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Happy Thursday!
And more importantly, happy International Strange Music Day.
The idea of today is to listen to types of music you’ve never experienced before.
Please excuse me while I go listen to some Pirate Metal.
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"Bring it on." – One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s response to ex-member Mark Latham’s call for an investigation into the political party’s finances.
The stat
74.4%
The amount Domino’s Pizza’s net profit dropped in the 2022-23 financial year.
Today in history
2018: Scott Morrison became Prime Minister after a leadership spill that ousted Malcolm Turnbull as leader of the Liberal Party.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group that led a rebellion against Russia's military in June, is believed to have died in a plane crash, according to Russian aviation authorities. Prigozhin's name was reportedly listed on a passenger list alongside six other passengers, and three crew members.
I've got 1 minute
Leaders from Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa have gathered for the annual 'BRICS' Summit. It is their first in-person summit since the pandemic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin joined via video call instead of attending in person because of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Russia's Foreign Minister is at BRICS instead.
What is BRICS?
The first BRICS summit took place in Russia in 2009. In 2010, BRICS expanded to include South Africa.
BRICS countries make up over 40% of the global population and about 25% of the global economy.
BRICS is considered an emerging rival to the G7 – a political forum made up of the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and the UK.
What’s on the agenda?
Along with strengthening ties between existing BRICS nations, expanding the summit to include other countries will be a key issue.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Argentina are among the 40 nations that have expressed interest in joining the group. China's President Xi Jinping is expected to support the call for new members.
The summit commenced on Tuesday and will run until Thursday.
Thank you!
We’re so excited to tell you that ‘No Silly Questions’ has become the #1 Bestseller this week 🥺.
Thank you so much to everyone who has already pre-ordered, it really means the world to us.
By pre-ordering the book before it is released, you send an indication to bookstores across the country that they should stock ‘No Silly Questions’.
Our book will officially hit bookshelves on Sept 5!
I've got 2 minutes
One in three students failed to meet learning benchmarks set in this year's NAPLAN exams.
The national test measures core skills across numeracy and literacy for all students in years 3, 5, 7, and 9.
Results out on Wednesday show one in ten students need additional support to meet NAPLAN benchmarks. This number is higher among First Nations and socio-economically disadvantaged students.
Details:
NAPLAN introduced new proficiency levels for assessing students this year: exceeding, strong, developing and needs additional support.
More than 60% of city-based students met numeracy and literacy outcomes with 'exceeding' or 'strong' proficiency. However, 70% of students from very remote schools were in the two lowest levels of proficiency.
About a third of First Nations students results were in the 'needs additional support' level, compared to the overall rate of 10%.
Participation rates increased by an average of 2%, meaning more students attended school on the day of NAPLAN compared to previous years.
The results also show female students continued to outperform male students in literacy, while male students slightly outperformed female students in numeracy.
Testing was completed online (with the exception of the Year 3 writing test) for the first time last year.
Response:
Minister for Education Jason Clare said NAPLAN raised the "minimum standard" to identify the students who need more support. "The next step is to provide them with that support."
Education Union President Correna Haythorpe said the results highlight an "unacceptable" gap "between students from different backgrounds and locations." Calling for better funding for public schools, Haythorpe added "we can’t close the achievement gaps without closing the resources gaps".
Give me some good news
Sam Kerr has launched her own football academy for Australian children.
The program will be offered to boys and girls aged 3-14, and will begin next year. It will provide a flexible football curriculum, and offer guidance around mental health and overall wellbeing.
A message from our sponsor
Now that the dust has settled on Dry July, Australians are pausing to think about their alcohol consumption - and the alternatives are more popular (and delicious) than ever. New data from Finder shows 42% of Aussies are drinking less alcohol than they were a year ago, and a whopping 400,000 of us are cutting or planning to cut back on alcohol by the end of this year.
So, what are the options? Well, we've gone out searching for the best alcohol-free cocktails - and we've landed at the range from Yes You Can. This home-grown brand has five flavours (Spritz, Yuzu Sake, G&T, Dark & Stormy and Peach Bellini) in some gorgeous cans that you'll feel proud to rock at the bar.
A TDA tidbit
We all know Steven Bradbury for his unexpected gold medal win at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Now, more than 20 years later, he’s receiving a medal for a different reason.
Bradbury has been awarded a Commendation for Brave Conduct by the Governor-General after he rescued four teenage girls from rough seas in March last year.
Bradbury spotted a young girl struggling in the water and sent his young son to call for help, as he paddled out on his surfboard. As he got closer to the girl, he noticed another three people in trouble.
The Queenslander navigated two-metre swells and a dangerous rip to assist them all. Bradbury kept the girls safe on his board until lifeguards arrived to help get them back to shore.
“When you’re in that situation, that’s what anyone would do,” Bradbury told Channel 9 last year.
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The Daily Aus acknowledges the Gadigal peoples of the Eora Nation who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work. We acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.