Multiple deaths, thousands evacuated as fires hit

IN THE NEWS

California officers scramble to struggle fires with strained sources (The New York Occasions) — No less than 5 folks (at time of writing) have been killed and tens of hundreds have been compelled to evacuate as out-of-control wildfires proceed to rage within the Los Angeles space. The New York Occasions studies a diminishing water provide and ferocious winds are complicating firefighting efforts as “officers cautioned that the fires which have already decreased greater than 1,000 buildings to ash had been removed from being contained”. One of many fires, named the Palisades fireplace, started on Tuesday morning and has exploded to just about 3,000 acres “burning with a volatility that astonished fireplace officers”.

Germany and France warn Trump over risk to take over Greenland (BBC) — Leaders in Europe have responded to Donald Trump’s feedback on Tuesday about his want to amass Denmark’s autonomous territory Greenland and unsurprisingly they don’t suppose a lot of the thought. The BBC flags German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated on Wednesday “the precept of the inviolability of borders applies to each nation… regardless of whether or not it’s a really small one or a really highly effective one”. In the meantime, French Overseas Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated “there’s clearly no query that the European Union would let different nations of the world assault its sovereign borders”. By the way in which, with reference to Trump’s feedback about Canada this week too, no-one appears to have picked up on the very fact Canada’s head of state is… King Charles III. Which may slightly complicate diplomatic relations.

Urge for food for discounting on present in retail figures (AAP) — Yesterday we received the information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that annual headline inflation had risen from 2.1% to 2.3%, whereas the Reserve Financial institution of Australia’s most well-liked measure, trimmed imply inflation, fell from 3.5% to three.2%. Right this moment it’s the retail figures being launched at 11:30am AEDT which may have the analysts’ consideration. “Client spending has been trending usually weak, reflecting a barely rising economic system and households beneath strain from increased mortgage repayments and inflation,” the AAP reminds us. Right this moment’s information will cowl the Black Friday gross sales, with the RBA retaining a eager eye on shopper spending and any potential influence on the inflation battle.

Anthony Albanese’s bid to assert Trump card and China ace (The Australian) — Prime Minister Antony Albanese reckons he’s ­higher positioned than Coalition chief Peter Dutton to forge a productive relationship with incoming US president Donald Trump, The Australian studies. The PM claims his shut ties with Indo-Pacific leaders can be useful to Trump but in addition “signalled he wouldn’t change his strategy with China if Mr Trump launched a commerce struggle, lauding the reopening of commerce with Beijing as an financial win for Australia”, the paper studies. The PM continues his nationwide tour right now and can unveil a $200 million housing and infrastructure bundle for Western Australia when he visits later.

Piers Morgan to depart Rupert Murdoch’s Information UK in deal over YouTube enterprise (Sky Information) — YouTuber Piers Morgan goes it alone. Sky Information studies Morgan is leaving Rupert Murdoch’s British media empire and can take possession of the Uncensored model as he tries to broaden it in markets such because the US. The transfer comes after his cope with Information UK concluded, though Sky studies a revenue-sharing deal between the 2 sides will run for one more 4 years.

WHAT NEXT FOR SKY NEWS?

The $3.4 billion sale of Foxtel Group to British streaming big DAZN raises questions on the way forward for Rupert Murdoch’s native protected house Sky Information Australia. Daany Saeed considers what comes subsequent for Andrew Bolt, Rita Panahi and co, together with a possible identify change. Might 2025 be the 12 months of Fox Information Australia?

ZUCKERBERG’S MILLION-DOLLAR WATCH

You possibly can’t be taught every part about an individual by the watch they put on. However Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s resolution to put on a US$900,000 timepiece whereas asserting the top of fact-checking on Meta platforms exhibits the billionaire’s altering relationship to bodily shows of energy and wealth. Enterprise journalist and watch connoisseur David Adams writes about what’s hanging off the Fb founder’s wrist.

WHAT I’M READING

Crypto stays one thing of a thriller to me in my superior years. I get it, but in addition at instances, I actually don’t get it. Therefore my curiosity in studying Joel Khalili’s piece in WIRED on memecoins. It seems a complete bunch of celebrities have launched them to various levels of success, and whereas 2024 noticed the “marketplace for absurdist cryptocurrencies mutated right into a hundred-billion-dollar phenomenon”, apparently this 12 months may get even wilder.

“Beforehand, the fee and complexity of improvement restricted the variety of memecoins that made it to market. However in 2024, with the assistance of Pump.Enjoyable, a platform that lets folks challenge memecoins nearly immediately and for gratis, the floodgates opened: Greater than 4.7 million distinctive memecoins have been issued by means of the platform since its January launch. In combination, the memecoin market is now price greater than $100 billion.

“‘I knew it was going to work on the primary day we launched,’ one of many three nameless cofounders of Pump.Enjoyable, who goes by Sapijiju, instructed WIRED earlier this 12 months. ‘I may simply see from the Twitter exercise.’ The sudden glut of cash compelled creators to provide you with methods to distinguish their initiatives, generally going to elaborate and generally harmful lengths to draw consideration to their cash and compete with celebrities’ massive on-line followings. One man ended up catching on fireplace after a stunt went awry, leaving him with severe burns. The market mutated: In the identical method that celebcoins had a second, so did memecoins impressed by Donald Trump and different political figures, cash promoted by AI chatbots — and even one coin launched by a baby.”

On Monday I shared a CNN piece on how Western politicians akin to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer try to navigate Elon Musk’s infinite posting on X and the potential bother it brings. Right this moment I’ve been studying this piece within the Monetary Occasions (it has six bylines) on how Musk turned so obsessive about UK politics and the handful of accounts that appear to be influencing his posting.

