Good morning. Amid “apoplectic anger” over salmon farm protections, we can reveal that environmental groups are pulling back on anti-Coalition attack ads to instead fund a campaign accusing Anthony Albanese of pushing an endangered fish towards extinction.
Canada has called a snap election for 28 April with the PM, Mark Carney, saying Donald Trump has triggered “the most significant crisis of our lifetime”. And Oscar Piastri has shaken off his Australian Grand Prix mishaps by winning the Chinese F1 Grand Prix with a dominant run from pole position.
Australia
Budget looms | Labor has found more than $2bn in budget savings as it spruiks its record in cutting and redirecting former Coalition government spending to fund its agenda. So, what do we know so far?
‘Not on our watch’ | Environment organisations have abruptly suspended advertising campaigns attacking the Coalition’s plan to introduce nuclear power – to instead fund ads accusing Anthony Albanese of signing “the death warrant” of an endangered species.
Track and feud | Queensland will soon announce its third 2032 Olympic stadium plan in four years, with a vision of a new 60,000-seat venue near Brisbane’s inner city. Will this be the plan that sticks?
Measles risk | Experts say Australia could become “fertile ground” for measles to take hold if the disease is brought into the country amid outbreaks in the US and south-east Asia.
Methanol deaths | An alcohol safety campaign targeting young travellers will be launched next month, as the families of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles – who died after drinking tainted alcohol while in Laos – continue to seek answers.
World
Canada to vote | The Canadian PM, Mark Carney, has called a snap election for 28 April – firing the starting gun on a contest expected to focus on the strained relations with the US.
Gaza crisis | Malnutrition is spreading in Gaza, medics and aid workers in the devastated Palestinian territory are warning, as a total Israeli blockade of all supplies enters its fourth week.
Ekrem İmamoğlu | An Istanbul court has formally arrested the city’s mayor on corruption charges, on the day he was expected to receive his party’s nomination to run for Turkish president.
US politics | Democrat Chuck Schumer has defied calls to step down after backing a Republican-led funding bill; Donald Trump’s defiance of court orders is “testing the fences” of the rule of law, Sam Levine writes; Trump’s expansionism threatens the rules-based order in place since second world war, Peter Beaumont writes.
Return to health | Pope Francis has greeted a crowd of pilgrims gathered outside Gemelli hospital in Rome in his first public appearance in more than five weeks, before being discharged from the hospital.
Full Story
The language of whale song
Researchers have discovered that humpback whale song is strikingly similar to human language. Dr Jenny Allen, an expert in whale song structure at Griffith University, speaks with Reged Ahmad about the years of recording, listening and analysing that led to this greater understanding of how humpback whales learn their tune.
In-depth
As you decipher how the budget may alter your life on Tuesday night, politicians will be raking in the cash by wining and dining donors and lobbyists. But with new laws on the cards, this year’s budget night fundraisers – often concealed from the general public – could be something of a final hoorah. Sarah Basford Canales and Henry Belot look at what a $5,000 ticket will and won’t get you at one of Canberra’s budget night soirees.
Not the news
On “straight line missions”, YouTubers across the world are jumping fences, wading through rivers, and almost dying in peat bogs. It’s all completely pointless – and weirdly beautiful. Falling down the rabbit hole of YouTube’s strangest challenge, Miles Herbert discovers how applying the internet tries to bring order to nature’s chaos.
Sport
Motorsport | Australian driver Oscar Piastri has won the F1 Chinese GP – but there was woe for Ferrari as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified.
AFL | North Melbourne finally have their day, Jonathan Horn writes. Could it herald a successful era?
Basketball | Illawarra Hawks clinched a fairytale NBL title after a thrilling finals defeat of Melbourne United.
Cricket | Travis Head did his bit as Jofra Archer was smashed for 76 in the IPL’s most expensive ever bowling spell.
Media roundup
The Australian Army’s Bushmasters could be upgraded to combat the threat of armed drones used to devastating effect in the Russia-Ukraine war, ABC News reports. Amid concerns over cosmetic injectables, thousands of ads spruiking Botox and dermal fillers have breached health advertising laws, the Age reports. The cost of major contracts for two of Sydney’s metro rail projects has blown out by more than half a billion dollars, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Two NT land councils have slammed proposed public housing reforms, calling them “heartless” and “draconian”, NT News reports.
What’s happening today
NSW | A public hearing is scheduled in the NSW parliamentary inquiry into the impacts of harmful pornography.
NSW | A 21-day hearing is due to begin in Sydney in ACCC’s case against Mastercard.
NSW | The Lowy Institute is hosting its Owen Harries Lecture, focusing on nuclear arms in the 21st century.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
