The Loop: 'Disturbing' Rio Tinto report, house prices keep rising and Wordle is bought out by the New York Times

Good evening!

It's Tuesday, February 1. Here's what's been happening today.

One thing to know right now: Rio Tinto's independent review into sexism 

Rio Tinto commissioned the report.  (ABC News: Kathryn Diss)

• Twenty-one female Rio Tinto workers reported actual or attempted rape or sexual assault in the last five years to the review, which was commissioned by the company
• The report found sexism and bullying were systemic across the company's worksites — the majority of respondents reported everyday sexism and almost half said they'd been bullied

• In a statement, Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said the findings were "deeply disturbing" and "this is not the company we want to be"

• Rio Tinto has committed to enacting all 26 recommendations made by the report aimed at preventing discrimination and an unacceptable workplace culture

Another thing we heard a lot about today: house prices

• CoreLogic data shows house prices rose 1.1 per cent in January, and 22.4 per cent over the past year
• Brisbane had the biggest capital city price rise over the month (2.3 per cent) and year (29.2 per cent), but regional prices rose more than twice as fast as capital cities
• CoreLogic's research director Tim Lawless said prices were still rising, "but nowhere near as fast as they were in early 2021"
• But if the 1.1 per cent increase we saw in January continues throughout the year, we'd still see a 13 per cent plus increase in prices annually

Brisbane topped the list of capital-city price increases. (ABC News: Liz Pickering)

News you might have missed

Let's get you up to speed.

• The Reserve Bank will hold interest rates at 0.1 per cent but will end its $350 billion bond-buying program early as the economy beats forecasts
• Nearly half of all inmates at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting calls for emergency action to be taken. But later today NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles defended the government's handling of the outbreak, saying it was "well in hand" and being managed with "the strictest protocols"
• There was an "extreme rainfall event" in the SA town of Pukatja on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands overnight, with the Bureau of Meteorology reporting 105.8mm of rain in the 24 hours to 9am — that's about half its normal annual rainfall. The Stuart Highway has been cut off by flooding, making the remote town even less accessible
• Meanwhile, Queenslanders are being asked to cut back on their power usage for the next two days as a "severe heatwave" in the state's south-east drives up electricity demands. Some inland areas are expecting temperatures of up to 38 degrees Celsius and BOM forecasters say the humidity is expected to peak over 90 per cent

The news Australia is searching for

• Scott Morrison: The PM gave an address at the National Press Club today, where he was asked by journalist Peter van Onselen, who you might know from his stints as a presenter on Channel Ten's The Project and his column in The Australian newspaper, about texts allegedly sent between former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed Liberal cabinet minister. The alleged exchange wasn't kind about the PM. In a statement later this afternoon, Ms Berejiklian said she had "no recollection of such messages".
• HappyBirthdayHarry: No, it's not Harry Potter, Prince Harry or even Dr Harry Cooper's big day (although the Harry's Practice star is born in February, so that's a good guess). It's Harry Styles' birthday today and the superstar's fans are tweeting up a storm about it. Harry Styles is 28 and Harry Cooper is turning 78, in case you were wondering.

One more thing: Wordle has been bought by the New York Times

If you're out of the Wordle loop, it's the online word game that's behind those grey, yellow and green squares your cool mates have been posting on social media.

Wordle is yuuuuge right now.  (Wikipedia/ Unsplash)

The exact price it sold for hasn't been disclosed, but it's reportedly "in the low seven figures".

Its creator, former Reddit software engineer Josh Wardle, says the game will "be free to play for everyone"  but the wording of an NYT statement suggests it might not be free forever.

Here's what the statement said:

"At the time it moves to The New York Times, Wordle will be free to play for new and existing players, and no changes will be made to its gameplay.

“As part of our portfolio of games, Wordle will have an exciting future with the help of a team of talented engineers, designers, editors and more, furthering the user experience."

That's it for the day

But don't fret, pet! 

We'll be right here with all the good stuff tomorrow morning. 

ABC/wires