Good morning. Our top story focuses on revelations that consultancy firm PwC was warned over its use of confidential information it had gleaned from high-level meetings at a government department. Rolf Harris, the Australian entertainer and artist convicted of child abuse, has died in Britain aged 93 (he died two weeks ago but the news was just made public). And academic journals are being urged to take action after researchers with links to tobacco fail to declare potential conflicts of interest.
Australia
‘Deceptive and underhanded’ | Senator Lidia Thorpe has criticised a no group in the voice to parliament referendum for using her image and quotes in a Facebook campaign targeting voters.
PricewaterhouseCoopers | The consultancy firm was warned after using confidential information to make unsolicited proposals for more work for the federal agriculture department.
Rolf Harris | The entertainer, artist, musician and TV personality, who was jailed in 2014 for sexual assaults against girls and young women, died in Britain this month.
Exclusive | Researchers with links to tobacco and vaping industries are failing to disclose their potential conflicts of interest in work published in respected academic journals.
‘Hold the line’ | Dairy farmers and wine producers have urged the government not to make them a “scapegoat” in the final stages of trade negotiations with the EU.
World
Evan Gershkovich | A court in Moscow has extended the detention of the Wall Street Journal reporter, who could face a sentence of up to 20 years in jail if found guilty of espionage charges.
Social climbing | The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, will launch his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in a live Twitter Space broadcast with Elon Musk.
Covid lockdowns | The former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has been referred to police over claims he broke lockdown rules by hosting family and friends at his Chequers residence during the pandemic.
‘I was incredibly shocked’ | Recycling has been promoted as a key solution to the growing problem of plastic waste but a study has found it could actually be releasing huge quantities of microplastics.
Withdrawing consent | Thousands of Hongkongers have opted out of the city’s organ donor registry in apparent protest at potential donation agreement with mainland China.
Full Story
The deaths shining a light on alternative therapies
An alternative therapy and poison called kambo is linked to the deaths of two Australians. The deaths, subject to coronial inquiries, have raised questions about how kambo is used and why people are seeking it out. Joe Hinchliffe speaks to Jane Lee about the origins of this natural alternative therapy and concerns about its use.
In-depth
As part of our Ten years of Guardian Australia series, investigative reporter Anne Davies spills all about Angus Taylor and the doctored document mystery. The then federal energy minister wrote to Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore in 2019, accusing her of driving up emissions by spending $15m on travel in a year. But it all quickly unravelled when questions were raised about the legitimacy of the document at the heart of his claims.
Not the news
The Clearing, a new eight-part series on Disney+, is based on the true story of a cult that operated in the shadows of regional Victoria from the 60s to the 80s. Members joined for the promise of spiritual fulfilment but were made to take dangerous amounts of LSD and had every aspect of their lives controlled. Actor Guy Pearce and co-director Jeffrey Walker speak about the chilling inspiration behind the series – and protecting the show’s young actors from traumatic moments.
The world of sport
Giro d’Italia | Geraint Thomas is back in pink after regaining the race lead, as João Almeida takes the stage 16 win.
Football | Referee’s body set to reject Liverpool’s complaints over Premier League decisions; Bukayo Saka signs new Arsenal contract to 2027.
Cricket | Injury concerns surrounding England bowler Ollie Robinson have eased as preparations continue for the upcoming Ashes series.
Media roundup
New modelling shows more aggressive spending on renewable energy, carbon capture and hydrogen is needed to keep Australia’s 2050 net-zero emissions target alive, reports the Age. The Canberra Times highlights research suggesting that veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder could be more prone to gut-related health problems.
What’s happening today
Diplomacy | India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, is due to attend Admiralty House for bilateral talks with Anthony Albanese as part of his official visit to Australia.
Canberra | The inquiry into ACT police handling of allegations against Bruce Lehrmann continues.
Western Australia | The Australian Financial Review’s inaugural mining summit begins in Perth.
Sign up
If you would like to receive this Morning Mail update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here. And finish your day with a three-minute snapshot of the day’s main news. Sign up for our Afternoon Update newsletter here.
Prefer notifications? If you’re reading this in our app, just click here and tap “Get notifications” on the next screen for an instant alert when we publish every morning.
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.
