A tiger shark has surprised Australian scientists on an ocean research trip by regurgitating a spiky land-loving echidna in front of them.
Researchers from James Cook University said Thursday they were tagging marine life on the northeast coast when the three-meter tiger shark they caught vomited a dead echidna — a spiny creature similar to a hedgehog.
Nicolas Lubitz said he could only assume the shark gobbled up the echidna — also known as spiny anteaters — while it was swimming in the shallows off the island, or traveling between islands, which the animals are known to do.
“We were quite shocked at what we saw. We really didn’t know what was going on,” he said Thursday. “When it spat it out, I looked at it and remarked ‘What the hell is that?’”
Lubitz said that he scrambled to get his phone. “I managed to only get one picture, but you can see the outline of the echidna in the water,” he said.
A tiger shark not long after it regurgitated an echidna off the coast of Orpheus Island in May 2022.
Nic Lubitz, James Cook University
Lubitz said the dead echidna was whole when it was regurgitated in May 2022, leading scientists to assume the shark had only recently eaten it.
Echidnas — which are only found in Australia and New Guinea — are egg-laying mammals, have spines protruding from their bodies and use a beak-like snout to eat ants. According to WWF, during breeding season, echidnas like to form a “train” in which up to 10 male echidnas follow a female in the hopes of becoming her mate.
It is unclear how many of these animals are in the wild.
“Tiger sharks will eat anything. They’re just a scavenger. I’ve seen videos of them eating a rock for no reason,” Lubitz said. “I think the echidna must have just felt a bit funny in its throat.”
The tiger shark was unharmed after its spiky snack and scientists fitted it with an acoustic tracker before releasing it back into the water.
As part of the research project, which ran from 2020 to 2023, scientists tagged 812 fish, rays and sharks with 10-year trackers to understand more about their movement and behavior.
Tiger sharks are ranked second by the International Shark Attack File for the number of unprovoked attacks on humans, behind white sharks. Last year, a Russian man died after being mauled by a tiger shark at one of Egypt’s Red Sea resorts.
SINGAPORE — Customers in Asia-Pacific have picked their favorite banks as lenders scramble to meet consumer expectations in a fast-changing environment.
After a prolonged period of high inflation — and interest rates — banks in the region are starting to navigate the global trend of lower rates. They're also facing technological innovation that has the potential to transform the sector, as generative AI gains traction around the world.
Against this backdrop, CNBC and market research firm Statista surveyed 22,000 individuals with a checking or savings account in 14 major economies. The report below — the first of its kind — is designed to highlight the banks that best meet consumer needs in their respective markets.
For the survey, participants evaluated their overall satisfaction with a bank, and whether they would recommend it to others. They also rated each based on five criteria: trust, terms and conditions (such as fees and rates), customer service, digital services and quality of financial advice. Read the full methodology here. The ranking only included banks that qualified according to the criteria described in the report.
See below to see which banks made the list in your location.
Australia
1
ING Group
2
Bank Australia
3
Westpac
4
Ubank
5
NAB
6
Alex Bank
7
Newcastle Permanent Building Society
8
People's Choice Credit Union
9
Beyond Bank
10
ME
11
Suncorp
12
MyState Bank
13
Australian Military Bank
14
Community First bank
15
Heritage Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Dutch bank ING came out top in Australia, against a sea of local competition. Like most economies, Australians valued trust the most and were less concerned on the financial advice they were given.
China
1
China Merchants Bank
2
Bank of China
3
ICBC
4
HSBC
5
China Construction Bank
6
Postal Savings Bank of China
7
China Minsheng Bank
8
Standard Chartered
9
SPD Bank
10
Bank of Communications
11
Agricultural Bank of China
12
UBS (China) Limited
13
JPMorgan Chase Bank (China)
14
China Everbright Bank
15
Ping An Bank
16
DBS Bank (China)
17
Bank of Suzhou
18
Bank of Jiangsu
19
Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank
20
Hang Seng Bank
21
Hubei Rural Credit Union Association
22
Huishang Bank
23
East West Bank
24
WeBank
25
Hankou Bank (HKB)
Source: CNBC & Statista
China Merchants Bank, listed in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, earned the top spot in mainland China beating both domestic and foreign players.
Hong Kong
1
China Construction Bank
2
China Minsheng Bank
3
ICBC
4
SPD Bank
5
China Everbright Bank
6
Bank of Communication
7
HSBC
8
CGB
9
Livi Bank
10
China Merchants Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
China Construction Bank, one of China's four major state-owned banking institutions, was ranked the top lender over foreign players like HSBC.
India
1
ICICI Bank
2
HDFC Bank
3
Axis Bank
4
Kotak Mahindra Bank
5
State Bank of India
6
HSBC
7
Paytm Payments Bank
8
Standard Chartered
9
Federal Bank
10
IndusInd Bank
11
Union Bank of India
12
Karnataka Bank
13
Punjab National Bank
14
Bank of Baroda
15
Bandhan Bank
16
Fincare
17
DSCB
18
Kerala Gramin Bank
19
Fino Payments Bank
20
APCOB
21
Punjab Gramin Bank
22
IDFC First Bank
23
UCO Bank
24
RBLBank
25
New India Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
ICICI bank, a leading private sector bank in India, was the top pick in the country despite strong competition from mostly local lenders.
Indonesia
1
Bank Central Asia
2
Bank Mandiri
3
Sea Bank
4
Jago
5
Raya Bank
6
Bank Negara Indonesia
7
United Overseas Bank
8
PermataBank
9
Cimb Niaga
10
DBS
11
Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI)
12
BNC
13
Bank Muamalat
14
Jenius
15
BCA Syariah
16
HSBC
17
BDP DIY
18
Bank Aceh
19
Standard Chartered
20
Bank Sumsel Babel
Source: CNBC & Statista
Bank Central Asia, Indonesia's largest private commercial bank, beat the competition to clinch the top spot. Customers valued both trust as well as digital services in their ranking.
Japan
1
SBI Sumishin Net Bank
2
Rakuten Bank
3
Sony Bank
4
Aeon Bank
5
au Jibun Bank
6
PayPay Bank
7
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
8
Senshu Ikeda Bank
9
The Juhachi-Shinwa Bank
10
Iyo Bank
11
Ehime Bank
12
Japan Post Bank
13
Ja Bank
14
Kyushu Labor Bank
15
Hamamatsu Iwata Shinkin Bank
16
Keiyo Bank
17
Bank of Fukuoka
18
Shinsei Bank
19
The Nishi-Nippon City Bank
20
Aozora Bank
21
Saitama Resona Bank
22
MUFG Bank
23
Lawson Bank
24
Gunma Bank
25
Hachijuni Bank
26
Rokin Bank
27
Kiyo Bank
28
Tokyo Star Bank
29
The Bank of Okinawa
30
Kyoto Chuo Shinkin Bank
31
Abukuma Shinkin Bank
32
North Pacific Bank
33
Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank
34
Tottori Bank
35
Bank of Kyoto
Source: CNBC & Statista
SBI Sumishin Net Bank, a Japan-based company, managed to beat other domestic lenders to come out top. Japanese citizens valued trust as their most important criteria.
Malaysia
1
Maybank
2
Standard Chartered
3
Maybank Islamic
4
HSBC
5
RHB Islamic Bank
6
Bank Islam
7
AmBank Group Islamic
8
OCBC Bank
9
United Overseas Bank
10
Hong Leong Islamic Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Maybank, which is the largest bank by market value in Malaysia, was the customers top pick against competition from domestic and foreign lenders.
New Zealand
1
Bank of New Zealand
2
ASB Bank
3
The Co-operative Bank
4
SBS Bank
5
Kiwibank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Bank of New Zealand, one of New Zealand's big four banks, earned the top spot among consumers who also valued trust as the most important criteria. In some economies, like New Zealand, there are fewer competitors in the market and the size of the banking market differs, thus only five banks made the list.
