Morning everyone. An “aggressive and experienced” team of spies has been set up by a foreign government to target influential Australians for secrets, Australia’s spy chief has revealed, adding that they recruited a top politician who “sold out their country”. We have the full story, plus Lidia Thorpe accused of using “reprehensible” language, a huge proposed shake-up in the electricity industry (which could save you money), and the Matildas romp into the Olympic tournament.
Australia
World
McConnell to step down | Mitch McConnell will step down as Republican leader in the US Senate in November amid fierce speculation about the 82-year-old’s health after recent scares in public.
Texas fire | The second-largest wildfire in Texas history continues to rage and has consumed more than 500,000 acres in the state’s Panhandle area. Further north, normally frigid states are seeing one of their warmest winters in memory.
Funeral rites | Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s funeral will be held on Friday in Moscow but his allies accused the Kremlin of blocking their attempts to organise a bigger event.
Google error | Google’s chief executive has described some responses by the company’s Gemini artificial intelligence model as “biased” and “completely unacceptable” after it produced results including portrayals of Nazi soldiers as people of colour.
Family album | The acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz has teamed up with Ikea to produce a series of 20 pictures from seven countries with the theme of family, showcased at Paris fashion week.
Full Story
The alleged murders of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies
Catie McLeod and Jordyn Beazley discuss the ongoing investigation into the killings of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, and the fractured relationship between police and the LGBTQ+ community.
In-depth
Airbnb has faced rising anger that its business model is contributing to the housing crisis in Australia and all over the world by taking long-term rentals and turning them into short-term lets for weekends and holidays. So our data expert Josh Nicholas trawled through the data to find the real picture. About 100,000 properties are used for short-term letting – or 1-2% of all homes. But he finds that might be an oversimplification.
Not the news
“Three-quarters of it is just completely idiotic and stupid. And then maybe 15% is like, ‘Oh?’. And then the rest is pretty interesting,” says the avant garde artist Laurie Anderson as she discusses the results of her attempts to generate an AI conversation with her late partner, Lou Reed. Before a live stream event in Adelaide next week, she tells Water Marsh about how she’s “100%” addicted to the experiment.
The world of sport
Olympic football | Michelle Heyman scored four goals as the Matildas belted Uzbekistan 10-0 in Melbourne last night to claim their place in the Paris 2024 tournament.
NRL | Rugby league is preparing for its American revolution this weekend with a double-header showcase game in Las Vegas – but can the game conquer the States?
Formula One | Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has been cleared after an investigation into allegations of inappropriate controlling behaviour by a female member of staff, but star driver Max Verstappen remains silent on the matter.
Media roundup
The South Australian government has labelled Snowtown murder accomplice Mark Haydon “dysfunctional and dangerous” ahead of next week’s application to him kept behind bars, the Advertiser reports. Radio host and former federal senator Derryn Hinch wants to run for Melbourne mayor, telling the Age that people “used to be proud of this town”. And the Central Western Daily celebrates the fixing of a pothole near Orange which it claims is “Australia’s biggest”.
What’s happening today
Canberra | Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos Jr to address parliament. Bayan Australia, an alliance of progressive Filipino organisations, will protest outside.
Queensland | Findings of the inquest into the disappearance of Marion Barter are published.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
