Morning, everyone. Beijing has accused the Aukus alliance of embarking on a “path of error and danger” by boosting Australia’s military capability with nuclear-powered submarines. We look at the fallout from the subs deal, along with more problems with Queensland’s youth justice system.
And in breaking news, a Russian fighter jet has collided with a US Reaper surveillance drone over the Black Sea.
Australia
Exclusive | A 13-year-old First Nations boy was kept in total solitary confinement in a Queensland youth detention centre for at least 45 days, Guardian Australia has learned. And a whistleblower at the Brisbane watch house has alleged staff conducted “illegal” strip-searches, adults exposed themselves to children and a girl was placed in a cell with adult men.
Aukus ruckus | Penny Wong has denied that the potentially game-changing transformation of Australia’s military amounted to fuelling an “arms race” in the region, after China denouncing the Aukus subs deal as a product of a “cold war mentality”. With a pricetag of hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars, the plan comes with technical risks and political ones too, such as what if an isolationist US president tears up the agreement? At home, Rowan Ramsey, the Liberal MP who faces the prospect of a nuclear waste dump in his South Australian electorate, has said he is “amazed” the government will begin the search in just 12 months for a facility that won’t be required for decades.
Pollution deaths | Air pollution in NSW is estimated to cause 603 premature deaths and increase health costs by $4.8bn each year, according to a government study. And the state is in for some late summer heat this week with temperatures nudging 40C in Sydney.
‘Disregard’ for law | Rape charges against a Melbourne man are set to be dropped after the Victorian court of appeal found police showed an “astonishing disregard” for the law during a search of his home.
Shot down | NSW Labor is being criticised for directing preferences to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party in a marginal seat despite helping to pass a motion that condemned its leader, Robert Borsak, over an alleged verbal “threat of violence” against a female MP.
World
‘Unsafe and unprofessional’ | A Russian fighter has collided with a US Reaper drone, forcing it down into the Black Sea west of Crimea. The military called it an “unsafe and unprofessional” intercept and said the Russian pilots had tried to disrupt the US aircraft before the collision.
Facebook freeze | Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is laying off a further 10,000 people – less than six months after sacking 11,000 workers – and instituting a further hiring freeze.
Bank reckoning | SVB Financial Group and two top executives have been sued by shareholders as global stocks continued to suffer yesterday despite assurances from the US president, Joe Biden. In Australia traders are slashing forecasts for another hike in interest rates next month.
Asylum appeal | A group of 10 asylum seekers from conflict zones have been granted leave to appeal against the UK government for what they claim has been a failure to consider the dangers and risks of deporting them to Rwanda.
Bali ban | The island’s government is going to ban tourists from renting motorbikes after a series of episodes in which foreigners violated traffic rules.
Full Story
Why is Australia spending up to $368bn on new submarines?
Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to our foreign affairs and defence correspondent, Daniel Hurst, about the risks and rewards of the Aukus agreement.
In-depth
As the war in Ukraine grinds on, our reporters Isobel Koshiw and Lorenzo Tondo have joined volunteers from Black Tulip group as they search through the battlefields of northern Donetsk for Russian corpses. The aim is to exchange the bodies for those of fallen Ukrainians but it unearths a grim pattern which shows the invading forces often torch or dump their dead to avoid logging them as casualties. There’s also a powerful set of pictures from Alessio Mamo.
Not the news
From war to unabashed escapism. Our stream team pick this week is the LA-based reality show Vanderpump Rules. Our critic Katie Cunningham says it was sold to her as “a group of hot people working at a restaurant hook up with each other lot” and it doesn’t disappoint. In fact, she reckons it’s nothing less than the best reality show yet.
The world of sport
AFL | With the first bounce only a day away, our expert writer reckons Collingwood could go all the way this year but that any one of the top 10 could win the flag.
Football | The 2026 World Cup finals in the US, Canada and Mexico will feature 48 teams and 104 games, including a new last-32 stage, with plans for three-team groups abandoned, Fifa has confirmed.
Golf | Governing bodies have proposed a new local rule to give tournament organisers the option to use a distance-reducing ball to negate technological advances in player fitness and equipment.
Media roundup
The papers are mostly positive about the Aukus subs deal, with the Australian praising the prime minister for “reshaping regional power and the Labor party”. The Sydney Morning Herald, however, points to a “mammoth” budget battle to pay for the new boats. In Melbourne protesters have gathered outside Richmond town hall to call for the scrapping of a waste levy, the Age reports.
What’s happening today
Canberra | Paul Keating will speak at the Press Club.
Pacific | Anthony Albanese has arrived in Fiji for talks with the new PM, Sitiveni Rabuka.
NSW | Dominic Perrottet will debate Chris Minns in the lead-up to the 25 March election.
Sydney | Violet Coco, the climate activist who blocked the Sydney Harbour Bridge, will appear in court.
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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.