Philippines
1
Philippine National Bank
2
Union Bank (Philippines)
3
Maya Bank
4
OFBank
5
UnionDigital Bank
6
UNO Digital Bank
7
GoTyme Bank
8
LANDBANK
9
Metrobank
10
BPI
Source: CNBC & Statista
Philippine National Bank, one of the largest banks in the country, earned the top rank against competition from largely local lenders.
Singapore
1
DBS
2
HSBC
3
Citibank
4
Bank of Singapore
5
United Overseas Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Singapore's biggest bank DBS beat its domestic peers to clinch the top spot in the city-state. Given the small market size, there are fewer banking competitors as a result only five made the list.
South Korea
1
TossBank
2
KakaoBank
3
Kwangju Bank
4
K bank
5
Jeonbuk Bank
6
KB Kookmin Bank
7
Industrial Bank of Korea
8
DGB Daegu Bank
9
BNK Busan Bank
10
KEB Hana Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Toss Bank, an internet-only bank based in South Korea, managed to fend off domestic competition to emerge as top lender in the country.
Taiwan
1
E.Sun Financial
2
Bank SinoPac
3
Standard Chartered
4
CTBC Bank
5
Taipei Fubon Bank
6
Taishin International Bank
7
HSBC
8
Rakuten International Commercial Bank
9
Cathay Financial
10
Mega International Commercial Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Taiwan's E.Sun Financial, headquartered in Taipei, earned the top ranking with customers focused on trust and less concerned about financial advice.
Thailand
1
Kasikornbank
2
Siam Commercial Bank
3
Bank of Ayudhya
4
United Overseas Bank
5
Krung Thai Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Kasikornbank bank, Thailand's second-largest lender, came out top in the country. Only five banks made the list as there are fewer competitors and the size of banking market varies.
Vietnam
1
Techcombank
2
Vietcombank
3
BIDV
4
Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank
5
ACB
6
Vietinbank
7
VIB
8
TPBank
9
Sacombank
10
VP Bank
11
BVBank
12
Shinhan Bank
13
SeA Bank
14
HDBank
15
Ocean Bank
Source: CNBC & Statista
Vietnamese private lender Techcombank is the customers' top pick in the country, where trust again was the key factor for survey respondents.
While I have never visited Australia (yet), I use plants from there so often in my garden designs in the Bay Area that I almost feel like I have. But of course, my knowledge is only so deep, given I’ve never stepped a foot inside the country, so for this story, I reached out to […]
Gaming and entertainment company that provides sports, amusement, and recreation services, SkyCity Adelaide Pty Ltd (SkyCity), and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) have filed joint submissions with the Federal Court of Australia.
Their proposed AU$67 million penalty mentioned in the joint submissions was deemed appropriate in the context of the casino’s contravention of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act).
SkyCity Admitted to Breaching Parts of the AML/CTF Act
The court has set the date of the hearing for June 7, when Justice Lee will ponder the parties’ proposed settlement and establish whether the proposed penalty amount would suffice in all the circumstances.
When reaching the agreement, SkyCity admitted that it did not fully comply with the AML/CTF Act.
The company explained its AML/CTF Programs failed to meet the requirements of the AML/CTF Act and Rules, in contravention of section 81.
SkyCity also admitted to not effectively completing ongoing customer due diligence regarding higher-risk customers as well as customers who were completing transactions via higher-risk channels, which went against section 36.
High-Risk Practices “Allowed to Continue Unchecked For Many Years”
As argued by AUSTRAC’s chief executive officer, Brendan Thomas, they “took this action out of concern” that SkyCity’s conduct meant that a series of high-risk customer relations, behaviors, and practices were allowed to carry on “unchecked for many years.”
Thomas called the action an important reminder for the gaming industry and casinos to take all of their AML/CTF obligations seriously and keep a close eye on all risks regarding money laundering and terrorism financing.
In March, the Australian Government agency responsible for detecting and disrupting criminal abuse of the financial system and keeping communities safe from organized crime launched an AML probe into Bet365’s Hillside brand.
At the end of last May, South Australian Liquor and Gambling commissioner Dini Soulio required SkyCity Adelaide to appoint an independent expert to revise its AML and CTF programs, according to Section 10 of the Gambling Administration Act 2019,
The decision was expected to provide an “independent perspective” regarding casino’s AML and CT financing programs while also adding an extra layer of assurance.
The independent expert was also asked to conduct similar procedures in relation to the minimization of gambling harm.
The SkyCity Entertainment Group has over 3,400 employees based in Australia and New Zealand and also owns and operates various Auckland, Hamilton, and Queenstown casinos.
An Australian court on Monday sided with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) in an argument over graphic video.
The federal government’s internet safety watchdog, known as the eSafety Commissioner, had last month won an injunction against X over video footage of a knife attack at a Sydney church.
The government had ruled that the attack in which four people were seriously injured, constituted a terrorist incident and applied to the courts for an order requiring the removal of the footage within 24 hours.
X complied by blocking access to the videos within Australia only. That allows the footage to be seen outside the country and by Australian users who use a virtual private network (VPN) to change their online location.
But it also said that the injunction, and an application to extend it, represented a “dangerous precedent” that threatens an open internet and empowers governments to censor content.
Elon Musk / X
“Our concern is that if ANY country is allowed to censor content for ALL countries, which is what the Australian ‘eSafety Commissar’ is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet?” Musk said on X.
Musk’s stance outraged the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who accused Musk of “arrogance” and acting “above Australian law.” “The e-Safety Commissioner has made a ruling. The other social media platforms all complied without complaint,” Albanese said in interviews in April. “This is a measure that has a bipartisan support in this country.”
On Monday, however, Justice Geoffrey Kennett rejected the eSafety Commissioner’s application to extend the injunction. He did not explain his reasoning and a further hearing on the matter is scheduled later this week ahead of a final decision.
The issues of government controls over the internet, national security versus censorship and the extent of jurisdiction, is fraught with contradictions and ongoing cases – Bytedance is currently arguing that a U.S. decision to force it to sell social media platform TikTok is against the U.S. First Amendment right to free speech, yet TiKtok’s sister company Douyin actively complies with the Chinese government’s content censorship regime.
The complexity and contradictions were illustrated by Tim Begbie, the lawyer representing the eSafety Commissioner in court. He said that in other cases X had chosen of its own accord to remove content, but that it resisted the order from the Australian government.
“X says [..] global removal is reasonable when X does it because X wants to do it, but it becomes unreasonable when it is told to do it by the laws of Australia,” Begbie told the court.
Elliott Investment Management has built a roughly $1 billion stake in Anglo American Plc, the UK-listed miner that’s received an unsolicited takeover approach from Australia’s BHP Group Ltd.
The activist hedge fund led by Paul Singer has exposure to almost 33.6 million Anglo American shares via derivatives, according to a UK regulatory filing Friday that confirmed a report by Bloomberg News. The firm amassed the 2.5% holding over recent months, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
The investment puts Elliott among Anglo American’s 10 biggest shareholders, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Anglo American shares jumped as much as 6.3% in London after Bloomberg News reported the stake.
Elliott also has a 0.07% short position in BHP, a separate filing shows. Representatives for Elliott and Anglo American declined to comment.
Elliott’s presence in Anglo American’s stock emerges with the mining company the subject of takeover interest from BHP. The Australian miner has proposed an acquisition that values its smaller rival at £31.1 billion ($38.9 billion) and would create the world’s top copper producer. Bloomberg News reported BHP’s approach on Wednesday. Anglo American said the proposal significantly undervalues the company.
Singer’s firm is known for stepping in to beaten-down stocks and then pushing companies to take measures ranging from share buybacks to outright sales of the business.
“We like to see value-driven investors in the register,” said Giuseppe Bivona, chief investment officer at another activist, Bluebell Capital Partners, which built a stake in Anglo American in February. The company “is surely worth much more than BHP is offering.”
