Good afternoon. Another Liberal MP has broken ranks over the party’s opposition to the Indigenous voice to parliament. Julian Leeser, the shadow attorney general and shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, resigned from the Liberal frontbench today, saying the “time has come for a voice”.
In other news, Julian Assange has received a major shot of support with 48 Australian politicians signing an open letter urging his extradition to the US be scrapped. And are AI news readers the way of the future? “Fedha” the virtual news presenter debuts in Kuwait.
Top news
Julian Leeser quits Liberal frontbench over voice | Although the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, accepted Leeser’s resignation, he said “his position is at odds with the overwhelming majority of the Liberal party members in our party room”. The Indigenous affairs minister, Linda Burney, welcomed the news, saying Leeser chose “principles ahead of politics”.
Australia-China progress on barley | China has “agreed to undertake an expedited review” of its tariffs on Australian barley, according to the federal government. In return, Australia has agreed to temporarily suspend its challenge against the tariffs through the World Trade Organization dispute process. Beijing imposed the tariffs at the height of diplomatic tensions in 2020. In a separate move likely to anger China, the US and the Philippines have today launched their biggest military drill in decades in the South China Sea.
Open letter for Julian Assange | Australian MPs and senators from across the political spectrum – including 13 from Labor – have warned that the pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder “set a dangerous precedent” for press freedom and would damage the reputation of the US.
Toxic water’s role in Menindee fish kill | The release of dark toxic blackwater may have contributed to the worst mass fish kill in living memory, researchers claim. Millions of animals were found floating dead on the Darling-Baaka river near Menindee last month, potentially contaminating the local water supply, with some residents experiencing rashes after showering.
Dog attack on six-year-old | A girl is in a serious condition in hospital after being mauled by a dog south of Brisbane over the Easter long weekend. The girl is receiving care at the Queensland Children’s hospital for significant abdominal, chest and shoulder injuries.
Northern Ireland firebomb | Masked men can be seen in this video firebombing a police vehicle in the city of Derry. There were no casualties, and the attack comes on the eve of US president Joe Biden’s visit to Belfast.
Israeli troops kill Palestinian teenager | A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli troops during a raid in a West Bank refugee camp. Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has reversed a decision to fire his defence minister, Yoav Gallant, after the latter’s criticism of the far-right government’s controversial judicial reforms.
AI news presenter in Kuwait | “I’m Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with artificial intelligence at Kuwait News.” The media outlet has plans for Fedha to read online bulletins.
US journalist wrongfully detained in Moscow | So declares the US government. The state department officially designated Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter imprisoned in Russia, as being wrongfully detained, signalling that Washington views the espionage charges against him as bogus and that he is being held as a hostage.
In video
Bacteria resistant to available antimicrobial medications, known as superbugs, are threatening the future of medicine and farming. Science journalist Donna Lu explains how we got here, what a post-antibiotic future could look like, and what is being done to solve the problem. Watch this four-minute video.
What they said …
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“My resignation as a frontbencher is not about personality, it’s about keeping faith with an issue that I have been working on for almost a decade.” – Julian Leeser
In numbers
The rental market is particularly grim if you’re an essential worker. Even those on higher pay, such as teachers and firefighters, would have to spend 58% of their average pay on rent – well above the 30% threshold for rental stress to afford the average capital city rent.
Before bed read
You’re driving your teenager home from school when they open up to you about their vaping. What started off as an occasional puff of an e-cigarette has turned into something more serious.
“I was curious and just wanted to try it,” they say. “All my friends were doing it and I wanted to do it too.”
But now they are vaping more often and getting anxious when they can’t access their vape. They want to quit but they aren’t sure how. Here are some practical tips to help your teen stop vaping.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: ORA. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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