Tom Flanagan
Elon Musk's Australia woes, boy, 15, charged with murder of pizza shop owner, police 'disgusted' by flood act
Plus see the unlikely structure to topple during Victorian storms, sparking fears for other locations across the country.
Tom Flanagan
·Homepage and Live Editor
Yahoo's live news blog for Thursday, February 6 has now concluded. It's not good news for Elon Musk, with Tesla sales plummeting in Australia, The EV giant recorded its lowest monthly sales for two-and-a-half years.
A 15-year-old boy has been charged with murder after the alleged fatal stabbing of a pizza shop owner in Sydney's west. Sonmez Alagoz, 58, was found with a stab wound to the chest on Tuesday night outside the pizza shop in Kingswood, police say.
See all of the day's updates below.
LIVE COVERAGE IS OVER12 updates
Trump signs order banning transgender women from female sports
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.
The order provides guidance, regulations and legal interpretations, and it will enlist the Department of Education to investigate high schools thought to be non-compliant.
Republicans say it restores fairness to sports but LGBT advocacy and human rights organisations have described the move as discriminatory.
The order, which goes into effect immediately, largely covers high school, universities and grassroots sports.
Trump departs after signing the "No Men in Women's Sports" executive order in the East Room of the White House. Source: Getty A number of sporting governing bodies, including swimming, athletics and golf, have banned transgender women from competing in the female category at elite level if they have gone through male puberty.
According to White House officials who briefed reporters on Wednesday morning, this latest order empowers the Department of Education to investigate how schools implement Title IX, a US law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programmes.
An administration official said that the executive order will reverse the position of the Biden administration which in April last year said that LGBT students would be protected by federal law, although it did not give specific guidance on transgender athletes.
"If you let men take over women's sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding," Trump explained.
Read more from the BBC here.
- Tom Flanagan
Warning over 'extremely dangerous' e-bike move
More and more people are buying an electric bike or scooter these days and authorities are warning owners to avoid one potentially deadly mistake.
Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry says it is vital for people to take their bikes to qualified experts to get them repaired when needed.
"They’re regulating these things better now, which is great, but people are still repairing and modifying them,” Superintendent Dewberry said.
“People are not only trying to repair mix and match devices e-bikes and e-scooters, but they’re also making their own batteries.
“It’s so extremely dangerous.”
- Tom Flanagan
School accused of 'disgusting' move for Māori students
A school in New Zealand has apologised after Māori students wanting to carry a culturally significant stone with them were forced to carry a uniform exemption pass as well.
A photo of one of the passes used to allow students to carry a pounamu was shared on Facebook, sparking anger. One person described the move as "disgusting".
“Pounamu is part of our culture, and it’s a taonga that holds deep spiritual significance. It’s not just an accessory. I don’t see why Māori students should need a pass to wear something that represents their identity and heritage,” one person said, The New Zealand Herald reported.
The pass described a pounamu as an "incorrect uniform item".
Ashburton Intermediate School later said the pass system it used was "culturally inappropriate" and apologised to those offended.
Anger over the pass has prompted an apology from the school. Source: Facebook via NZ Herald - Tom Flanagan
Accused criminals unaccounted for as company tracking them goes bust
A private firm that offers GPS tracking services for offenders on bail has collapsed, leaving police, justice authorities and courts across NSW and Victoria scrambling to locate alleged offenders on bail who are now unaccounted for.
BailSafe Australia, an independent GPS monitoring service provider for offenders on bail, which has offices in Melbourne and Sydney, reportedly shut its doors more than a week ago without notifying Victoria Police or the Department of Justice.
The website has since been taken down and the business owner’s email is no longer functional.
The service has become increasingly popular among accused criminals and has been approved by the order of a judge.
An investigation from The Daily Telegraph found 20 defendants across NSW had not been tracked for months, despite wearing BailSafe ankle monitors to track their whereabouts.
The NSW government has since called for an urgent review into the provisions of private bail services such as BailSafe, blaming the lack of regulation on the former Minns government.
Read more from NCA NewsWire here.
- Tom Flanagan
China hits out at Australia over DeepSeek ban
China has lashed out at Australia after DeepSeek, the AI app that wreaked havoc on the US stock exchange, was banned from government devices.
Labor said it was banning the app as it was a risk to national security because of data collection fears, but China's foreign ministry said the move was political.
"The Chinese government… has never and will never require enterprises or individuals to illegally collect or store data," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
One technology expert told China's nationalistic tabloid the Global Times that the move was clearly "discrimination".
