G'day. It's Tuesday, March 15 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.
Let's start here
Police investigating a fatal fire at a boarding house in Sydney say they're treating it as a suspected homicide.
The bodies of three people have been found at the scene, another three are in hospital and one person remains unaccounted for.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Cotter says it's been difficult to identify victims because of the transient nature of the venue.
"The flames took hold extremely quickly," he said today.
Police say they're yet to speak to the owner of the property, but are urging him to come forward.
The Arson Squad has been called in to assist with investigations.
What else is going on
- Two people have been charged after allegedly threatening Labor Senator Kristina Keneally online. AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw revealed in November last year that his officers were investigating threats made against politicians and that a review of politicians' safety in general was underway
- Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has successfully argued she does not have a duty of care to protect young people from climate change when assessing fossil fuel projects. The Federal Court ruling overturned an earlier win by a group of eight children who launched a class action in 2020
News alerts you might have missed
- Property prices in Australia's capital cities have risen 23.7% in the last 12 months. The ABS says the figure rose 4.7% in the last quarter alone
- NSW's train union president says they will 'force' the state government into giving free Friday fares until June through industrial action
Don't forget to turn on notifications on the ABC News app for the news topics you're most interested in.
What Australia has been searching for online
- Cameron Smith. The Aussie golfer has clinched a $5 million payday, coming from behind to win the so-called "fifth major", the Players Championship.
- Elon Musk. Here's why... make of it what you will:
(If your Russian isn't up to scratch, the loose translation is "I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat. Stakes are Ukraine", which he followed up with another tweet saying "Do you agree to this fight?" and tagged the Russian government)
One more thing
Have you seen this logo around in the last few days?
The federal government has removed the widely mocked logo for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet's (PM&C) Women's Network after it was heavily criticised for its "phallic" appearance.
The department published a statement late last night saying the logo had been removed from its website, "pending consultation with staff".
There are some similarities between the new Women's Network logo and other logos linked to the department's staff diversity networks, and there's been speculation from punters about how the logo design came to be:
The PM&C's statement only said that the redesign "retained a W icon which staff had been using for a number of years", and was "completed internally, using existing resources, and designs were consulted on widely", without giving further detail on the process.
You're up to date
Thanks for reading.
ABC/wires
