Morning everyone. Anthony Albanese’s long-awaited meeting with Donald Trump has happened at last. He won the president’s endorsement of Aukus, the pair signed a $8.5bn critical minerals deal, and Trump praised Albanese as a “great leader”. But diplomats held their breath as the topic of Kevin Rudd came up.
We’re also looking at whether Australia has the skills and personnel to run the Aukus fleet – if there ever is one – plus Gaza officials claim Palestinian prisoners were mutilated by their Israeli captors and Prince Andrew allegedly tried to hire “internet trolls” to hassle Virginia Giuffre.
Australia
Bank bust | Unions and shareholder activists have criticised a decision by ANZ to award bosses bonuses worth more than $26m over three years despite multiple regulatory breaches for charging dead people, ignoring hardship notices, failing to deliver promised returns and misleading customers.
‘Really significant’ | Donald Trump has strongly endorsed the Aukus pact and praised the Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, as a “great” leader, but the president’s navy secretary says the US may seek to “clarify some ambiguities” in the nuclear submarine deal. The pair also signed a $8.5bn critical minerals deal as the US continues its trade war with China. Trump also said America had no greater friend than Australia but, in a less harmonious moment, he turned to ambassador Kevin Rudd and told him: “I don’t like you.”
Coalition crunch | Coalition backbenchers are preparing for a showdown on net zero next Friday as pressure mounts on Sussan Ley’s opposition to resolve its position, with speculation more MPs could join Barnaby Joyce in quitting if the policy isn’t dumped.
Senator’s ‘plot’ | Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price plotted with a school principal to oust the chief executive of an Aboriginal land council she defamed in a media release, a court has been told.
Breastfeeding plus | Women who breastfeed have greater protection from breast cancer, according to research published in Nature which backs up centuries-old observations that started with the recognition of higher cancer rates among nuns.
World
Exclusive | At least 135 mutilated bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel to Gaza had been held in a notorious detention centre already facing allegations of torture and unlawful deaths in custody, officials from Gaza’s health ministry told the Guardian.
Amazon outage | A major internet outage has hit dozens of websites and apps around the world, including Snapchat, Roblox, Signal and Duolingo, with users reporting trouble getting online after problems at Amazon’s cloud computing service.
Ukraine plea | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for the delivery of an additional 25 US Patriot anti-missile batteries amid the rapidly escalating air war with Russia, as it became clear that Donald Trump had once again tacked sharply towards Moscow.
Louvre embarrassment | The French government is under increasing pressure over museum security as police continue to search for thieves who took seven minutes to steal priceless jewels from the Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum.
Prince’s ‘trolls’ | Prince Andrew’s team tried to hire “internet trolls to hassle” his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, while he hid behind the “well-guarded gates” of Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers, according to allegations in her posthumous memoir. We review the book here and our royal expert reckons that by dealing with the “Andrew problem”, King Charles has made it easier for William to ascend to the throne without that baggage.
Full Story
Australian Gaza flotilla activist on his time in a notorious Israeli prison
Surya McEwen joins Nour Haydar to talk about what it was like being inside Israel’s Ketziot prison and why he continues to fight for Palestine.
In-depth
Many worry that Australia has paid way too much for the Aukus submarines, while others fret that they may never be delivered. But another big problem looms: how Australia will find and train the skilled personnel to keep a fleet of submarines running. Ben Doherty takes a deep dive.
Not the news
A new book by interior designer and heritage consultant Kristine Slawinski and graphic designer Phil Campbell showcases the fabulous Victorian, art moderne and mid-century styled interiors of Melbourne’s city centre buildings, drawn from archival and present-day images. Our gallery provides a trip back through time.
Sport
Formula One | Max Verstappen’s surge is piling pressure on Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and bringing back memories of the team’s collapse in 2007.
Football | Jürgen Klopp says it is “theoretically possible” that he could one day return as Liverpool manager when asked on a podcast. It comes as his old team’s fourth straight defeat exposed defensive shortcomings.
Cricket | England thrashed New Zealand in the second T20 last night with centurion Phil Salt paying tribute to new white-ball skipper Harry Brook.
Media roundup
The future of private services at the Northern Beaches hospital will be decided by the NSW government today, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Outback Queensland could swelter in temperatures not seen for 30 years as a heatwaves bakes the state, the Courier Mail reports.
What’s happening today
Technology | The Ceda AI leadership summit in Brisbane.
Canberra | National Press Club address by Prof Veena Sahajwalla, materials scientist, engineer and inventor.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
