What we learned today, Friday 8 December
We will wrap up the blog here for Friday evening. Here’s what made the news today:
Thousands of people in South Australia were left without power, and 34 schools and preschools were closed amid a heatwave in the state.
There were heatwave warnings for parts of all mainland states, prompting extreme to catastrophic danger alerts to be issued for parts of South Australia, northern Victoria and outback New South Wales.
Almost 20 schools in NSW shut for the day amid fire warnings.
The former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has slammed the “dictator” name given to him by critics, and called Sky News After Dark “bullshit” in a rare post-politics interview.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, will visit Israel in a matter of weeks, in early 2024.
Donald Trump Jr has once again postponed his planned speaking tour of Australia.
Pauline Hanson’s controversial chief of staff, James Ashby, will run for Queensland state parliament next year as the One Nation candidate for the seat of Keppel.
Enjoy your evening, and I hope you stay safe from the heat.
Updated
The Melbourne gallery owner Anna Schwartz has dropped the provocative performance artist Mike Parr after a 36-year relationship, after a piece commenting on Israel’s military action in Gaza.
Schwartz sent Parr a two-sentence email on Sunday, the day after he installed the third part of his exhibition Sunset Claws, informing him she would no longer represent him.
Updated
