Morning everyone. After trying to calm national nerves with a televised address last night, Anthony Albanese will today map out details of a relief plan for households and businesses amid the ongoing Middle East crisis. We are expecting Donald Trump to shed some light on how he thinks the war might end when he delivers a national address of his own later today.
And, in other news, a New South Wales politician says prison officers eavesdropped on her calls with inmates and it’s countdown to lift off in Florida for Nasa’s first crewed lunar rocket in more than half a century.
Australia
World
Lift off | Crowds are gathering in Florida this morning to witness the first fully crewed Nasa rocket to be launched on a moon mission for almost 54 years when Artmis II blasts off at about 10.30AEDT. Follow it live.
Nato withdrawal? | Donald Trump has said he is “absolutely” considering withdrawing the US from Nato, warning that the matter was “beyond reconsideration” after the refusal of US allies to join the US-Israeli war against Iran. The US president is due to give a prime-time address at midday AEDT, his first prime-time address since the conflict began.
‘Baseless’ ceasefire request | Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim that Iran has asked for a ceasefire “false and baseless”, according to a report on Iranian state television.
Summit of Hormuz | Keir Starmer – perhaps not wanting to be left out of the national address trend – also spoke to the nation. He said the UK needed more ambitious ties with Europe although he stopped short of saying it was because of ructions with Trump over the war. He also said he would host a summit of 35 countries to discuss how the strait of Hormuz could be reopened.
Presidential precedent | Donald Trump became the first sitting president to attend the US supreme court as justices heard arguments over whether he can reverse generations of precedent and deny birthright citizenship to babies born on US soil.
Boat tragedy | The bodies of 19 people have been recovered from an inflatable boat south of the island of Lampedusa in the latest mass drowning of migrants off the Italian coast.
Full Story
Albanese warns Australians that next few months ‘may not be easy’
Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to Nour Haydar about Anthony Albanese’s speech and what it tells us about how our lives could be affected by the war in coming months.
In-depth
It emerged this week that despite the government’s social media ban for teenagers, around seven in 10 children remain on major platforms. Samantha Floreani doesn’t like to say “I told you so”, but she does anyway.
Not the news
Our writers pick their favourite Australian books published this month, including an “indestructible love story” told through the displacement of Palestinians, an “absolute ripper takedown” of the housing crisis by Fiona Wright, and Bonfire of the Murdochs is Gabriel Sherman’s account of the family feud that will never get old.
Sport
World Cup | Italy is in a state of shock after being knocked out by Bosnia, while we look at the 48 countries who have qualified and how they got there. The Socceroos look like having the “group of death” after Turkey qualified to join USA and Paraguay as their opponents.
Athletics | After becoming the youngest athletics world champion in history, 17-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus could also become the USA’s poster boy for LA28.
Cricket | Australia may have humiliated England in the regular Ashes but the old enemy have triumphed in the over-70s version.
Media roundup
Albanese’s address was described as Dame Edna on a bad night in the Australian’s sketch, while the Courier Mail claims Australians were outraged after his “nothing burger” speech. Two private schools are spending more than $5m a year in pay for their large management teams, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Darwin is the only capital city to record faster population growth than last year, NT News reports, as it bucks the national trend.
What’s happening today
Economy | Jobs and trade figures are due at 11.30am.
Sydney | Royal Easter Show opens.
Sign up
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailIf you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or finish your day with our Afternoon Update newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
