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Good morning!
Some interesting music insights surfaced yesterday by entertainment juggernaut Live Nation: according to their new report, Australia is now the third-largest market for country music worldwide, behind only the U.S. and Canada.
The organisation said the number of international country artists touring in Australia has increased fivefold since before the pandemic, and the trend is being driven primarily by Aussies aged 18-30 who are discovering the genre on TikTok or having it recommended to them on Spotify.
Do you regularly listen to country music?
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“We’re urging anyone who is eligible and feeling healthy and well to book a donation immediately… We need donors of all blood types. If you’ve never donated before, now is the time to start. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. ”
A statement from Red Cross Lifeblood, urgently appealing for blood donations following record high demand during winter.
Stat of the day
857
The number of people arrested by London Police over the weekend for "showing support for Palestine Action," a group the UK Government recently classified asa a terrorist organisation. The United Nations human rights chief criticised the UK’s move, calling it a “misuse” of terrorism law.
Random fact of the day
Rabbits can see behind them without moving their heads. Their eyes are placed high and to the sides of the skull, which studies show allows them to see nearly 360 degrees.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale has handed Erin Patterson three life sentences, with the possibility of parole after 33 years. Earlier this year, Patterson was found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after she served her estranged husband’s relatives a beef Wellington lunch that included death cap mushrooms. Prosecutors alleged she put them in the meal intentionally, while the defence argued it was a mistake. Patterson was also sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder. Her sentences will be served concurrently. The prosecution had argued Patterson should be jailed for life without parole, however it agreed with the defence that her prison conditions are “harsher than usual”. Beale agreed with the defence, and also found it is likely she will be in solitary confinement “for years to come,” which meant he did not consider it fair to sentence her to life without parole. Speaking outside the court, Ian Wilkinson, the sole survivor of the fatal lunch, thanked the prosecution, and urged “everyone to be kind to each other”.
Two gunmen have killed six people and wounded 11 others at a Jerusalem bus stop before being shot dead by Israeli security forces. While Hamas has not formally claimed responsibility for the attack, the group praised it. Earlier this week, Israel bombed three high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City, killing at least 14 people, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. Israel said it targeted the buildings because they contained Hamas infrastructure, which Hamas has denied. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, calling on Hamas to accept the terms for a hostage deal approved by Israel, stating it was his "last warning" to Hamas. Hamas said it was discussing ideas with mediators about ending the war and releasing hostages taken on October 7, 2023.
Recommendation of the day
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I’ve got 1 minute
A man was killed by a shark at a Sydney beach on Saturday. In response, the State Govt has paused a trial removal of shark nets at three NSW beaches.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has paused a planned trial to remove shark nets at three beaches in the state.
It comes after a man was fatally attacked by a shark at a Sydney beach with a shark net on the weekend.
The trial was proposed in response to reports of increasing marine life deaths and safety concerns for swimmers.
Nets
In NSW, shark nets are used at over 50 beaches from September to April.
Nets (also called ‘shark meshing’) were first introduced in NSW in 1937, as a way to limit dangerous shark interactions with humans. However, they don’t completely block sharks from accessing beaches.
Government data seen by animal welfare agency Humane Society International in May showed 90% of animals caught in NSW nets over the 2024/25 summer were not sharks.
Net ban
The NSW Government had planned to trial removing shark nets at three beaches in the Central Coast, Waverley and Northern Beaches council areas in 2025. The trial hadn’t started yet.
It has now paused its plans after a large shark killed a man at Long Reef Beach in northern Sydney.
Long Reef Beach did not have a shark net, but nearby Dee Why did.
Minns told a press conference on Sunday: “Given this terrible event, we believe the right thing to do is to wait for the investigation to come back about how this happened, what happened and the circumstances surrounding it.”
Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steven Pearce told ABC radio on Monday that shark nets “don’t provide a full netted safety guarantee for anyone swimming at any beach.”
There is no proposed time frame for when the shark net trial will be re-introduced.
Alternative
SMART (Shark-Management-Alert-in-Real-Time) drumlines are baited buoys set around 500 metres from the shore.
When a shark eats the bait it triggers an alert. A team responds within 30 minutes to tag the shark with a tracker and relocate it away from the beach. Swimmers can see updated tracking information about the movements of tagged sharks in their area, via the SharkSmart app.
SMART drumlines are in place near Long Reef Beach.
Reporting by Achol Arok.
I’ve got 2 minutes
For the first time, Russia has hit the Ukrainian Govt’s main building
Russia has launched its largest-ever air assault on Ukraine overnight, deploying a record number of drones and missiles.
Ukrainian officials said Russia fired more than 800 drones and 13 missiles, predominantly targeting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
Authorities confirmed four people were killed, including a small child, while another 44 were injured.
The strike marks the first time the Ukrainian Government’s head-quarters have been directly hit since the war began.
Attacks
Overnight, Russia launched a series of attacks across Ukraine’s north, south, and east.
In the capital of Kyiv, strikes on residential buildings killed at least two people and injured dozens more.
Further south-east, more than 20 homes and a kindergarten were destroyed.
Two additional deaths have been reported in the country’s north.
In a video posted to social media, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko delivered a statement from inside the damaged Government building.
She urged other countries to impose further sanctions on Russia, saying its attack shows it “does not want peace.”
“I urge the world to turn outrage over Russian crimes into concrete support for Ukraine. Not for the walls of this building, but to protect our people and communities across the country,” Svyrydenko said.
Sanctions
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy echoed the calls for sanctions, accusing Russia of committing “a deliberate crime, and a prolongation of the war.”
“The world can force the Kremlin criminals to stop the killings — all that is needed is political will,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia has not publicly responded.
Failed talks
Recent attempts by the U.S. to broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine have not been successful.
Following the attack, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the U.S. is prepared to impose more sanctions on Russia, possibly coordinated with the European Union.
EU President Ursula von der Leyen accused Russia of “mocking diplomacy, trampling international law, and killing indiscriminately.”
Reporting by Achol Arok.
A message from carsales
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Oh, and it’s not just cars. Think bikes, boats, caravans and more.
Ready to love every move?
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🍊 The Wallaroos are through to the QF at the Rugby World Cup. More details.
🍊 Sabalenka and Alcaraz reign supreme in New York. Read more.
🍊 Piastri was forced to give up a place at the Italian GP. Check out what he said.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: NRL, AFL, and more…
Give me some good news
The UK’s National Health Service has found AI software could significantly increase the recovery rates for people who have had strokes.
The NHS has been trialling an AI system at its stroke centres in England, which interprets brain scans quickly, allowing doctors to make treatment decisions faster. When a person has a stroke, they rapidly lose brain cells, meaning doctors need to act quickly to improve their chances of recovery. A preliminary study has now shown three times as many people could recover from strokes with the technology in place. The treatment has been used more than 60,000 times since it was introduced last year.
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.
TDA titbit
Four hikers were rescued from a trail in the U.S. earlier this month after getting lost while experiencing a “debilitating psychedelic mushroom high”.
The four men had texted authorities late on a Friday night while lost on a trail in the Hudson Valley in New York state, a high elevation area with steep cliffs.
Forest rangers were able to locate them and transport them to safety before nightfall.
It sounds like a dangerous rescue without mushroom for error.
Reporting by Rosa Bowden.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
New Zealand police have shot and killed a man who had been on the run with his three young children for almost four years.
Tom Phillips disappeared in December 2021 with his kids, then aged eight, six, and five, leaving their mother and his extended family behind.
In today’s episode, we’ll explain what we know about how Phillips and his children stayed hidden for so long, and his final, fatal collision with police.
TDA asks
