Good afternoon. The two-decade rule of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan could be decided in a presidential runoff later this month, with neither candidate securing the 50% threshold in today’s election so far to win outright. In another major election race closer to home, opposition parties in Thailand have delivered a crushing blow to the military-backed government, securing by far the largest number of votes.
And after half a century of searching, a shipwreck has been discovered off the Tasmanian coast.
Top news
Turkish election update | The head of Turkey’s election board said early on Monday that Erdoğan, who has attempted to claim victory already, was leading with 49.49%, with 91.93% of ballot boxes opened. Kılıçdaroğlu had 44.49% of votes. Should Erdoğan prevail, the country is likely to see a continued drift towards authoritarianism, but if he loses, it will make for a dramatic turn of events in this key Nato ally.
Thai election results | The liberal Move Forward party and the Pheu Thai party now face the challenge of forming government with parliamentary rules favouring army-backed parties.
Lehrmann’s lawyer fronts inquiry | Bruce Lehrmann’s defence lawyer, Steven Whybrow (above right), was “pissed off” by suggestions that his cross-examination of Brittany Higgins during Lehrmann’s trial had been coached by Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, an inquiry has heard. He also rejected allegations made by the ACT director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, about police interference in the criminal justice process. Lehrmann denies raping Higgins in Parliament House in 2019.
Ocean temperatures ‘off the charts’ | By the end of March, the surface temperature of the world’s oceans was above anything seen in the 40 years that satellites have been measuring it. The record sea surface temperatures suggest the Earth is headed for “uncharted territory” in terms of sea level rise, coastal flooding and extreme weather.
Bestselling Australian author’s book banned in Florida county | Author Mem Fox has become the latest victim of ultra-conservative Florida governor Ron DeSantis, with the writer’s 1988 children’s book Guess What? banned in the Jacksonville county of Duval. In response, Fox’s agent said Duval county “is not important”.
Victoria’s Myki operator loses contract | The Victorian government has dropped NTT Data, the operator of its problem-plagued Myki system for the state’s train, tram and bus networks, with American company Conduent being awarded the ticketing contract.
Tasmanian shipwreck discovery | A CSIRO investigation has confirmed the location of the MV Blythe Star shipwreck almost 50 years after it sank off the Tasmanian coast. The chip capsized on 13 October 1973 while making a routine trip from Hobart to King Island.
Toulouse football homophobia | Several Toulouse players were withdrawn from the squad for the French Ligue 1 game against Nantes on Sunday after they refused to have their names associated with a league-wide gesture of support against homophobia, the club said.
Full Story
How Donald Trump was found liable for sexual abuse
Guardian US columnist Margaret Sullivan discusses the fallout from the E Jean Carroll case. Listen to this 28-minute episode.
What they said …
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“This is a small project. It’s next to five other coalmines. It’s been a mining area for decades. It’s a project that produces metallurgical coal, which is the coal you need for steel making. There’s no renewable energy future that doesn’t have steel in it.” – Tanya Plibersek
The environment minister was justifying her decision last week to approve the Albanese government’s first new coalmine since taking power. The International Energy Agency has called for a halt to new fossil fuel projects if the world is to meet net zero by 2050.
In numbers
The government today pledged $86.5m for a national anti-scams centre, which will enable real-time information sharing on scams between law enforcement, government agencies, banks, telcos and digital platforms.
Before bed read
Thousands of Australian children live with dementia. Now recognition and research offer hope to the families raising children who will forget.
“You mean there’s nothing? There’s absolutely no treatment?” Teresa, who cares for two sons with dementia, recalls saying. Her family became determined to fight as hard as they could for their boys.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: AMPS. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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