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Germanwings plane crash
French authorities say 150 people have died after Germanwings flight 4U9525 from Barcelona to Düsseldorf crashed in the southern French Alps.
Follow our rolling coverage for the latest updates.
There were 144 passengers - including two babies and 16 schoolchildren - and six crew on board. As well as 67 Germans and 45 Spanish, foreign minister Julie Bishop has confirmed there were two Australians on board.
What happened to flight 4U 9525? An unexplained descent began about 45 minutes into the flight, and in eight minutes the plane dropped sharply from its cruising altitude of 38,000ft to 6,000ft. This is what we know so far.
The first aerial footage shows countless pieces of debris strewn over a wide area as rescue teams scoured the crash site. The plane’s black box has been found, and authorities hope it will help the investigation proceed more quickly.
Full coverage of the crash of Germanwings flight 4U9525
NSW election
Labor leader Luke Foley has accused Mike Baird’s Coalition government of secrecy after it was revealed the NSW treasurer had met officials from Chinese power company State Grid Corporation over the sale of the NSW electricity network.
The National party faces losing heartland seats in the bush as coal seam gas and mining have given Labor and the Greens a foot in the door in northern rivers seats, writes Gabrielle Chan.
The NSW Electoral Commission is taking action against individuals and organisations, including unions, that it considers have failed to properly declare donations in the lead-up to the state’s election.
Follow our full coverage of the NSW election here.
Australian news and politics
In speech to the Adelaide submarine summit today, Labor leader Bill Shorten will suggest Swedish designers be included in the competitive tender process as he calls for “a bipartisan solution the gridlock”.
Follow that story and all the news from Canberra - including metadata legislation debate - in today’s politics live blog with Katharine Murphy.
A senior cabinet minister has dismissed as “ridiculous” reports criticising Tony Abbott for the use of an RAAF jet to fly to Melbourne, where he attended a birthday party for a major Liberal donor.
A report to be released today shows science and mathematics employs 7% of the total workforce and directly contributes $145bn a year to the Australian economy, with that figure rising to almost $300bn if flow-on impacts are considered.
Leaked transcripts from the Moss review reveal Nauru at risk of ‘dramatic meltdown’, with fears of an uncontrollable riot at the Australian-run detention centre for asylum seekers, and an immigration department looking for someone to blame.
Around the world
Three buses and a truck collided head-on in Peru, killing dozens and triggering a horrific pile-up on the country’s main coastal highway.
China has executes three people for the mass stabbing attack that killed 31 people at Kunming railway station last year.
In a newly released video, George Zimmerman says that he does not feel guilty for Trayvon Martin’s death, the unarmed 17-year-old he shot and killed three years ago.
After Barbados announced it will replace the Queen with a president, who will be next to give the Queen her marching orders?
Greece has pledged to pull together a comprehensive list of reforms by the start of next week, in an attempt to unlock fresh funds before Athens runs out of cash in April.
One last thing
Evidence of the largest asteroid impact zone on Earth has been found in the Australian outback.
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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