☕️ Australian death linked to peptides

I have a question for you: what’s one topic you would like to hear TDA debate both sides of? It can be anything at all! Hit reply to this email and let me know.

The quote: “I lived a lot of what I read in that report... a lot of it rings very true to me as a junior officer at the time.”
WA MP Andrew Hastie, a former SAS officer, on a new report on the army branch’s activities during the war in Afghanistan. It includes an allegation that leadership knew SAS troops were telling their juniors to plant weapons on the bodies of dead civilians to justify killing them.

The stat: 359. The number of passengers and staff who are stranded in Cambodia after their luxury yacht world tour was suspended indefinitely due to fuel costs. Villa Vie Residences launched the Odyssey two years ago, with many of the current passengers having lived onboard ever since.

The big question:

Yesterday’s results: 72% of you think 16-year-olds shouldn’t be allowed to vote in Australia, while 28% think they should. Thanks for voting - your responses inform TDA's journalism and research. [2,782 votes].

Together with AAP.

30% off storewide is the kind of number that makes a bedroom refresh feel very reasonable.

Ecosa’s Sleep Frenzy Sale covers mattresses, bedding, bed frames, sofa beds and more until 15 November, with free metro shipping on eligible orders.

^{Transparency: This is a sponsored part of the newsletter - the best way to keep the newsletter free for you.}

Two high-speed trains have crashed into each other in central Spain, killing at least 68 people and injuring around 80 more.

One of the trains was reportedly travelling at up to 200km/h when it collided with a stationary train.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has declared three days of mourning.

Train One: Operated by state-owned company Renfe, carrying 397 passengers. Travelling south from Madrid to Seville at up to 200km/h.

Train Two: Operated by private company Iryo, carrying 147 passengers. Also travelling south from Madrid to Seville, but stopped on the track due to a computer failure, according to Transport Minister Óscar Puente.

Train One collided with Train Two as it was stopped on the track.

At a press conference, Puente said the computer failure affected six trains in total. The “control centre” then took over, and according to Puente, directed Train One to restart.

That train “should have stopped,” Puente said, as its “velocity could not have been regulated”. However, it crashed into Train Two.

Puente added the decision to restart was made “under inexplicable circumstances”.

This accident was the second deadly high-speed train collision in Spain this year.

In January, 46 people died and dozens were injured when two trains collided in southern Spain. The two trains were also operated by Iryo and Renfe. The last three carriages of the Iryo train derailed, colliding with an oncoming Renfe train.

At the time, it was Spain’s worst rail accident in a decade.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said: “Spain is in mourning... We are working to clarify the origin of this tragedy.”

At this stage, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is not aware of any impacted Australians, but is in contact with Spanish authorities.

“Our heartfelt condolences are with the families and loved ones of those killed, and with those injured and all affected by the train collision in Spain,” a DFAT spokesperson said.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

🎧 On today’s TDA podcast, editor-in-chief Billi reports back from a Trump rally ahead of the midterms. Listen or watch on Apple here, Spotify here, or YouTube here.

🌞 Sign up to TDA Good News here for a wrap of all the good news from this week in your inbox on Sunday morning.

A coroner has released findings into the death of Australian actor Richard Norton, who died last year after injecting peptides prescribed by his doctor.

It’s believed to be the first death in Australia with a confirmed link to unapproved peptides.

The coroner has now asked the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to consider tougher restrictions, including a possible ban on human use.

Peptides are short chains of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein.

In simple terms, peptides are smaller versions of proteins that help regulate a range of bodily processes, including tissue growth and repair.

Some peptides occur naturally in the body, including insulin and endorphins.

Synthetic peptides have been used in medicine for around a century, with insulin among the first developed to treat type 1 diabetes. GLP-1 medications like Ozempic are peptides.

Earlier this month, NSW Health said it had seen a sharp rise in emergency department presentations linked to the use of unapproved peptides.

The TGA has repeatedly cautioned consumers about peptides promoted on social media despite not being evaluated for safety, quality or effectiveness.

The regulator says unapproved peptides can carry risks including contamination, incorrect dosing and allergic reactions. It has also raised concerns that many of the claimed benefits remain unproven.

Unapproved peptides are not always illegal, and doctors can still prescribe some of them through specialised schemes.

Norton was best known for his work in film as a martial artist, actor and stuntman. He was 75 at the time of his death.

In March 2025, Norton’s doctor prescribed him a daily injection of two peptides: CJC1295 and Ipamorelin.

Both are unapproved experimental drugs that are purported to get the body to release more of its own growth hormone.

On 28 March, Norton told a nurse he’d been taking double the prescribed dose. That night, he injected another dose, went into cardiac arrest, and died on 30 March.

This week, Victorian coroner David Ryan found Norton’s death was triggered by injecting the peptides.

He said Norton had been taking more than he was prescribed. The injection caused an anaphylactic reaction, which led to his cardiac arrest.

Asthma and a heart condition were also listed as contributing factors.

It’s believed to be the first death in Australia triggered by unapproved peptide use.

Ryan asked the TGA to review the benefits and safety risks of peptides like the ones Norton took.

He wants it to consider further restrictions, including a possible ban on human use, with exceptions for clinical trials.

Ryan wrote: “It is not clear to me how their safe use can be clinically indicated”.

A spokesperson for the TGA told TDA it is “continuing to assess the risks associated with these products and considering whether further regulatory or other measures may be appropriate”.

Following the coroner’s findings, Independent MP Dr Monique Ryan renewed her call for a parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s online healthcare market.

Norton’s doctor advised the Medical Board of Australia that he will no longer prescribe peptides.

Reporting by Elliot Lawry.

A coffee made at 7am shouldn't be lukewarm by 9am.

It's lucky, then, that frank green's new Edition II collection uses four-wall insulation, so hot drinks stay hot and cold ones stay cold for longer.

It's the result of more than three years of design work from the brand leading the category for over a decade.

The tournament features eight national teams. Australia’s Wheelaroos, captained by Bayley McKenna, will play their first match on Saturday against New Zealand. They are joined in Pool B by Scotland and 2022 runners-up France. The tournament opener will see defending champions England take on Wales at 3:30pm today, and you can watch all the action on Channel 7.

Reporting by George Finlayson.

When Nine chose its next site for The Block, it probably wasn’t expecting a community to already be living there. Much less a community of cats. 

The site of the former Sunbury Psychiatric Hospital, north of Melbourne, is currently home to more than 100 cats. 

There’s soon to be room for the new kids on The Block, as a partnership between Victorian Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell, the show, and animal rescue charity Forever Friends will see the kitties go to their forever homes.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.