This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happened.
Key events
Live updates
That's it for The Loop this morning
By Kate Ainsworth
Thanks for reading along throughout the morning. If you're looking to catch up, here's some of what we covered (hit the link to jump to the post):
- An investigation is underway into what caused a deadly helicopter crash in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the crash, which killed 14 people is a "terible tragedy"
- The police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd is seeking to appeal his conviction, saying he wasn't able to get a fair trial
- Prosecutors investigating the deadly shooting on the set of the film Rust will announce potential criminal charges over the incident overnight
- Aussie tennis star Thanasi Kokkinakis has jokingly taken aim at a reporter who mistakenly called him Nick Kyrgios during a post-match press conference
- Microsoft has announced it's cutting 10,000 jobs from its workforce — around 5 per cent of its total employees
- And Elon Musk is auctioning physical parts of Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, including office chairs and a coffee machine
You can keep up-to-date with other news on the ABC's website, by subscribing to our mobile alerts, and by watching News Channel or listening to local radio here.
Crocodile experts flown in to search for reptile near Stradbroke Island
By Kate Ainsworth
Two crocodile experts have been flown in from north Queensland to assist in the search for a croc spotted near North Stradbroke Island off Brisbane.
The large saltwater reptile was apparently seen yesterday morning, lurking in mangroves near the town of Dunwich.
Jacob Martin, the Quandamooka ranger in charge of the search, says a larger team — using drones — will continue scouring waterways today.
"They want to get another sighting so it can give them a better idea on where to set the traps and get it underway for relocation," he said.
"With the one sighting there moving north it's hard to give them a position to set up the traps."
As for how a croc was spotted *this far* south? Bond University Associate Professor of Environmental Science Dr Daryl McPhee thinks it's drifted down with some currents, and "found a pretty good habitat".
"It's a good quality mangrove there, there is a fair bit of fish and there's a nice freshwater stream," he said.
"It's unlikely that it's just come down yesterday or this morning, [it] may well have been there for a period of time," he said.
Guess that means I won't be going to Straddie anytime soon.
Boris Johson receives honourary 'Citizen of Kyiv' medal
By Kate Ainsworth
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received an honorary "Citizen of Kyiv" medal from the Ukrainian capital's mayor, Vitaly Klitschko.
He was given the award at an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
Mr Johnson has received praise in Ukraine for his government's response to the Russian invasion which began last February.
The Ukrainian mayor declared Mr Johnson as "one of us" before he draped the medal around his neck.
Melbourne Airport recruiting thousands of workers amid international travel boom
By Kate Ainsworth
Melbourne Airport says it needs another 2,000 workers as international travel numbers return to their highest levels since the start of the pandemic.
Almost 800,000 overseas passengers passed through Melbourne's international airport in December last year — and those numbers are expected to rise with Chinese carriers resuming their flights.
Melbourne Airport spokesperson Andrew Lund says it's hoped the large-scale recruiting will help ease delays seen over the holiday period.
"From our point of view, baggage handling is not back to where we'd like it to be," he said.
"So a large number of the positions we have available are in that baggage handling, ground handling area."
Your first look at Paris Men's Fashion Week
By Kate Ainsworth
Let's pop over to Paris for a minute, shall we?
It's the first full day of Paris Men's Fashion Week, and luxury brands including Givenchy, Dior and Saint Laurent have shown dynamic and modern looks down the runway.
Deadly Ukraine helicopter crash 'as bad as it can get', ambassador says
By Kate Ainsworth
Reporting by Josephine Asher
World leaders have expressed their condolences to Ukraine in the wake of a helicopter crash in Kyiv that's killed at least 14 people, including the country's interior minister and a child.
The chopper came down in the suburb of Brovary, north-east of the capital, causing a large fire that badly damaged a nearby nursery.
Ukrainian officials have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko is the Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia and he told ABC NewsRadio's Thomas Oriti he knew some of the victims personally.
Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrskyi, was among them.
"He was regarded as one of the best ministers of internal affairs we've ever had," Mr Myroshnychenko said.
"Indeed this is probably the worst time for Ukraine for that to happen.
"Police and minister of internal affairs is very important and significant in the fight against Russia."
You can listen back to the full interview here:
Polar bear kills mother and son in isolated Alaskan village
By Kate Ainsworth
A polar bear has killed a mother and her one-year-old son in a tiny, isolated Alaska Native whaling village, before a community member shot and killed the bear.
