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Good morning!
Today is Friday the 13th! An unlucky day for some, but a lucky day for those who have birthdays today.
Happy birthday to Taylor Swift and The Daily Aus co-founder Sam Koslowski! You guys are great.
I’ve got 10 seconds
Quote of the day
“I will stand firm whether I'm impeached or investigated… I will fight to the end.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in a televised address ahead of a planned vote to impeach him (remove him from office). Last week, Yoon put the country under military control overnight until he was forced to rescind the declaration.
Stat of the day
109%
Th increase in the cost of arabica beans – the world's most popular coffee variety – has increased over the past year. This week, arabica beans reached a near 50-year high price of $US3.20 ($AU5.30) a pound (454 grams).
Today in history
1975
A double dissolution election took place in Australia which saw the Coalition win and Malcolm Fraser become the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia.
I’ve got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Australia’s unemployment rate fell by 0.2 to 3.9% in November, which is the lowest level since March, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The unemployment rate reflects the percentage of people who were looking for work but couldn’t find any. This figure is seasonally-adjusted, meaning the ABS has removed the effects of calendar-specific patterns from the data, like fruit-picking in summer or Christmas casuals in retail in December.
The Director of the United States FBI Christopher Wray has announced his intention to step down before Donald Trump takes office in early 2025. Wray announced this decision during an all-employee address, in which he stated “I’ve decided the right thing for the Bureau is for me to serve until the end of the current Administration in January and then step down.” He added: “This is the best way to avoid dragging the Bureau deeper into the fray, while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important to how we do our work.” This comes after President-elect Trump announced his intention to replace Wray upon being sworn into the White House in January 2025, more than two years shy of Wray’s 10-year term.
Recommendation of the day
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Transparency: This is a sponsored section of the newsletter. It's the best way we can keep this newsletter free for you.
I’ve got 1 minute
PSA: Check your HECS balance. Student debt rebates have started rolling out.
The Government’s student debt reforms started to roll out yesterday after its HECS indexation changes passed Parliament last month.
The legislation means indexation cannot exceed the lower rate of either inflation or wage growth figures.
It comes after HECS debts increased by 7.1% in 2023, in line with inflation. This increase will be adjusted to 3.2% — the wage index.
Under the changes, the Government estimates that a $25,000 HECS debt will be reduced by over $1,000.
The reform, which the Opposition supported, meant the Government essentially owed people a 3.9% refund on the HECS indexation they were charged in June 2023.
Those who've paid off their HECS since then will have the difference credited to them.
Australians can check their student debt by logging onto their ATO account through myGov.
I’ve got 2 minutes
Australia and 157 other nations have voted in favour of an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
The resolution, voted on yesterday by the United Nations General Assembly, also called for Hamas to release the 101 hostages remaining in Gaza after its 7 October attack on Israel.
It’s the first time Australia has supported a call for an “unconditional and permanent” cessation of fighting.
Australia also voted for a separate motion calling for Israel to overturn a law that would stop the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in Gaza and the West Bank.
General Assembly
The UN has six main bodies, including the General Assembly (GA), Security Council and the International Court of Justice.
The GA is the UN’s “chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ”.
All 193 UN member states can vote for, against, or abstain from voting on resolutions in the GA.
Resolution 1
The first resolution adopted by the GA yesterday called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.
158 nations, including Australia, voted in favour, while 13 countries abstained. Nine (including Israel and the U.S.) voted against the resolution.
Resolution 2
The second successful resolution called on Israel to overturn its ban on UNRWA in the region.
Israel has alleged 12 UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’ attack on 7 October 2023. Eight of these employees are being investigated, three have been suspended, and one has been cleared.
It’s since passed a law to stop UNRWA from working in Israel, which would effectively ban it from accessing Gaza and the West Bank next year.
Australia
Despite voting for the first motion, Australia’s UN Ambassador James Larsen said it should have condemned Hamas.
On the UNRWA vote, Larsen said Australia’s position was that “any affiliation or involvement with terrorist organisations cannot be tolerated”.
However, he said Australia voted in favour of the resolution as “UNRWA must be allowed to continue its life-saving work”.
What next?
General Assembly resolutions are recommendations and are not legally binding. Unlike the Security Council, no country can veto a vote in this chamber.
This week, U.S. media reports suggested progress was being made in ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Mediators are reportedly pushing for an initial 60-day ceasefire similar to that currently in place between Israel and Hezbollah.
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🍊 The hosts of the 2030 and 2034 World Cups are official. Who's hosting?
🍊 PNG will officially have an NRL team. More details here.
🍊 A 6-time Superbowl winning coach will begin a role as a college coach.
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: swimming, athletics and more…
Give me some good news
Archaeologists have unearthed artefacts and ceremonial items dating back to ancient Egypt which are thought to be tied to Cleopatra.
The Egyptian-Dominican archaeological mission discovered several items beneath a temple in the ancient city of Alexandria, including a small white marble statuette of a woman. The lead researcher believes the bust is a depiction of Queen Cleopatra. Numerous experts have weighed in, suggesting the statue could be another royal woman or princess.
Other significant discoveries include hundreds of coins bearing Cleopatra’s image, pottery vessels, oil lamps, and bronze statues which date back to around 30 BCE. Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the discoveries would be pivotal in expanding the understanding of ancient Egypt’s final dynasty in the late Ptolemaic period.
Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!
Reporting by Rosa Bowden.
TDA tidbit
It turns out The Onion won’t be able to purchase Infowars.
If that sentence means nothing to you, let me give you some context.
The Onion is a satirical news site. Infowars is a site that was run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
Jones spread a conspiracy theory on Infowars that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was faked. Families of victims of the shooting sued Jones for defamation. He then declared bankruptcy. As a result, the web address infowars.com went for sale.
The Onion made a deal with the victims’ families to pay less for the web domain and consequently would stop it from going to the competing bidder — a business connected to Jones.
About a month ago, the Onion purchased the web domain, but a judge paused the deal while the bankruptcy case was still being handled.
In a Houston court, Judge Christopher Lopez made the decision to stop the sale. His reasoning was that the auction of infowars.com didn’t result in the largest sale price because the bidding occurred privately.
Now, the future of infowars.com remains uncertain.
Reporting by Nandini Dhir.
Want more from The Daily Aus? Listen to our podcast!
It's official. Papua New Guinea is joining Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) competition from 2028. A deal between the two nations will expand the global profile of one of Australia's most dominant sports, but it could become one of geopolitical importance, too.
As concern grows around China's increased presence in the South Pacific, what does the PNG NRL deal tell us about diplomacy and global politics? We'll explore more in today's deep dive.
TDA asks
