Good afternoon. The prospect of a deal to release the remaining hostages held by Hamas appears to have receded after a Hamas official said the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of their conditions meant there was “no chance” of their return.
Netanyahu had earlier dismissed the militant group’s conditions to end the war, which he said included leaving Hamas in power and Israel’s complete withdrawal from Gaza.
A Hamas official said Netanyahu’s refusal to end the military offensive “means there is no chance for the return of the [Israeli] captives”, which are estimated to be 130 in number.
Family members of hostages began a protest outside the PM’s private home in Jerusalem saying they would remain until “the prime minister agrees to a deal to return the hostages”.
Top news
Victorian opposition drops support for treaty | The Victorian Labor government and the Greens have condemned the state opposition’s decision. The Coalition backed a bill in 2022 to start the treaty process with Victoria’s Indigenous people but spokesperson Peter Walsh says “things have changed”.
Cyclone watch issued for north Queensland | A low in the Coral Sea is expected to strengthen into a tropical cyclone over the coming days and make landfall – most likely between Innisfail and Airlie Beach – as a severe category three storm by Thursday.
ABC denies sacking Antoinette Lattouf | The public broadcaster says it will ask the Fair Work Commission to dismiss the former presenter’s termination case, claiming it did not sack Lattouf from her casual role. Lattouf’s lawyer accused the ABC of an “about-face”.
Former News Corp and Daily Mail editor to lead Nine newspapers | Luke McIlveen, who was the founding editor of Daily Mail Australia, has been appointed executive editor of Nine newspapers. McIlveen will oversee the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald mastheads and the Brisbane Times and WAToday digital news sites.
Ron DeSantis drops out of presidential race | The hard-right governor of Florida has ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and endorsed Donald Trump. As our DC bureau chief writes in this analysis, DeSantis put nearly all his eggs in the basket of a “war on woke” and made a series of bad gambles.
Sarah Ferguson diagnosed with malignant melanoma | The Duchess of York has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of skin cancer months after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. A spokesperson for Ferguson, 64, said medics had removed a mole on her body, which tested as a malignant melanoma, during treatment for cancer. Doctors are now working to establish whether it was caught early.
Nasa unlocks canister of 4.6bn-year-old asteroid | The dust samples were collected from the asteroid Bennu by Nasa’s Osiris-Rex mission. Scientists managed to unlock the canister after months of difficulty, allowing the examination of “ingredients” that made planets like Earth.
In pictures
The strange, sweaty, sociable early days of gaming
Back in the early 2000s, multiplayer gaming meant lugging huge PCs to friends’ houses or school halls and connecting them with wires to have Lan parties. Early adopters remember that heady time. Click here to see the photo essay.
What they said …
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“We need to stop looking for areas in which we can be outraged … I think it’s an important day for Australia and I certainly will be participating in all the events.” – Anthony Albanese on Australia Day
The PM said he “respects the views” of those who chose not to participate, including First Nations people.
In numbers
Adam Weir, the CEO of Surf Life Saving Australia, says this figure was above the 10-year average and above the number of drowning deaths at the same time last year.
Before bed read
Modern life can be exhausting. Psychologist, author and fatigue expert Vincent Deary says the answer is to learn how to rest.
Deary has a mantra: work needs rest and rest takes work. We need to take time out to rest so we can heal from extreme exhaustion, chronic illness or unexpected life events – what Deary terms “biographical disruption”. We also need to rest from work and free ourselves from an “audit culture” that pushes us, sometimes, to breaking point. “It’s a skill,” he says of resting – one that nowadays has to be acquired.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: CART. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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