The fatal mauling happened near the school in Wales, an isolated coastal community located on the westernmost tip of the North American mainland — about 80 kilometers from Russia — that is no stranger to coexisting with polar bears.
Summer Myomick and her son, Clyde Ongtowasruk, from Saint Michael, were killed in the attack, Alaska State Troopers said in a statement.
“It's very, very sad for Saint Michael right now, and Wales,” said Virginia Washington, the Saint Michael city administrator.
She said Myomick split time between the two communities.
“She was a very sweet lady, she was very responsible,” Washington said.
The last fatal polar bear encounter in Alaska occurred back in 1990.
Reporter mistakes Kokkinakis for Kyrgios
By Kate Ainsworth
I'm cringing just watching this 😬
During his media conference after his (verrrrry quick) win over Italy's Fabio Fognini, Thanasi Kokkinakis was mistakenly called Nick (as in Kyrgios) by a reporter.
The reporter started off saying "Hi Nick" before correcting himself to say "I mean Thanasi".
A good-humoured Kokkinakis responded "wow" with a laugh, before singling the reporter out and saying "that is firing, that's you done, nup, I'm gonna can that."
The gaffe has prompted Nick Kyrgios to give Thanasi a new surname: Kyriakis.
Will it catch on in time for his second-round match up with Andy Murray tonight? Only time will tell.
Police officer who murdered George Floyd appeals conviction
By Kate Ainsworth
Derek Chauvin, the former police officer who was convicted of murdering George Floyd in 2020 is seeking to have his conviction thrown out, with his lawyer arguing he was denied a fair trial.
Floyd died on May 25, 2020 when Chauvin pinned him to the ground with his knee on his neck for nine-and-a-half minutes, with Floyd crying out "I can't breathe".
Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in prison in 2021.
Now Chauvin's attorney has told the Minnesota Court of Appeals that the legal and procedural errors deprived him of a fair trial, because of extensive pre-trial publicity and security precautions.
But an attorney for the state of Minnesota says Chauvin got "one of the most transparent and thorough trials in our nation's history" and his arguments "do not come close to justifying reversal".
Appeals Judge Peter Reyes says the court will make a decision within 90 days.
Snoop Dogg is now part of the Songwriters Hall of Fame
By Kate Ainsworth
That's right — the Drop It Like It's Hot rapper is the latest inductee to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
But Snoop D-o-double-g isn't the only new inductee — he's joined by Gloria Estefan, Sade and ELO's Jeff Lynne.
Glen Ballard, who helped write Alanis Morissette's album Jagged Little Pill is also on the list, as is Liz Rose, who co-wrote some of Taylor Swift's biggest early hits.
The seven songwriters will be formally inducted on June 15.
Possible charges over fatal Rust film shooting coming tomorrow
By Kate Ainsworth
Officials in New Mexico will announce whether they'll pursue criminal charges in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the set of Alec Baldwin's movie Rust tomorrow.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was wounded when a gun Baldwin was using during a rehearsal in October 2021 fired off a live bullet.
The movie was being filmed at Bonanza Creek Ranch outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
New Mexico's First Judicial District Attorney and special prosecutor will announce their decision at 9am Mountain Standard Time (3am AEDT), according to a statement.
Baldwin has said he was told the gun was "cold", an industry term meaning it's safe to use, and he didn't pull the trigger.
In October last year Baldwin reached a settlement with Halyna Hutchins's family, and filed his own lawsuit against the armourer and three other crew members from the film set in November last year.
Food delivery drivers in Sydney facing random compliance checks from today
By Kate Ainsworth
From today, NSW Police will be carrying out random checks of food delivery riders in Sydney to ensure they're complying with new safety laws.
SafeWork NSW inspectors and police will begin the compliance operation along King Street in Newtown.
They'll check if riders are driving safely, wearing high-visibility PPE and have completed their required training, in accordance with laws which were introduced earlier this month.
Head of SafeWork NSW, Natasha Mann, says riders found to be non-compliant will be fined more than $140.
"It's really about making sure that those food delivery riders who are the most at risk road users are safer on our streets," she said.
Usain Bolt chasing $18.3m missing from account in Jamaica
By Kate Ainsworth
Sprinting record-holder Usain Bolt is missing that more than $US12.7 million ($18.3 million) is missing from his account with a private investment firm in Jamaica that's being investigated by authorities.
Bolt's lawyer, Attorney Linton P. Gordon provided The Associated Press with a copy of a letter sent to Stocks & Securities Limited demanding that the money be returned.
