Good morning. Nearly 1,500 properties bought using the government’s first home buyers’ 5% deposit scheme have ended up being converted into investments: we dig into the data to find out more.
A drone carrying explosives was found at a German airport. Meanwhile, Ukraine is pleading with its allies for more air defences after Russia pounded Kyiv with ballistic missiles.
Scientists are excited by new pictures of the sun, but worried by the migration of butterflies. And a poll has placed Cathy Freeman at the top of a list of Australia’s most admired sportspeople.
Australia
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Operation Richmond | A new report has highlighted how – via a “staged” meeting and a secret deal – a union boss exerted “extraordinary influence” on the Daniel Andrews government in Victoria.
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‘It shouldn’t benefit the wealthy’ | The government’s 5% deposit scheme for first home buyers has enabled the purchase of almost 1,500 properties that were turned into investments, data shows.
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‘Easy cash grab’ | Jetstar’s new carry-on luggage charge means the airline has joined a growing number monetising basic services in the sky. And: what’s one more humiliating ritual for the masses, James Colley asks.
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Analysis | Ex-NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s brother Jean-Claude was the star witness at the Icac hearings yesterday. It won’t be the last we hear from his family, Anne Davies writes.
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Datacentre stoush | The energy minister, Chris Bowen, has vowed to override states opposing national rules that new AI datacentres are to be powered by renewable energy and not fuelled by gas.
World
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Russia-Ukraine war | Volodymyr Zelenskyy has blamed allies for not delivering air defences fast enough after Ukraine failed to shoot down a single Russian missile in a deadly overnight attack.
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Drone scare | German police deployed a bomb disposal robot after a drone carrying explosives was found at Leipzig airport, causing alarm and the diversion of several flights; the Leipzig drone bomb marks a dangerous escalation for Europe, Dan Sabbagh writes.
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A defining race? | Abdul El-Sayed has won the Democratic primary for US Senate in Michigan; top Democrats are now setting aside their qualms to embrace the progressive leftwing candidate.
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Middle East crisis | Iran says it has agreed the coordinates of a shipping route through the strait of Hormuz with Oman. An Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon has killed one person and injured 11.
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Science | Butterflies around the world are on the move, and their migration reveals the impact of climate change. In other news, scientists are very excited by new high-res photos of the sun.
Full Story
Decoding America: are the Democrats having their own Maga moment?
In our weekly US politics podcast, Jonathan Yerushalmy and Reged Ahmad look at how the Michigan Senate primaries could decide the future of the Democrats. The race has revealed the civil war raging inside the party, as some seek to take it further to the left. Will this schism be the Democrats’ Maga moment, or could it cost them in the midterms?
In-depth
The Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, says rate rises don’t really increase living costs. But the latest data is clear – they very much do. Economics and finance are purposefully confusing but, Greg Jericho writes, people are well aware of how rate hikes affect them.
Not the news
For her new book, It’s Not For You, the Camp Cope bassist Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich interviewed 18 women and gender-diverse artists who have changed the Australian music industry on their own terms, including Amy Taylor, Marcia Hines and Courtney Barnett. The book opens up topics such as motherhood, abuse and respect – and is intended, she says, “for every artist who felt pushed away, or talked over”.
Sport
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Sporting poll | Cathy Freeman leads a trio of women at the top of a list of Australia’s most admired sportspeople, with Ash Barty and Sam Kerr coming joint second.
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Rugby league | The UK Super League is closing in on a gamechanging investment from Australia’s NRL.
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Football | “Fifa Super League”: Gianni Infantino discussed having the governing body’s name on an ill-fated European breakaway; why has football taken so long to rebel against Fifa, Jonathan Liew asks. And: Mohamed Salah has landed in Turkey to sign for Trabzonspor.
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Cycling | Demi Vollering was victorious on stage five of the Tour de France Femmes as Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s defence unravelled.
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Golf | LIV Golf says it has secured a “lead investor” until 2030 – but the future of star names still remains uncertain.
Media roundup
Crew members on Carnival cruise ships have made “horrifying” allegations about their working conditions in an ABC News investigation. Kidnapping has emerged as a major escalation of the violence used in the so-called tobacco war, the Age reports. Documents reveal that taxpayers shelled out for a $50,000-a-year Tasmanian electorate office that nobody ever used, the Mercury reports.
What’s happening today
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WA | A public hearing is scheduled in the inquiry into the NDIS amendment bill in Perth.
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NSW | The trial of Alan Jones continues in Sydney.
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NSW | Public hearings in the royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion continue in Sydney.
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ABS | The Australian Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release its latest international trade in goods figures.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
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