Anglo American has long been viewed as a potential target among the largest miners, particularly because it owns attractive South American copper operations at a time when most of the industry is eager to add reserves and production.
But suitors have been put off by its complicated structure and mix of other commodities, as well as its deep exposure to South Africa. In February, Anglo American reported a steep drop in profit and lowered its dividend on the back of falling demand for diamonds and platinum group metals — commodities that are unique to its portfolio.
BHP has proposed an all-share deal in which Anglo would first spin off controlling stakes in South African platinum and iron ore companies to its shareholders.
Shares in Anglo American closed 3.2% higher in London on Friday at 2,643.00 pence, giving it a market value of about £32.4 billion. The stock surged 16% Thursday after BHP’s approach. Even after this week’s rally, the stock is still down more than a third from its peak two years ago.
Elliott took a sizable position in BHP in 2017 and pushed it to spin off certain oil assets. In 2021, the miner struck deals that extended its withdrawal from fossil fuels, including a sale of oil and gas operations to Woodside Petroleum Ltd.
Singer’s firm has been involved with other metals companies as well. In 2022 Elliott held talks with Kinross Gold Corp. that resulted in the miner announcing a $300 million share buyback. And it’s the majority shareholder in Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp., which provides financing for mining companies. It’s also setting up a new venture, Hyperion, to invest in mining assets.
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Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.The seven, aged 15 to 17, were part of a network that included a 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing a bishop in a Sydney church on April 15, police said.Clips of the stabbing were taken from the church service’s livestream and subsequently made the rounds on X. An Australian regulator on Monday ordered the platform to take down the videos, an action the platform is fighting.Other social media companies including Google, Microsoft, Snapchat and TikTok have complied with similar orders.Five other teenagers were still being questioned late Wednesday by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes federal and state police as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, and the New South Wales Crime Commission, which specializes in extremists and organized crime.More than 400 police officers executed 13 search warrants at properties across southwest Sydney because the suspects were considered an immediate threat, New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said.“We will allege that these individuals adhered to a religiously motivated, violent extremist ideology,” Hudson told reporters.“It was considered that the group … posed an unacceptable risk and threat to the people of New South Wales, and our current purely investigative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety,” Hudson added.Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said investigators found no evidence of specific targets or timing of an intended “violent act.”She said the police operation was not linked to Anzac Day on Thursday, a public holiday when Australians remember their war dead.It has been a potential target of extremists in the past.A 16-year-old was charged on Friday with committing a terrorist act, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, following the knife attack in which an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest were injured.An Australian Federal Court judge on Wednesday extended an order banning X from showing videos of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being repeatedly stabbed.Justice Geoffrey Kennett extended the ban, which the court put in place on Monday, until May 10.X, formerly called Twitter, announced last week it would fight in court Australian orders to take down posts relating to the attack.Australia’s eSafety Commission, which describes itself as the world’s first government agency dedicated to keeping people safer online, applied to the court for the temporary global ban.Marcus Hoyne, a lawyer for X, told the judge on Wednesday that the bishop didn’t want the video banned. Emmanuel recently signed an affidavit “stating that he is strongly of the view that the material should be available,” Hoyne said.Hoyne said the eSafety Commission was attempting to exercise “exorbitant jurisdiction” with “injunctions that effectively operate throughout the whole world.”Hoyne also said a court ordered ban on the video “might be futile.”“It appears that this material is now appearing in lots of different places,” Hoyne added.The commission’s lawyer Christoher Tran said X had not complied with Monday’s order. Hoyne said he did not “have instructions about that one way or the other.”X has not responded to The Associated Press’s questions on Tuesday about the company’s compliance with the order.X’s owner, Elon Musk, has accused Australia of stifling free speech, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labeled Musk an “arrogant billionaire.”“The Australian people want the truth,” Musk posted on his personal X account on Wednesday. “X is the only one standing up for their rights.”Musk also took aim at Australian independent Sen. Jacqui Lambie who on Tuesday canceled her X account over the controversy and urged fellow lawmakers to do the same.“She is an enemy of the people of Australia,” Musk posted. “This woman has utter contempt for the Australian people.”Lambie told Sky News television Musk was a “billionaire bully.”“He has absolutely no social conscience,” she said. “Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away.”Authorities blame social media for drawing a crowd of 2,000 people to converge at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church following the attack, which led to a riot in which 51 police officers were injured and 104 police vehicles were damaged.ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess confirmed that his organization was involved in Wednesday’s operation.“Australia’s security service is always doing its thing to provide security intelligence that enables the police to deal with these problems when we have immediate threats to life or anything else that’s evolving,” Burgess said.He said investigations of children had peaked at 50% of ASIO’s “priority counterterrorism case load” a few years ago and the number had since reduced.But the number of minors under investigation was rising again for reasons including social media content, Burgess said.“They’re a vulnerable cohort,” Burgess said.
SYDNEY —
Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.
The seven, aged 15 to 17, were part of a network that included a 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing a bishop in a Sydney church on April 15, police said.
Clips of the stabbing were taken from the church service’s livestream and subsequently made the rounds on X. An Australian regulator on Monday ordered the platform to take down the videos, an action the platform is fighting.
Other social media companies including Google, Microsoft, Snapchat and TikTok have complied with similar orders.
Five other teenagers were still being questioned late Wednesday by the Joint Counter-Terrorism Team, which includes federal and state police as well as the Australian Security Intelligence Organization, the nation’s main domestic spy agency, and the New South Wales Crime Commission, which specializes in extremists and organized crime.
More than 400 police officers executed 13 search warrants at properties across southwest Sydney because the suspects were considered an immediate threat, New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson said.
“We will allege that these individuals adhered to a religiously motivated, violent extremist ideology,” Hudson told reporters.
“It was considered that the group … posed an unacceptable risk and threat to the people of New South Wales, and our current purely investigative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety,” Hudson added.
Australian Federal Police Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said investigators found no evidence of specific targets or timing of an intended “violent act.”
She said the police operation was not linked to Anzac Day on Thursday, a public holiday when Australians remember their war dead.
It has been a potential target of extremists in the past.
A 16-year-old was charged on Friday with committing a terrorist act, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, following the knife attack in which an Assyrian Orthodox bishop and priest were injured.
An Australian Federal Court judge on Wednesday extended an order banning X from showing videos of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being repeatedly stabbed.
Justice Geoffrey Kennett extended the ban, which the court put in place on Monday, until May 10.
X, formerly called Twitter, announced last week it would fight in court Australian orders to take down posts relating to the attack.
Australia’s eSafety Commission, which describes itself as the world’s first government agency dedicated to keeping people safer online, applied to the court for the temporary global ban.
Marcus Hoyne, a lawyer for X, told the judge on Wednesday that the bishop didn’t want the video banned. Emmanuel recently signed an affidavit “stating that he is strongly of the view that the material should be available,” Hoyne said.
Hoyne said the eSafety Commission was attempting to exercise “exorbitant jurisdiction” with “injunctions that effectively operate throughout the whole world.”
Hoyne also said a court ordered ban on the video “might be futile.”
“It appears that this material is now appearing in lots of different places,” Hoyne added.
The commission’s lawyer Christoher Tran said X had not complied with Monday’s order. Hoyne said he did not “have instructions about that one way or the other.”
X has not responded to The Associated Press’s questions on Tuesday about the company’s compliance with the order.
X’s owner, Elon Musk, has accused Australia of stifling free speech, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labeled Musk an “arrogant billionaire.”
“The Australian people want the truth,” Musk posted on his personal X account on Wednesday. “X is the only one standing up for their rights.”
Musk also took aim at Australian independent Sen. Jacqui Lambie who on Tuesday canceled her X account over the controversy and urged fellow lawmakers to do the same.
“She is an enemy of the people of Australia,” Musk posted. “This woman has utter contempt for the Australian people.”
Lambie told Sky News television Musk was a “billionaire bully.”
“He has absolutely no social conscience,” she said. “Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away.”
