Morning everyone. Optus gave Australia the World Cup streaming debacle, was hit by last year’s cyber-attack and has now been the focus of yesterday’s disastrous network-wide outage. It’s been a bad run for the telco that likes to say yes and we’re looking today at what happens if consumers start saying no and moving their business elsewhere.
Plus, new data shows a surge in people seeking share houses to save cash, Ivanka Trump uses a familiar family defence in the Trump fraud trial, and does Sweden really hold the secrets to a happy life?
Australia
Pacific pressure | Anthony Albanese will face fresh pressure at the Pacific Islands Forum today to rein in fossil fuel subsidies, with new figures showing just a fraction of that spending could fully fund the shift to clean energy in eight island countries.
Optus outage | Optus customers will be considering compensation claims today after yesterday’s network-wide outage caused disruption for households, businesses and public services. It faces challenging times and is still not completely certain what caused the problem, although one expert pointed to the type of “configuration outage” that saw Facebook’s network crash in 2021.
‘Never less affordable’ | Australians are increasingly turning to share housing amid the cost of living crisis, according to new data from a share accommodation platform that says it’s also seen a rise in homeowners renting out a spare room.
Sextortion surge | Australian federal police are partnering with Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to encourage young people to report online sextortion amid an explosion in the number of people falling victim to the practice.
PPE probe | The head of Australia’s Covid inquiry has signalled her panel will examine the procurement of PPE after revelations that a $100m deal with a relatively obscure online retailer left the government with 46m unusable masks.
World
‘Hamas leaders killed’ | Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have killed dozens of Hamas commanders as troops advance deeper into the battered territory, with some fighting in “the heart of Gaza City”, according to the Israeli military. They also claim to have detroyed 130 Hamas tunnels. A growing torrent of people is heading south through the Gaza Strip (pictured) as they attempt to escape the onslaught focused on the enclave’s northern section. Find out more at our live blog here.
London rally row | The UK’s prime minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to hold the Metropolitan police commissioner accountable for refusing to ban a pro-Palestinian march in London planned for Saturday. Far-right groups have called on supporters to target the rally, which is being held on Britain’s Armistice Day.
Trumps on trial | We’ve had Donald, Donald Jr and Eric, and today is the turn of Ivanka to testify in the Trump family fraud trial in New York. Follow the proceedings live.
‘I must leave’ | The broadcaster Carol Vorderman – best known as the maths genius on Countdown – has quit her weekly BBC radio show after refusing to stop her outspoken social media attacks on the Tory government.
‘Golden muse’ | A Pablo Picasso masterpiece of his “golden muse” is predicted to trigger a $187m-plus bidding war between billionaire art collectors today in an auction season that is expected to sell more than $3.9bn.
Full Story
Australia’s stance on a ceasefire in Gaza
Pressure is growing on the Albanese government to call for a ceasefire in Gaza rather than just a “humanitarian pause”. Sarah Basford Canales explains the rising dissent over Australia’s stance, and Scott Morrison’s “solidarity” trip to Israel.
In-depth
Sweden is often cited as one of the best countries in the world to find a good work-life balance and where employees can expect a range of perks such as wellbeing allowances of more than $500 a year, generous parental leave, bonuses for taking a holiday and the age-old workplace tradition of fika (above). Leah Harper went to find out more.
Not the news
Bad Behavior, the directorial debut by Australian actor Alice Englert, is set at a wellness retreat and is inspired by her real-life experience of such places. She plays a film industry figure who has a troubled relationship with her mother (Jennifer Connolly) – but the odd thing hanging over the film is that Englert is the daughter of Oscar-winning director Jane Campion. Jared Richards unpicks the scams from the real life.
The world of sport
World Cup 2034 | Football Australia has admitted being caught on the hop by Fifa’s abbreviated process that left Saudi Arabia as the only bidder to host the 2034 men’s World Cup, but hope to beat the Gulf nation to the rights to the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup. The Socceroos’ World Cup qualifier against Palestine this month has been moved from the West Bank to Kuwait to ensure “player safety”.
Cricket | England have finally managed to win a game at the World Cup, with a Ben Stokes century too much for the Netherlands.
Football | There’s more Champions League action to follow this morning with Manchester United away at Copenhagen and Arsenal hosting Sevilla.
Media roundup
Young families are being hit the hardest with mortgage affordability to worst since 1990, the SMH reports. An overseas driver who racked up enough points to be banned three times over has been caught in a crackdown on foreigners driving without a licence, the Telegraph reports. Teachers have told the Adelaide Advertiser that they are striking today because of increasing workload and pressure at work.
What’s happening today
Melbourne | A court appearance for a pair charged with kidnapping and extorting a Chinese national.
Pacific Islands Forum | Anthony Albanese and other leaders will head to separate retreat this afternoon.
Business | NAB full results are expected, plus the annual general meetings for Star and Nine Entertainment will be held.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.
