☕️ Conclave officially underway

In case you missed it, the process to elect the next head of the Catholic Church is officially underway.

More than 100 church leaders have entered the Sistine Chapel to vote in a secret ‘conclave’ that will result in a new Pope. They are not allowed to speak to anyone in the outside world until they have elected the new leader.

Overnight, the first round of voting was unsuccessful, with black smoke emerging from the chimney. This was expected though – the highly-secretive process often takes days, but can take longer. The longest one took almost three years!

"I did a dance around the house in my bra and knickers."
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson speaking to Sky News about the news that Greens leader Adam Bandt is set to lose his seat of Melbourne. Bandt and Hanson lead parties on contrasting ends of the political spectrum.

$65.6 million
The amount of money the Western Australian Government will spend on their new NRL team over seven years. WA Premier Roger Cook announced the landmark move via social media, telling fans the team is scheduled to play its first game in 2027 or 2028.

“Emily in Paris ❌ Emily in Portland ✅”. A comment left on our piece about Trump placing 100% tariffs on all movies filmed outside of the U.S.

The NSW Police Commissioner has announced she will step down from her role, almost two years before her term was set to end.

Karen Webb, who was the state’s first woman in the role, will retire on 30 September.

Webb said the decision followed conversations with her family, and that she “knew the time was right”.

Deputy Commissioner Peter Thurtell will fill the role while the NSW Government looks for a replacement.

Webb joined NSW Police in 1987. In November 2021, she was appointed Police Commissioner by then-Premier Dominic Perrottet.

During her term, NSW Police issued an official apology for its historical handling of hate crimes against the LGBTQIA+ community, and established a Domestic and Family Violence Registry.

Webb’s tenure also saw two major incidents involving police officers.

In May 2023, NSW Police officer Kristian White tasered 95-year-old Clare Nowland, after staff at her aged care home called Triple Zero because she was wielding a steak knife.

Nowland, who weighed 47kg and used a walking frame, died of her injuries.

White was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to a community corrections order.

Webb faced criticism because NSW Police was found to have withheld the information that Nowland was tasered in its initial press release about the incident.

Last year, NSW Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon was charged with murder over the deaths of Sydney couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird.

It has been alleged Lamarre-Condon used his work-issued gun to carry out the murders. He has yet to face trial and has not entered a plea.

Webb was criticised over her handling of the alleged murders, including her lack of public comments about the investigation.

During a TV interview about this criticism, Webb paraphrased Taylor Swift, saying “haters like to hate”.

Premier Chris Minns congratulated Webb on a “historic career,” saying she will be remembered as a “trailblazing leader”.

“Commissioner Webb has stood tall in moments of crisis, led significant policing reform, and staunchly defended law and order in this state,” Minns said.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley also thanked Webb for her “career of self-sacrifice and public service”.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

India has fired missiles at Pakistan, two weeks after militants killed 26 people in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistani authorities say India’s attack killed at least 31 people. They are considering it an act of war.

India described the attack as “measured, responsible and designed to be non-escalatory,” targeting “only known terror camps”.

Here’s what you need to know.

The region of Kashmir borders India, Pakistan, and China.

When Britain relinquished control of the Indian peninsula in 1947, it split the region into two countries — India and Pakistan.

Kashmir became a flashpoint of conflict between the new nations, with both fighting for control.

After the UN intervened, the area was officially split into Pakistani control in the north and Indian control in the south.

More conflicts have followed, driven by religious tensions between the Muslim majority in Pakistan and the Hindu majority in India.

Militant groups opposed to Indian rule also operate in the region. India has accused Pakistan of supporting these groups.

In 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a military crackdown on India’s section of Kashmir, and began to govern it directly.

On 22 April, a group of militants opened fire at a tourist spot in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Modi called the killings a terrorist attack. His government has since said Pakistan supported the militant group.

Pakistan denied any involvement and offered to participate in an international investigation into the incident.

India has since withdrawn from a water-sharing treaty and ordered all Pakistanis to leave India. Pakistan responded in kind, cancelling Indian nationals’ visas and revoking treaties.

International media has reported India fired missiles at Punjab and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, while Pakistan has said it shot down Indian Air Force planes.

India’s embassy in Washington released a statement defending its actions, saying it launched the attack after Pakistan failed to “take action” against the militants responsible for the earlier attack.

They maintained the missile strikes were “focused and precise,” and did not hit any “civilian, military or economic targets.”

In a statement, Pakistani PM Shehbaz Sherif called the attacks “cowardly” and said “a resolute response is already underway.”

Schools and airports in parts of both countries have closed in the last few hours.

UN Secretary General António Guterres urged the countries to show restraint, saying: “The world cannot afford a military confrontation between India and Pakistan.”

Both India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons.

Reporting by Joe Casey.

If every food-related purchase feels like a constant "treat yourself" moment, EatClub is here to help lighten the load on your wallet.

EatClub is a free app that gives you up to 50% off at restaurants and bars around the country. Just redeem an offer in the app, enjoy your meal, and when the bill comes - tap to pay with your EatClub card. The discount applies automatically!

With discounts at over 2,500 places across Australia, EatClub is your key to dining out on a budget.

🍊 Jack Doohan’s F1 seat is in jeopardy. Read more here.
🍊 Ezra Mam will return to football this weekend. More details here.
🍊 Who holds Australia’s most formidable sports record?
🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: cricket, soccer, and more…

The 800 ton Dutch merchant vessel was lost near Robe in June 1857, days after it brought over 400 Chinese migrants to Australia. After decades of searching, the site of the wreck has been discovered by a research collaboration between the Australian Maritime Museum and Flinders University.

Dr James Hunter from the Maritime Museum told TDA that “finding the [ship] gives us the opportunity to learn more about the Dutch ships that brought Chinese migrants to Australia for the Victorian gold rush in the 1850.” “It is an untold story within the shared maritime history of the Netherlands and Australia,” he added. The research team plans on continuing to explore the site to learn more about the wreckage.

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

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.

Here in Australia, we’re pretty familiar with snakes.

However, no one is as familiar with them as Tim Friede, has who allowed himself to be bitten by venomous snakes 200 times and injected himself with venom hundreds of times, over 18 years.

These bites and injections have given scientists a path to a potential universal antivenom.

More than 100,000 people die each year from snake bites.

Now, scientists have developed an antidote from antibodies - molecules that protect you from disease - in Freide’s body.

Although human tests are a while away, the antidote fully or partially naturalised the venom of 19 of the world’s deadliest snakes in mice.

Note: TDA does not endorse injecting snake venom.

Reporting by Anju Dhanushkodi.

Over the weekend, there was a federal election in Australia. At that election, Labor won a significant majority, while the Coalition had their standing in Parliament weakened considerably.

While much of the media’s attention has been on the major parties, in today’s podcast we’re going to talk about how the Greens fared.