BRIEF – ME! – DAILY NEWS BRIEFING
In today’s briefing update, The headlines are: The Australian Tourism board has called on the government to lure visitors back after bushfires cost tourism A$1 billion.
In the US, despite repeatedly saying no there was no US causalities during last week’s attack on an Iraq base housing US troops – the US now says 11 troops were hurt.
‘No Arabs Please’ said a job rejection email at a prestigious architect firm in Germany. A screenshot of the email has gone viral and ignited outrage online.
Christopher Tolkien, the son of “Lord of the Rings ” author has died aged 75. Tolkien edited much of his father’s work and provided detailed maps of Middle-earth.
In the UK, a rare coin has been bought by a private collector for £1 million – setting the UK record.
Entertainment, Harvey Weinstein’s legal team wants his rape trial moved out of New York City due to media circus.
All this and more in today’s news briefing – A daily roundup of all the news headlines that you need to know, summarised as part of WTX News Briefing.
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Australian tourism industry seeks urgent help as costs of bushfires grow
Arab News says the Australian bushfire crisis has so far cost the tourism industry almost A$1 billion. The tourism body has called for urgent help from the government to lure visitors back.
Industry bosses were due to meet with Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham on Thursday as storms and heavy rain bought some respite from months of deadly bushfires across Australia’s east coast.
The fires have razed bushland across an area the size of Bulgaria and have hit several coastal towns at the height of the profitable summer season.
“People have basically stopped travel,” Simon Westaway, executive director of Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) said. “And that’s absolutely understandable: human nature kicks in.”
Read the full story on Arab News
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11 US troops wounded in last week’s Iran attack on Iraq base
France24 says at least 11 American troops were injured in an Iranian attack on an Iraqi base where American soldiers were deployed, US Central Command has said. The news comes as a shock as the US have repeatedly said there were
no US causalities.
“While no US service members were killed in the Jan. 8 Iranian attacks on al-Asad Air-Base, several were treated for concussion symptoms from blasts and are still being assessed,” US Central Command said in a statement.
At the time of the attack, most of the 1,500 US soldiers at the base had been hidden away in bunkers, after an advance warning from superiors.
Read the full story on France24
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‘No Arabs please’ Job rejection sparks racial controversy in Germany
RT News reports an architecture firm sent a blunt response to an Egyptian job applicant, sparking controversy online. 
Egyptian-born architect Yassen Gabr recently applied for a vacancy at GKK+ Architekten, a prestigious Berlin-based firm. The company’s website boasts of its ethnically diverse workforce.
Gabr recently posted a screenshot of his rejection letter which read “no Arabs please.”
The company told DW that the incident was a “misunderstanding” and that the message was “cut short” and “taken out of context.”
Read the full story on RT News
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Christopher Tolkien, son of ‘Lord of the Rings’ author, dies at 95
CNN says Christopher Tolkien, the son of “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien, has died at 95. 
Tolkien was his father’s literary executor, editing much of the author’s work published posthumously after his death in 1973, including “The Silmarillion.”
He also provided detailed maps of Middle-earth – which readers have referenced over the years as they journeyed alongside Frodo Baggins in his quest to destroy the One Ring.
“Christopher’s commitment to his father’s works have seen dozens of publications released, and his own work as an academic in Oxford demonstrates his ability and skill as a scholar,” Tolkien Society Chair Shaun Gunner said in a statement. “We have lost a titan and he will be sorely missed.”
Read the full story on CNN
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Collector pays UK-record £1m for a rare coin
BBC News says an Edward VII sovereign has become the first UK coin to be bought for £1m. 
The new owner described the chance to buy it and bring it back from the US as a “once in a lifetime opportunity.”
The coin is one out of six which never went into mass production owing to Edward’s abdication in December in 1936.
It only has a face value of £1 but is now the UK’s most valuable coin.
The 22-carat cold sovereign – a type of coin which has not been struck for general circulation since 1932 – is just 22mm in diameter and weighs 7.89g making it just fractionally smaller and lighter than a pound coin.
Read the full story on BBC News
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Weinstein demands rape trial is moved out of New York City
Sky News says Harvey Weinstein’s lawyers are trying to get the disgraced movie producer’s rape trial moved out of New
York City after claiming his case has turned into a “media and entertainment circus.”
Weinstein’s legal team say a “carnival-like atmosphere” has taken hold during eight days of jury selection in his case, making it impossible for him to get a fair trial in his hometown.
The submission to the court came just hours after supermodel Gigi Hadid was cut from the list of potential jurors in Weinstein’s trial.
Read the full story on Sky News
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