- Tom Flanagan
'Avoid ethnic cleansing': UN reacts to Trump's Gaza plan
The United Nations' Secretary General has stressed the importance of "avoiding any form of ethnic cleansing" following Donald Trump's audacious plan to take over Gaza.
Antonio Guterres said it was "vital to stay true to the bedrock of international law", the BBC reported.
"We have seen a chilling, systematic dehumanisation and demonisation of an entire people,” he said in comments pushing the importance of Gaza's importance to the two-state solution, which Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday Australia continues to support.
- Tom Flanagan
Bank of mum and dad dilemma
Borrowing money from parents for a house deposit is becoming more and more common in Australia with house prices continuing to rise.
Handing the cash over is a big commitment and even harder if you've got more than one child, but it seems to be the only route onto the market for some.
But when that first child comes calling, what do you tell the others? Well one father told the ABC the other siblings weren't told about the $18,000 he gave his son to cover the first six months of mortgage repayments.
While it sounds like the father, who has delayed his retirement as a result, has plans to help the others when they need it, what's the right thing to do when letting them all know? Have your say below.
- Tom Flanagan
Peter Dutton brands Trump 'shrewd' after stunning Gaza proposal
While Anthony Albanese declined to offer any sort of opinion on Donald Trump's bold plan to take over Gaza, Opposition leader Peter Dutton has praised Trump for his "shrewd" mindset, saying it was clear he wanted to bring peace to the Middle East.
“He’s not become the president of the United States for a second time by being anything other than shrewd,” Dutton told 2GB’s Ben Fordham on Thursday.
“You’ve seen it in his business life and the art of the deal is incredibly important to him, that both sides of the deal are contributing, that nobody’s ripping each other off. And I think there’s a desire for peace here from every reasonable person, and hopefully it can be achieved.”
- Tom Flanagan
112-metre wind turbine tumbles during storms
A wind turbine has collapsed in Victoria’s west after severe thunderstorms wreaked havoc on the state, prompting calls for a statewide audit amid safety concerns.
Photos of the Berrybank Wind Farm, located 80km west of Geelong, show the 112m turbine, including the blades, nacelle and hub, toppled to the ground. It’s believed to have collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
No injuries have been reported following the turbine’s collapse, with WorkSafe setting up a temporary exclusion zone while an investigation into the collapse takes place.
Read more from NCA NewsWire here.
A wind turbine has collapsed at the Berrybank wind farm in Victoria’s southwest. Picture: Supplied - Tom Flanagan
'Disgusting' act amid Queensland floods
Criminals have taken advantage of evacuation orders in areas of Far North Queensland rocked by the death of two people, leaving police “disgusted”.
Residents in Ingham, Railway Estate and Rosslea were evacuated as the state was smashed by deadly floods, with a 63-year-old and 82-year-old woman both losing their lives in and around Ingham.
Queensland Police are now investigating reports of property damage and looting across the suburbs.
Townsville Superintendent Chris Lawson said he was “disgusted” by the behaviour and assured the community 24-hour patrols were being conducted.
“The Queensland Police Service has zero tolerance for stealing, especially during a disaster,” Superintendent Lawson said.
“I am disgusted by these reports of people in our community taking advantage of this weather event and the devastation it has caused across our region.
“As we move into the recovery phase, police will continue to target offenders and hold them responsible for their actions.”
Read more from NCA NewsWire here.
- Tom Flanagan
Bad news for Elon Musk in Australia
Sales of Teslas have dropped significantly in Australia and around the world in a worrying trend for Elon Musk. And while EV sales have stuttered overall in Australia, increased competition in the market has not boded well for the EV giant.
According to date from the Electric Vehicle Council, Tesla sales in January fell 33 per cent compared to this time last year. The 739 Tesla sales last month are the lowest since July 2022.
It's unclear if Musk's role within the Trump administration has anything to do with declining sales. He was accused last month of performing a Nazi salute during Trump's inauguration.
- Tom Flanagan
Boy, 15, charged with murder
A 15-year-old boy will face a child's court today charged with murder after a pizza shop owner was allegedly stabbed in Sydney's west.
Sonmez Alagoz, 58, was found with a stab wound to his chest near his store in Kingswood on Tuesday night and later died in hospital.
Several teens, including two 13-year-old girls, were arrested and later released before a 15-year-old boy was arrested and charged with his murder, NSW Police say.
Police say Alagoz was a well-known member of the local community.
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