☕️ Kirk's suspected killer arrested

I was five years old when the Sydney 2000 Olympics rolled into town, exactly 25 years ago today. I can’t exactly remember watching Nikki Webster singing Under the Southern Skies at the Opening Ceremony (you can watch it here), but I absolutely can remember Olly, Syd, Millie and Lizzie and the vast amounts of Olympics merch on offer.

It was a fortnight that changed Australia, and we can’t wait to bring you a few stories on the Games in the weeks to come.

“These changes are about modernising WA’s public holiday calendar in a way that reflects the needs and values of our community.”
WA Premier Roger Cook announcing the introduction of two extra public holidays a year for the state from 2028. The addition of Easter Saturday and ‘Show Day’ will take the state’s total public holiday days to 13. Opposition leader Basil Zempilas said the changes would cost WA businesses between $150-200 million in additional wages annually. The changes still need to pass the state’s parliament.

2,000
The number of years since a public concert was held at the Vatican. Over the weekend, several musicians, including Pharrell Williams and Andrea Bocelli, performed in St Peter’s Square.

2000
The Sydney Olympics officially began with the Opening Ceremony. Cathy Freeman lit the torch, almost two weeks before she won the gold in the 400m.

Utah Police have arrested a 22-year-old Utah man in connection with the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

The main suspect in the shooting remained at large until Thursday (local time), when Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced “We got him.” Here’s what you need to know.

Kirk was considered an influential figure in conservative politics and a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.

He was a podcaster and the founder of Turning Point USA, an organisation aimed at promoting conservative politics to young people.

On Wednesday, Kirk was killed in an attack that occurred while he was speaking at Utah Valley University.

The suspect remained at large for nearly 33 hours after the shooting.

After the shooting, local police and federal agencies launched a wide-scale manhunt. The FBI released CCTV images of their primary suspect.

On Thursday (local time), 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was taken into custody.

The arrest came after Robinson's father recognised his son from the FBI’s images and convinced him to surrender.

According to officials, Robinson initially refused but changed his mind after his father contacted their youth pastor.

Robinson is currently enrolled as a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College.

He previously attended Utah State University on an academic scholarship for one semester in 2021.

U.S. voting records show Robinson was registered as an unaffiliated voter and has no prior criminal history.

Officials said his parents are registered Republicans, and were heavily involved in their local church.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed inscriptions were found engraved on casings recovered from the scene.

These inscriptions included "Hey fascist! CATCH!" and "O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!" Another inscription said, "If you read this, you are GAY Lmao".

An FBI spokesperson said: “We are confident we have the right individual in custody... but we are still working to establish the full picture of who he is and why he acted."

Robinson has not been formally charged yet.

It is reported that he was arrested for aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious injury and obstruction of justice.

U.S. President Donald Trump has called for Robinson to face the death penalty.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overthrow the Government.

The far-right politician lost the Presidency to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022. He was later charged over an attempted coup.

Bolsonaro was found guilty in Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday, with four out of five judges voting to convict him.

Bolsonaro, who has always denied any wrongdoing, is expected to launch an appeal.

Bolsonaro was elected President in 2019, after serving in the army during Brazil’s decades-long military dictatorship, and in the country’s Congress.

His conservative policies and populist campaign style have led to him being called the ‘Trump of the Tropics’.

As president, Bolsonaro relaxed gun laws, pared back climate change initiatives, and intensified abortion restrictions.

Throughout his presidency, Bolsonaro openly criticised the court and voting processes.

He later refused to accept the results of the 2022 election, which he lost to left-wing rival Lula da Silva.

Following the election, Bolsonaro’s supporters tried to convince the military to overturn the result by camping outside army barracks.

Then, after Lula’s inauguration in January 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Presidential Palace and Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro was in the U.S. at the time.

Last year, investigators alleged Bolsonaro and seven members of his inner circle had planned a coup.

It allegedly involved assassinating both President Lula and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

The group’s plan involved stoking public distrust in the electoral system, announcing Bolsonaro as the rightful president, securing the army’s cooperation, and inciting a riot.

The plan was allegedly abandoned because the group did not have army support.

