☕️ Fastest growing black hole discovered

Good morning!

We have another rebus puzzle.

As a reminder, a rebus puzzle conveys a phrase or a word that is a common idiom or expression.

Answer is in the tidbit!

I’ve got 10 seconds

Quote of the day

“She’s an angry person and that’s OK.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who was Immigration Minister under the previous government, on Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil. The comment came after O’Neil accused Dutton of telling “outright lies” about the current Government’s border policies.

Stat of the day

45th
Donald Trump’s spot on a ranked list of the best U.S. presidents, as voted by presidential historians. There have been 45 presidents in total.

Today in history

1878
The first telephone directory was published by the New Haven District Telephone Company in Connecticut.

I’ve got 30 seconds

Some headlines from this morning:

• The Australian Navy will get an extra $11.1 billion of funding under the government's new defence plan. This will bring the naval fleet’s funding to over $54 billion in the next decade, which covers 11 new warships and six new vessels that can operate without a driver. It comes after an independent review, commissioned by the Federal Government, claimed the naval fleet was underfunded by $25 billion.

• Queensland’s police commissioner Katarina Carroll has announced she is stepping down from the role after increasing pressure on a range of issues, including domestic violence and youth crime. In a press conference yesterday, Carroll said: "The world has changed since COVID. To have in one year a 25 per cent increase in domestic violence is just unheard of, and that's in one year." Carroll was appointed in 2019 and was the first woman in the position.

I’ve got 1 minute

The fastest-growing black hole has been discovered

Researchers at the Australian National University (ANU) have detected the fastest-growing supermassive black hole ever recorded, with a mass roughly 17 billion times that of our sun.

Seen above in an artist’s impression, the black hole is growing in mass by the equivalent of one Sun per day. It’s also the brightest object astronomers have ever observed.

The black hole was first observed through ANU’s telescope in outback NSW, before researchers got a closer look with one of the world’s largest telescopes, operated by the European Southern Observatory in Chile.

ANU Associate Professor Christian Wolf said: “It looks like a gigantic and magnetic storm cell with temperatures of 10,000 degrees Celsius, lightning everywhere and winds blowing so fast they would go around Earth in a second.”

I’ve got 2 minutes

At least 49 people have been killed in a massacre in Papua New Guinea

A massacre in Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) Enga province has left at least 49 people dead. The death toll is being updated regularly.

A PNG police spokesperson told Radio New Zealand it’s an escalation of ongoing tribal tensions, and that overseas “black market” firearms have been found at the site.

The massacre comes after at least 60 people died in a series of inter-tribal fights in the same region last year.

Background

PNG gained independence from Australia in 1975.

The country has a history of election-related violence, including its most recent election in 2022 when Prime Minister James Marape was re-elected. It was marked by concerns about vote-rigging.

The police, which are under-resourced, have struggled to contain the violence. The United Nations recommends one police officer for every 450 people. According to the Human Rights Watch, PNG has a ratio of one officer for every 1,800 people.

Highlands Region

Enga is located in the mountainous and fertile Highlands region. Tribal disputes are historic, and some traditional ceremonies were partly intended to reduce violence.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says tribal fighting in the region is “not new” and can involve “generational land disputes”, or relate to elections.

However, Enga Governor Peter Ipatas told local news that the current “trend of tribal warfare goes against all cultural norms” and is being driven by “illegal firearms.”

Violence

The PNG Government responded to election-related violence by placing the province under a three-month lockdown in July 2023, including a curfew from 9 pm to 6 am.

In November 2023, a one-month curfew was introduced elsewhere after fighting between tribes in the Wapenamanda and Wabag districts.

Recent violence has also stemmed from an ongoing dispute over a man’s death. The ABC reported 17 tribes are involved in the current conflict.

Fighting intensified on Sunday, when at least 50 Sikin and Kaekin tribesmen were killed. Police told local media the fight was between the Ambulin and Sikin tribes and their allies.

It’s been described as one of the biggest massacres in the highlands in recent years.

Opposition

Opposition leader Douglas Tomuriesa has called for an increased police presence in the province.

In a statement, Tomuriesa said: “We call on the government to immediately establish where the guns and bullets are coming from.”

Tomuriesa also said a Parliamentary committee had recently heard allegations PNG authorities were supplying guns and ammunition to tribes.

Women and children

According to Human Rights Watch, there is a high rate of gender-based violence and harassment against women and girls in PNG.

Tomuriesa said women and children were often “collateral damage” to tribal fights.

Radio New Zealand reported children older than 10 had been involved in fighting, and pregnant women had “fled for their lives”.

Australia

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told ABC radio the massacre in PNG “is very disturbing news”.

“We remain available to provide whatever support we can,” Albanese said.

Australia provides significant funding to its former colony, and the Australian Federal Police runs a partnership program with PNG police.

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There is a push to curb alcohol consumption in Parliament House after two recent incidents involving parliamentarians and alcohol.

In today’s deep dive, we’re discussing what has happened and what the rules around drinking alcohol in Parliament actually are.

You can listen wherever you get your podcasts, or you can watch the deep dive in video form on our YouTube.

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Give me some good news

An NBA All-Star game broke the record for the most points scored.

The game in Indianapolis saw the scoreboard reach 200 for the first time in the game’s history of 73 years.

However, the 200-point barrier was met with some controversy as some said the game was not very competitive.

(Is this a stretch for good news? Probably.)

TDA tidbit

Comedian John Oliver has offered U.S. Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas $1 million dollars a year if he resigns. Oh, and he’s also offered him a $2.4 million luxury coach.

On his show Last Week Tonight, the English comedian said: “From stripping away women’s rights to hearing January 6 cases you definitely shouldn’t be hearing… you deserve a break.”

Some quick context: Thomas was one of the judges who voted to end the constitutional right to an abortion in the U.S. In terms of January 6, Thomas’ wife Ginni Thomas endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.

Some are accusing Oliver of bribery, which is a crime. But maybe Thomas himself likely wouldn’t agree — in May 2023 he co-signed a Supreme Court decision that the laws around bribery are “too vague” to enforce.

Supreme Court justices are appointed for life. Thomas, 75, has served since 1991.

He has not responded to Oliver’s offer.

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Riddle answer: Metaphor.

TDA asks