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Good morning.
The brief ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will begin today.
The Qatari government, which mediated talks between Israel and Hamas, has said the pause in fighting will begin at 7am local time (4pm AEDT) on Friday.
A group of 13 hostages, taken by Hamas on 7 October, will be the first to be released, as well as an undisclosed initial number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.
Over the four days, 50 hostages are expected to be released in exchange for 150 Palestinian prisoners.
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"We didn’t have a choice, it’s a business decision that we have been told is what’s happening.” — Melbourne radio host Lauren Phillips on being told the KIIS FM Melbourne breakfast slot she co-hosts with Jason Hawkins is being taken over by Kyle and Jackie O in the new year. The duo were told the night before they announced their axing.
The stat
20%
The increase in detected COVID cases in NSW in the last fortnight compared to the end of October.
Today in history
2007: Kevin Rudd was elected Prime Minister of Australia in a landslide victory against incumbent Prime Minister John Howard.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
At least 10 homes have been destroyed in bushfires in Perth’s north, as bushfire warnings are active in parts of Jandabup, Melaleuca, Wanneroo and Mariginiup. There is a total fire ban across the area as temperatures have reached up to 40°C.
American actor and comedian Jamie Foxx is being sued for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in 2015 in New York. The plaintiff said that Foxx used force and “seemed intoxicated”. The woman is also suing the venue’s company, claiming that security guards at the venue saw the incident but did not interfere.
I've got 1 minute
Transgender women will be banned from international cricket matches under a new policy approved by the sport's global governing body.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) Board has agreed on new gender eligibility regulations, which were developed following a nine-month consultation period.
The rules ban cricketers who have been through any form of testosterone puberty from the women's game.
Further details
The ban will apply to international matches. The eligibility of transgender women to play at a domestic level will be left to individual nations.
ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said the ban was "founded in science" and would support fairness in international matches. The ban will be reviewed within two years.
"Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women's game and the safety of players."
Response
Cricketer Danielle McGahey became the first transgender woman to play an international fixture last month. She was born in Australia but represented Canada.
The ICC ban has forced McGahey to retire from international cricket. On Instagram, she said the decision would send a message to trans women that "we don't belong".
"We deserve the right to play cricket at the highest level, we are not a threat to the integrity or safety of the sport."
I've got 2 minutes
Content Warning: Child sexual abuse
A survey of 2,000 Australian men found nearly 10% of respondents had committed a sexual offence against a person under the age of 18.
The UNSW survey was the first nationally representative Australian study on child sexual abuse perpetration and the largest of its kind globally. Nationally representative means it's designed to represent the population as a whole.
Here's what we learned from the survey on child sexual abuse in Australia:
Almost 10% of men surveyed had sexually offended against children
15% of respondents had experienced sexual feelings towards children
30% of those with sexual feelings towards children want help
The nearly 10% of respondents who made up the survey's total number of sex offenders answered 'yes' to at least one of five questions, including:
If they'd flirted with a person under 18 online.
If they'd had sex with someone below 18 while they were an adult.
If they'd deliberately watched porn containing people under 18. This question extended to men who'd also watched this material when they were under 18.
Age of consent laws
The survey is part of an international study including men in the U.S. and the UK.
In Australia, the age of consent varies between 16 and 17. As a result, the report's benchmark for "offending" doesn't mean all Australian respondents broke the law.
The report acknowledged that "some of what is noted as sexual contact with a child in our findings may be consensual activity" and that this was a "limitation of the survey".
Comments
Lead investigator on the study, UNSW Associate Professor Michael Salter, said the report brought "unprecedented visibility" to the number of undetected child sex offenders in Australia.
"By shining a light on the characteristics of individual perpetrators and the broader social and technological patterns that enable their abuse, it is our hope that this research can be the catalyst for change to ultimately keep children safe."
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Give me some good news
A new study has revealed a direct correlation between a skin bacteria and eczema, which could help uncover new kinds of treatments for people with eczema.
Staph is a bacteria found on the skin, and this study shows that staph causes itchiness.
One of the study’s authors, Senior Professor at Harvard Medical School Isaac Chiu, told The Guardian: “Nobody’s actually shown that staph can directly cause itch until our study.”
A message from our sponsor
As the weather gets hotter, the days get longer, and the flies get peskier, the unmistakable vibe of an Australian summer swings into full gear. That’s when you know it’s time for the Australian Open - and things just hit different. Whip out the visor, book your tickets here, and pick a spot to meet the crew (we’d suggest the collection of bars and food spots outside Rod Laver Arena).
While you’re hanging out at the Australian Open, keep an eye out for a bunch of fans dressed like carrots. Yep, the vegetable. They’re there to support Italian superstar Jannik Sinner, and we’re getting on board the bandwagon too. Sinner is a talented rising star - as you’ll see in a video we made about him here.
You can catch him at the AO 2024 - make sure you buy your tickets for your very own carrot crew here.
A TDA tidbit
You may have heard that members of the biggest boy group in the world are taking a break to join… the army.
Three members are already completing their service in South Korea’s military. Now, four more members of the K-pop group BTS (they sing ‘Dynamite’ in case you don’t recognise their name) have officially started the process.
It’s not by choice. In South Korea, 18 months of military service is compulsory for all men by the age of 28.
BIGHIT MUSIC, the management company and label for BTS, confirmed that RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook will be enlisted.
All seven members are expected to complete their service by mid-2025.
Jungkook posted a letter to social media for the group’s fanbase, called the ‘ARMY’, that read: “As I share this news, I feel heavy on one hand, and on the other hand, I’m reminded of precious memories with ARMY, so my heart warms up.”
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