Good afternoon. More details, reactions, and questions are emerging after the unprecedented attack against militant group Hezbollah, in which thousands of pagers were remotely and simultaneously detonated across Lebanon, killing at least nine people and wounding almost 3,000. Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said a young girl was among the dead, and that at least 200 people had critical injuries.
The Taiwanese manufacturer linked to the pagers that exploded as part of the attack has said the devices were made by a company in Europe. “The product was not ours. It was only that it had our brand on it,” said Hsu Ching-Kuang, the founder of electronics company Gold Apollo. In Australia, the Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said the attack “is exactly the type of sickening warfare people in Naarm Melbourne were protesting against”, while the shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, said, “probably every intelligence agency in the world is waking up this morning and asking themselves, how do we stop this happening to us?”
Top news
Secret defense report tabled after publication ‘error’ | The Albanese government has published a report recommending an overhaul of the military justice system after it was discovered published “in error” on the website of the Royal Commission into veteran suicide after being provided on a confidential basis.
Arrests over alleged criminal messaging app | Dozens of people have been arrested as part of an investigation into an encrypted messaging network known as “Ghost”, the first of its kind to allegedly be administered by an Australian, and a platform trumpeted as “un-hackable”.
Moira Deeming defamation trial continues | The ousted Victorian Liberal MP told the federal court she was “determined to be brave” by attending a controversial “Let Women Speak” rally despite security warnings, and that she “didn’t know” about Nazi salutes performed on the steps of parliament.
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CFMEU supporters hit the streets | Victorian building unions are threatening a strike of up to three days if employers don’t stop a “sustained attack” on pay and conditions, the head of the electricians’ union has said, as members rallied in Sydney and Melbourne against the placing of the CFMEU into administration.
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‘Not the actions of a friend’ | The federal opposition has criticized a video appearing to show a Chinese military aircraft in a “dangerous” interception with an Australian surveillance plane in 2022, with the shadow defense minister, Andrew Hastie, calling on Anthony Albanese to raise the matter with Xi Jinping.
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Murdoch succession battle deepens | As a secret legal case over the future control of News Corp is heard in the US, investors are seeking to loosen share voting powers that allow Rupert Murdoch and his heirs to maintain a firm grip on the media empire.
Kashmir votes in ‘crossroads’ election | There is a palpable buzz in the Himalayan region of India, as Kashmiris go to the polls on Wednesday to vote for their first regional assembly since 2014 – the first since the region was stripped of its statehood by prime minister Narendra Modi.
Fake Harris hit-and-run video | A Russian propaganda unit created a video claiming Kamala Harris was involved in an alleged hit-and-run incident, paid an actor to appear as the alleged victim, and spread the claim through a fake news website, Microsoft researchers have found.
Lizard nostril bubbles | Water anoles, small lizards dubbed “chicken nuggets of the forest” that plunge into streams to evade predators, survive underwater by breathing through a bubble that forms on their nostrils, researchers say.
In pictures
Australia’s Farming Shopfront: Henty Machinery Field Days
More than 50,000 people are expected to descend on the town in southern New South Wales for the largest agricultural event in Australia. More than 800 exhibitors are spread across a 104-hectare specially built site for the three-day field event, which organizers say connects agricultural businesses and farmers who use their products and technology to increase efficiency, profitability, and sustainability.
What they said …
“Social media companies know very well they directly benefit from our anger, divisiveness, and the valuable time we spend on their platforms. So, until they own responsibility, I see the government’s proposed ban as a small but significant step.”
Writing for Guardian Australia, Chanel Contos, the founder of Teach Us Consent, says that until social media giants take responsibility for the harm they cause, she supports the government’s proposed ban on children.
In numbers
Japan’s long campaign to appoint more women to senior roles in business and industry has suffered a blow, after a survey found only 0.8% of top firms listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange were led by women. The proportion of senior women in business remains low even under the government’s wider definition of “executive”, which includes corporate officers, as well as directors, auditors, and executive officers.
Before bed read
Stamps, sticks and stories: looking for traces of baseball in North Korea
Earlier this year, when a baseball team made up of young North Korean defectors toured the US, American and South Korean media reported that baseball was “unheard of” in the North. But like a trail of breadcrumbs, there are signs this most cherished of American sports may still be played in a country that calls itself the “biggest enemy” of the US.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is FALL. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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