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G20 email data breach
After Guardian Australia’s exclusive revelations on Monday of the embarrassing leak of G20 world leaders’ personal data, the immigration department has announced the creation of an “External Accountability Task Force”.
In another previously unreported data breach almost identical to the G20 leak, the immigration department emailed a visa applicant’s details to the wrong person. But, unlike world leaders, that person was notified and received an official apology.
Scott Morrison says the G20 world leaders’ data breach is “highly regrettable”, and Labor says it’s a “huge embarrassment” for Australia. The shadow attorney general has now asked the commonwealth ombudsman to investigate what he called a “systemic problem” in regards to privacy and data security.
Follow our full coverage of the G20 leaders’ email data breach here
Australian news and politics
Tony Abbott’s personal approval rating has improved slightly according to a recent poll, but he’s still a distant third as preferred Coalition leader, and most people say he’s doing a poor or very poor job leading the country.
Gladys Berejiklian and Gabrielle Upton will become the first women in NSW history to hold the positions of treasurer and attorney general after Mike Baird announced his cabinet reshuffle.
The federal government’s annual national pollutant inventory, which was released this week, shows emissions of the fine particle PM10, linked to linked to respiratory illnesses and heart disease, has doubled in the past five years.
Around the world
A French magazine insists a passenger’s video of the final seconds inside the cabin of Germanwings flight 4U925 before it crashed into a mountainside in the French Alps is authentic.
California’s governor has ordered the first mandatory water restrictions in the US state’s history as it languishes in a fourth year of drought, exacerbated by scorching temperatures.
The US government has given the company formerly known as Blackwater more than $500 million to combat the Afghan drug trade. The result? A 60% increase in opium poppy cultivation.
Arkansas is the latest US state to enact a ‘Religious Freedom Restoration Act’, seen as anti-gay by many, which will become law even if the state’s governor refuses to sign the bill.
Fighting has erupted throughout the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, with observers claiming Islamic State has entered the area, less than 10 miles from the Syrian capital’s most secure hub.
One last thing
Jeremy Clarkson has become the latest celebrity to join the Guardian’s campaign for fossil fuel divestment, saying being sacked by the BBC was a ‘wake-up call’.
If you missed it, we had our own roundup of some of the best Australian April Fools’ gags – including the NT News’ threat to replace croc coverage with serious news – but our international counterparts were a bit late catching up on the game. Here’s their roundup of the best April Fools’ Day jokes from around the world.
Have an excellent day – and if you spot something I’ve missed, let me know in the comments here or on Twitter @earleyedition.
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