Speaker 1: Today's biggest news from The Australian. I'm Christinamio with the
Speaker 1: Front's afternoon headlines. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram
Speaker 1: has lost billions of dollars in profits as bills from
Speaker 1: multiple lawsuits stack up. Metas operating income fell to eighteen
Speaker 1: point eight billion US dollars in the last quarter, a
Speaker 1: figure the tech giant's chief financial officer, Susan Lee said
Speaker 1: would have been much higher if not for the three
Speaker 1: point four billion Australian dollars its racked up while defending
Speaker 1: multiple lawsuits. The company also spent about half that amount
Speaker 1: laying off eight thousand staff. In May. Australian mining billionaire
Speaker 1: Andrew Twiggy Forest is suing Meta over scam advertisements that
Speaker 1: used his likeness to allegedly fleece Australian Facebook users of
Speaker 1: their life savings. Plus, an American court recently found Meta,
Speaker 1: along with YouTube, which is owned by Google, liable for
Speaker 1: social media addiction. Meta has indicated it will appeal that decision.
Speaker 1: The government will wind back the so called widow's tax
Speaker 1: announced by Jim Chalmers in this year's federal budget. The
Speaker 1: Treasurer announced on budget night people who inherit property from
Speaker 1: a spouse wouldn't have access to negative gearing, which has
Speaker 1: been scrapped for new investments, but draft legislation released on
Speaker 1: Tuesday says widowers, divorces, and victims of domestic violence will
Speaker 1: be able to negatively gear properties they previously owned with
Speaker 1: a partner or spouse. That means they can use property
Speaker 1: expenses to reduce their taxable income. The draft legislation will
Speaker 1: now be subject to a two week consultation period. The US, Iran,
Speaker 1: and Oman are reportedly close to an interim agreement that
Speaker 1: would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That's the vital shipping
Speaker 1: route through which twenty percent of the world's crude oil
Speaker 1: flowed prior to the eruption of hostilities between the US
Speaker 1: and Iran in February. American outlets report the White House
Speaker 1: is aiming to announce the agreement in the next day
Speaker 1: or so. Passengers flying with Jetstar will have to cough
Speaker 1: up as much as fifty two dollars if they want
Speaker 1: to put their carry on luggage in the plane's overhead lockers.
Speaker 1: The Quantus partner airline will start charging the new fee
Speaker 1: from February, a move it says puts it on a
Speaker 1: level playing field with other low cost carriers around the globe.
Speaker 1: Overhead storage will cost twenty five dollars on domestic one
Speaker 1: way flights and up to fifty two dollars for international flights.
Speaker 1: Passengers who pay will be given priority boarding and a
Speaker 1: weight limit of ten kilos. Travelers who don't pay for
Speaker 1: the privilege of storing their bags in overhead lockers can
Speaker 1: bring one underseat item like a handbag, backpack or laptop
Speaker 1: for free. Check out those stories live right now at
Speaker 1: the Australian dot com dot au and come back to
Speaker 1: the front first thing in the morning for our look
Speaker 1: at the bombshell report sending shockwaves through Victorian politics. That's
Speaker 1: right here Thursday morning.