Good afternoon. In a rare Oval Office address the US president, Joe Biden, has urged Americans to support tens of billions of dollars of funding for Israel and Ukraine. He said he would send an urgent funding request to Congress, which is expected to be roughly $100bn over the next year.
Uncertainty around the number of people killed in the blast at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza continues, with a leaked US intelligence document estimating there were probably 100 to 300 people killed. The document stressed the assessment may evolve, according to excerpts seen by several media outlets on Thursday. The number is lower than the 471 deaths that health authorities in the Hamas-ruled enclave originally described.
Top news
Australia rules out cancelling Chinese company’s lease of Port of Darwin | Australia has moved to repair ties with China before the prime minister, Anthony Albanese’s trip to Beijing, continuing a Chinese company’s lease of the strategically important Port of Darwin.
Athletes get rushed Australian citizenships ahead of 2024 Olympics | The Australian government has fast-tracked the citizenship of three athletes from South Africa, Russia and the US, in an effort to boost the nation’s chances of winning gold medals at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
First Nations groups reject Peter Dutton’s royal commission call | In a joint statement, more than 100 First Nations advocacy groups have accused the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, of “political point-scoring” and “demonising” communities after he called for a royal commission into alleged child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities.
Controversial US dog trainer cancels Australian tour due to backlash | US-based dog trainer and YouTube star Augusto Deoliveira cancelled his planned visit to Australia after backlash from animal rights activists. But the trainer, better known as Dog Daddy, has said he will not be abandoning his tough approach to training.
Labour overturns huge Tory majority to win byelection | In the UK, Labour has overturned a near 20,000-vote Conservative majority in Tamworth. The victory will further bolster predictions the party stands to win a large majority at the next general election.
NSW police approve pro-Palestine march | Organisers have said they expect up to 10,000 people to attend Saturday’s pro-Palestine march from Town Hall to Belmore Park after NSW police approved the event. NSW police have said they have “more than 800 police ready to go” for the rally.
Indigenous boy, 16, dies after being found unresponsive at WA prison | An Aboriginal teenager has died in a Perth hospital a week after being found unresponsive inside a maximum security prison that is holding more than a dozen young detainees.
Berlusconi heirs weigh up the fate of worthless art collection | The heirs of the late Silvio Berlusconi inherited billions from his empire – but the former Italian PM also left them with more than 25,000 artworks, which are mostly worthless. Berlusconi spent an estimated $33m on the works, buying the majority from late-night shopping channels in his quest to become a top collector.
Trump’s ex-lawyer pleads guilty in Georgia election case | Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Sidney Powell, charged alongside the former president for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election in the state of Georgia, has pleaded guilty just days before her trial was scheduled to start.
Full Story
Newsroom edition: where does the EV high court case leave Labor’s strategy?
Two electric car enthusiasts have taken the government to court and won. They were fighting a controversial Victorian tax that charged EV owners for every kilometre they drove.
Gabrielle Jackson speaks to Guardian Australia editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, about what this court decision means for electric vehicle take-up in Australia.
What they said …
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Our union is a sloppy public experiment. It is a sloppy public experiment in unconditional love.
This is how Will Smith described his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith in an emotional speech after she revealed in her memoir the pair had stopped living together in 2016. Read more here.
In numbers
Australia’s live music scene for small to medium gigs has shrunk by one-third over the past three years. Read more here.
Before bed read
As cruising has grown in popularity – so have the issues that come with it. The 218 cruise ships sailing around Europe last year emitted more sulphur oxides than all the continent’s cars combined. The financial benefit to their destinations is hotly contested – and some Mediterranean ports are considering bans.
So can a small group of activists convince ports to drop cruises? Read more here.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: WHIP . You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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