazi SS units during the second world war.
JK Rowling dares police to arrest her over hate crime legislation | Scotland has introduced new hate crime laws targeting threatening or abusive behaviour on the grounds of issues such as transgender identity. Rowling dared the police to arrest her for misgendering, while the Scottish government has consistently said that misgendering a transgender person is not criminalised by the new law.
In pictures
Labor’s rocky horror show: do they need to change their tune?
We’ve seen these dance moves before. Cartoon by Fiona Katauskas.
What they said …
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“Lived experience is having a big influence on people [with] more frequent and devastating natural disasters [and] temperature records set and exceeded, with last year recording the highest average temperatures in 174 years of record-keeping.” – the Net Zero Economy Agency chair and former Labor minister, Greg Combet, on the path to net zero.
In numbers
According to newly published disclosure reports, the yes campaign received more than five times the donations of the no campaign.
Before bed read
The soft life: why millennials are quitting the rat race
Ambition once came with a promise: a home, a salary, progress and fulfilment. What happens when that promise is broken? Meet the women who are turning their backs on consumerism, materialism and burnout.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: REP . You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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