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Happy Friday!
You did it. You made it to the end of the first week back at work (for most of us).
I've got 10 seconds
The quote
"I don’t want to go into Woolworths and be told how I need to vote, how I feel about Australia Day... I think Australians should boycott Woolworths." — Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on 2GB, speaking about Woolworths’ decision to scrap Australia Day merchandise in the lead-up to January 26.
The stat
4 trillion
The number of global music streams surpassed last year according to a new report by Luminate. 2023 saw a 22.3% increase in global streams from the previous year.
Today in history
2010: A 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti killed 160,000 people.
I've got 30 seconds
Some headlines from this morning:
NSW Police have appealed for witnesses after a 34-year-old man was shot dead by officers on the state’s south coast this week. Police were called to a medical clinic in Nowra on Wednesday afternoon after reports a patient at the practice was armed with a gun. He died at the scene while no other injuries were reported. An independent review will investigate the incident as a report is prepared for the coroner.
Amazon will cut "several hundred" jobs across its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios divisions. An employee memo from Mike Hopkins, the Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, said the organisation has “identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas''. According to the memo, all impacted employees will be notified by the end of the week and will receive redundancy payments and job-seeking support.
I've got 1 minute
Two people have been arrested over an alleged plot to murder four members of ONEFOUR, a drill and rap group from Western Sydney.
The 26-year-old and 20-year-old are both expected to be charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to kidnap, among several other charges.
Police have also applied for an arrest warrant for a 22-year-old man who is likely overseas.
Police will allege the men were part of a criminal group that were undertaking contract work to carry out murders and kidnappings.
The criminal group is also allegedly linked to a kidnapping that occurred in March last year alongside an alleged kidnapping attempt over a 722kg cocaine import.
I've got 2 minutes
Multiple people have died after protests turned violent in Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Defence forces were called to the capital of Port Moresby after gunshots, looting and explosions erupted in the city last night.
Local ambulance services were overrun, while several properties were damaged.
Papua New Guinea
PNG is a Pacific nation north of Queensland. It has been led by Prime Minister James Marape since 2019.
Riots broke out earlier this week following a demonstration by public service workers – including police – who were protesting a recent wage error.
A payroll issue led to some staff being taxed incorrectly and receiving less pay as a result.
Civil unrest
Multiple deaths have been reported after gunfire, explosions, and arson broke out in Port Moresby on Wednesday afternoon, local time.
National Capital District Governor Powes Parkop called for residents to "cease the looting and vandalism" of local businesses.
The ABC has reported at least nine people were killed in Port Morseby with a further seven deaths in the country's north, according to police in Lae.
The pay glitch
PNG's Internal Revenue Commission blamed a system error for the underpayment issue that sparked the initial protests.
It said the Department of Finance was in the process of rectifying the issue that led to the missing wages, and that workers would be "fully reimbursed".
Response
Ambulance services warned of mass delays due to a high volume of calls during the riots.
Marape said in a news conference on Thursday that he had declared a state of emergency.
The PNG Government has also signed off on a plan to deploy defence forces in Port Moresby, to support local police on the ground.
PM Marape said concerns about public service wages were "being heard".
Governor Parkop said the cost to businesses and property owners is expected to be "substantial".
"We are inflicting harm upon ourselves," he said.
The Government apologised to businesses affected by the unrest and will evaluate tax relief measures for those impacted by the riots.
A message from our sponsor
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Give me some good news
For the first time, more than half of Germany’s electricity grid is powered by renewables — after the share of electricity generated by renewables went up by 6.6% last year.
More than 40% of the country’s renewable energy sources came from offshore wind power and solar power. Germany is aiming to have 80% of its grid powered by renewables by 2030.
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A TDA tidbit
Here’s an interesting bit of new research: Vegetarians are apparently 39% less likely to get COVID.
The paper, which was published in the British Medical Journal of Nutrition, Prevention and Health, observed over 700 people in Brazil. Some participants were completely vegetarian, whereas others were flexitarians – meaning they consumed meat less than three times a week.
It concluded that a “plant-based diet and mainly vegetarian diet may be considered for protection against infection with COVID-19”.
The researchers said: “Our study provides evidence that individuals with a plant-based diet and mainly a vegetarian diet had a lower incidence of COVID-19 even after accounting for important variables like physical activity, BMI [body-mass index] and pre-existing conditions.”
So, if you’re vegetarian and you haven’t had COVID yet, maybe this is why!
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