Saturday officially marked 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. To mark the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Snake Island, which has become known as a “place of victory” for Ukrainians.

In a video marking the day, Zelenskyy said: “May the freedom that all of our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine, and which we have to win now, be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine."

The quote
“All you got from Peter Dutton the other day was all the empathy of a rock.” - Education Minister Jason Clare on Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s response to the Robodebt Royal Commission. Read more about the Royal Commission here.

The stat
16.6%
The percentage of new cars bought by Australians in June that were electric or hybrid, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Today in history
2018: The last members of a boys’ soccer team were rescued from a cave in Thailand, which they had been trapped in for over two weeks. All 12 boys and their coach were rescued.

Some headlines from this morning:

The Netherlands is returning 478 cultural artefacts originally looted from Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

According to the Government, these objects were obtained during the colonial period through 'unjust means', including robbery or coercion.

Currently, they are part of collections in two Dutch museums.

The 'Cannon of Kandy' from Sri Lanka and jewels from the 'Lombok Treasure' from Indonesia are among the artefacts to be returned to their original owners.

State Secretary for Culture and Media Gunay Uslu ordered the return following the advice of the Advisory Committee on the National Policy Framework for Colonial Collections.

In 2020, the committee recommended that the Netherlands "return unconditionally" all objects brought to the country against their owners' will.

"This is a historic moment. It is the first time that, based on the advice of the [Committee], we are returning objects that should have never been in the Netherlands," said Uslu.

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Prospective teachers in the middle of their professional lives could have paid, tailored work added to their studies.

The recommendation was included in a government-ordered report aimed at improving teachers' readiness for entering the classroom.

It would expand the paid teaching programs already offered at some Australian universities.

Education Ministers from Australia's federal, state, and territory governments have all supported the measure.

The report
The report, which was published last Thursday, offered four key avenues to refine teacher education in Australia.

This included recommendations to improve practical teaching experience, which was the "area in most need of reform".

Students in the middle of their careers were targeted for many reforms. They were found to generally be aged 35-44 and undertaking both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

Paid work
The report suggested adding paid employment opportunities for students in the middle of their careers.

This was aimed at making studying more accessible for these students, who were believed to have greater financial and personal responsibilities, such as looking after a family, than others.

A survey undertaken as part of the report found that only 12% of mid-career students did paid industry work during their studies. Most who didn't have the option of paid work said they would have benefitted from it.

Type of work
The types of jobs that mid-career students could undertake weren't specified in the report.

However, it used some current employment programs at Australian universities to highlight the effectiveness of paid programs.

This includes teaching work as part of a Master's degree at the University of Melbourne, and a La Trobe University program that allows students to be employed after 10 weeks of study.

The report also called for "core content" – such as classroom management and effective teaching practices – to be mandated into teaching courses.

This would ensure that prospective teachers have a strong understanding of key learning practices, including literacy and numeracy skills, before entering the workforce.

Education providers have been given two years to add core content programs into their courses.

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The U.S. drug regulator has given its first full approval to a treatment slowing the decline of Alzheimer’s disease.

It was approved after a recent trial significantly reduced the decline of patients who took the drug. It will now be available to a broader number of Americans.

Women's football has reached new heights in Australia - and continues to ignite a broader passion for women's sports, from grassroots fields to professional stadiums.

The Matildas have already played a pivotal role in this global phenomenon. So, on the eve of the world’s biggest moment for the “beautiful game”, this is the perfect moment to remind ourselves just how far our national team has come.

Since the first Australian Women’s national team was invited to participate on a global stage in 1978, to the naming of the Matildas in 1995, to becoming the first Australian national football team to win silverware in Asia in 2010; they’ve gone on to break both TV viewing and attendance records. Once a largely unknown team, the Matildas now inspire a new generation of football fans.

As the Matildas face France in a momentous Farewell Match at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on July 14th, TDA and Nike invite you to join us in celebrating their successes both on and off the pitch and remember the power of women’s sport to build a better game for all.

A Canadian judge has ordered a man to pay more than $92,000 after ruling that sending a thumbs-up emoji (👍) meant he had entered into a legally binding agreement.

Basically, a grain buyer was looking to buy flax from a farmer. They spoke on the phone before the grain buyer sent the farmer a contract (via text message) setting out the terms of the purchase. In his message, the grain buyer wrote: “Please confirm flax contract”.

The farmer, who received the contract and the message, responded with this emoji 👍. He believed he was confirming receipt of the message, not that he was signing the contract. The grain buyer thought differently.

Ultimately, a judge found: “This court readily acknowledges that a 👍 emoji is a non-traditional means to ‘sign’ a document but nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way to convey the two purposes of a ‘signature’.”

Well there you go! 👍