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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Martin Farrer

Morning Mail: 10,000 missing in Libyan floods, police racism warning, Biden impeachment bid

Damaged buildings in the Libyan city of Derna
The extent of the damage to the Libyan city of Derna, and the huge loss of life, is becoming clearer. Photograph: Libyan prime minister's press office/AFP/Getty Images

Morning everyone. The effect of floods in Libya caused by bursting dams is becoming clearer – and it’s been described as “disastrous beyond comprehension”, with at least 10,000 missing after flood waters swept through the centre of the city of Derna.

Back home, despite finally supporting Labor’s $10bn housing bill, the Greens are vowing to keep the plight of Australia’s renters high on the political agenda with a similar game of leverage on the government’s “help to buy” scheme. To housing we can add climate as another pressure point for Anthony Albanese, with a poll this morning showing Labor voters think he should be doing more to ameliorate the impact of changing weather.

And in the US, Joe Biden could face impeachment for a “culture of corruption”.

Australia

Images of dolphins and seals caught and killed in shark nets off the NSW coast during the 2022-2023 shark meshing season
Animals caught in shark nets off the NSW coast during the 2022-23 season, as shown in images obtained from the NSW government. Composite: Envoy Foundation
  • Net loss | The New South Wales government has been forced to release graphic images of sea creatures, including bleeding dolphins and drowned seals, that died in shark nets as it pushes ahead with the policy for the coming season.

  • Greens’ vow | The Greens will use their position holding the balance of power in parliament to target Labor’s “help to buy” housing scheme legislation to push their own agenda for a cap and freeze on rents.

  • Climate poll | A majority of Labor voters think the Albanese government is not doing enough to prepare for the impacts of the climate crisis, a poll shows, but fewer voters now think climate change is to blame for extreme weather events.

  • Racism warning | Former Queensland police say a lack of accountability within the service has allowed racism to fester after revelations that officers who joked about “beating and burying black people” have not been punished.

  • Iran oppression | Australia will impose new sanctions on Iranian state media for broadcasting forced confessions, Penny Wong is expected to announce today.

World

Kevin McCarthy talking
Kevin McCarthy is backing an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Photograph: J Scott Applewhite/AP
  • Biden ‘corruption’ | US House speaker Kevin McCarthy has called for an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, saying there is a “culture of corruption” around the first family. Peter Navarro, the former Trump adviser found guilty of contempt of court, says his conviction has everyone in the former president’s White House fearing they face “prison time” .

  • Close race | Winston Peters and his New Zealand First party could be kingmakers after the New Zealand election next month as the latest poll shows neither major party has a decisive lead.

  • Libya disaster toll | Ten thousand people are missing after unprecedented flooding in Libya, the Red Cross said, as the extent of the damage to Derna, the port city where two dams burst over the weekend, became clearer.

  • Cosmetic ‘tourism’ warning | A British coroner has warned of the dangers of having cosmetic surgery overseas at the inquest of a woman who died in Turkey after having Brazilian butt lift surgery.

  • Exclusive | The Metropolitan police chief is being sued over the arrest of the chief executive of Britain’s leading republican movement on the day of the king’s coronation, in what is being viewed as a first test case of new protest laws.

Full Story

Composite for the Voice AMA. Tanya Hosch, Laura Murphy-Oates and Kerrynne Liddle
(L-R) Tanya Hosch, Laura Murphy-Oates and Kerrynne Liddle. Composite: AAP/The Guardian

The voice AMA: yes and no campaigners on ‘division’ and ‘dirty tactics’

Voice no campaigner Kerrynne Liddle and yes supporter Tanya Hosch discuss alleged “dirty tactics”, Peter Dutton’s proposal for a second referendum and whether the voice to parliament could help close the gap.

In-depth

A crude oil terminal in China’s Zhejiang province
A crude oil terminal in China’s Zhejiang province. Photograph: Reuters

The world’s demand for oil, gas and coal will begin to decline this decade in “the beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era, the global energy watchdog says, predicting a peak in 2030. But the International Energy Agency said the downward curve was “not steep enough” to limit temperature rises to 1.5C above pre-industrialised levels. A separate study found that the US accounts for more than a third of the expansion of global oil and gas production planned by mid-century.

Not the news

Composite image of the swift parrot, superb fairywren, Australian magpie (front middle), Willie wagtail and the gang-gang cockatoo
(L-R) The swift parrot, superb fairywren, Australian magpie (front middle), Willie wagtail and the gang-gang cockatoo. Composite: Rob Blakers/Bob Brown Foundation/Getty Images/Alamy

It’s time to look to the trees and skies as polls open again later this month for our popular Australian bird of the year vote. The last winner in 2021 was the superb fairywren, narrowly beating the tawny frogmouth and gang-gang cockatoo in a nail-biting competition. Who will it be this time?

The world of sport

Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard holds a ball during training
Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard has been cleared of rough conduct. Photograph: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images
  • AFL | Brayden Maynard will be able to play in Collingwood’s preliminary final next weekend after he was cleared of a rough conduct charge on Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw. Despite being perennial underdogs, GWS Giants fans are looking forward to their semi-final against Port Adelaide this weekend

  • Tennis | Former world No 1 Simona Halep has been banned for four years for doping, including testing positive for roxadustat at the US Open last year.

  • Cycling | Belgian cyclist Nathan van Hooydonck was taken to hospital after being involved in a car accident at the Vuelta, his Jumbo-Visma team confirmed.

Media roundup

Authorities are racing to prepare homes close to bushland to prepare for the worst fire season for four years, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Teacher salaries have soared five times faster in Australia than across the industrialised world over the past decade, according to the Australian. Queensland’s law preventing the naming of accused rapists will be scrapped from October, the Courier Mail says. The lead story in the Herald Sun is that Collingwood’s Brayden Maynard is free to play in the club’s preliminary final after being cleared of a bump on Melbourne’s Angus Brayshaw.

What’s happening today

  • Media | Findings of the Murdoch referendum accountability project into News Corp’s coverage of the voice referendum, followed by a panel discussion with co-chairs Malcolm Turnbull and Sharan Burrow.

  • New South Wales | Inquest into the death of First Nations man, Brandon Rich, while being restrained by police in Wellington.

  • Canberra | High court judgment on Qantas’ appeal of illegal outsourcing case.

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Brain teaser

And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until tomorrow.

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