☕️ New LGBTQ+ blood donation rules

Along with all newsrooms across the globe, we’re keeping a very close eye on wether U.S. forces will join Israel in its strikes on Iran.

Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump said in a press conference: "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do.”

It’s now been nearly one week since Israel first fired missiles. We covered an explainer on what is happening on our podcast yesterday, which you can listen to here or watch here.

“We’re not there yet completely, but I think that we are dangerously close to normalising behaviour like [a dictatorship]. And we need people both outside government and inside government saying, ‘Let’s not go over that cliff because it’s hard to recover’.”
Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaking at an event in the state of Connecticut on Tuesday (local time), according to The New York Times.

$100 million
The fine Optus has agreed to pay for “engaging in unconscionable conduct,” after the consumer watchdog found members of its staff had sold goods and services to hundreds of customers who did not want or need them. Some instances resulted in pursuits from debt collectors, as customers could not afford repayments for what they had been sold.

“It’s like a G6, like a G6. But 1 better!”. A comment left on our post explaining what the ‘G7 Summit’ is, and why Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in attendance.

The UN reports at least 28 Palestinians were killed and hundreds injured while attempting to receive aid in southern Gaza on Thursday.

The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 51 people died when Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) opened fire on crowds attempting to access food from an aid truck in Khan Younis.

The IDF confirmed it’s investigating the incident, saying it was “aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd’s approach” to an aid truck.

Here’s what you need to know.

After a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke down earlier this year, Israel instituted an aid blockade to Gaza. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu partially lifted the blockade a month ago following international criticism.

Aid is currently being distributed by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a non-government organisation with U.S. and Israeli support.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports Gaza's entire 2.1 million population faces prolonged food shortages.

The GHF says its aid centres are secured by private U.S. contractors and monitored by the IDF, which it says is to prevent aid theft by Hamas.

The Gaza Health Ministry reports 397 Palestinians have been killed while trying to receive aid since late May.

The IDF has denied playing a role in some of those shootings and said it is investigating others.

WHO representative Dr Rik Peeperkorn said overnight: “Recent food distribution initiatives by non-UN actors every time result in mass casualty incidents.”

Witnesses cited by Reuters and the Gaza Health Ministry say Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians attempting to access aid trucks in Khan Younis on Thursday.

The Ministry reported 51 deaths, while the UN confirmed at least 28 killed and hundreds injured.

Multiple witnesses told Reuters that IDF tanks fired at crowds approaching the aid trucks.

The GHF has told U.S. media the attack was not near any of its aid distribution sites.

In a statement, the IDF said it was “aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire” around the aid truck in Khan Younis.

A spokesperson said the IDF would review the incident, and it “regrets any harm to uninvolved individuals” killed or injured on Thursday, and “operates to minimise harm”.

Last week, the IDF released documents it says are internal Hamas records that detail the group “systematically exploiting” the entry of aid to fund its activities, including selling stolen aid to civilians. Hamas denies this.

Certain blood donation restrictions for some sexually active LGBTQ+ people will be lifted next month, after the national medicine regulator approved relaxed guidelines.

Lifeblood will scrap most three-month sexual activity wait times for donating plasma, including those taking HIV-prevention medication.

It’s estimated to impact 600,000 people in Australia.

Lifeblood also said questionnaires about a donor’s sexual activity are set to become “more inclusive” in 2026.

There are three types of blood donation.

Whole blood donations – a transfusion that includes all components of blood: plasma, platelets, red and white blood cells.

Plasma – fluid that makes up half of blood’s composition. While giving blood, the plasma is separated and the rest of the blood is returned to the body.

Platelets – small cells that form clots and stop bleeding, transfused in a similar way to plasma.

Anyone aged 18-75 who hasn’t been sick and weighs more than 50kg is eligible to give blood.

There are limits in place to reduce the risk of spreading blood-based viruses or infections, including HIV.

For instance, people who’ve had leukaemia (a type of blood cancer) can’t donate. Anyone who has injected non-prescription drugs needs to wait five years.

Travel to certain countries, including Thailand, results in a waiting period before blood donation.

Current rules also restrict some sexually active people from donating blood. These impact:

The wait time is three months after the last sexual encounter, including for gay men who are in monogamous relationships.

From 14 July, most sexually active LBGTQ+ people will be able to give plasma donations without a three-month wait time, as long as they meet other eligibility criteria.

Lifeblood said it conducted “extensive research and modelling” showing opening up the eligibility criteria wouldn’t impact the safety of plasma donations.

Plasma undergoes screening known as “pathogen inactivation” to detect infections.

Plasma donations, which Lifeblood described as the “golden” part of blood, have soared in demand across hospitals.

Lifeblood’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Jo Pink said it’s likely to impact 600,000 people who are currently required to wait, saying the rules have “contributed to the stigma” of the LGBTQ+ community.

“We now anticipate an extra 24,000 donors and 95,000 extra donations of plasma to be made each year,” Dr Pink said.

On top of this, there are also changes to blood and platelets donation eligibility.

Now, most people in a relationship of six months or more with a single partner will be able to donate blood (including men who have sex with men).

There are also changes to the questionnaires.

Under the new rules, everyone will be asked the same questions, regardless of gender or sexuality. This means men will no longer be asked if they’ve had sex with another man.

Instead, everyone will be asked if they have had anal sex in the last three months with new or multiple partners.

Lifeblood says more steps need to be taken before this change is confirmed, but it is expected to be implemented next year.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

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🍊 Mondo Duplantis’ record breaking strategy.
🍊 Sabalenka’s apology to Gauff.
🍊 Why Warwick Capper has been banned from the MCG.
🗞️ Also in today’s Sport Newsletter: league, union, and more…

Good Cop/Bad Cop, which stars Leighton Meester, received the jury’s ‘special prize’ at the annual Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Good Cop/Bad Cop is a comedy/drama series that follows small town U.S. detectives Lou and Henry Hickman, a brother-sister cop duo played by Meester and Aussie actor Luke Cook. Speaking after the ceremony in Monaco, Cook said award was “especially meaningful because the cast all felt like a family. And I’m glad that showed. We wouldn’t be up here if it wasn’t for that.” The series is available to stream on Stan if you’re curious!

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Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

An 80-year-old man found himself well and truly seeing the sights of Rome early this week.

The man, for an unreported reason, drove down the ‘Spanish Steps’ before getting stuck halfway down his descent.

Local authorities winched the car to safety.

The iconic monument draws millions of visitors annually, with tourists traversing the 135 travertine steps – usually by foot, not by car.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

This week, three people were shot in a lunchtime attack on a Western Sydney kebab shop. The incident, described by NSW Premier Chris Minns as “shockingly brazen”, follows a spate of recent underworld shootings, prompting NSW Police to establish a new taskforce last month. Now, police say they’re concerned gangland figures are using social media to recruit contract killers. In today’s deep dive, we’ll bring you up to speed on this week’s attack and take you through the latest from investigators on underworld shootings and gang violence.