Good afternoon. “Embarrassing”, “beyond disappointing” and a “massive humiliation” are some of the sharp responses to the Victorian government’s extraordinary decision to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Premier Daniel Andrews cited a cost blowout to $7bn as the main reason for pulling the event, which was to be held in various regional cities in the state. Sporting organisations were swift to condemn the decision, while other Australian states were quick to rule out jumping in to take up the Games.
It’s the latest in a string of cost-saving measures by the Victorian government to pay for its massive ‘Covid debt’, which have included flagged cuts to public health and pausing the Melbourne airport rail project.
Top news
RBA fears economy slowing | The Reserve Bank opted to leave the official interest rate unchanged at the July board meeting in part because of fears the economy is slowing more than it expected. The RBA’s meeting minutes pointed to concerns “that the squeeze on many households’ finances could result in consumption slowing more sharply than implied by the current forecasts”.
Anger at no campaign | Constitutional expert and Indigenous voice supporter Prof Greg Craven is “absolutely furious” at being quoted in the no campaign’s official essay, and he says Peter Dutton’s office ignored his request not to be included. Craven accused the no side of “deeply misleading” conduct and of writing an “embarrassing” essay, and is considering a complaint to the Australian Electoral Commission.
Nuclear waste defeat for federal government | Traditional owners opposing the federal government’s plan for a nuclear waste dump on their land in South Australia have had a major win, with a court ruling the facility can’t be built.
Queensland considers killing dingo over K’gari attack | Rangers in Queensland have yet to decide whether to destroy a “high risk” dingo that attacked a woman jogging near a beach on K’gari on Monday, amid reports from locals that the animals’ behaviour has changed. “That’s obviously a consideration that will be made by rangers in conjunction with traditional owners,” the state’s environment minister, Leanne Linard, said. “It is a significant step to euthanise a dingo.”
Rome braced for record heat | The heatwave gripping the northern hemisphere is being acutely felt in the Mediterranean, with temperatures expected to hit as high as 43C in Rome – smashing its previous record of 40.5C set in August 2007. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic pond in the US, Phoenix is expected to break a record for the length of a heatwave – the desert city is experiencing its 19th straight day of temperatures of 110F (43.3C) or more.
Grossly overpaid Tesla directors | Tesla Inc’s directors will return US$735m (A$1.08bn) to the company to settle claims they grossly overpaid themselves in one of the largest shareholder settlements of its kind. The settlement does not affect the US$56bn (A$82bn) compensation package of Elon Musk, which is being challenged by shareholders in a separate lawsuit that went to trial last year.
2007 iPhone sells for US$190,000 | Did you once possess a 4GB first-generation iPhone? The model, originally bought for US$599 (A$878), sold at auction for US$190,372.80 (A$278,998) – 300 times its original sale price.
US sends more forces to Persian Gulf | The US is sending additional fighter jets and a warship to the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to increase security after Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships. The latest deployments come after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait this month, opening fire on one of them.
In pictures
A month of floods, fire and heatwaves from Rome to Chile – check out this photo gallery of extreme heat and weather around the world.
What they said …
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“This decision [to cancel the Commonwealth Games] is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts.” – John Pesutto, Victorian Liberal leader
In numbers
It’s day two of US-China climate talks in Beijing, and it got off to a good start with China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, calling US envoy John Kerry “our old friend”. Read our analysis of the talks.
Before bed read
There’s a new Alzheimer’s drug – donanemab – which has been regarded as a significant triumph. What is the impact of this new drug? Our science editor takes a closer look.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: SHES. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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