Good afternoon. Qantas has reported a record $2.47bn full-year underlying profit, backed by strong travel demand and high ticket prices, while the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has flagged governments will have to grapple with road user charges for electric vehicles in the coming years. Republicans also feuded over Donald Trump on Fox News, while Trump sat down for a rival interview event on X.
Top news
Malka Leifer sentenced to 15 years for child sex abuse | The sentence of the former ultra-Orthodox Jewish principal brings to a close the decades-long fight by sisters Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper for justice after their abuse at the hands of the mentor and mother of eight.
Intergenerational report predicts Australia’s growth to slow | Australia’s growth rate will slow from a long-run average of 3.1% to 2.2%, with lower workforce participation, slower productivity and population growth weighing down economic wellbeing.
Qantas posts record profit of $2.47bn | Qantas soared out of the disrupted pandemic era to post a record full-year profit, backed by strong travel demand and high ticket prices. A “remarkable turnaround” from the $1.86bn loss last financial year, outgoing chief executive Alan Joyce said.
Statue of Tasmanian premier who beheaded body of Aboriginal man to be taken down | The statue of William Crowther will be taken down after Hobart City Council voted in favour of its removal. The biggest opponent to removing the statue, councillor Louise Elliott, missed the vote as she was appearing on Sky News.
Republicans feud over Trump and climate in first debate | The leading Republican candidates for the 2024 US presidential election, minus former US president Donald Trump, debated in Milwaukee as part of a Fox News event on Wednesday night US time. Trump, meanwhile, had his prerecorded video interview with former Fox host Tucker Carlson launch on X (formerly Twitter) five minutes before the event. Trump will also dominate news tomorrow as he surrenders himself to law enforcement in Georgia to be arraigned on charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Australia’s $528m Antarctic icebreaker too big to fit under Tasman bridge to refuel | RSV Nuyin has been refused permission to travel underneath Hobart’s Tasman bridge to refuel, and must instead sail hundreds of kilometres north to another port.
Full Story
Where did all the Antarctic sea ice go?
The floating sea ice around Antarctica is hitting record lows. Scientists have said the dramatic loss of ice this winter is unprecedented, and some are worried they could be witnessing the start of a slow collapse of the delicate southernmost ecosystem.
Guardian Australia environment reporter Graham Readfearn and oceanographer Dr Will Hobbs tell Laura Murphy-Oates about why this melting is happening, and the major knock-on effects for the rest of the planet.
What they said …
“I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT.” – Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie to fellow candidate Vivek Ramaswamy during the Fox News debate on Thursday.
In numbers
Before bed read
There will be much said and written in the coming days about the apparent death of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash just two months after his attempted “march on Moscow”. But aside from the immediate questions about how the crash occurred and who might be responsible, there is also the question on what will happen now to the Wagner Group he led?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: OKES. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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