☕️ Is another Aussie airline about to fail?

Here is today’s riddle: What has one thumb and four fingers but is not alive?

Answer is in the tidbit!

“The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.”
Republican Vice-Presidential candidate J.D. Vance speaking at a private fundraiser over the weekend in audio secretly recorded and obtained by The Washington Post.

151,000 hectares
How much of the U.S. state of California has burned over the last week in what’s now the state’s sixth-largest fire. A man has appeared in court on charges of arson over the fire.

1998
The Wiggles aired in Australia for the first time.

The Prime Minister has acknowledged his concerns about the future of Rex (Regional Express) after the airline paused trading on the stock exchange.

The carrier has also disabled some online bookings.

It comes after budget airline Bonza entered voluntary administration earlier in the year.

The carrier has been operating services to and from regional parts of Australia since 2002. It is Australia’s only commercial domestic airline not owned by Qantas or Virgin.

The Transport Workers’ Union (TWU) has warned 2,000 jobs are at risk if Rex does not survive.

Rex has been struggling to recover from disruptions caused by COVID-19. In the 2022/23 financial year, the airline reported $30 million in losses.

This year, the company’s board has undergone major reshuffles — its executive chairman and several directors resigned.

This week, Rex’s ASX share price dropped to its lowest value since the start of the pandemic.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was “concerned” about Rex’s future due to its “important” role as a regional carrier.

He did not rule out a ‘bailout’ option for Rex, where the Government would provide the carrier with extra funding to keep it afloat.

Shadow Transport Minister Bridget McKenzie urged the Government to “not allow a repeat of Bonza”.

Want more on this topic? Listen to today’s podcast here.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

President Nicolás Maduro has been declared the winner in Venezuela’s presidential election, held on Sunday (local time).

However, opposing candidate Edmundo González has also declared victory.

Now, protesters and international governments are calling for Venezuela’s election agency to release the full results.

Maduro, a member of the United Socialist Party (PSUV), was a bus driver and union leader before he entered politics. He became Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister in 2006, working with former President Hugo Chávez.

After Chávez was diagnosed with cancer, he endorsed Maduro as his successor. Maduro has been President since Chávez’s death in 2013.

Maduro has been criticised by his opponents for Venezuela’s poor economic performance. In February, a UN representative found over half of Venezuelans can’t afford to buy food.

Opposing candidate González is a member of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), an opposition coalition. He was not well-known before becoming a presidential candidate.

González has served as Venezuela’s ambassador to Algeria and Argentina.

He was called into the election in April, after opposition leader María Corina Machado was barred from office over allegations of fraud. She has worked closely with González on his campaign.

On Sunday, despite exit polls showing a significant majority for González, Maduro was announced as the winner of the federal election.

After counting 80% of the country’s votes, the National Electoral Council announced that Maduro won 51% of the votes while González received 44%. It did not release official vote tallies.

González has since released a different vote count, which he says is based on direct results from voting booths. That count shows Maduro losing by 3.5 million votes.

Since the election result was announced, political unrest has continued to rise across the country.

Protesters have clashed with security forces, with police firing rubber bullets and tear gas at crowds.

Following the announcement of Maduro’s presidency, González said on X: “Let us defend and celebrate democracy in peace.”

China, Russia, and Iran’s leaders have publicly congratulated Maduro.

Bolivian President Luis Arce also congratulated Maduro, saying: “The will of the Venezuelan people at the polls has been respected.”

Other nations in the region have not accepted the result. Chilean President Gabriel Boric warned he “will not recognise any result that is not verifiable.”

Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves Robles similarly denied Maduro’s victory.

The European Union described Venzuela’s political landscape as “an uneven playing field”. It said the election was “marred by numerous flaws and irregularities.”

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said it was “critical that every vote be counted fairly and transparently... the international community is watching this very closely”.

The U.S. Government has previously imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry and on certain citizens. It issued fresh sanctions earlier this year after it found Maduro didn’t meet election commitments.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

Your pet might just change the world.

We know you already think your pet is pretty special – and they are. But did you know that pets are the second largest consumer of factory farmed animals?

Rather than support factory farm products, Frontier Pets sources grass-fed and free-range alternatives direct from Aussie farms that are not only better for your pet, but better for the planet. By supporting Frontier Pets, your pet can minimise its environmental paw print.

How it works:

By freeze-drying raw, fresh and free-range ingredients Frontier Pet food doesn’t lose any nutritional value. When you feed your pet, measure out their portion, add warm water, let the food sit for around 30-seconds and voila! Dinner served.

Use the code THEDAILY15 for a 15% discount!*

^{*Discount available for first-time customers only and one-time purchases, i.e. not available for subscription orders.}

The chemical is found in almost everything, from phones and laptops to large-scale energy storage systems. Experts fear that with a forecasted boom in demand for lithium-ion batteries, the chemical could be in short supply.

A team at Rice University in Texas have now found a fast and environmentally friendly way to extract lithium from battery waste. The new method can retrieve as much as 50% of the lithium in used batteries in as little as 30 seconds.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Have you heard of ‘Bob the Cap Catcher’?

The Olympic lifeguard has been going viral online after cameras caught him diving into the pool to retrieve a loose swimming cap.

U.S. commentators dubbed the man ‘Bob the Cap Catcher’, but it has been reported that he won’t reveal his real name in order to keep the focus on the athletes.

Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear colourful budgie smugglers.

Reporting by Nandini Dhir.

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Riddle answer: A glove.

Australia's Prime Minister has acknowledged his concerns about the future of the airline Rex (Regional Express) after it paused trading on the stock exchange. The airline has also disabled some online bookings.

After budget airline Bonza entered voluntary administration earlier in the year, is Australia about to lose its only airline not owned by Virgin or Qantas?

In today's deep dive, we unpack what the latest news about Rex means, if the airline is going under and what it says about Australia's commercial aviation industry.