Authorities blame social media for drawing a crowd of 2,000 people to converge at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church following the attack, which led to a riot in which 51 police officers were injured and 104 police vehicles were damaged.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess confirmed that his organization was involved in Wednesday’s operation.
“Australia’s security service is always doing its thing to provide security intelligence that enables the police to deal with these problems when we have immediate threats to life or anything else that’s evolving,” Burgess said.
He said investigations of children had peaked at 50% of ASIO’s “priority counterterrorism case load” a few years ago and the number had since reduced.
But the number of minors under investigation was rising again for reasons including social media content, Burgess said.
Thylacines — marsupials known as Tasmanian tigers — were declared extinct decades ago, but efforts to find one in the wild are thriving. Scientists are also working to bring back the species.
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AUSTRALIAN police have declared the stabbing at a church in a Sydney suburb a “terror act”.
New South Wales police officers rushed to the scene where they detained a fifteen-year-old boy accused of stabbing a Bishop and three others during Mass.
7
New South Wales cops have declared the church stabbing a “terror act”Credit: Reuters
7
A live stream appeared to show the terrifying moment Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was stabbedCredit: X
7
Bishop Emmanuel was reportedly stabbed multiple timesCredit: Facebook
7
Footage showed the attacker smiling as he was pinned to the floor
The incident happened while Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was preaching on Monday afternoon at Sydney’s Wakeley church – just days after six were stabbed to death at a mall in Sydney.
Police arrested the attacker and held him at the church after an angry mob congregated outside the church and demanded revenge.
Cops have now labelled the incident a “terrorist act motivated by suspected religious extremism”.
NWS Police Commissioner Karen Webb said: “At 1.35am this morning, after consideration of all the material, I declared that it was a terrorist incident.
“We believe there are elements that are satisfied in terms of religious motivated extremism.”
Webb confirmed that a strike force has been established to investigate the incident and that police forces across New South Wales will be coordinating to resolve the incident.
New South Wales Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland added that the fifteen-year-old suspect was “known to police” and was not a regular attendee at the church.
Holland revealed that the investigators spoke to the suspect early on Tuesday morning.
Holland said: “He’s fairly upset and very distraught. He’s asked to speak to his parents at this stage and we’re making arrangements with his parents to make contact with him.
“Police are obviously making sure that that young person is safe and, and obviously with the action of the parishioners and obviously the local community, there was concerns for his safety.
“Hence, the decision was made to detain him in the in the church until later in the night.”
Watch moment brave Sydney churchgoers hold down smirking stabber who attacked Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel
Just weeks before the deplorable attack, the Bishop revealed that he had received many threats on his life over social media.
In one sermon, he said: “There’s been a video circulating on TikTok and I don’t know where else, saying that the bishop has two weeks to live.”
The brave Bishop claimed that the threats had not affected him as death could only bring him closer to the Lord.
He said: “Whether I stay or not, that doesn’t matter, really. I’ve had my share of this world. And I pray that the Lord takes me today before tomorrow, I want to be with him.
“I’m saying it with confidence in the Lord Jesus, I love you, Lord, and I choose you.
“Any time of the day, all day long, to be with you. I don’t care about the world and whatever the world gives.
“Thank the person who did this video. Thank you so much. I didn’t know that I was dying in two weeks.
“I’m not sure if I will go in two weeks’ time; maybe I don’t know. As far as I’m concerned, I don’t think I am sick, and I’m dying.”
The chilling sermon ended with the Bishop laughing about the threats, adding: “Sorry guys, I’m still sitting on your heart.”
The attack on Monday afternoon saw a teenager dressed in black knife Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a livestreamed Mass at a church in Wakeley.
YouTube livestream footage showed Bishop Emmanuel speaking at an altar when a teen dressed in a dark hoodie approached him.
The teen calmly walked up to the elderly church leader before suddenly lunging at him, raising a hand which appeared to hold a knife and stabbing furiously at the bishop.
The church leader fell to the ground and screams could be heard from the congregation as several churchgoers rushed forward to help.
At least three other people were stabbed just after 7pm on Monday night at Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church.
Footage showed him being rushed to an ambulance on a stretcher in front of a growing crowd outside.
The attacker was detained by parishioners on the floor before cops swooped in and arrested him.
New South Wales Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said: “Those violent pictures are probably what caused the uproar in the community – people saw that, responded and unfortunately we ended up with a public order incident.”
There’s the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. And in the Himalayas, there’s the yeti, the Abominable Snowman. In Tasmania—a teardrop of an island under the eye of the Australian mainland—there’s the thylacine… a creature that brings out folklore… and folks armed with grainy images, convinced they’ve seen the thing. But unlike other mythical creatures, the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, actually—indisputably— existed, an apex predator the size of a small wolf, roamed the island as recently as last century. which gives hope to so many obsessives, dreamers and true believers, looking for the Tasmanian tiger in the bush… and, as you’ll see, in the lab. This is a story that says as much about human nature as it does nature nature. Further proof that—even in the face of science and logic—passion survives in the wild just fine.
Jon Wertheim: You’ve been doing this how many years now?
Adrian Richardson: I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, and (beeping) every day’s an adventure.
Jon Wertheim: All right, here we go.
Getting there wasn’t easy. But Adrian “Richo” Richardson—a retired military man turned self-declared tiger seeker—retraced his steps. tramping around the dense outback of Tasmania on Jan. 28, 2017, 12:45 p.m., he heard the sound…
Adrian Richardson: And then all of a sudden, was this a mighty howl like this. (howls). I was gobsmacked. The hairs on my arm and my neck stood on end. And as that call finished, another one come from the other side of the forestry track. Another howl like that.
Jon Wertheim and Adrian Richardson
60 Minutes
Jon Wertheim: What’d that one sound like?
Adrian Richardson: Exactly like.. (howls).
Richo craned his neck but saw no creature. Still, he’s sure of what it was: a Tasmanian tiger.
Adrian Richardson: The whole environment went quiet for about a minute. It was an unbelievable feeling. I just can’t explain it.
Jon Wertheim: Yeah. You’re still emotional talking about this.
Adrian Richardson: Oh, look, I’m going to remember that call until the time I die. And then I had to try and prove to others what I’ve heard.
When he returned to his home in Hobart, Tasmania’s capital, he didn’t go down to the pub to share his account. No, he took to his desk and stayed up writing a detailed report, flush with 22 footnotes.
Adrian Richardson: What my passion is. It’s the thylacine. I know it’s there.
Jon Wertheim: And this only reinforced your faith.
Adrian Richardson: Oh. Without a doubt.
One slight hitch—one crimp on the barbie, as it were—the creature Richo describes so vividly and breathlessly? It was declared extinct almost 40 years ago.
Jon Wertheim: Thought, you know, maybe it’s a dingo. May– maybe it’s a wolf.
Adrian Richardson: In Tasmania, we do not have anything remotely like it. We do not even have wild dogs in any form. The only feral things we have around here is deer or cats.
Jon Wertheim: I don’t think deers are making that noise you just made.
Adrian Richardson: No, sir. They did not.
The Tasmanian tiger roamed these parts for thousands of years. More wolf than tiger, it was (is?) a marsupial weighing about 55 pounds…
It was also a carnivore… that preyed on farmers’ sheep. Recalling the fate of the wolf of the American West around the same time, the local government paid out bounties to hunters presenting carcasses… by the mid 1930s, the Tassie tiger population had dwindled to one … captive at Hobart’s Beaumaris Zoo, where it died in 1936…
With the required 50 years elapsing without a confirmed sighting, the tiger was put on the extinct list in 1986… yet—putting the mania in Tasmania—the search became a national obsession… and the Tasmanian tiger —not the Tasmanian devil—became a sort of local mascot. Its image adorns Tasmania’s coat of arms and government buildings. Here’s the island’s current license plate.
Beer named for the Tasmanian tiger is sold in bars.
