Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update.
The agency overseeing Australia’s almost $400bn acquisition of nuclear submarines under the Aukus pact has run into troubled waters with a staff morale crisis and the departure of a senior leader. The Australian Submarine Agency is facing a looming external review, with the former defence secretary Dennis Richardson appointed to look into its structure and direction.
Guardian Australia understands David Hallinan, the deputy director general responsible for policy and program implementation, quit a year into his tenure after he tried to raise concerns about the agency’s operations and was dissatisfied with the response.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, is also understood to have raised concerns about the state of the agency with the ASA director general, Vice-Admiral Jonathan Mead.
The findings of the annual Australian Public Service staff census, published last week, showed 70% of ASA respondents said they were significantly or slightly overworked, 42% reported being stressed often or always and 38% felt burnt out.
A spokesperson for the ASA said the results were “common for newly established agencies”. But the Coalition and Greens were pressing the government to schedule a spillover hearing to question the agency before Christmas.
Top news
Australian debt collection giant will cease to exist | Panthera Finance, mired in scandal since the federal court found it had unlawfully harassed Australians for money they did not owe, has been sold and its brand will cease to exist after claims that it circumvented a blacklisting barring it from operating in Victoria.
Chris Dawson launches appeal | The 76-year-old convicted wife-killer is seeking to overturn his conviction for sexual activity with one of his teenage students after a bid to appeal against his murder verdict failed.
Boris Johnson to cut short Australian book tour | The former UK PM was due to speak at a Saturday dinner in Melbourne after another event in Sydney to promote his political memoir, Unleashed. However, the event has been cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
South Korea’s ruling party rallies behind Yoon Suk Yeol | The People Power party vowed on Thursday that its 108 lawmakers would “unite” to defeat the opposition-led motion to impeach the deeply unpopular president.
Organiser behind NZ’s biggest Māori rights march vows to fight on | Eru Kapa-Kingi has become the most recognised face of a movement against the government’s policy direction for Māori. He has told the Guardian: “We are going to keep growing the movement in all ways possible.”
Amnesty International finds Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide | The 32-page report from the human rights group examining events in Gaza between October 2023 and July 2024 found that Israel had “brazenly, continuously and with total impunity … unleashed hell” on the strip’s 2.3 million population.
Scientists close to solving mystery of how universe’s giant galaxies formed | Galaxies crashing together 12bn years ago could have caused the universe’s biggest galaxies to form, according to research by astronomers at the University of Southampton who hope to solve what they call an “intergalactic mystery”.
Doctor Who showrunners warn AI scripts will ‘eat their own tail’ | Steven Moffat one of the masterminds behind Doctor Who warned that the more AI content is used for creative purposes the worse its output will be as the technology “absorbs its own content”.
Spotify wrapped ‘wrap’ | Australia’s Spotify Wrapped numbers are in revealing Taylor Swift as the most streamed international artist, the Wiggles as the most streamed local artist and Joe Rogan, yet again as the #1 podcast in Australia. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, shared his all-Aussie results but if you’ve found yourself less than eager to share yours, well, you aren’t alone.
In pictures
Storm Bert birders and a Siberian shaman – readers’ best photos
Guardian readers from around the world have submitted their best photos from the past few weeks. Click here to submit yours.
What they said …
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“How many times must we listen to what these courageous people are telling us before we act?”
Prof Dan Howard told an audience at the NSW drug summit that this week could be a pivotal moment in drug and alcohol policy history. But, he pointed out: “We are being asked to revisit the same issues yet again when the work has already been done.”
In numbers
Bitcoin topped US$100,000 for the first time on Wednesday, scaling a fresh record high amid a euphoric rally sparked by Donald Trump’s election victory and hopes the president-elect’s return will usher in a new era of lighter regulation.
Before bed read
Multivitamins promise glowing skin, better sleep and a longer life. But who do supplements really benefit?
For healthy people, pills, patches and gummies just create “expensive urine”. But for those with nutrient deficiencies, vitamin supplements have clear benefits, writes Donna Lu in the latest edition of our Antiviral column.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: ABLE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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