Good morning, it's Wednesday, January 19. Here's what you need to get going today.
One thing to know right now: A man has been charged with Charlise Mutten's murder
Here's what we can tell you right now:
- The 32-year-old was arrested at a unit in Surry Hills about 8.30pm yesterday. He's due to appear at Central Local Court later today.
- The nine-year-old went missing in the Blue Mountains last week.
- The ABC understands police are no longer searching for her body.
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NSW Police last night carried out a search at Colo River, about an hour from the Blue Mountains. At this stage, it is unclear if anything was found.
One thing you’ll be hearing about today: Major airlines are suspending flights to the US... over 5G
- Airlines including Emirates and major carriers from Indian and Japan announced the move this morning, saying they'll suspend flights due to a plan to deploy 5G in the US.
- Why? The 5G service, which is being rolled out in the US on Wednesday, is on a band of the electrometric spectrum *right* next to the one used by sensitive aeroplane instruments.
- So why isn't (or hasn't) this been an issue in Australia? Buckle in, we're getting a *touch* technical.
- In the US, the C-band (3.7-3.98 GHz) is what's been sold to telecoms companies for 5G — radio altimeters (that stop planes from crashing) operate at 4.2-4.4 GHz.
- The fear is these will interfere with the altimeters, blinding the instruments with signal noise.
- But Australia's 5G transmissions top out at 3.7GHz, which makes a larger buffer with the frequencies used by radio altimeters.
News while you snoozed
Let's get you up to speed.
- At least three deaths from Saturday's volcanic explosion have been confirmed in Tonga. Its government made its first official update overnight, saying tsunami waves rose up to 15 metres.
- One person died and nine were injured, including five police officers, in an explosion in New York. Media reports said a gas explosion had sparked a fire and building collapse.
The news Australia is searching for
- Activision blizzard: That’s the *massive* $95.6bn ($US68.7bn) takeover offer for the major game developer (they make a few little titles like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and… Candy Crush, among others) from Microsoft. Activision has been buffeted for months by allegations of misconduct and unequal pay.
- Nick Kyrgios: He's easily defeated British qualifier Liam Broady 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, in front of a raucous crowd on his beloved John Cain Arena — ending any concerns after his recent COVID case. He also took a sip of a fan's beer to celebrate the win … After the match, Kyrgios jokingly referred to the John Cain Arena crowd as a "zoo" and they were entertained all the way (including these impressive shots):
But the Aussie has drawn a tough match with world number two Daniil Medvedev next up.
One more thing: COVID case in hamsters prompts killing of 2,000 small animals
It's *not* a cheery end to today's Loop, but Hong Kong authorities have said they will kill about 2,000 small animals, including hamsters, after several tested positive for COVID at a pet store where an employee was also infected.
The pet shop employee tested positive for the Delta variant on Monday and several hamsters imported from the Netherlands at the store tested positive as well.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, animals do not appear to play a significant role in spreading the coronavirus. But Hong Kong authorities said they are not ruling out transmission between animals and humans.
The advice from the director of their argriculture department Leung Siu-fai?
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more.
ABC/wires
