Good afternoon. A Queensland police officer has been photographed in a selfie with Ben Roberts-Smith and Zachary Rolfe while holidaying in Bali.
Beneath the social media photo, Rolfe appeared to comment: “Just a couple of cops/murderers and war criminals Havin a lovely afternoon in the sun”.
Queensland police say “inquiries will be made” in response to questions about whether the post complies with the force’s social media guidelines.
Top news
Court win for traditional owners over Woodside | The fossil fuel giant Woodside’s plan to conduct seismic blasting in the controversial $16.5bn Scarborough gas development has been stopped indefinitely after the federal court found it had not properly consulted traditional owners. “I want my mob back home to be empowered by this day today,” Mardudhunera woman Raelene Cooper said. Meanwhile, AFL club Fremantle Dockers have ignored a fan campaign to end its partnership with Woodside, extending the fossil fuel sponsorship until 2025.
Sri Lankan cricketer cleared of rape | A Sydney district court has acquitted Danushka Gunathilaka, 32, of raping a Tinder date by allegedly removing his condom without her consent. The judge found that the alleged victim, who cannot be named, was an intelligent witness who did not deliberately give false evidence, but was motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavourable light.
Catherine King blocked information being sent to Qatar inquiry | The transport minister – who controversially rejected the Qatar Airways request to add extra flights to Australia – has blocked bureaucrats in her department from providing a Senate inquiry with information about her diary and scheduled meetings. The Senate select committee on bilateral air agreements has been examining meetings King held with the former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka in early 2023, after King had received a brief from her department about the Qatari request.
Multicultural communities supporting the voice | Multicultural communities are natural allies of First Nations people due to a shared experience of racism, a Ballarat forum heard. And Barrie Cassidy writes on the importance of the younger vote in the upcoming referendum.
Second GOP debate | Republican candidates called out Donald Trump’s absence at the second GOP presidential debate, held in California. There were also a lot of bad jokes. Here are the five takeaways from the debate, and our panel looks at the winners and losers.
Trump’s business empire could collapse after ruling | Donald Trump’s real estate empire could collapse “like falling dominoes”, experts believe, following a New York judge’s ruling that the former president’s business fortune was built on rampant fraud and blatant lies. According to Michael Cohen, his former attorney and fixer, Trump is already effectively “out of business” in New York.
Stuck in space for more than a year | A Nasa astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts have returned to Earth after being stuck on the International Space Station for just over a year. What should have been a 180-day mission turned into a 371-day stay after their original ride was hit by space junk. Watch the video.
Palestinians sceptical over potential Israel-Saudi deal | Palestinian negotiators are wary that normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia would not result in meaningful concessions towards peace or ending the 56-year-old occupation of East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
In pictures
This aerial shot taken in Tokyo is one of 10 winners – from 509,612 entries – in the largest annual photo competition run by photo printing firm Cewe. See the other winning shots.
What they said …
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“The only fighting I’m doing is for a better future for all Australians, using words, patience, understanding and acts of love and solidarity.” – Thomas Mayo, yes campaigner
Mayo was responding to provocation from the no supporter and boxer Anthony Mundine, who recently said he wanted to “beat [Mayo] up real good because he needs to be taught a lesson”. After Anthony Mundine’s comments were reported by the Daily Mail, the no campaign leader Warren Mundine tweeted a screenshot of a Daily Mail Facebook post of the article with a boxing glove emoji alongside the caption: “I want to see that!!!”.
The language was criticised by the Labor minister Murray Watt.
In numbers
A French report produced its findings after more than 18 months of hearings and reviewing millions of videos on the biggest international pornography sites.
Before bed read
Brisbane is “going off” as its two main football teams, the Broncos and Lions, face off in their respective grand finals this week. Read about the Brisbane buzz, and a look at five classic Magpies v Lions AFL games.
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: RANG. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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