☕️ Arrests made over Louvre heist

In news you might have missed over the weekend, singer Katy Perry and Canada's former prime minister Justin Trudeau made their first official appearance together as a couple.

It's the most surprising couple in Canadian politics since Barbra Streisand dated fellow former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau (also Justin's dad) in 1969.

I know, I know. TDA isn't usually known for bringing you culture news, but... maybe we're open to it.

“There was a lot of what some might call ‘fake media’ before I went to the United States about what was important and what wasn’t. What was important was the issues of substance. That’s what I’m focused on.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responding to a question on Sunrise, about his trip to the U.S. last week.

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The number of drowning deaths recorded on Australia's coast so far this year - a new record - according to a report from Surf Life Saving Australia.

1982
China announced its population had reached 1 billion. Today, its population sits at 1.4 billion people.

Four former soldiers have filed a class action against the Australian Defence Force (ADF), alleging widespread sexual assault in the armed forces.

A class action is a type of lawsuit where many people are represented by one entity.

The women’s names have been withheld for legal reasons. They allege widespread and systemic sexual violence, harassment and discrimination across Australia’s Army, Navy, and Air Force.

Here’s what we know so far.

Last year, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide found “close to 800 sexual assaults have been reported in the ADF over the past five years.”

The Department of Defence estimates 60% of incidents go unreported.

Josh Aylward, director of JGA Saddler, the firm representing the applicants in the class action, said: “The threat of war often isn’t the biggest safety fear for female ADF personnel, it is the threat of sexual violence in their workplace.”

The first applicant alleged she was sexually assaulted on a night out with colleagues from the Air Force. The incident was reported, but military police did not pursue the case.

The second applicant reported being subjected to inappropriate comments every day in the Navy. She alleges she was once told: “I wish I was going up [the ladder] behind you so I could sniff what you had for breakfast”.

She also alleges a colleague once grabbed and forcibly kissed her.

The third applicant said she woke up following an on-base party “completely naked, disoriented, in physical pain, and with bruises and scratches”.

She said she was “subsequently informed she had left the party with four male ADF members and was alone at some point with one of them.”

After making a complaint, she said she was confronted “by a friend of her alleged perpetrator who said… ‘how f***ing dare you try to ruin [his] life… you f***ing c**t’”.

The fourth applicant alleges an Air Force colleague rubbed his “erect penis… against the side of her body”.

The lawyers representing the applicants predict thousands of women will form part of the class action.

Aylward noted some of the cases mentioned had occurred within the last 12 months.

The action is open to any women who experienced sexual violence, sexual harassment, or discrimination while serving in the ADF between 12 November 2003 and 25 May 2025.

1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732

Reporting by Elliot Lowry.

A senior minister in the Thai Government has stepped down this week following alleged links to scam centres in Cambodia.

Investigative journalism newsletter Whale Hunting has alleged Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong’s wife was paid millions in cryptocurrency by a criminal network related to the centres.

South Korean authorities say roughly 200,000 people are currently working inside scam compounds in Cambodia.

Here’s what to know about them.

Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International, have reported allegations about scam centres across South East Asia.

Typically, survivors say they were lured to Cambodia with the promise of real jobs, but were instead taken to compounds.

Once inside, detainees are forced to conduct online scams, defrauding people around the world. They are generally not freed unless a ransom is paid. If they try to escape, they are often subject to torture.

Workers at these centres mostly run romance scams, building trust with people before luring them into fraudulent investments.

The operations have been called “pig-butchering,” a reference to the way scammers shower their victims with attention before stealing from them.

Amnesty International has identified 53 scamming compounds where human rights abuses, including torture and forced labour, have occurred.

UN experts have labelled the situation a “humanitarian and human rights crisis” that extends beyond Cambodia to Myanmar, Laos, the Philippines, and Malaysia.

On Wednesday, Thailand’s deputy finance minister, Vorapak Tanyawong, resigned from his position.

His announcement followed reporting from Whale Hunters that he had been appointed to investigate the same criminal network that had paid his wife $US2.94 million ($AU4.5 million) in cryptocurrency.

The network is allegedly linked to scam centres in Cambodia. The former finance minister denied the allegations, but said he would leave his position “so as not to allow my personal affairs to become a burden”.

In August, a 22-year-old South Korean student was found dead in Cambodia. An autopsy has shown he was subjected to torture before his death.

Last weekend, 64 South Koreans were extradited from Cambodian scam operations. The country’s national security adviser said the group included both “voluntary and involuntary participants” in scam operations.

South Korea is now preparing sanctions and has restricted travel to parts of Cambodia.

Last week, the U.S. and UK announced sanctions on 146 people associated with the Cambodian ‘Prince Group’ network, calling it a “transnational criminal organisation” running scam centres.

As part of the crackdown, the UK Government froze 19 London properties worth more than £100 million ($AU205 million).

The U.S. Government also seized $US15 billion ($AU23 million) in Bitcoin. Attorney General Pam Bondi said the action “represents one of the most significant strikes ever against the global scourge of human trafficking and cyber-enabled financial fraud.”

Cambodian authorities made more than 2,100 scam-related arrests in June and July.

However, human rights organisations have raised doubts about Cambodia’s commitment to dismantling these operations.

Amnesty International says government interventions have been “woefully ineffective,” pointing to systemic corruption. It said two-thirds of compounds continued to operate after police raids.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

Need plans that aren’t just dinner and drinks?

Bell Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet is back – and this isn’t the version you half-remember from high school.

It’s raw, emotional, and totally gripping. Two young lovers caught in the chaos of family drama and bad timing.

From just $45, you can be swept up in the passion, heartbreak and raw emotion of Shakespeare’s greatest love story – live on stage. Peter Evans’ production has been praised as “a joy from start to tear-stained finish” (Time Out Melbourne).

Playing at Sydney Opera House from 19 November – 7 December.

Sixty-five year-old Denise Bacon, a “keen clarinettist” underwent a four-hour operation at King’s College Hospital in London. During the procedure, surgeons delivered an electrical current to her brain. Doctors suggested Denise bring her clarinet into the operating theatre to see whether the procedure would improve her ability to play. The team saw instant improvements in Denise’s hand dexterity, giving her the chance to play her beloved instrument again. Denise said she was able to “move with much more ease once the stimulation was applied… which I was delighted with.” You can watch the moment here.

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

A man is walking across Australia for world peace, dressed as a cat.

The Japanese tradie, who calls himself Strange Catman, left Carnarvon, Western Australia, in November 2023 and has recently reached the Great Ocean Road.

He carries everything he needs in a wheelbarrow and relies on the kindness of strangers as he journeys across the country.

His videos on social media have sent him to international fame, with fans eager to spot his trademark leopard-print onesie and high-vis vest.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

If you’ve noticed an increase in the number of flies wherever you are in the country right now, it’s not just you. To find out why, TDA spoke to Dr Bryan Lessard, also known as Bry the Fly Guy.

Dr Lessard is on a mission to defend the tarnished reputation of humble flies.

In today’s deep dive, he explains why and when fly populations increase, but also why these sometimes annoying critters are a lot more important, and useful, than you might think.