60 Minutes
At local watering holes, the regulars put down their Tassie tiger beer long enough to tell you they’ve seen the animal, or know someone who has.
When Nick Mooney was a full-time Hobart biologist, it fell to him to investigate the various Tasmanian tiger accounts. Now in retirement, he’s the island’s unofficial arbiter.
Nick Mooney: I know several people who’ve got clusters of cameras in very remote areas serviced remotely by satellite, and who go and check on the cameras with their own helicopter, all sorts of things.
Jon Wertheim: We’ve moved way beyond the guy with binoculars saying, “I think I may have seen something.”
Nick Mooney: Oh, absolutely.
He can’t help notice: no one ever quite captures a clear image. Still, reported sightings come by the thousands.
Jon Wertheim: Have you ever gotten a report or ever looked into something that, eh, gave you a little pause?
Nick Mooney: Yes. Sometimes people are dead accurate with the times, the places, the distances. And they’re very good naturalists, often don’t exaggerate. Like, they take their skills very seriously. And it’s very hard to say to those people, “I don’t think you saw a thylacine.”
For the devoted army of seekers, the investment isn’t just one of hope and time. Each year, Richo spends, um, more-than-he-cares-to-admit dollars on trail-cam batteries alone.
Jon Wertheim: How much money have you sunk into this obsession?
Adrian Richardson: Sir, I wouldn’t like to speculate. And please don’t tell my wife. (laugh)
Jon Wertheim: Make it our secret.
Adrian Richardson: It’s our secret. She often asks and I go, “Go and get your hair done, darling.” (laughter)
Jon Wertheim: Go shopping. (laugh)
Adrian Richardson: Can I stop that one? Can I stop that one? (laugh) Can we redo that one again? (laughter)
In the bush, we met another enthusiast, Chris Rehberg, who flies down from mainland Australia and approaches the search in the manner of a CSI detective.
Chris Rehberg and Jon Wertheim
60 Minutes
Jon Wertheim: Apart from the cameras I gather you’ve been scouring for prints, fur, even poo?
Chris Rehberg: Yeah, everything. So scats. Footprints is a big one. And I found a series of 18, 19 individual steps in a track line that are an excellent match for Tassie tiger. Not only are they an excellent match, the quality of the prints is pristine. Scats, keep an eye out, check it out. You know, what’s the animal been eating.? Yeah, and calls if you hear them.
There are even tracking collectives. Richo was part of the Booth Richardson Tiger Team, which made worldwide news in 2017, after calling a press conference to announce a sighting… but when they provided this image as “proof,” Nick Mooney assessed it as a “chance,” but not an official confirmation.
Jon Wertheim: What is the middle ground? You can be right, you can be lying, or what?
Nick Mooney: Or you can have an illusion. And there’s all sorts of ways that our memory can be affected by time. I have had lots of talks with psychiatrists, and ex-detectives trying to figure out this. You really often have to make a choice, a personal call in the end.
Jon Wertheim: To essentially tell them they’re wrong and their mind is deceiving them?
Nick Mooney: You can’t tell ’em that, because you don’t know. Essentially, if you weren’t there, you don’t know.
Richoand all the other seekers won’t have to wait long—they won’t even have to go into the bush—if a group of tech investors and biologists deliver on their goal.
Andrew Pask counts himself among the Tassie-tiger-transfixed. He comes to the quest, though, armed not with binoculars, but a microscope in his TIGRRlab.
Jon Wertheim: Envision that day when you’re not just wearing it on a pin.
Andrew Pask: 100%, yeah. 100%. I think about it all the time, what it would be like to be in that landscape and just to see one walking past in the bush, an actual one, rather than a crappy photograph.
Jon Wertheim: Tell us exactly what you’re doing.
Andrew Pask
60 Minutes
Andrew Pask: We can’t magically bring the Tasmanian tiger back. We have to start with a living cell, and then engineer our thylacine back into existence. So the way you do that is you find the closest living relative to your animal that has gone extinct, and for us that is a small marsupial species called the fat-tailed dunnart.
A developmental biologist at the University of Melbourne, Pask has raised $15 million for a de-extinction project that recalls Jurassic Park….
In partnership with American company Colossal Biosciences, which counts—wait for it— Leonardo DiCaprio, Paris Hilton and even the CIA among its backers.
He’s adamant he’ll replicate the genome of a dunnart—a mouse-like marsupial—and turn it into a (much larger) Tassie tiger…we’ll let him explain.
Andrew Pask: We examine all of its DNA, we compare that to the DNA of your extinct species, the Tasmanian tiger, and we look at everywhere that those two genomes, or those two piles of DNA, if you like, are different. And once you’ve identified those differences, it’s just a matter of then going in and making all of those edits to turn your fat-tailed dunnart genome, or cell, into a thylacine cell.
Jon Wertheim: And you’re saying that dunnart—that little field mouse marsupial dunnart—is closer than, say, the Tasmanian devil?
Andrew Pask: But that little dunnart is a ferocious carnivore, even though it’s very, very small. And, it’s a very good surrogate for us to be able to do all of this editing in.
A native of Minnesota, Kris Helgen is director of the Australian Museum Research Institute in Sydney. He understands the push to de-extinct the Tassie tiger…
Kris Helgen: This is one of my favorite mammals.
Jon Wertheim: Really?
Kris Helgen: And I love all (laugh) mammals. I am a mammal guy. This is a special, special animal.
He took us upstairs to his lab to show us why…
Jon Wertheim: What do you make of this de-extinction effort with respect to the Tasmanian tiger?
Jon Wertheim and Kris Helgen
60 Minutes
Kris Helgen: You know, I would be the first person to line up to see this animal if it could be somehow brought back from extinction.
That said, Helgen is the skeptic, gently explaining that wishing Tassie tigers were running rampant doesn’t overcome science.
Kris Helgen: This is an impossible project.
Jon Wertheim: We all love optimism. We all love innovation.
Kris Helgen: What they’re saying is, “We’re going to modify the genome of a dunnart to create a genetically modified dunnart that might look a bit more like a thylacine. Maybe we’ll be able to tweak it genetically and it gets a bit bigger. Maybe we’ll be able to tweak it genetically and it has some stripes on it. But there is about 1,001 steps in between.
Helgen has thought about the source of the current Tassie tiger passion… and wonders how much of it is driven by remorse.
Kris Helgen: It’s a special symbol about Australia and about what we’ve lost. We’ve had a lot of extinctions here. In the last 100, 200 years, 30 mammals alone. So in the United States, only one or two mammal species have disappeared entirely.
Jon Wertheim: So why are people taking this seriously? And why are people investing so much in this?
Kris Helgen: So many people have the dream, “If we could just get this animal back.” Maybe, it would help us think different about extinction or the guilt that we might feel of having removed such a special animal from the planet. Whether, you know, they imagined it might be still hiding in Tasmania or in a lab to be reborn, there’s this burning hope.
Richo reckons that if his countrymen in the DNA sequencing labs can resurrect a Tassie tiger, good on’ em… but, regardless, he’ll continue coming here… faith unshaken, he’s certain this animal most famous for being extinct, is not extinct at all.
Jon Wertheim: If someone accused you of being obsessed, would you plead guilty?
Adrian Richardson: Oh, sir. I put my hand up to that. Your Honor, I am guilty.
Jon Wertheim: You’re Tasmanian tiger obsessive.
Adrian Richardson: I am, indeed. It’s been my love.
Jon Wertheim: Why is that? I mean why have you continued to search so-so long for this?
Adrian Richardson: I just know it’s there. I do. In my own heart, I know it’s there.
And if it isn’t there? Well, we say what’s the harm in searching? Coming to the planet’s sub-basement, bush-bashing this gorgeous terrain? There are worse ways—and places—to spend your days.
Produced by Jacqueline Williams. Associate producer, Elizabeth Germino. Edited by Patrick Lee.
She was from Bellevue Hill in East Sydney, and worked for a Double Bay architectural firm as an architect.