Bolsonaro fought the charges of attempting a coup, involvement in a criminal organisation, attempting to abolish democracy, and damaging state assets and heritage.

He denied the allegations, saying: “Those in power are focused on ensuring I spend the rest of my life in prison so I can never run for president again… Everyone knows that if I were allowed to run, I would win.”

Bolsonaro was already banned from running for President again until 2030 due to abuse of power during his first term.

Ahead of the trial, Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest.

He allegedly addressed protesters at a political rally via a phone call last month, in breach of court orders.

Police seized Bolsonaro’s phone, and the court ordered him not to leave his home before the trial.

At the time, the Trump administration accused Brazil’s Supreme Court of using its power to “silence opposition and threaten democracy.”

On Thursday (local time) A panel of Supreme Court justices found Bolsonaro guilty of attacking democracy, damaging government property, and involvement in an armed criminal organisation.

Justice de Moraes said Bolsonaro had begun laying the groundwork to stay in office illegally during his Presidential term.

“Brazil almost returned to a dictatorship that lasted 20 years… because of a criminal organisation built by a political group that doesn’t know how to lose elections,” he said.

Of the five judges on the panel, one, Justice Luiz Fux, voted earlier this week to acquit Bolsonaro.

Fux argued the defence hadn’t been given enough time to consider the evidence, and that the case shouldn’t have come before the Supreme Court in the first place.

He also argued Bolsonaro was not responsible for his supporters’ riots in January 2023.

Bolsonaro, who remains under house arrest, has not yet publicly commented on the ruling.

U.S. authorities condemned the decision.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the country’s top diplomat, called it a “witch hunt” in a post to X.

Speaking to reporters in Washington D.C, Trump said the result was “surprising,” and that Bolsonaro is “a good man”.

Reporting by Lucy Tassell and Joe Casey.

If your feed’s been full of cobblestoned streets, spritzes on the beach and golden sunsets in Europe, you’re not alone.

The good news? Aussie summer is just around the corner, which means now’s the perfect time to start planning your own getaway - you deserve it!

Whether it’s Bali, Japan, South East Asia or even a Euro winter escape, TID has been helping Aussies focus on the fun for over 20 years. With four plans, they make travel insurance easy - with cover available for 100+ destinations, overseas medical costs, cancellations and luggage drama.

Plus, if you love a discount code, TDA readers can get 15%* off TID travel insurance with the code TDA15 - valid until 30 October 2025. *T&Cs apply.

The female casque-headed iguana produced eight hatchlings at a British Zoo in a rare ‘virgin birth’ with no male involved. The iguana gave birth though a process called parthenogenesis, when unfertilised eggs develop into embryos, “creating offspring that are genetic clones of their mother.” The team at Telford Zoo called it “a powerful reminder” of the wonders of nature, adding: “[It’s self conservation without the help of humans, an evolutionary insurance to keep the species going in extreme circumstances”.

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

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

Happy New Year!

If you’re in Ethiopia, that is. The East African nation just celebrated New Years’ Day, 2018.

Ethiopia has a different calendar to most nations, similar to the Julian calendar from Ancient Rome. It has 13 months: 12 with 30 days, and one with either five or six days if it’s a leap year.

The symbol of the new year in Ethiopia is yellow daisies, which bloom around that time of year across the country at the end of the rainy season.

🌼 መልካም አዲስ ዓመት! 🌼

Reporting by Lucy Tassell.

Last week, graphic footage from the assassination of Charlie Kirk went viral online.

The 31-year-old conservative political activist was speaking at an outdoor event at Utah Valley University when he was shot in front of thousands of onlookers. Within moments, distressing, close-up videos of the incident began circulating widely, flooding social media feeds.

Whether they wanted to see it or not, millions of people around the world have now viewed this footage. The incident has led to renewed discussions about social media platforms’ duty of care, and the lasting impacts of graphic violence on young people.

Senior lecturer and researcher in psychology at the University of the Sunshine Coast Dr. Rachael Sharman has researched this field extensively. She joins us in today’s deep dive to discuss the fallout of the Charlie Kirk assassination and the psychological impacts of young people's exposure to violent content online.