Two Melbourne teens on life support in Laos

The highly-anticipated ‘Wicked Part 1’ officially comes out in cinemas today. (Yes, ‘Part 1’ means there will be a ‘Part 2’ too.)

Featuring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the film is about two young witches who form an unlikely bond. It is the prequel to the story of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

Does anyone else feel like there has been a resurgence of going to the theatres in the past year? It’s becoming one of my new favourite past times!

P.S. This is not sponsored. But if Universal Pictures is reading, I would love some sweet and salty popcorn to watch the movie with.

“We want to get this done.”
Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman speaking to the ABC about the Government’s proposal to ban children under 16 from social media. With the Coalition’s support, the Government’s bill will pass.

$91 billion
How much more Australians would earn each year if they were compensated for unpaid overtime work, according to the Australia Institute.

1962
China and India reached a ceasefire agreement, bringing the Sino-Indian War to an end.

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An Australian mining company has agreed to pay $246 million to secure the release of three employees who’ve been “unexpectedly detained” in the West African country Mali.

Resolute, which owns a gold mine in Mali, said one of the three is its CEO.

It’s not confirmed when the detained employees will be released, but the company said they “remain safe and well”.

It comes after the military-controlled Government created a new policy to increase its earnings from foreign mining projects.

Resolute is a Perth-based gold mining company that operates mines in West Africa.

It holds an 80% stake in its mine in Mali – one of Africa’s largest gold producers – with the rest owned by the country’s military-controlled Government.

Last week, the publicly-listed company temporarily stopped the sale of its shares amid negotiations with the Malian Government.

Resolute executives were detained in Mali’s capital, Bamako, on 8 November after a series of meetings aimed at resolving what the company called “unsubstantiated” allegations.

The company said that after these meetings, three of its employees were “unexpectedly detained” at the offices of Mali’s financial watchdog.

Resolute said that their employees were being “treated well” and had received support from international embassies.

Resolute and the Malian Government have now negotiated a “Protocol” for their future dealings.

The agreement waives any “outstanding claims by the Government against the Company”, and secures the release of the employees.

In exchange, Resolute will pay Mali a total of $AU246 million. It’s already paid half of the sum upfront.

The agreement also includes a commitment to discuss the company’s “operations” under a new Government policy introduced last year.

The policy increased the maximum stake the Government can hold in mining operations to 30%.

Last month, Canadian mining company Barrick Gold signed a similar agreement with Mali, after four of its employees were detained for alleged policy breaches.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

Sydney trains won’t run from early Friday morning until Sunday morning as workers with the Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) NSW go on strike.

It comes after a breakdown in pay negotiations between the union and the State Government. The parties have also failed to reach an agreement on plans to roll out a 24-hour train timetable.

According to Transport for NSW (TfNSW), there will be “a shutdown” across the whole network this weekend.

In June, the State Government offered NSW train operators an 11% pay increase over a three-year period. RTBU NSW has asked for an 8% increase every year for four years.

NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said the Government has made it “very clear” this “is not something that we are able to deliver”.

The union is also negotiating to improve working conditions and introduce a 24-hour train schedule.

RTBU NSW has been calling on the State Government to introduce 24-hour train schedules.

Union secretary Toby Warnes said: “This weekend would have been the perfect time to run 24-hour public transport”.

However, NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen said that constantly having trains running would “eventually lead to the failure of our rail network.”

Train services will be shut down from early on Friday until Sunday morning.

Lines that service regional areas will also be limited on Wednesday and Thursday for passengers on the Newcastle, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands, and Illawarra lines.

TfNSW has advised passengers to use alternative travel methods or check transportnsw.info before taking public transport.

Initially, it was reported trains would stop running from Thursday.

On Wednesday, the union said the strike “would never have impacted services running on Thursday.”

RBTU NSW Secretary Toby Warnes said the Government “didn’t read the notice properly.”

However, the State Government said that after a second meeting, the union “agreed to run a regular train service on Thursday... for the Pearl Jam concert.”

Extra trains will take concertgoers to the first Pearl Jam show at Sydney Olympic Park on Thursday.

However, TfNSW Secretary Josh Murray said trains won’t be running when 30,000 people are expected at Olympic Park for the second concert on Saturday.

Murray said ticket data indicates many concertgoers will be travelling “from the Central Coast and from Newcastle.”

A million people use Sydney trains “each and every day,” Haylen said. She called for the union to “withdraw their industrial actions”. RBTU NSW said it won’t cancel the strike until it reaches an agreement.

Murray and Haylen have apologised for the disruptions.

Regular maintenance on part of the Metro line is also scheduled this weekend. While services will run between Tallawong and Chatswood, Chatswood to Sydenham will be closed.

Haylen said cancelling this “essential maintenance would be at significant cost to the taxpayer”.

Currently, transportnsw.info recommends passengers “use train services between Chatswood... and Sydenham” this weekend.

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🍊 Rafa officially played his last match. Here's what he said.
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🗞️ Also in the Sport Newsletter: swimming, AFL, and more…

The program trains roughly 90% of the country’s GPs and includes spots for doctors planning to work in remote and regional communities. The Royal Australian College of GPs has long warned of shortages of GPs. The Department of Health estimates there’s a current shortfall of roughly 2500 doctors across Australia and has projected worse shortages over the next decade. The College says it marks the first time in years that the specialist training program has been at capacity, adding that the 1,500 trainees in 2025 is “a sign the GP workforce is recovering”.

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Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

The 2024 ARIA Awards, the biggest night in the calendar for Australian music, were held last night in Sydney. Here are three things that happened:

Donald Trump takes office in January, but since his recent election win, the U.S. President-elect has been choosing who will join his future administration and cabinet.

A range of senior White House positions have already been filled across areas like foreign affairs, environment, border security, and health.

On the podcast today we’re going to take you through some of those appointments, from what you need to know about their past, and what they’ll be responsible for in the future.