Good morning. The west is now supplying Ukraine with a range of military weapons, as six countries accuse Russia of war crimes. Residents in Kyiv have been documenting evidence of possible war crimes at great personal risk. And hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing the conflict are expected to arrive in Australia within the coming days.
Russia has been accused by Britain, the US, France, Albania, Ireland and Norway of war crimes in Ukraine, as Paris claimed Vladimir Putin was only pretending to be interested in negotiating a peace deal. The six nations challenged Russia before a UN security council meeting as the UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said there was now “very, very strong evidence” of war crimes being committed by Russian forces. The US president, Joe Biden, has announced an $800m package of arms to Ukraine as the west steps up military aid against invading Russia forces. The west’s military assistance to Ukraine began cautiously with helmets and flak jackets but now includes drones that can destroy Russian tanks and artillery from 80km away. The west has repeatedly refused to enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine but is now supplying a range of powerful weapons.
There is “nowhere on Earth” where people are more at risk than the isolated region of northern Ethiopia, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has urged the world not to forget the humanitarian crisis in Tigray. The UN has been unable to get emergency food supplies into Tigray since mid-December. And while in recent weeks medical supplies have started to trickle in, after a six-month hiatus, the WHO and doctors on the ground have said the amount arriving is nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the population. Often there is not enough fuel to get supplies to where they need to go. Alluding to the Russian invasion of its neighbour, Ghebreyesus said: “Just as we continue to call on Russia to make peace in Ukraine, so we continue to call on Ethiopia and Eritrea to end the blockade, the siege, and allow safe access for humanitarian supplies and workers to save lives.”
Motor homes intended for Lismore residents whose houses were inundated in this month’s eastern Australia floods are lying empty because linen and water sources have not been organised, while housing “pods” promised by the New South Wales government are yet to materialise. The measures were announced as part of a temporary housing package last week but, three weeks on from the flood, thousands of locals are still living in evacuation centres due to the lacklustre speed of official support. More than 3,600 homes across the NSW northern rivers have been deemed uninhabitable due to floods by State Emergency Services assessors, and the premier, Dominic Perrottet, has said recovery could take years.
Australia
Bundaberg mayor and former Queensland LNP minister Jack Dempsey has described the Morrison government as being “obsessed by coal” and out of step with almost everybody on the climate crisis “except the big polluters”.
Former chief of the defence force Chris Barrie says defence personnel are not allowed to speak out on the national strategic threats posed by climate change without prior approval from Peter Dutton’s office.
About 220 Aboriginal men, women and children were killed in reprisal for the spearing of a prominent pastoralist in Western Australia in 1886, in possibly the biggest and most enduring massacre in WA and Northern Territory history. New research reveals that these reprisals were more widespread than previously thought.
Owners of several hospitality venues in Melbourne have backed the Victorian government’s $246m trial of paid sick leave for casuals, after taking it upon themselves to provide similar benefits to their workers.
The Bureau of Meteorology now says the La Niña event in the Pacific will not break down until late autumn, or almost two months later than originally forecast. So, what’s going on with this La Niña and when will the rainy weather finally end?
The world
Former Honduras president Juan Orlando Hernández should be extradited to the US to face drug trafficking and weapons charges, a Honduran judge has ruled.
Brazilian activists are outraged after Jair Bolsonaro – who has been accused of spearheading a cataclysmic attack on Indigenous rights – was honoured by his own government for his supposedly “altruistic” efforts to protect Indigenous lives.
More than 1,000 police officers and staff in the United Kingdom accused of domestic abuse are still serving in law enforcement, new figures show. Eight out of 10 kept their jobs after the allegations were made, with a small fraction being disciplined or dismissed.
Tropical Cyclone Gombe affected parts of Madagascar, Mozambique and Malawi last week, bringing damaging winds and torrential rainfall. Gombe made landfall in the Nampula province of northern Mozambique on Friday as a category three tropical cyclone with maximum sustained winds of about 120mph and more that 100mm of rainfall in places.
Recommended reads
The wealthy are buying their way out of the climate emergency with elaborate contingency plans. You see it with the PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel buying a very large bolthole in New Zealand, and wealthy Australians buying land in Tasmania to escape the worst ravages of climate change, Brigid Delaney writes. But who wants to live in a country where the poor drown and the rich are saved?
In Rhett Davis’s debut novel, Hovering, Davis skilfully weaves the chaos of life online into a story about a dissolving city and a family on the edge – but is it all a bit too neat?
Barkandji artist Badger Bates shares the story behind the giant steel serpent he has made for the 2022 Sydney biennale, and how it feeds into his wider fight for water rights.
Listen
Australia is heading towards a cost of living crisis. As prices rise, wages are staying the same – or even going backwards for some. And with an election approaching, the incomes of those who can least afford it will be hit hardest. Gabrielle Jackson speaks to head of news Mike Ticher and live news editor Patrick Keneally about rising costs and falling wages.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
This week, Mitchell Swepson did not have a good match against Pakistan. But it was not down to him that chances were not realised.
Our cartoonist on how the veteran striker Bruno Fornaroli’s shock inclusion provides a clear template for any aspiring Socceroo to follow.
Media roundup
Australia is preparing a second package of lethal aid for Ukraine, which is likely to include rifles, ammunition, hand grenades and US-made Javelin anti-armour missiles, the Australian reports. Flooding in northern NSW has caused an oil spill that has blanketed homes in the area, the ABC reports. Demand for staff in the hospitality sector has hit record highs in the past two years, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Sign up
If you would like to receive the Guardian Australia morning mail to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here.
Get in touch
If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com.
Discover Australian Weekend
Every Saturday at 6am, enjoy early access to the best journalism planned for the weekend in one elegant app, plus a curated selection of the week’s news and analysis from Australia and the world.
