
Morning everyone. We lead today with revelations from former staff at Hancock Prospecting about the mining company’s “bizarre” internal culture, including yearly corporate requests for workers to heap praise on owner Gina Rinehart.
We take a look at the devastating drought that is hitting farmers in South Australia and Victoria, with no sign of rain on the radar.
Overseas, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has challenged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet with him for direct peace talks – as Pope Leo used his first Sunday address to call for an end to hostilities.
Australia
‘Barer by the day’ | Drought conditions in SA and Victoria are worsening, leaving rural communities in the dust. Farmers have cut stock numbers and are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on feed.
High praise | Insiders at Australia’s biggest private company – Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting – have lifted the veil on what they describe as a “bizarre” culture within the organisation that includes annual requests to thank Australia’s richest person.
Labor ructions | Dumped cabinet minister Ed Husic has promised to be “constructive” from the backbench, despite calling Labor deputy leader Richard Marles a “factional assassin” in a fiery interview.
Analysis | The rapid rise in advertised rents grabs headlines but it is only a small part of the market, explains Patrick Commins – and one expert says for many people there is no rental crisis at all.
Gladys: A Musical Affair | A musical about the former New South Wales premier’s political career is a crowd-pleaser – if they are happy to settle for jokes that are convenient rather than clever, Cassie Tongue writes.
World
Russia-Ukraine war | After a series of diplomatic flurries, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy has challenged Russian president Vladimir Putin to meet with him in person for peace talks in Istanbul; Pope Leo has used his first Sunday address to call for peace in Ukraine.
Kashmir tensions | India and Pakistan are each claiming victory after a ceasefire was declared over the weekend, bringing the two nuclear-nations back from the brink of war.
Tariff talks | The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has said trade talks with China under way in Geneva are intended to “de-escalate” tensions between the two superpowers.
Air Force Plus One | Donald Trump is reportedly ready to accept a luxury plane described to be a “palace in the sky” being offered to the US president as a gift from Qatar’s royal family.
Diplomacy | Iran and the US have ended a latest round of talks on a surprisingly upbeat note, despite the two sides appearing far apart on the issue of a uranium enrichment program on Iranian soil.
Full Story
Gina episode 7: Mythmaking
Gina Rinehart’s father, Lang Hancock, is well known as a pioneer of the iron ore industry in Australia but few realise he started his mining career on a smaller scale and digging for a different substance – blue asbestos.
Hancock and his partner started the mining operation at Wittenoom in the 1940s before selling it to another company, CSR, which mined the area for 20 more years. Wittenoom has become synonymous with an immense tragedy that unfolded upon thousands of the people who lived and worked there due to exposure to asbestos fibres. In this episode of Gina, we interrogate some of the stories her family chooses to celebrate – and others they don’t.
In-depth
Our feature essay looks at freedom of choice in Trump’s America. Over the first four months of his administration, Trump has been eagerly promoting the expansion of choice in Americans’ economic lives. That’s especially the case when it comes to their role as consumers. In their political lives, though, it’s a different story: the president and his administration have been busy instituting new restrictions on both the possibilities on offer and the picking itself.
Not the news
Julian Kingma travelled Australia photographing the lives and deaths of people who accessed assisted dying, and those who care for them. To mark the release of his new book, The Power of Choice, he talks with Andrew Stafford about how a year of chronicling end-of-life stories made him think differently about death.
Sport
AFL | Jesse Hogan fed off a hostile crowd as the GWS Giants breached Geelong’s fortress again, Jonathan Horn writes.
Football | Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham side were punished 0-2 by Crystal Palace; Trent Alexander-Arnold was booed by Liverpool fans as Arsenal fought back to earn 2-2 draw; Barcelona saw off Real Madrid in a seven-goal thriller to close in on the La Liga title.
Cycling | Dane Mads Pedersen has reclaimed the Giro d’Italia pink jersey with a stage three sprint win.
Cricket | The IPL will resume “soon”, says the BCCI, after the India-Pakistan ceasefire; Australia’s cricket community is mourning the death of batter and Ashes hero Bob Cowper.
Media roundup
A new report has found that Victoria needs 80,000 new homes in the next decade to start fixing its social housing crisis, ABC News reports. Expectant mothers in NT have been left in limbo and are living with “real fear” amid private maternity ward closures, NT News reports. Fans of Australian acting legend Barry Humphries will have their chance to secure his art for themselves in an auction of pieces from his Sydney home, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
What’s happening today
Politics | Prime minister Anthony Albanese is expected to announce the Labor government’s new cabinet lineup, and the Nationals will vote on their leadership.
NSW | A hearing is scheduled in Sydney as a uranium miner challenges a government decision not to renew Jabiluka minerals lease.
Sign up
If 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.