☕️ The ICC's arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders

Here is today’s riddle: What is bigger: the sum of all existing numbers or the product of all existing numbers?

The answer is in the tidbit!

"I am still negotiating with the other states. All up, I have put $16 billion of additional investment for public schools on the table ... the biggest investment from the Commonwealth in public schools that has ever been delivered. We can do this. We can turn this around. But the states will need to chip in too."
Education Minister Jason Clare, speaking at a student event at Western Sydney University Bankstown.

81%
The percentage of Australians who believe politicians think "too short-term" when making decisions, according to new research. The report from the Australian National University found healthcare, more jobs and better outcomes for young people were Australians' top concerns for the coming decades.

2017
22 people were killed and hundreds were injured during a bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena.

Matildas captain and Chelsea star Sam Kerr has been officially ruled out of the Paris Olympic Games.

Kerr ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in January at a training camp in Morocco. The knee injury forced her to miss the remainder of the Women’s Super League season and the Matildas’ Olympic qualifiers.

Football Australia has now formally ruled Kerr out of playing for the Matildas at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this July/August.

The Matildas qualified for the Olympics after a 10-0 win over Uzbekistan in February.

Kerr had not been expected to join the Olympic squad, but a statement from Football Australia on Tuesday confirmed she would “remain on the sidelines”.

The sport’s governing body also ruled out injured Matildas attacker Amy Sayer, who has also sustained an ACL injury.

“Kerr and Sayer will continue their rehabilitation programs in their home club environments and subsequently will not be available for selection for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.” — Football Australia has ruled Sam Kerr and Amy Sayer out of the Olympics due to ACL injuries.

The Matildas will join 11 other countries in the Olympic women’s football tournament in Paris this July-August.

They will have a chance to become the first Aussie squad to win an Olympic medal.

The team narrowly missed out on bronze in Tokyo three years ago, where they lost 4-3 to the USA.

Want more sport news? Subscribe our sport newsletter here!

The top prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced on Monday he is seeking arrest warrants for both Israeli and Hamas leaders over allegations of war crimes.

Karim Khan named three Hamas leaders, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as targets of the proposed warrants.

The application for warrants is separate to the case brought by South Africa alleging genocide by Israel in Gaza.

Here’s what you need to know.

The ICC prosecutes allegations of crimes committed by individuals against civilians during wars, including genocide, torture, and sexual violence. It steps in when states are “unable or unwilling” to try these cases. It’s different to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which tries cases against states.

124 countries, including Australia, are members of the ICC, meaning they must arrest anyone within their borders with an active warrant.

Russian President Vladimir Putin currently has an active ICC arrest warrant over war crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.

Khan seeks arrest warrants for three leaders of Hamas:

They are accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape and sexual violence, taking hostages, and torture. They are also accused of ‘extermination’, defined as blocking food and medicine “to bring about the destruction of part of a population”.

Khan said he had travelled to sites from the 7 October attacks and spoken to survivors, who shared that “the deepest bonds between a parent and a child, were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness.”

He added: “These acts demand accountability.”

Khan said his office believes there are reasonable grounds to suggest hostages have been subject to sexual violence, and called on the immediate release of all remaining hostages by Hamas.

Khan also seeks arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Netanyahu and Gallant were also accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

These crimes include starvation of civilians, intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population, extermination, and persecution as a crime against humanity.

Khan said evidence showed “Israel has intentionally and systematically deprived the civilian population in all parts of Gaza of objects indispensable to human survival.”

Specifically, Khan highlighted Israel’s closure of three border crossings in Gaza, and “arbitrary” restriction of essential supplies.

On this, he said: “Notwithstanding any military goals they may have, the means Israel chose to achieve them in Gaza – namely, intentionally causing death, starvation, great suffering, and serious injury to body or health of the civilian population – are criminal.”

The prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants does not mean any of those named will be arrested.

First, the application will need to be approved by a panel of three judges, who will ultimately decide whether to approve the prosecutor’s requests.

Israel isn’t a member of the ICC, meaning a warrant would have no effect within Israel’s borders. However, if any of the leaders enter an ICC country, such as Australia or the UK, they could be arrested if the warrant is approved.

Netanyahu called the ICC’s actions “a moral outrage of historic proportions” and a “travesty of justice”. He refuted any comparisons between the “democratically elected leaders of Israel” and Hamas’ leaders.

A senior Hamas official told Reuters the ICC’s move “equates the victim with the executioner”.

U.S. President Joe Biden echoed Netanyahu’s comments, saying the request for warrants was “outrageous” and rejecting any “equivalence” between Israel and Hamas.

This week is officially Australian Made Week!

From the Great Barrier Reef, to Kylie Minogue – it should come as no surprise that Australia has produced some pretty iconic things. But it doesn't stop there. This Australian Made Week, you can get behind Aussie makers and growers by shopping locally made products.

Whether it’s fashion, skincare, furniture, or toys – you can find whether an item is genuinely and authentically Australian made by looking for the green triangle and gold kangaroo logo.

Make an impact when you shop by helping us celebrate Australian Made Week.

The Australian Comprehensive Cancer Network (ACCN) will work with cancer care centres, academic organisations, community services, and other health facilities, to provide better health outcomes for Australians with cancer.

The Government body will also focus on improving outcomes for people in rural and remote regions, as well as First Nations communities.

OpenAI has had to “pause” one of its ChatGPT voices after users noticed the AI-generated voice sounded like Scarlett Johansson.

Johansson said she was approached by the tech company last year, but declined an offer to use her voice. The actor claims OpenAI went ahead and created a voice (called ‘Sky’) that sounded like her anyway. 

When she heard what ChatGPT’s Sky sounded like, the actor said she was, “shocked, angered and in disbelief”. Johansson threatened legal action against ChatGPT’s developers at OpenAI.

The company has pulled the voice, but defended Sky in a statement: “Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.” 

It’s still possible to hear Sky in this blog post from OpenAI — you be the judge!

Also, in a true Hollywood art-imitates-life plot twist, Johansson did once lend her voice to an AI system for the 2013 film ‘Her’. 

*

*

*

Riddle answer: The sum. Because to get the product we need to multiply the result by 0. Hence, the product will be 0.

As mentioned earlier in the newsletter, the International Criminal Court’s lead prosecutor has announced he is applying for arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.

Today on the podcast, we’ll explain what this all means and what could happen now.