Morning everyone. As a year marked by a bruising campaign for the voice to parliament nears its end, Anthony Albanese has seen his personal approval rating slip into negative territory for the first time since winning power. Our latest poll shows that voters think his government should be doing more about cost-of-living pressures, housing affordability and the climate crisis. We’re also looking at an Australian Christian group fighting claims it was linked to a grisly Kenyan death cult, and some better news from the Israel-Hamas war.
Australia
‘Mark of the beast’ | An Australian End Times Christian group is fighting claims in a Kenyan parliamentary report that it was linked to the leader of a doomsday cult (pictured) responsible for the deaths of more than 400 people, many by starvation.
Essential poll | More voters disapprove of Anthony Albanese’s performance than approve for the first time in his prime ministership, our survey shows, with 47% of respondents (up four points) disapproving of the prime minister’s performance and 42% approving (down four). Two-thirds think Labor is not doing enough to combat cost-of-living pressure and only 20% think Labor should go ahead with the Coalition’s stage-three tax cuts.
Exclusive | Australia’s most disadvantaged children are achieving at a level up to five years behind their most affluent counterparts, according to analysis of Naplan results.
Vaping countdown | The health minister, Mark Butler, will today announce the timetable for a crackdown on vaping, with imports of disposable single-use vapes to be banned from January.
Weather warning | Heavy rain, severe thunderstorms, damaging winds and large hail will wash across eastern Australia this week, but experts say the deluge will not do much to subdue the bushfire season expected to be the worst since 2019’s black summer.
World
Gaza extension | A deal to extend the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas by two days has been agreed, according to Hamas and mediators Qatar, after intensive talks as the clock ticked towards the resumption of hostilities.
Riot arrests | Irish police are expected to make sweeping arrests of suspected ringleaders of Thursday’s riot in Dublin and to obtain wider rights to use facial recognition technology to help identify suspects in any future disorder.
Beheading trial | The trial of six teenagers over the beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty in 2020 has begun in Paris.
Doctor ‘distress’ | Doctors treating critically ill babies are quitting their jobs owing to “considerable moral distress” caused by a rightwing Christian group behind a series of end-of-life court cases in the UK, the Guardian has been told.
‘Bonkers’ | The US political activist Monica Lewinsky has called for elected officials to be subject to mandatory retirement ages and presidential self-pardons to be banned.
Full Story
Should police be first responders in mental health emergencies?
Jordyn Beazley discusses how a series of fatal incidents such as the Tasering of Clare Nowland (pictured) could lead to a radical rethink of how NSW police respond to mental health emergencies.
In-depth
New South Wales falls into line with every other state today as assisted dying becomes legal after a long campaign by advocates for people suffering from incurable diseases or intolerable pain. Our state reporter Tamsin Rose speaks to some of those campaigners, including Scott Riddle (pictured) who was given a 15% chance of surviving bowel cancer in 2017. “It seems like a weird thing to get excited about,” he says. “But if worse comes to worse, you have this choice. It’s great.”
Not the news
Sustainable swimwear designers are increasingly experimenting with alternatives to the usual fabrics such as nylon and polyester – which are plastics derived from fossil fuels. These ingenious solutions include outfits made from wood-based products such as the fibre lyocell, hemp bikinis (pictured), natural rubber wetsuits to replace the synthetic neoprene usually found in surfing gear, as well as so-called bioplastics and biodegradable nylon.
The world of sport
AFLW | Richmond’s Monique Conti has stormed to her first AFLW best and fairest, winning the league’s highest honour with two rounds to spare at the annual awards in Melbourne last night.
‘Adios, Míster’ | Pep Guardiola has characterised former Socceroos boss Terry Venables, who died on Sunday, as a visionary and charismatic Barcelona coach whose singing of Frank Sinatra on Spanish television made him hugely popular.
Formula One | Max Verstappen not surprisingly dominates this year’s FI awards as runaway best driver as rivals failed to show up.
Media roundup
The Sydney Theatre Company is seeking “undertakings” from actors not to repeat their pledge of solidarity with Palestinians after a performance of The Seagull on Satuday, the SMH reports. Myanmar Australians say they are facing “collective discrimination” over the denial of visitor visas for fear they could lead to asylum claims, the Australian reports. The billionaire Oatley family has pulled the planned sale of Hamilton Island after failing to get any bids of $1bn for the tourist destination, the Courier Mail reports.
What’s happening today
Voice to parliament | ANU releases the findings of a survey of 4,200 voters on how they voted on the voice and why.
Immigration | A campaign for a royal commission into Australia’s detention regime is due to be launched.
Melbourne | Three-day inquest into the deaths of five trans and gender diverse Victorians continues.
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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.
