Good morning. We have plenty of analysis from the New South Wales election for you this morning as Australia’s mainland is now wall-to-wall Labor. Counting resumes today with plenty of seats still in doubt, but not the result. The incoming premier, Chris Minns, is being urged to lift public sector wages and overhaul working conditions as a first priority. “This is a golden opportunity for a new government, a young government, to look at what the future can be,” a Health Services Union spokesperson said.
Elsewhere, survivors of clergy abuse say delays to their cases are “gutless”, we dig into the artificial intelligences that may be determining your chances in a job application, and Vladimir Putin’s deal to store nuclear weapons in Belarus makes the state a nuclear hostage, Ukraine says.
Australia
NSW election | Chris Minns will face immediate pressure from union leaders to come good on his promise to lift public sector wages. Matt Kean has ruled himself out of the NSW Liberal leadership. Here’s Ben Raue’s analysis of a “decisive” Labor win. Minor parties are still on the hunt as vote-counting continues.
Clergy abuse | Survivors of abuse by clergy and their families have decried as “gutless” the legal stays that thwart their civil claims.
Robot recruiters | A third of Australian companies rely on artificial intelligence to help them hire the right person. But studies show it’s not always a benign intermediary. Can bias ever be banished from AI?
Family violence | Domestic violence shelters in Queensland are struggling to make space for new arrivals due to the housing crisis, with some women staying in refuges for years.
World
Ukraine war | Ukraine has accused Russia of destabilising Belarus and making its smaller neighbour into “a nuclear hostage” after Vladimir Putin’s decision to station tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory.
Big twister | Joe Biden has declared a federal emergency for swathes of Mississippi hit by a devastating tornado as rescue workers continued to search for survivors. The death toll from catastrophic storms in parts of the US’s deep south has reached at least 26 people.
Twitter tanks | The company is worth less than half of what Elon Musk paid for it six months ago, having lost more than A$30bn in value, according to calculations based on a leaked memo from the billionaire.
Asylum seekers | At least 29 people from sub-Saharan Africa died while trying to reach Italy after two boats carrying them across the Mediterranean sank off the coast of Tunisia.
Trans rights | The anti-trans activist known as Posie Parker cancelled a planned Wellington event and left New Zealand after chaotic and at times violent protests that ended her appearance in Auckland before she began speaking.
Full Story
Australia’s kids are hooked on vapes – what are we doing about it?
The health minister has accused the vaping industry of creating a “new generation of nicotine addicts” amid rising reports of vaping addiction in teenagers and nicotine poisoning in toddlers. Guardian Australia’s medical editor, Melissa Davey, explores what Australia’s vaping crackdown – expected within the year – could look like, and the impact of vaping on kids.
In-depth
Held every night over the month of Ramadan, food stalls at an annual market in Sydney sell everything from camel burgers to tandoori chicken, sweets including knafeh and drinks including Kashmiri tea and sahlab. Mostafa Rachwani visits the Lakemba markets and, while he hears their growth from a low-key gathering to a full-scale festival has been welcomed by some, while others lament that “it isn’t a Muslim event any more”.
Not the news
The ocean of information that exists on brain health is so deep that sifting through it all can be its own brainteaser. Is it really all about sauerkraut? And do those brain training games do anything? Dr Ginni Mansberg speaks to 22 mind experts from around the world and shares their tips from sleep to supplements.
The world of sport
Australian rugby | Hooker Brandon Smith has questioned whether Rugby Australia’s decision to sign his Sydney Roosters teammate Joseph Suaalii on a big-money contract will move the Wallabies any closer to their former glory.
AFL | Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was allegedly the target of “harmful and abhorrent racist remarks” from a St Kilda fan, in a case that has sparked an AFL investigation.
Twenty20 cricket | South Africa have produced the highest successful Twenty20 international run chase to defeat West Indies in a remarkable contest at Centurion in which Johnson Charles and Quinton de Kock also made history.
Media roundup
“Doomed from the start”, reads the Sydney Morning Herald’s analysis of the Liberals’ election defeat. Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, flies to China today but has been criticised for not releasing his itinerary or inviting the media to scrutinise the four-day visit, according to the Age. And Northern Territory News reports that the NT’s prison population has surged to an all-time high, with 1% of the population behind bars.
What’s happening today
Oliver Schulz | A bail hearing will be held in Sydney for the former SAS soldier charged with the war crime of murder over the killing of an Afghan civilian.
Charlie Teo | The Sydney neurosurgeonwill return to a disciplinary hearing to face questions about two surgeries.
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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.