Jade was also a popular member of the Bronte Surf Club, which cancelled their Sunday Sips event.
The surf club said in a statement:”It is with profound sadness that we share the loss of member Jade Young.
Read more on Sydney stabbing
“On behalf of Bronte Surf Lifesaving Club, we extend our deepest condolences to the Mclaughlin family.
“Many club members will be affected by the loss of Jade and the impact of this senseless and tragic event will affect each of us differently over time.
”This is and will be a difficult time for the community, and we encourage you to seek support from family, friends, fellow club members or to speak to your GP to assist you in processing this tragedy.
“We are here to support the community, and our heartfelt condolences go out to everyone affected.”
What happened to Jade Young?
Jade Young had been stabbed by killer Joel Cauchi on Saturday April 13, 2024.
Five other people were killed during the attack, including four women between the age of 20 and 55 and a man in his 30s.
Sydney attacker who killed 6 shoppers unmasked as surfer, 40, who was ‘obsessed with knives’ & worked as male escort
According to Australian police, paramedics treated eleven people on the scene before they were taken to hospitals in Sydney.
Cauchi was shot dead after he refused to drop his weapon and tried to attack the attending police officer.
Police have identified Sunday the assailant who stabbed and killed six people at a busy Sydney shopping center before he was fatally shot by a police officer.New South Wales Police said that Joel Cauchi, 40, was responsible for the Saturday afternoon attack at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, in the city’s eastern suburbs and not far from the world-famous Bondi Beach.NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters at a media conference on Sunday that Cauchi suffered from yet unspecified mental health issues and police investigators weren’t treating the attack as terrorism-related.“We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage, it would appear that this is related to the mental health of the individual involved,” Cooke said.“There is still, to this point… no information we have received, no evidence we have recovered, no intelligence that we have gathered that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation — ideology or otherwise,” he added.The attack at the shopping mall, one of the country’s busiest and which was a hub of activity on a particularly warm fall afternoon, began around 3:10 p.m. and police were swiftly called.Six people — five women and one man, aged between 20 and 55 — were killed in the attack. Another 12 were injured and remain in hospital, including a 9-month-old child whose mother was killed in the attack.The male victim was a security guard at the shopping center and was later identified as 30-year-old Faraz Tahir from Pakistan.According to a written statement Sunday from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia, Faraz had been in Australia for a less than a year and was a “cherished member of our community.”Video footage taken by a witness showed many people fleeing as a knife-wielding Cauchi ran erratically through the shopping mall and lunging at people.“When I took my footage it, was about 15 seconds maybe before he was shot by the police officer and he’d already killed a number of people at that point but we didn’t know and we had no idea what was going on,” said Rohan Anderson, who had entered the shopping center just moments before the attack. “We just saw a person on the level below us, with a knife, running around and you just sit in disbelief that this is happening in Australia, in Bondi,” he said.Other footage showed a man confronting the attacker on an escalator in the shopping center by holding what appeared to be a metal pole.Inspector Amy Scott, who was the first emergency responder on the scene, shot and killed Cauchi.Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the officer was “certainly a hero” whose actions had saved many more lives.“The wonderful inspector who ran into danger by herself and removed the threat that was there to others, without thinking about the risks to herself,” he said.“We also see the footage of ordinary Australians putting themselves in harm’s way in order to help their fellow citizens. That bravery was quite extraordinary that we saw yesterday,” he added.The shopping center remains closed on Sunday and will be an active crime scene for days, police said.
SYDNEY (AP) —
Police have identified Sunday the assailant who stabbed and killed six people at a busy Sydney shopping center before he was fatally shot by a police officer.
New South Wales Police said that Joel Cauchi, 40, was responsible for the Saturday afternoon attack at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, in the city’s eastern suburbs and not far from the world-famous Bondi Beach.
NSW Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters at a media conference on Sunday that Cauchi suffered from yet unspecified mental health issues and police investigators weren’t treating the attack as terrorism-related.
“We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage, it would appear that this is related to the mental health of the individual involved,” Cooke said.
“There is still, to this point… no information we have received, no evidence we have recovered, no intelligence that we have gathered that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation — ideology or otherwise,” he added.
The attack at the shopping mall, one of the country’s busiest and which was a hub of activity on a particularly warm fall afternoon, began around 3:10 p.m. and police were swiftly called.
Six people — five women and one man, aged between 20 and 55 — were killed in the attack. Another 12 were injured and remain in hospital, including a 9-month-old child whose mother was killed in the attack.
The male victim was a security guard at the shopping center and was later identified as 30-year-old Faraz Tahir from Pakistan.
According to a written statement Sunday from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia, Faraz had been in Australia for a less than a year and was a “cherished member of our community.”
Video footage taken by a witness showed many people fleeing as a knife-wielding Cauchi ran erratically through the shopping mall and lunging at people.
“When I took my footage it, was about 15 seconds maybe before he was shot by the police officer and he’d already killed a number of people at that point but we didn’t know and we had no idea what was going on,” said Rohan Anderson, who had entered the shopping center just moments before the attack. “We just saw a person on the level below us, with a knife, running around and you just sit in disbelief that this is happening in Australia, in Bondi,” he said.
Other footage showed a man confronting the attacker on an escalator in the shopping center by holding what appeared to be a metal pole.
Inspector Amy Scott, who was the first emergency responder on the scene, shot and killed Cauchi.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the officer was “certainly a hero” whose actions had saved many more lives.
“The wonderful inspector who ran into danger by herself and removed the threat that was there to others, without thinking about the risks to herself,” he said.
“We also see the footage of ordinary Australians putting themselves in harm’s way in order to help their fellow citizens. That bravery was quite extraordinary that we saw yesterday,” he added.
The shopping center remains closed on Sunday and will be an active crime scene for days, police said.
Police and ambulances are seen outside the Westfield Bondi Junction shopping mall after a stabbing in Sydney on April 13. David Gray/AFP/Getty Images
New South Wales police commissioner Karen Webb said on Saturday that early indications suggest the Sydney mall stabbing attack is not terror related but cautioned that the investigation remains ongoing.
Webb told reporters that current elements do not point to a terror motive, adding however that the investigation will be ongoing “for many many days” and that it is “too early to say” what was behind the attack.
According to Webb, police believe that the suspect is a 40-year-old man but as background checks remain ongoing, she could not provide further identification details.
Webb said she was “confident” that there is no ongoing risk and that “we are dealing with one person who is now deceased.”
The suspect was shot dead at the scene by a lone officer, police earlier said.
SYDNEY (AP) — A man stabbed five people to death at a busy Sydney shopping center Saturday before he was fatally shot, police said. Multiple people, including a small child, were also injured in the attack.
The suspect stabbed nine people at the Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction, which is in the city’s eastern suburbs, before a police inspector shot him after he turned and raised a knife, New South Wales Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters. Five of the victims and the suspect died, he said. He had no specific details on the condition of the injured.
Cooke said he believed that the suspect acted alone, and he was “content that there is no continuing threat.” He said officials didn’t know who the offender was. “This is quite raw,” he said, and a “lengthy and precise” investigation was just beginning.
He said there was “nothing that we are aware of at the scene that would indicate any motive or any ideology.” When asked whether officials were ruling out terrorism, he said: “We’re not ruling anything out.”
Cooke said the police inspector, a senior officer, was alone when she confronted the suspect and engaged him soon after her arrival on the scene, “saving a range of people’s lives.”
A crowd gathers outside Westfield Shopping Centre in Sydney, Saturday, April 13, 2024. Media reports say multiple people have been stabbed and that the police shot a person at the Sydney shopping center.
Rick Rycroft / AP
Video showed many ambulances and police cars around the shopping center, and people streaming out.
Paramedics were treating patients at the scene.
Witness Roi Huberman, a sound engineer at ABC TV in Australia, told the network that he sheltered in a store during the incident.