Gordon said Bolt’s account once had $18.3 million but now reflects a balance of only $17,000.
“If this is correct, and we are hoping it is not, then a serious act of fraud larceny or a combination of both have been committed against our client,” Bolt’s attorneys say in the letter.
They threaten civil and criminal action if the money is not returned within 10 days.
Earlier this month the company said that it had uncovered potential evidence of fraud, and several of its clients may be missing millions of dollars.
Microsoft lays off 5pc of its workforce
By Kate Ainsworth
The layoffs in the tech world keep on coming — with Microsoft overnight confirming they've cut 10,000 jobs, or about 5 per cent of their entire workforce.
The company says it's in response to "macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities" and some of the job losses will begin immediately.
It's the largest round of layoffs in Microsoft's history.
CEO Satya Nadella says the company will continue hiring in key areas though — namely artificial intelligence.
Potato growers say chip shortage could be over soon
By Kate Ainsworth
The potato industry is hoping this season's crop will help ease Australia's chip shortage — but it all depends on the weather.
A global supply crunch means pubs, fish and chip shops and supermarkets are struggling to get hold of the fan-favourite frozen (then deep-fried) potato.
Michael Coote from the industry group Ausveg says the shortage has been caused by droughts overseas and wet conditions in key Australian potato growing regions, but the supply shortage could ease in the coming months.
"Potato crops, they don't grow and aren't harvested as quickly as some other fresh vegetables and so it will take a couple of months before I think we're really seeing supply loosening up," he said.
"We're waiting to see what happens to the yield of a lot of different production regions and what level that will be at and might be down, based on this ongoing wet weather."
Some better news for those among us who want to live life like this:
Former Qantas pilot says mid-flight mayday call was 'unusual'
By Kate Ainsworth
A former Qantas pilot has told the ABC that the decision by Qantas flight QF144 to issue a mayday call mid-flight was "unusual" and could have consequences for the entire aviation industry.
Yesterday the flight from Auckland to Sydney issued the emergency warning around 2:30pm AEDT, after one of two engines failed — but it was later downgraded to a "PAN" (possible assistance needed).
Managing director of Aviation Projects, Keith Tonkin, says the mayday call was "interesting".
"Normally you don't do that, the idea is that you're in great imminent dangers like you're about to die ... it's unusual they would have done that," he said.
"They must have been very concerned about the circumstances."
Qantas says its engineers are investigating what went wrong.
You can continue reading this story from Paige Cockburn below:
News Australia is searching for
By Kate Ainsworth
- Danielle Collins. The American tennis star awkwardly celebrated winning her Australian Open match against Karolina Muchova by dropping her racquet and flinging her arms into the air. The only problem? She hadn't won the match just yet — she'd forgotten that she was playing a super tiebreak. (She did end up winning the match after a couple more points, though.)
- That 90s Show. The spinoff series to That 70s Show is being released on Netflix today, focusing on the lives of fictional teens in — you guessed it — 1995. Excited? Watch the trailer below before binging the whole 10 episodes.
News while you snoozed
By Kate Ainsworth
- Four teenagers are in police custody after gunshots were fired in Tara, on Queensland's Western Downs yesterday afternoon. Police set up an exclusion zone in the main streets in the town, but it was revoked several hours later. No-one was injured in the shooting, but police say a car was shot at. Tara is about 45 kilometres away from Wieambilla, where two police officers were killed in December.
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says a helicopter crash near Kyiv, which killed 14 people, including Ukraine's interior minister Denys Monastyrskyi and a child, is a "terrible tragedy" and "the pain is unspeakable". It's still unclear whether the crash, which occurred on a foggy morning, was an accident or related to the war.
One last thing: Elon Musk is auctioning off Twitter HQ's furniture
By Kate Ainsworth
If you're in the market for a neon Twitter bird or some professional (but used) industrial kitchen equipment you're in luck.
Elon Musk is auctioning off memorabilia, fancy office furniture and professional kitchen equipment from Twitter's offices in San Francisco, after slashing the company's workforce, falling behind on rent and contract obligations.
Often taking the blunt approach to make a point, it appears Musk is using the auction to call attention to the perceived excesses of Twitter's previous administration while also signalling that cutting costs is a priority.
Some of the items getting the highest bids right now include: a plain Twitter bird statue (that's going for upwards of $US30,000), a commercial dehydrator, and a semi-automatic espresso machine that usually retails for around $US25,000 (with a top bid right now of $US12,000), plus a myriad of... office chairs.
You can suss out the full auction here:
