Your midday briefing
Hello readers. Here’s the latest on how today has unfolded so far, plus a long read for lunchtime.
Hello readers. Here’s the latest on how today has unfolded so far, plus a long read for lunchtime.
Details of US church shooter emerge
A gunman has killed 26 people in a massacre inside a church in rural Texas, after he opened fire on the congregation during a Sunday morning service. The gunman then escaped in a car and travelled across the county line, but was killed, although it is not yet clear if police shot him. The victims ranged in age from five to 72 years old. Two officials have identified the suspect as Devin Kelley, 26. They say he lived in a suburb of San Antonio and that he doesn’t appear to be linked to organised terrorist groups.
May God be w/ the people of Sutherland Springs, Texas. The FBI & law enforcement are on the scene. I am monitoring the situation from Japan.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2017
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Paradise Papers reveal new sensation
Fresh light on the estate of Australian popstar Michael Hutchence could spark further acrimony among the singer’s relatives and business partners as it emerges Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim may benefit from the INXS singer’s intellectual property. In a raft of fresh tax haven documents released this morning by the International Consortium of Journalists was three pages of details of a 2015 company created to exploit Hutchence’s intellectual property, including unreleased songs, to coincide with the 20th anniversary of his death later this month. Locals named in the documents could face criminal investigation, the ATO has warned.
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We can’t go on with suspicious minds: Abbott
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott says the citizenship drama is an “ongoing circus” that “needs to be resolved” but he declined to advise Malcolm Turnbull on how he should deal with the issue. Mr Abbott would not say if he thought the government should support an audit of all parliamentarians but he said the country could not afford to go on with the issue unresolved as the eligibility of more Coalition MPs comes under question.
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The lunchtime long read: Communism’s bloody century
A century ago this week, communism took over the Russian empire, the world’s largest state at the time. Leftist movements of various sorts had been common in European politics long before the revolution of October 25, 1917. Communism entered history as a ferocious yet idealistic condemnation of capitalism, promising a better world. History records instead a bloody legacy which is far from a spent force.
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Media on Monday: Sky’s the limit for Fordham
Media diarist Stephen Brook suggests there was one name missing from the big announcement of Sky News’s 2018 line-up. The radio host and TV presenter Ben Fordham is well entrenched at Radio 2GB and Nine, but News Corp Australia is interested. Fordham is no stranger to News Corp’s Sky News, working there for a year in the late 1990s, and some at News want to renew relations. Meanwhile, in Fairfax Media’s Good Food Guide, he considers the strange case of the disappearing restaurant.
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Comment of the Day
“Multiculturalism is a political fiction beloved of populist politicians. Multiracial was never a word they were comfortable with.”
Sanchia in reponse to Jennifer Oriel’s analysis, Bad to worse: PM losing his touch.
Police seek help to crack missing mum mystery
In its first public response since the launch of a new investigative podcast, NSW Police says a strike force investigation into the suspected murder of Bronwyn Winfield is open and ongoing.
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