“And suddenly we heard a shot or maybe two shots and we didn’t know what to do,” he said. “Then the very capable person in the store took us to the back where it can be locked. She then locked the store and then she then let us through the back and now we are out.”
What are the top 20 happiest countries in the world? How do mental health and well-being trends look in the United States and Canada? The 2024 World Happiness Report is in!
The World Happiness Report is a research initiative to compare happiness levels between different countries.
The project first launched in 2012, surveying more than 350,000 people in 95 countries asking them to rate their happiness on a 10-point scale.
Each year they release a new report and the 2024 full report was just published a few weeks ago. There are some interesting findings in it that are worth highlighting.
First let’s look at the happiness rankings by country.
Top 20 Happiest Countries
Here are the top 20 happiest countries in 2024 according to the report.
The scores are on a scale of 1-10. Each participant was asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a “10” and the worst possible life being a “0.” They were then asked to rate their current lives. The final rankings are the average score for each country.
(By the way, this simple test for measuring subjective well-being is known as the “Cantril Ladder,” it’s a common tool used in public polling especially the Gallup World Poll.)
The results:
1. Finland (7.741) 2. Denmark (7.538) 3. Iceland (7.525) 4. Sweden (7.344) 5. Israel (7.341) 6. Netherlands (7.319) 7. Norway (7.302) 8. Luxembourg (7.122) 9. Switzerland (7.060) 10. Australia (7.057) 11. New Zealand (7.029) 12. Costa Rica (6.955) 13. Kuwait (6.951) 14. Austria (6.905) 15. Canada (6.900) 16. Belgium (6.894) 17. Ireland (6.838) 18. Czechia (6.822) 19. Lithuania (6.818) 20. United Kingdom (6.749)
The top 10 countries have remained stable over the years. As of March 2024, Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world seven times in a row.
There was more movement in the top 20 rankings. Most notably, this is the first year that the United States dropped out of the top 20 (from rank 15 to 23 – an 8 place drop).
More alarming are the age gaps in happiness reports. In both the U.S. and Canada, those above the age of 60 report significantly higher rates of happiness than those below 30.
Above age 60, the U.S. ranks 10 overall on the world happiness rankings. Below age 30, the U.S. falls to rank 62, just beating out Peru, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Could this be a sign of a continuing downward trend in places like the U.S. and Canada?
Potential Factors Behind Life Evaluation
How to measure happiness is always a controversial topic.
To this day, psychologists and social scientists don’t really have a reliable way to determine happiness besides simply asking someone, “How happy are you?”
However, the World Happiness Report attempts to take the above findings and break them down into six main factors that contribute to overall life evaluation on a societal level.
These factors don’t influence the final rankings, they are just a way to make sense of the results:
GDP per capita – A general measure of a country’s overall wealth.
Life expectancy – A general measure of a country’s overall health.
Generosity – The level of a country’s trust and kindness through charity and volunteering.
Social support – The level of a country’s social cohesion and community.
Freedom – The level of a country’s freedom to live life as a person sees fit.
Corruption – A general measure of government competence and political accountability.
Each factor helps explain the differences in overall happiness between countries, with some countries performing better in certain areas over others.
One benefit of this model is that it looks beyond GDP (or “Gross Domestic Product”) which has long been the overall benchmark for comparing countries in the social sciences. The U.S. has the highest GDP in the world and frequently ranks in the top 10 per capita, but the happiness rankings show there is more to the picture.
Conclusion
The World Happiness Report is a good guideline for comparing happiness and well-being between different countries. How does your country rank? It will be interesting to see how these rankings change over the next few years, do you have any predictions?
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A tour boat in Australia watched as a pod of orcas chased and attacked a group of sperm whales. A rare video shows the predators fighting.
Photo from Jodie Lowe, shared by Naturaliste Charters
Tourists on a boat in Australia were left stunned as they watched a pod of orcas chase and attack a group of sperm whales. A rare video shows the “titans of the ocean” battling.
Naturaliste Charters took a boat of tourists to Bremer Canyon for a whale watching expedition on March 19, the company wrote in a Facebook post. The boat quickly arrived at a “hotspot” to find a pod of orcas foraging.
Then, “with a large splash … everything changed,” the company said. The pod of orcas “began to pick up speed” and chase something.
The pod chased its target for just over 7 miles, herding the target into shallower water, Naturaliste Charters wrote in an Instagram post.
When the hidden target finally surfaced, “what we saw left our jaws gaping,” the company said. They saw “the unmistakable arched back and tail of a sperm whale.” Four more sperm whales eventually surfaced.
Sperm whales are massive deep-sea predators with a gray body, pointed teeth and a block-like head.
Naturaliste Charters shared a video of the rare encounter on Facebook on March 26. In the video, the gray sperm whales are seen huddled together as orcas circle around them.
“The group of sperm whales appeared distressed and exhausted,” the company said, but they quickly began splashing their tails to fend off the orcas. Video footage shows the churning waters.
Suddenly, the whale watchers saw a “large dark bubble” of something reddish brown erupt from around the sperm whales, and an orca surfaced with a chunk of meat in its mouth. The video shows this murky bubble and the orca with its hard-won meat.
Soon after, the orcas called off their attack and moved away. “The mood onboard became solemn as we processed what may have just unfolded in front of our eyes,” the company said. “Had the orca really just taken down a sperm whale?”
After the trip, the company looked closer at the photographs and videos of the fight. A different picture emerged.
“What was originally thought to have been a bubble of blood exploding on the surface has since been confirmed as feces,” the company said. “Sperm whales are known to defecate when threatened … The cloud of diarrhea created when the whale waves its tail through its poo appears to deter predators and in this case, seemed to work!”
The meat the orcas took was likely squid, the company said, either “stolen from the sperm whales’ jaws or regurgitated (by the sperm whales) in a defensive effort to relinquish a potential attack on themselves.”
These two “titans of the ocean” are rarely seen battling, Naturaliste Charters said. For a long time, people assumed sperm whales and orcas were too evenly matched for the two predators to attack each other.
The whale watching company said the intense encounter was “an immense privilege and a reminder of just how wild these animals and this place are.”
Bremer Canyon is off the southwestern coast of Australia.
Aspen Pflughoeft covers real-time news for McClatchy. She is a graduate of Minerva University where she studied communications, history, and international politics. Previously, she reported for Deseret News.
Star Entertainment Group, an Australian gambling giant, is set to undergo another leadership reshuffle. As announced by the operator, Christina Katsibouba, its chief financial officer, is set to exit with immediate effect. More importantly, Robbie Cooke will step down as CEO amid the ongoing license suitability concerns.
Katsibouba Departs, O’Connell Joins as Interim CFO
Katsibouba’s departure comes after nine years with Star. In her position, the CFO steered the finance function of the Australian casino and hospitality giant. She was also instrumental in the company’s capital structure initiatives in 2023, as Star began its journey to regain license suitability.
According to the company’s official announcement, Katsibouba has decided to leave to pursue other interests.
In the meantime, Neale O’Connell will join as interim CFO on March 25. He will bring substantial financial experience in the gaming and leisure industries to manage Star’s business. Prior to joining Star, O’Connell served as global CFO of Corporate Travel Management and Group CFO at Tatts Group. His track record includes overseeing the merger of Tatts and Tabcorp.
David Foster, Star’s chair, personally thanked Katsibouba for her contributions and welcomed O’Connell on board. He lauded the interim CFO as a “highly capable and credentialed replacement” with robust experience and an impressive track record.
Star operates in a highly regulated environment and is going through significant internal change. Neale’s expertise from previous roles will be highly valued.
David Foster, chair, Star Entertainment Group
Cooke Exits Amid Suitability Uncertainties
In the meantime, Robbie Cooke is departing from the group as the second probe into Star’s business looms. The Australian gambling company was previously deemed unsuitable to hold a license because of regulatory failings and has been working hard to implement remediation measures.