“One one that interacted with Musk this week stated he had not been counting on conversations with a UK supply for his info, however most well-liked to do his personal analysis on-line. Others previously near the billionaire stated that they believed his outrage was largely pushed by posts from social media accounts that Musk doesn’t straight observe, however that seem on his algorithmically curated ‘for you’ feed on X. Questions on which people or organisations are colouring Musk’s tackle the UK authorities have additionally preoccupied some British officers.

“A number of imagine {that a} small forged of conservative-leaning British commentators and analysts based mostly within the US are shaping views concerning the UK among the many wider milieu of Trump’s allies. ‘There’s a fairly right-wing libertarian UK émigré community within the US who’re feeding a whole lot of this,’ stated one British authorities official, including that they had been free speech advocates linked to right-wing US suppose tanks which can be projecting a picture of the UK as ‘uber woke’.”

Lastly, I’ve been studying this piece on the BBC concerning the launch of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy’s indoor golf league, Tomorrow’s Golf League. I’m studying it as a result of my timeline is stuffed with clips {of professional} golfers smashing balls into an enormous display screen but in addition as a result of I’m attempting to work out what on earth the attraction is of watching such a factor.

“Throughout the opening evening of the six-team league occasion, which can happen in Florida every week till a winner is topped in March, Woods confidently acknowledged they’re ‘taking golf into one other stratosphere’. Whether or not that was achieved on day one is a moot level however Woods’ follow-up that that is ‘not conventional golf’ was bang on the mark.

“This was digital golf fused with actual motion. There have been fantasy holes that includes lava fields and cliff-top island fairways. There was a rotating inexperienced that was moved after every gap. There was an try at Ryder Cup rivalry. Poor pictures had been greeted by pantomime boos from the 1,500 or so spectators within the purpose-built Sofi Middle. And 15 holes had been performed in round two hours. Fantasy golf. Made for TV.”

ASSOCIATE EDITOR’S SUMMER MEDIA DIET

In my tab: I like this text from newly launched journalist-owned gaming outlet Aftermath referred to as “The Delusion Of The Star Reporter”. What surprises me as somebody who now works within the sausage manufacturing unit is how many individuals’s work goes into an article that (normally) solely has one individual’s identify on it. Do not forget that while you learn somebody’s large scoop (apart from mine — they’re all me).

On my bedside desk: I’ve simply began John Safran’s Squat: A Week Squatting at Kanye’s Mansion and am having fun with it to this point.

In my ears: I’ve been listening rather a lot to the podcast of American tech outlet The Verge’s editor-in-chief Nilay Patel, largely as a result of he’s an excellent good man with properly thought out opinions on tech coverage stuff but in addition as a result of I’m in awe of The Verge’s tech protection and the way in which the group there runs their enterprise. Loved his producers grilling him on an end-of-year episode the place he defined how the sausage is made.

On my display screen: Don’t snigger… however I’ve been comfort-watching a whole lot of Regulation & Order: SVU. I used to solely watch up till season 11 or 12 when Elliot Stabler, one of many lead characters, leaves the present, however now I’m lastly watching the newer stuff and it’s okay. Don’t ask why a procedural about catching baby molesters and rapists is stress-free, it simply is.

On my plate: I simply went to Manila to see household and for some motive I memed myself into attempting extra outrageous orders from a close-by Starbucks each single day. (For context, I’m normally a double espresso or filter espresso man). The final day there I received some monstrous iced “Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Blended Beverage” with additional pumps of syrup and whipped cream and… I can’t say I hated it.

Say What?

There have been two muesli bars up there that he had eaten and that’s just about all that he’s needed to devour over the previous two weeks.

Andrew Spliet

The NSW police superintendent was talking after 23-year-old college scholar Hadi Nazari was discovered alive after a 13-day search within the Snowy Mountains.

THE COMMENTARIAT

Hear, hear, Albo: Get these cabana sand-bagsers off our seashores — Michelle Cazzulino (The Sydney Morning Herald): On Tuesday, Albanese decried the observe of sand-bagsing as “not on”, including that the seashore is “a spot the place each Australian is equal. And that’s a breach of precept, actually, to suppose which you could reserve a little bit spot as simply yours.” (Let’s simply pause right here to look at that reserving a little bit spot excessive within the hills of Copacabana that is simply yours is completely superb and positively not a breach of any precept by any means. OK, that’s finished.)

The purpose is, Albo is true, not that that makes a blind little bit of distinction to our absolute waterfront-hogging pals, who hail from an extended line of Veruca Salt varieties invoking the precept of Terra I-Acquired-Right here-Firstus to justify their actions.

Kemi Badenoch was alleged to make the Tories severe once more. She has failed — Rafael Behr (The Guardian): The previous few days have been a take a look at for Badenoch. She may have opted for severe opposition. She may have understood that her job features a duty to not debase political discourse, to not propagate wild inflammatory rhetoric, to not tacitly endorse requires the overthrow of the federal government. Or she may hitch a trip on a far-right web bandwagon because it rattled previous, with out pausing to think about the place it would carry her or the nation. She made her selection.

It was a peculiar resolution for the chief of a celebration that boasts of its natural connection to the establishments and habits of British democracy; the celebration of Churchill. However that isn’t Badenoch’s celebration. It simply shares the identify. Hers is a more moderen, shorter lineage. She hails from the Home of Brexit, the pure successor to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak in a convention outlined by incoherent bombast, tradition struggle efficiency, coverage as gimmick, mental vacuity clad in libertarian verbiage.

Badenoch could not understand it, however the sample of her management is ready. The trajectory is all too acquainted. It’s the path of least ethical resistance, gravitating inexorably rightwards, laundering fanaticism by means of the mainstream Conservative model, striving to make the unacceptable sound respectable.