Good morning. At the Olympics, a relay team led by Ariarne Titmus and Mollie O’Callaghan has dominated the marquee 4x200m freestyle event to take gold – and set a new Olympic record. Earlier, Jemima Montag had a late surge to take bronze in the 20km race walk. And the Simone Biles show continues with the US gymnastics superstar winning her second gold of the Paris Games with a dazzling all-round performance.
In our Degrees Devalued series: critics claim that the dependence of Australian universities on international student fees has fuelled an unstable business model and a culture of “revenue, profit and competition” – as the institutions struggle to make up for lost government funding.
And the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and others have been freed in the biggest prisoner exchange between Russia and the west since the cold war.
Australia
Degrees Devalued | There are alarm bells over Australian universities’ financial dependence on international students, as critics say they have become trapped in an unstable business model.
Allergies | Australian researchers are feeding daily doses of peanut powder to babies aged under 12 months with allergies in a Nationwide Adapt program hoping to achieve allergy remission.
Vaping alarm | Cannabis vapes in Australia containing synthetic opioids are sparking calls for better access to anti-overdose drugs, as doctors sound the warning over the presence of potentially deadly ingredients.
Welfare | Consumer watchdog the ACCC has joined calls for a crackdown on predatory businesses using Centrepay to cause financial harm to welfare recipients, including Indigenous Australians.
Praiseworthy | The 73-year-old Waanyi writer Alexis Wright’s epic novel continues to sweep the literary prize pool, winning the prestigious $60,000 Miles Franklin literary award.
World
Prisoner swap | The US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been freed from Russian custody in the biggest exchange of prisoners between Russia and the west since the cold war. The Wall Street Journal hailed its “day of great joy” as efforts to free their reporter succeeded and Joe Biden called the exchange a “feat of diplomacy”.
Middle East crisis | Hezbollah’s chief says conflict with Israel is in a “new phase” after recent assassinations. What’s next for Hamas after the killing of their political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran?
US politics | Kamala Harris says the US election is about “two different visions” for America; Democrats will introduce a new bill to the Senate declaring that presidents do not have immunity from criminal conduct.
Taiwan raids | Police have broken up the largest illegal pornography ring in Taiwan’s history, in an operation targeting Chuangyi Sifang, an online platform that shared child sexual abuse images.
Antartica | Ground temperatures across great swathes of the southern ice sheets have soared an average of 10C above normal over the past month, in a near record heatwave.
Full Story
Newsroom edition: the culture wars being waged around the Paris Olympics
More than 10 million people around Australia have tuned in to experience the sporting highs and lows of the Olympics. And while there are always controversies, the games in Paris this year have been sucked into a culture war. Bridie Jabour speaks with Mike Ticher and Josephine Tovey about why some on the right have turned the Olympics into a moral panic.
In-depth
With a state election looming and the unofficial campaign in full swing, the Queensland “youth crime crisis” or “epidemic” has become a totemic issue. Labor and the Liberal Nationals are pushing plans to address community concern. However, new data released by the Queensland Police Service shows that youth crime rates in the state are at near-record lows. So why the “tough on crime” election talk?
Not the news
Alice Robinson’s If You Go entwines the intimate and the dystopic, in the vein of her previous two works of fiction, but she dials both modes up a notch here. This ambitious novel – which follows a mother who wakes up in the future without her children – wrestles with complex existential questions. What would you do with a second chance at life?
The world of sport
Olympics | The Australian relay team stormed to a new 4x200m relay Olympic record, taking the gold medal in style. Jemima Montag scooted home with a late flourish to win Olympic bronze in the 20km race walk.
Football | Tony Gustavsson leaving the Matildas is in the best interests of all parties after their early Olympics exit, writes Joey Lynch.
Boxing | Angela Carini abandoned her Olympic bout after just 46 seconds against Imane Khelif in a fight that sparked huge controversy.
Media roundup
The impact of extreme online content on teenagers is set to be scrutinised with NSW set to be the first state to hold a parliamentary inquiry into violent pornography, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Residents of a flooded retirement village in Melbourne’s north-west face being marooned in homes rendered unsellable after a new report rejected a government buyback scheme, reports the Age. One single person has made a whopping 1,475 complaints – 94% of the total number – about aircraft noise from Hobart’s airport, reports the Mercury.
What’s happening today
ACT | A public hearing is scheduled in Canberra for the parliamentary inquiry into the operations of the “big four” consultancy firms.
NSW | The trial of Robert and Anne Geeves, accused of the murder of Amber Haigh, continues in the supreme court.
NT | The Garma festival, Australia’s biggest gathering of First Nations politics and culture, begins today.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