According to the announcement, Cooke, who took over as CEO in November, is stepping down from the role with immediate effect. His duties will be temporarily taken over by chair Foster until a replacement is found. Cooke will also remain around for a while, serving as a consultant to the company for six more months. Additionally, Anne Ward will serve as a lead independent director.
In the meantime, the company is preparing for a second probe into its business practices. The New South Wales Independent Casino Commission is set to determine whether Star has properly implemented the remediation measures outlined in the Bell review and whether it is suitable to hold a license after all.
Foster commented on the matter, saying that Star is ready to do better and is committed to being judged suitable to hold a casino license in NSW.
An Australian man has died after being bitten by a highly venomous snake while trying to remove the serpent from a childcare center in an effort “to keep the children safe,” local media and emergency services said Wednesday.
Paramedics in the northeastern state of Queensland were called out Tuesday afternoon and found the man in critical condition.
The man was believed to have been bitten by a brown snake, one of the most lethal species in the world. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation identified the victim as 47-year-old Jerromy Brookes.
He was transported to Townsville hospital and later died, a spokesperson for Queensland Ambulance Service told AFP.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Brookes, who did not have a permit to handle or remove snakes, was trying to remove the serpent from a child care center where his wife and their two daughters worked in early childhood education.
“He was doing his very best to keep the children safe,” his family’s employer, Michelle O’Connor, told ABC.
Deaths due to snake bites are rare in Australia, with only a handful of fatal attacks recorded each year.
About 200 people are hospitalized each year due to contact with brown snakes, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
“We have very good quality antivenom in Australia,” Christina Zdenek of the Australian Reptile Academy told AFP.
Snakes are most active from September through to January, as the cold-blooded reptiles warm up in the austral summer.
Zdenek said the best way to treat a snake bite is by “staying still, calm and wrapping the whole limb tightly with a stretchy bandage”.
“Don’t ever try to kill a snake,” she added.
Eastern brown snakes are found throughout eastern Australia and in isolated populations in central and western parts of the country, as well as in southern and eastern New Guinea. They are “fast-moving, aggressive and known for their bad temper,” according to Australian Geographic, which ranks it as the most dangerous snake in the country.
This photo taken on September 25, 2012 shows a deadly Australia eastern brown snake — which has enough venom to kill 20 adults with a single bite — in the Sydney suburb of Terrey Hills.
WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images
They are medium-sized, slender snakes that are notably resilient, extremely toxic and comfortable living among humans in both rural and dense urban areas.
Earlier this year, an eastern brown snake was found curled up in the underwear drawer of a 3-year-old boy in Australia. The serpent was safely removed by a professionals snake wrangler.
In 2022, an Australian woman found a brown snake hiding in her antique radiogram cabinet.
A man fell to his death from a hot-air balloon Monday as it passed over suburban Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city.
The hot-air balloon took off from Melbourne’s northern suburbs early in the morning and was in the air for about 30 minutes before the man fell from the basket.
His body was found in a residential area that Victoria state police closed off to traffic. The balloon landed safely many miles from where the man’s body was found.
Police said it will prepare a report for the coroner and the death is not being treated as suspicious. Police are also speaking with the balloon’s pilot, other occupants and witnesses.
A police officer walks past a trailer with a hot-air balloon basket on it after the discovery of a man’s body at Yarra Bend Park in Melbourne, Monday, March 18, 2024.
Diego Fedele / AP
The National Commercial Hot-Air Ballooning Industry and the Australian Ballooning Federation expressed condolences for the man’s family and friends.
“Hot-air balloon baskets are designed with safety in mind, specifically to prevent passengers from falling out accidentally or from any accidental exit,” their written statement said. “Passengers and the pilot are understandably traumatized by this tragedy and the operator is arranging psychological support and counselling for all affected.”
Several other hot air balloons made landings at nearby parks shortly after the incident, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Between 2008 and 2022, there were fewer than 30 deaths from hot air balloon accidents worldwide, according to statistic from Gitnux. Wind-related weather conditions are factors in 93% of serious hot air balloon accidents, the market research company said.
THE heartbroken fiancee of a Brit cop who died after a freak fall at their engagement party has tragically revealed she is expecting their first child.
Lilly Watts and police constable Liam Trimmer, 29, had gathered with friends and family to celebrate their engagement and announce she was 14 weeks pregnant in Western Australia.
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Lilly Watts, the grieving fiancee of Brit cop Liam Trimmer, revealed she is pregnant with their first childCredit: 9News
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The police constable, 29, died on Sunday at the couple’s engagement partyCredit: 9News
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Lilly revealed she is 14 weeks pregnantCredit: Facebook
Lilly, who is a nurse, together with healthcare workers and police officers attending the bash, did everything they could to save Liam’s life, but his injuries were too severe.
On Wednesday, the devastated lover opened up about her heartache, saying her fiancee was “truly excited to be a dad”.
She told Daily Mail Australia: “I have never known a love like Liam’s and this heartbreak and emptiness is just so overwhelming.
Read more about Australia
“He will always be the love of my life and our baby will know the wonderful man he was.”
Liam took part in the BBC series Wanted Down Under, giving a teenager advice on life in Australia before they migrated.
However it appears his scenes were never used.
He moved from the UK to Australia when he was still a teenager, later graduating from Joondalup Police Academy.
The Brit then joined the gang crime squad and tactical response group, where he built his career as an exemplary officer.
In 2017, Liam moved to Kalgoorlie – some 370 miles east of Perth – where he became a prominent member of the community while playing for the local rugby team.
Lilly’s close pal Mel Kelly created a GoFundMe page earlier on Wednesday to raise money for the mum-to-be.
She said Lilly had lost her “soulmate” and now might be raising her baby alone, while trying to make ends meet.
The fundraiser read: “Lilly’s world was shattered by a freak accident that claimed the life of her beloved fiance.
“The evening was meant to be a joyous celebration of Lilly and Liam’s recent engagement and announcing their pregnancy, a huge milestone in their journey together.
“Friends and family gathered to share in their happiness. In a cruel twist of events, Liam’s life was cut short leaving behind a void that can never be filled.
“Lilly, a dedicated Clinical Registered Nurse at Royal Perth Hospital, now finds herself navigating uncharted waters.
“Not only has she lost her soulmate, but she also carries the precious gift of new life within her.
“At almost 14 weeks pregnant, Lilly now faces the prospect of raising a child without her beloved partner, while also grappling with the financial responsibilities that come with homeownership.”
Friends and colleagues have been taking to social media to pay tribute to Mr Trimmer in the days following his death.
One pal described him as “possibly the fittest bloke” in a local trekking group.
They wrote: “Great sense of humour with a passion to excel.
“In my opinion, society can ill-afford to lose guys like Liam [who had] the courage to charge into the furnace on a daily basis, dealing with the ‘heavy duty side of policing.
“The boys are hurting this week, but they have cracked on with major training exercises and domestic operations.”
Another shared: “It has been a sad couple of days at the office.
“Lots of hugs and lots of tears. But … the boys are getting on with it and getting stuck into their training. Hopefully it’s a good distraction.”
A third friend commented: “He was like that from day one at the [police] academy – you couldn’t help but not like him.”
He has been remembered by his colleagues at the WA Police Union as an “extraordinary officer” and a “valued member of the blue family”.
Police Commissioner Col Blanch, for Western Australia Police Commissioner, said: “Everything was done to try and save him and it wasn’t to be, and I know everyone that was involved are really hurting.
“I think they wish they could just wake up from this nightmare.”
“This extraordinary officer loved helping the community and was a fine example of WA policing and it’s just such a tragedy,” Mr Blanch said.
“[He was] a very, very confident, capable young man with his whole life ahead of him, and that’s how sad this is.
“It’s important now for us to wrap around each other, to lean on each other.”
The exact cause of the accident has not been confirmed.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
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Liam moved from the UK to Australia when he was still a teenagerCredit: 9News
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Liam’s colleagues described him as an ‘extraordinary officer’
