Good morning. Some of Australia’s most loved native species, including the koala and the hairy-nosed wombat, are on the brink; our new Last chance series is charting the extinction crisis that the federal election is ignoring. The first species we’re highlighting is the Carnaby’s cockatoo, great flocks of which used to blacken the skies over Perth but now cast barely a shadow.
We also report that Victoria police will pay $90,000 to a climate protester who claimed their head was slammed into a wall, door and the ground in 2019. Plus: global markets are set to nosedive further this week as Donald Trump’s tariffs kick in and world leaders weigh up retaliatory action.
Australia
Exclusive | A climate protester who alleged their head was repeatedly slammed by members of Victoria police’s riot squad in Melbourne in 2019 has reached a $90,000 settlement with the state.
Election 2025 | Ben Britton has been dumped as a Liberal candidate for the NSW seat of Whitlam after it was revealed he had expressed controversial views on fringe podcasts before his preselection.
Fact check | Peter Dutton claims cutting at least 80,000 new international students across Australia will make it easier for you to find a rental property. Is there any evidence to back up his claim?
Flight drama | A Jordanian national has been charged after he allegedly attempted to open an emergency exit door on an aircraft travelling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Sydney on Saturday.
Health in a tub | When the world’s oldest person, Spain’s Maria Branyas Morera, died last year at 117, it was speculated that her daily diet of yoghurt had kept her going. But what does the science say?
World
US tariffs | Markets are bracing for a volatile week and analysts are warning of recession in the US, UK and EU as world leaders weigh up retaliation to Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs. Trump officials are giving conflicting lines on tariffs amid markets turmoil.
Exclusive | Trump’s national security adviser accidentally included the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic in a Signal group chat about plans for US strikes in Yemen after he mistakenly saved his number months before under the contact information of someone else.
Marine Le Pen | The French far-right leader has told supporters in Paris she will fight the “political ruling” that could bar her from the next presidential election after her conviction for embezzling funds.
Gaza crisis | Israel has changed its account of the killing of 15 Palestinian medics after phone video contradicted its claims that their vehicles did not have emergency signals on when troops opened fire.
Russia-Ukraine war | It would be unsafe for Russia to restart the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in occupied Ukraine due to “major problems”, claims the company that runs the vast six-reactor site.
Full Story
Gina episode 2: Like father, like daughter
Gina Rinehart’s father helped change the course of Australian history when he lobbied to overturn the ban on iron ore exports in the 1950s. In her own life, Rinehart has made several attempts to gain influence and campaigned successfully against Kevin Rudd’s mining tax. In episode 2 of Gina, Sarah Martin explores the extent to which both father and daughter have influenced governments of the day.
In-depth
Over the past decade, more than 550 Australian species have been either newly recognised as at risk of extinction or moved a step closer to being erased from the planet. So what will it take for national leaders to take the issue seriously? And, asks Adam Morton, is this election campaign the final opportunity to hope for something better? In the first of our Last chance series, we look at the plight of the Carnaby’s black cockatoo.
Not the news
In the latest of our Internet wormhole series, Elias Visontay dives into a website where myriad users debate the stature of the rich and famous. Celebheights.com’s database is derived from quotations, resumes, picture comparisons and in-person encounters. The debates can be fiery and – from the trigonometry of high heels to adjustments for bad posture – the methods are (sometimes) scientific.
Sport
Football | Pep Guardiola was left to rue dropped points as the Manchester derby ended in 0-0 draw; Southampton faces historic Premier League relegation after defeat to Spurs; Rodrigo Muniz bullied past Virgil van Dijk as league leaders Liverpool faltered at Fulham.
Motorsport | Max Verstappen defied McLaren’s duo to win a fourth straight Japanese F1 Grand Prix.
Boxing | Australian Tim Tszyu got his career off the canvas with a stunning fourth round TKO of American Joey Spencer.
Cycling | Tadej Pogačar denied Mathieu van der Poel a record fourth Tour of Flanders, as favourite Lotte Kopecky took the win in the women’s race.
Media roundup
A chance find in a New York video store has prompted the US release of an Australian cult film classic more than four decades after it was made, the Age reports. Lengthy delays to new stock means the NSW government is having to spend up to $40m to keep its decades-old XPT trains running, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Former Tasmanian premier Tony Rundle has been remembered as a “compassionate” and “decent” man following his death at 86, the Mercury reports. New research suggests that combining Indigenous knowledge with modern survey methods could help save the iconic but at-risk Bilby, NT News reports.
What’s happening today
Nationwide | Federal election campaigning continues across the country.
NSW | The energy and water ombudsman is expected to release a report into the rollout of smart meters.
ACT | The Parkinson’s Australia national conference is being held in Canberra.
Environment | The Aussie Bird Count results are set to be released.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
