Good afternoon. Ben Roberts-Smith – Australia’s most decorated living soldier – has lost his defamation case against the Nine newspapers after one of the most closely watched Australian trials of recent years.
The ruling has been lauded as a victory for journalism, with Nick McKenzie – the Age and Sydney Morning Herald’s investigative reporter and one of the journalists named in the lawsuit – tweeting “Justice” after the verdict was read out.
Read our coverage and tune into a special Full Story podcast episode on the trial’s outcome tomorrow morning.
Top news
Pauline Hanson v Mehreen Faruqi | Another high-profile trial took place today with the Greens senator seeking $150,000 in damages from the One Nation leader, who wrote in September 2022 that Faruqi should “pack [her] bags and piss off back to Pakistan”. Faruqi claims the tweet breached the Racial Discrimination Act, but Hanson argued in court it was not based on her Senate colleague’s skin colour or ethnic origins.
BHP underpaying workers | The mining giant has admitted to underpaying almost 30,000 workers more than $430m after incorrectly deducting leave from staff entitlements for more than a decade.
Australians moving to Townsville | The north Queensland military and mining hub is drawing Australians from all corners of the continent, becoming the most popular destination for internal migration. The city saw a 500% increase in internal migration in the 12 months to March 2023.
Australia’s embarrassing backdown on Russian embassy | The Australian government has lost a federal court bid to cancel the lease for a new Russian embassy site in Canberra. The court found the government’s attempt was “invalid and of no effect”.
Children die in Sudan orphanage | At least 60 infants, toddlers and older children have perished – mostly from a lack of food and from fever – over the past six weeks while trapped in an orphanage in Khartoum (above) as fighting raged outside. The government are working on moving 174 remaining Australians in Sudan to safety.
Iranian regime targets environmentalists | Seven members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation are languishing behind bars, with environmental campaigners urging their release. The group has been “really instrumental” in trying to save the near-extinct Asiatic cheetah.
Danny Masterson guilty of rape | The 47-year-old actor (pictured) best known for his role in That ’70s Show was found guilty of two counts of rape in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role. The jury of seven women and five men voted 8-4 in favor of conviction. Masterson was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.
Endometriosis breakthrough | Sydney researchers have made a world-first leap forward that could change the treatment of endometriosis. The scientists have grown tissue from every known type of endometriosis, observing changes and comparing how they respond to treatments. “By knowing the type of endometriosis, we will be able to predict whether a patient is likely to experience an aggressive, invasive form of the disease and offer treatment to preserve her fertility,” a researcher said.
In pictures
Cartoonist Fiona Katauskas’s response to Philip Lowe’s suggestion that more people live in share houses to help deal with the rental crisis.
What they said …
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“I think that is just basically saying to everyone, look, ordinary people, move in with your parents and grandparents whilst we’re going to say nothing about those CEOs … that actually are the ones that could ease cost of living tomorrow … but they’re choosing not to because in the end they want to see their bonuses.” – Sally McManus responding to Philip Lowe’s share house remark
In numbers
“It’s going up while wages aren’t,” says Sam O’Leary, who graduated in 2015 and has a student debt of $28,410 with the indexation increase. “It’s a massive cash grab and we’re just falling behind.”
Before bed read
Missing from And Just Like That’s first season, Kim Cattrall will cameo in season two of the reboot. Yes, it’s just one scene – but she can do a lot with a single line. According to Variety, Kim Cattrall will briefly reprise her role in the sequel series to Sex and the City – in a phone conversation with Sarah Jessica Parker’s character, Carrie Bradshaw.
Here are 10 of her finest moments in the hit show.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SON. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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