A quick catch up on today’s top stories…
1) Sydney forced to shutdown beaches after shark ate swimmer in first fatal attack in 60 years
Several Sydney beaches, including the iconic Bondi and Bronte, were shut down on Thursday after a swimmer was killed in a shark attack, the first such fatality at the city’s beaches in nearly 60 years.
A video shared online showed a shark attacking a person on Wednesday afternoon off Little Bay beach, about 20 km (12 miles) south of Australia’s largest city and near the entrance to Botany Bay. Police have not yet disclosed the identity of the swimmer.
Drum lines, which are used to bait sharks, have been set up near the attack site while drones have been deployed as officials search for if the shark is still in the area.
2) Farmer guns down wife, attempts suicide after she reportedly denied him sex
A Ghanaian farmer has been hospitalised with gunshot wounds following a failed suicide attempt after he shot his wife for denying him sex. Charles Soglo, 31, from Adansi Nyakumase in the Ashanti Region attempted suicide after shooting Doris Amoah, 21, who survived the incident.
Takyi Adansi Fomena District Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Yaw Ohene, confirmed the incident to a news correspondent. The suspect has been admitted at the Saint Benito Mini Hospital at Adansi Dompoase and is receiving treatment under strict surveillance.
3) Data shows recent Ukraine outage caused by modest cyberattack
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday it is opening a formal investigation into 416,000 Tesla vehicles over reports of unexpected brake activation tied to its driver assistance system Autopilot.
The preliminary evaluation covers 2021-2022 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles in the United States after the agency received 354 complaints about the issue over the past nine months. NHTSA said the vehicles under review have a advanced driver assistance system that Tesla calls Autopilot that allows them to brake and steer automatically within its lanes.
4) Largest and most valuable blue diamond to come to auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong
It’s the largest and most valuable blue diamond to ever come to auction. And, it’s a recent discovery.
The more than 15-carat De Beers Cullinan Blue diamond was mined in 2021 at South Africa’s Cullinan Mine, one of the few sources in the world for extremely rare blue diamonds. It will be offered in a single-lot auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong this April and is estimated to be valued in excess of $48 million.
5) Embattled Figure skating sensation, Valieva scrambles into fourth place, team mate wins gold
Russian teenager Kamila Valieva shocked the figure skating world by stumbling into fourth place in the women’s single event on Thursday, ensuring the Olympic medal ceremony could go ahead at the Beijing Games.
Her compatriot Anna Shcherbakova took gold with a total score of 255.95. Fellow Russian Alexandra Trusova was second at 251.73 and Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto came third with 233.13. Valieva finished with a total of 224.09.
