| | 15/08/2024 WHO declares mpox emergency, mortgage payments soar, ‘jaw-dropping’ Stonehenge discovery |
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| | | Good morning. Amid higher interest rates and soaring living costs, new data shows how the percentage of income that Australian mortgage holders are spending on their loans has rocketed to levels not seen since before the 2008 global financial crisis. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is warning that an mpox outbreak in Africa resembles the early days of HIV. And, it was thought a giant stone at England’s Neolithic Stonehenge monument originated in Wales – but archaeologists now say it came from much further away. |
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| Australia | | Housing pressure | Mortgage holders are spending well over 20% of their pre-tax income on their loans, representing one of the highest levels on record, data compiled by the Commonwealth Bank shows. | Paul Brereton | The perceived conflict that resulted in the anti-corruption commissioner recusing himself from decisions on robodebt referrals was an apparent “close association” relating to his service in the army reserve. | London stabbing | An 11-year-old girl who was stabbed eight times in Leicester Square this week is an Australian national visiting London with her mother at the time of the attack. | Exclusive | As it seeks to keep pace with scientific advances, the government is set to announce an inquiry looking to modernise human tissue laws last comprehensively reviewed 50 years ago. | Online advertising | More than half of cryptocurrency-related ads on Facebook analysed by Australia’s consumer regulator were scams or violated Meta’s policies, a court has heard. |
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 | Full Story | | Why is no one counting murdered Indigenous women and children? The report from parliament’s inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children is due to be released today – for one Bourke family, it’s another step on a long road for police accountability. Lorena Allam speaks with Nour Haydar about the families who won’t stop fighting for justice – and why it’s time for reform. Plus: the violent patterns that haunt Indigenous women. | |
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| In-depth | | Peak bodies have argued that the revenue from gambling advertising flows through to grassroots teams and sport development across Australia. But experts told an inquiry that tobacco companies made similar claims before governments and commercial entities stepped up with sponsorships. So, would banning gambling ads damage children’s sports – and could a partial ban work? |
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| Not the news | | Sauna has long been a way of life in northern Europe, where friends and family routinely gather to sit, chat and sweat before dunking themselves in cold water or snow, then repeating. In the past few years Australia’s once limited sauna options have expanded, bringing the joy of stripping off and sweating it out to the mainstream – and, just maybe, changing Australian attitudes to public nudity. |
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| What’s happening today | ACT | The report from parliament’s inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children will be released this afternoon. | Diplomacy | New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon is due to touch down in Australia for a two-day visit. | ABS | The latest labour force and average weekly earnings figures are set to be published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
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| Brain teaser | And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. | |
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