Morning everyone. The unity of the Coalition – and its climate policy – will be in the spotlight again today after Andrew Hastie said last night that he would quit the frontbench team if Sussan Ley sticks to her policy of backing net zero emissions.
Kim Beazley has defended the Australian War Memorial’s decision to exclude a book about Ben Roberts-Smith from its literary prize; a scam weight-loss drug has been exposed as just watery saline solution; Gulf states are pleading with Donald Trump to rein in Israel; and pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall has opened Australia’s account in Tokyo.
Australia
Marschall medal | Armand Duplantis’s world record rightfully stole the spotlight at the pole vault in Tokyo last night, but Australia’s Kurtis Marschall (above) cheered on his rivals in the process of winning an excellent bronze medal with a new personal best.
Hastie threat | Andrew Hastie says he would quit the shadow frontbench if the Liberals remain committed to a net zero by 2050 policy, spelling more trouble for Sussan Ley as the opposition leader looks to steady a rocky ship. “I’ve nailed my colours to the mast,” he told ABC Radio Perth.
‘For emerging authors’ | Kim Beazley has defended the Australian War Memorial’s decision to not award a prestigious literary prize to journalist Chris Masters for a book about alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith.
Exclusive | Youth crime has dropped in regional New South Wales by more than 12% over the past two years, according to new data, with even sharper falls in crime hotspots including the area that takes in Moree.
Exclusive | A scam weight-loss treatment marketed to Australians as an “oral solution” that mimics the effects of Ozempic contains nothing more than a watery saline solution similar to eye drops, analysis has revealed.
World
Gulf plea | Gulf leaders meeting at an emergency summit in Qatar have called on the Trump administration to use its leverage to rein in Israel after the unprecedented Israeli attempt last Tuesday to assassinate Hamas negotiators in Doha. But the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, threw full US support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem and warned that the intended recognition of Palestine by US allies, including Australia, would make peace less likely.
Starmer blow | A senior adviser to Keir Starmer has resigned after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago. It’s yet another blow to the UK prime minister’s authority and came after Downing Street condemned Elon Musk for using “dangerous and inflammatory” language after the tech billionaire told far-right protesters in London that “violence is coming” and “you either fight back or you die”. Pope Leo meanwhile criticised Musk’s reported $1tn pay deal.
‘Tinder Swindler’ | A convicted con artist who was the focus of the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler has been arrested in Georgia on Interpol’s request, officials have said.
TikTok deal | The Trump administration has struck a framework agreement with China on transferring TikTok to US-controlled ownership. China’s economy showed further signs of weakness last month as it comes under strain from Trump trade wars, with factory output and consumer spending slowing.
Titanic match | Divers have retrieved a first batch of objects from the Titanic’s sister ship that sank off the coast of Greece in 1916.
Full Story
Rising sea levels and soaring heat deaths: will climate action match the risks?
Nour Haydar speaks to our environment editor Adam Morton about how the government will respond after the national climate risk assessment. Adam has also written an analysis for us on how the report lays out the perils of the climate crisis, but judges the hard part will be setting an emissions target.
In-depth
After a survey showing that two-thirds of Australian women have experienced gender bias or discrimination when seeking healthcare, Grace Jennings-Edquist suggests six ways to tackle the problem. They include being willing to seek a second opinion, researching your condition and taking notes in meetings.
Not the news
Our bird of the year poll is back! And what’s more, you can create your own bird of the year masterpiece by downloading and printing our colouring PDFs featuring previous winners and runners-up in the bird of the year vote. Check them out here.
Sport
Athletics | Excitement is building ahead of Gout Gout’s debut at the world athletics in Tokyo tomorrow, but he was taking it in his stride at a media event yesterday, writes Jack Snape. The American Olympic 1500m champion, Cole Hocker, was disqualified for “jostling” in the semi-final last night.
AFL | Our buildup to the weekend’s preliminary finals begins with a look at where Friday’s MCG clash between Hawthorn and Geelong will be won and lost.
Cycling | World Tour cycling teams may refuse to race against Israel-Premier Tech after multiple protests during the Vuelta a España and Spain’s prime minister called for Israel to be banned from international sport.
Media roundup
Queensland’s attorney general is going to court to prevent the early release of the teenage killer of Emma Lovell, the Courier Mail claims. Jacinta Allan wants thousands more Chinese students to study in Victoria despite federal restrictions, the Herald Sun claims. And the Australian predicts our new defence treaty with PNG could face a constitutional challenge by the country’s opposition.
What’s happening today
Sydney | There’s a directions hearing in the NSW supreme court class action against the Liberal party over last year’s botched council elections.
Canberra | Kurt Campbell, chair of the Asia Group (and former Biden adviser), is speaking at the National Press Club.
Pacific | PNG is celebrating 50 years of independence from Australia.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
