Good morning. That vast and relatively untouched frozen continent at the bottom of the world, Antarctica, is one of the frontlines of the climate crisis – and human impacts are increasingly taking a toll. Today we report that pollution from Australia’s main Antarctic research station – including arsenic, carcinogenic compounds and toxic metals – has exceeded accepted limits for almost two decades.
Meanwhile, corporal punishment is banned in state schools but a Queensland man who has just joined the state government’s youth justice group says schools should reconsider the cane.
Plus: We take a look at the biggest threats in the French squad as the Matildas prepare for their Fifa Women’s World Cup quarter-final.
Australia
‘They would think twice’ | Ken Cunliffe (pictured), appointed to Queensland’s youth justice strategy reference group as a victims’ representative, believes that schools should consider bringing back the cane.
Antarctica | New research shows that levels of contaminants such as arsenic and lead at Australia’s largest Antarctic research station eclipsed international quality guidelines between 1997 and 2015.
‘Misconception’ | Business leaders have rebuffed the Coalition’s “disingenuous” claims around migration, rejecting concerns of a surge in arrivals with a call to make migration more business-friendly.
Opinion | Amid continued protests Labor is struggling to get its story straight on why it is helping fund a major expansion of the fossil fuel sector in the Northern Territory.
Mushroom mystery | Local residents have been left reeling as police investigate a family lunch that left three people dead in Leongatha in rural Victoria.
World
Donald Trump | Investigators obtained a search warrant for Trump’s Twitter account; and a previously unseen internal memo describes in detail the plot to subvert election results in six states, reports say.
‘We were overwhelmed’ | At least 41 people are feared to have died after a boat carrying asylum seekers sank in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa, in the central Mediterranean.
‘Nature needs money’ | The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has told developed countries to put their money where their mouth is to help protect the world’s remaining tropical forests.
Russia-Ukraine war | Ukrainian forces have made an attempt to cross the Dnipro River dividing liberated and occupied Kherson; Germany arranges supply of 30 Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine.
‘It’s a big crisis for us’ | A dam in Norway has partly collapsed as the country battles record high river levels, flooding and landslides as Storm Hans continues to cause chaos.
Full Story
The activists risking jail to raise the alarm on climate change
Higher fines and longer jail terms have been introduced around Australia to deter disruptive climate protesters. But Adam Morton tells Jane Lee that a small number of activists are becoming increasingly desperate to draw attention to the climate crisis, and likely won’t be deterred.
In-depth
After generations of inaction and very few novel ideas, researchers and activists are hopeful a new path is being charted in understanding and treating the crippling chronic condition endometriosis. In the space of a few months there is a sense that new ideas are bubbling to the surface, including a fundamental rethinking of endometriosis not as a disease of the pelvis but rather “a whole-body disease”. Despair in the research and patient community has now turned towards hope of a breakthrough.
Not the news
Australia doesn’t have a singular national dish. Instead it is more of a nationwide buffet: a coast-to-coast spread of snacks, meals and culinary experiences that speak to the country’s diverse histories, peoples and cultures. The former MasterChef Australia contestants and cookbook authors Adam Liaw and Poh Ling Yeow share their favourite destination meals and snacks, from a small-town vanilla slice to Top End laksa.
The world of sport
Women’s World Cup | As the Matildas prepare to face France in their upcoming quarter-final showdown, we focus on four French players who might break Australia’s hearts.
Golf | Céline Boutier is in form but is playing down her Women’s Open chances; and players express doubt over the LIV deal after meeting with the PGA commissioner.
Football | A 13-year-old has become the youngest professional player in US; how the Saudi Arabian takeover changed Newcastle United, and West Ham agree deals for Harry Maguire and James Ward-Prowse.
Media roundup
More than 3,000 sites – including current and former psychiatric hospitals and disability centres – have been identified by the NSW government as public land suitable for redevelopment as housing, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Victoria’s fight against organised crime is being hobbled by serious problems recruiting new informers amid concerns their safety and identities cannot be protected in the wake of the Lawyer X scandal, reports the Age. Tasmania is facing an energy crisis due to a lack of new electricity generating capacity as rising demand from industry and consumers outstrips supply, reports the Mercury.
What’s happening today
ACT | Committee inquiry hearing into the implications of severe weather on the national regional, rural, and remote road network.
Western Australia | Hearing scheduled in class action over conditions at the Banksia Hill youth detention centre.
New South Wales | Hearing scheduled in case of government agencies sued by Jubilee for failing to report climate impacts of fossil fuel projects.
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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.
