Hello. It's Tuesday, March 22. Here's what you need to get caught up today.
One thing to know: day two of the inquest into the death of Hannah Clarke and her three children heard from the first responders
The accounts were pretty harrowing, so just a warning the following lines have information you might find distressing. Tap here to skip.
One of the first police officers on the scene, Angus Skaines, became emotional describing how Ms Clarke was determined to provide officers with a detailed description of the attack.
"She was significantly burned and in a lot of pain," he told the court.
"She was able to tell me a lot of details of what had happened… [She was] incredibly brave."
Off-duty paramedic Stephanie Ring said despite Ms Clarke having severe burns to 97 per cent of her body, the 31-year-old's main concern was for her children.
"[She yelled out], 'My babies are in the car, my children are in the car, why didn't I just stay in the car with them?'"
The car had been doused in petrol by Ms Clarke's estranged husband Rowan Baxter, and "exploded in flames", according to witnesses of the February 2020 attack.
Ms Clarke's three children — Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3 — died in the back seat.
We heard a lot about the Boeing 737 flight that crashed in China
Rescuers have not been able to find any survivors from a China Eastern plane which crashed in southern China yesterday. There were 132 people on board.
Footage appeared to show the plane's last moments as it nosedived into a mountainous area in the country's worst air disaster in nearly a decade.
"The plane fell vertically from the sky," state-run Beijing Youth Daily quoted a local resident as saying.
The news Australia is searching for
- Shane Warne memorial tickets: Details have been released about the state memorial service for cricketer Shane Warne. The service will be held at the MCG at 7pm on March 30. Free tickets to the service will be available from 3pm on Tuesday.
- Usman Khawaja: Australia has resumed on day two at 5-232, with Pakistan aiming to quickly knock over the tourists' tail in the first innings of the deciding Test in Lahore. Our ABC sports bloggers say yesterday belonged to Usman Khawaja, whose sublime 91 (219) was his third score above 90 this series.
News you might have missed
- A top EU official has described the siege of Mariupol in Ukraine as a "massive war crime" as refugees from the town say it has been almost 90 per cent destroyed.
- New South Wales MP Gareth Ward has been charged with the alleged historical sexual abuse of a 27-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy. He has been told by Premier Dominic Perrottet to resign immediately.
- Former federal Labor MP Craig Thomson has pleaded guilty to domestic violence-related charges involving his former wife on the NSW Central Coast.
One more thing: prices and interest rates are on the move
Here's what you need to know:
- Inflation is officially 3.5 per cent;
- Wages have increased by only 2.1 per cent (average weekly wage);
- Vegetable prices have increased by 6.1 per cent;
- Beef and veal have increased by 8.1 per cent;
- And petrol has gone up 32.3 per cent.
Economists expect the Reserve Bank to announce its first lift in official interest rates in more than 11 years by June at the latest, and financial markets are betting the cash rate will reach 2.5 per cent.
What does all of this mean? With wages growth remaining sluggish, and the cost of living increasing, most workers are falling behind.
That's it for now
We'll be back later on with more.
ABC/wires
