Morning everyone. Nearly 500 people have been killed after Israel intensified its war on Hezbollah with bombing raids on more than 300 targets in Lebanon; the day’s death toll is the country’s highest since the end of the 1975-90 civil war. We have reports from our team across the Middle East.
At home, an Essential poll backs the government’s stranded housing bills; our podcast looks at the Murdoch family’s real-life Succession battle; and Carlton skipper Patrick Cripps takes out a second Brownlow.
Australia
Frankcom plea | The family of Zomi Frankcom, the Australian killed in an Israeli airstrike, says aid workers “can’t be brave at any cost” as the Australian government launches a new international push to protect humanitarian personnel.
Essential poll | More than twice as many voters support parliament passing the federal government’s two stranded housing bills as want them blocked, including a majority of Greens voters, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.
Home banker | The assistant competition minister, Andrew Leigh, says he is “concerned” Australians are paying the highest costs in the world to advertise their homes for sale online after a Guardian Australia investigation revealed the site’s market power.
Medical claim | A medical device that was intended to replace a patient’s jaw had “inherent defects” and caused increased pain, nerve damage and limited jaw movement, according to a court claim.
Rate reckoning | The Reserve Bank is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged for a seventh meeting in a row after its meeting today, according to a survey of 45 economists by Reuters.
World
Lebanon strikes | Lebanon suffered its highest daily death toll since the end of the 1975-90 civil war after Israeli airstrikes hit alleged Hezbollah targets in the country, killing at least 492 people according to the health ministry at time of writing. Iran’s president accused Israel of fanning the flames of conflict in the region, but Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his military was changing the “security balance” along its northern border. Some Israeli media also reported that he was considering a plan to force Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza and put Hamas militants under siege.
Course of action | The man accused in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump at a golf course in Florida left behind a note saying that he intended to kill the former president and had a list of dates and venues where Trump was to appear.
Called out | A report by the international trade union body has accused companies such as Amazon, Tesla and Meta of undermining democracy by backing far-right political movements, funding and exacerbating the climate crisis and violating labour rights.
Letby evidence | The parents of a newborn girl have told the inquiry into the murder of babies at a British hospital they were disgusted to find her “covered in her own faeces” while under the care of the nurse Lucy Letby.
Nuclear option | US researchers have modelled how the world might deal with a huge oncoming asteroid and concluded that a nuclear blast could save the planet.
Full Story
The secret Succession battle for the Murdoch empire
Behind closed doors in a courtroom in Nevada, Rupert Murdoch is trying to change the terms of a longstanding family trust to give his favoured eldest son, Lachlan, full control of his media empire after his death. Associate professor Andrew Dodd tells Nour Haydar how the outcome of the case could determine the future direction of News Corp and Fox News.
In-depth
In a much-anticipated speech in Sydney yesterday, Peter Dutton continued to refuse to release costings for the Coalition’s plan to build seven nuclear plants, saying he would announce details “in due course” before the next election. He tried to shift the terms of the debate to the cost of Labor’s renewables policy but, as our political editor Karen Middleton writes today, he “relied on warm, fuzzy assurances” rather than “cold, hard facts”.
Not the news
The Tank, a repurposed oil storage facility in the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s new extension, has seen a few exhibitions since it opened in 2022. But in Angelica Mesiti’s The Rites of When, an audiovisual feast inspired by seasonal cycles of farming and the nightly starscape, “it has met its match”, according to Dee Jefferson, with “an artwork so meticulously conceived and constructed for this idiosyncratic space that it couldn’t exist elsewhere”.
The world of sport
AFL | Carlton’s Patrick Cripps won his second Brownlow Medal last night with a record 45 votes, taking out the individual prize ahead of Nick Daicos.
NRL | Hooker Harry Grant has emerged as a key force in making his Melbourne Storm team a chance when they take on the Roosters in a preliminary final this Friday.
Football | Rodri suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Manchester City’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday and may miss the rest of the season as a result, handing the champions a serious blow.
Media roundup
The construction industry claims South Australia’s infrastructure shortcomings are holding back housing development plans, the Advertiser says. Queens Wags, baby bumps and new couples starred on the Brownlow Medal red carpet last night, the Herald Sun reports.
What’s happening today
Economy | The RBA board rates decision is due at 2.30pm, followed by a media conference with Michelle Bullock.
Healthcare | NSW nurses and midwives will stage a 24-hour strike.
Tasmania | An inquest into the deaths of four drivers at a rally event at Hobart magistrates court.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
