The US president, Joe Biden, has hailed the results of the midterm elections as a “good day for democracy” but control for Congress remains in limbo. We won’t know the final makeup of the Senate until 6 December, as the race for the seat of Georgia is headed for a runoff after neither candidate cleared the 50% threshold to win outright. Tight races also remain unresolved in Arizona and Nevada.
Back home, retired commando and failed Senate candidate Heston Russell (pictured below) allegedly fired indiscriminately from a helicopter at unarmed Afghan civilians on the ground and “may be reasonably suspected … of the war crime of attacking civilians”, documents filed in the federal court claim. These are new allegations made public by the ABC’s defence documents – the broadcaster is being sued for defamation by Russell for a 2020 report on alleged war crimes in Afghanistan. Russell denies any wrongdoing.
Top news
Australian military | An alleged act of firing at civilians from a helicopter in Afghanistan in 2012 was investigated by the inspector general of the Australian Defence Force in a secret war crimes inquiry, the ABC has claimed in its defence to the defamation case brought by Russell.
Death in custody | A 51-year-old Indigenous man has died at a police watch house after he was arrested in a remote First Nations community on Cape York peninsula. The police said they put him in a holding cell, where he was found “unresponsive” a short time later. It brings the total number of Indigenous deaths in custody since the royal commission in 1991 to at least 518. I say at least because the federal government doesn’t track deaths in real time.
Queensland Covid alert | The sunshine state is recommending masks be worn in high-risk settings after raising the Covid alert from green to amber. A summer Covid wave is hitting the eastern states, with NSW recording a 40% spike in cases and hospitalisations this week.
Abortion info released | The hacker behind the Medibank cyber-attack has released more customer data, this time containing abortion health information. The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, condemned the release as “morally reprehensible”, with the hacker insisting on a payment of US$1 for each customer, equating to US$9.7m. Roughly 2,800 Virgin Velocity frequent flyers were caught up in the initial data dump, with the airline locking those accounts until their membership numbers have been replaced.
Origin takeover bid | The energy giant’s shares soared this morning after receiving an $18.4bn takeover bid. The company would be split into separate electricity generation and gas export firms, with the aim of accelerating the company’s transition away from fossil fuels.
Biden hints at 2024 | The US president has said he intends to run in 2024 but will consult family before making a final decision early next year. The remarks come on the heels of a surprisingly strong show by the Democrats in yesterday’s midterms, which saw them hold off a widely tipped Republican wave.
Twitter’s Saudi links | Biden thinks Twitter boss Elon Musk’s relationships with other countries is “worthy of being looked at”. The primary concern is the social platform’s second-largest investor: Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Leading US Democrats last week flagged the Saudi links as a national security concern.
Xi’s war drum | The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has reportedly told the People’s Liberation Army to “focus all its energy on fighting” in preparation for war amid tensions with Taiwan. Meanwhile, Labor MP Peter Khalil criticised ex-Australian defence personnel working with China as “a breach of trust with your fellow Australians”.
Full Story
The radical plan to move a country
As nations talk at Cop27, Fiji is already on the move. The island nation has developed a national blueprint to relocate at-risk villages, and the rest of the world is watching. Pacific editor Kate Lyons goes to Fiji to see what this plan looks like in action – listen to this 27-minute episode.
What they said …
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“I will pay any price to stand up for my rights.” – Taraneh Alidoosti, an Iranian actor
Alidoosti is one of Iran’s most prominent actors and took to social media without the mandatory headscarf to voice her support for anti-government protests.
In numbers
Before bed read
There’s always something magical about unlikely friendly encounters with animals – particularly when they’re caught on camera.
Canadian diver Andrea Humphreys and a group of friends slipped into the waters of the Salish Sea, off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, and captured a rare sighting of an octopus in the open.
But instead of becoming hostile, the cephalopod drew closer and embraced her.
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