Good afternoon. A powerful 8.8-magnitude earthquake, one of the strongest ever recorded, has triggered a series of tsunami warnings and evacuation orders stretching across Japan, the US west coast and parts of the Pacific. The shallow quake hit near Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula on Wednesday, with reports of waves up to 4 metres high in the remote region.
Japan issued evacuation warnings and the country’s weather agency said the first waves measuring 30cm had reached the eastern coast of Hokkaido. In the US, tsunami waves had hit the state of Hawaii, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said, warning that urgent action should be taken to protect lives and property. A tsunami warning was also issued for parts of the Alaska Aleutian Islands, and a watch for portions of the US west coast.
The PTWC included Australia in its advisory, saying waves of 0.3 to 1 metre were possible along the coast, though the Bureau of Meteorology says there is currently no tsunami threat. Follow the latest updates on our live blog.
Top news
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Thailand accuses Cambodia of violating fragile ceasefire for a second time
In video
After months of waiting for the right conditions, an Australian-designed and made orbital rocket launched from a spaceport in north Queensland. Built by the Gold Coast-based Gilmour Space, the Eris rocket lasted 14 seconds before crashing in a giant plume of smoke – but the operators say they are happy with the launch attempt.
What they said …
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“We’re not here to sledge the Wiggles. My government is pro-Wiggles.” – Anthony Albanese
The prime minister dodged a political Hot Potato after the communications minister, Anika Wells, said the Wiggles had approached the government to argue for YouTube to be exempt from the under-16 ban. Wells stressed it was the Wiggles’ management – the “black skivvy”, or “Big Wiggle” – who made the appeal, not the performers themselves. She said they told her that YouTube was a video platform, not a social media platform – though the government was ultimately not won over.
Reader callout: With YouTube now included in Australia’s under-16 social media ban, we want to know: how do your children use YouTube and what impact has it had on them?
In numbers
Inflation dropped to 2.1% in the year to June, down from 2.4% in the year to March. Jim Chalmers called the figures “stunning” and “very encouraging news” but won’t predict whether it’ll result in a rate cut at the next Reserve Bank of Australia board meeting. There are still plenty of signs of cost-of-living pressures, even if the trajectory is a positive one – rents were up 4.6% versus a year ago (from 5.5% in March), electricity 8.1% and insurance 3.9%.
Before bed read
By the 30s, Katharine Hepburn was box office poison. Then she made The Philadelphia Story
As a stuck-up socialite tangled in a love triangle, Hepburn delivers one of the most memorable screwball heroines – and we can’t help but love her for it, writes Jamie Tram.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: MART. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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