Good morning. A lack of translators could have dire consequences in a major flood, as a team of volunteers in Shepparton helps to make the vital link between multicultural residents and emergency services. And the UK’s prime minister has watched her brand-new chancellor tear up many of the plans that won her the job just a few months ago.
The recent flooding in Victoria has exposed a potentially fatal lack of translators in communities where a significant number of residents don’t speak English. In the city of Shepparton, the shire’s thriving multicultural community was forced to rely on a team of volunteers to help raise the alarm and alert emergency services to the fact they needed help. One of these volunteers, Hussam Saraf, received two dozen calls: “If [the flooding had been] worse than this, we’d have lost lives because of the language barrier.” Also, what’s driving the latest floods?
A Russian military jet has crashed into a residential building near the border with Ukraine, sparking a huge fireball and resulting fire. The Su-34 fell from the sky shortly after takeoff on a training flight near the Ukraine border. The Russian defence ministry said the cause was an engine fire. At least four people have died and 15 were injured, with that count likely to rise.
British chancellor Jeremy Hunt has ripped up almost all of PM Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget, scrapping virtually all of the announced tax cuts and drastically scaling back the government’s flagship plan to cap rising energy prices. In Australia, voters are divided about whether or not Labor should stick with an election promise to keep the Morrison government’s stage-three tax cuts, although prime beneficiaries of the change are more likely to argue Anthony Albanese should stick to his word.
Australia
The attorney general would be given authority to publicise secret reports of the national anti-corruption commission, with the Greens raising concerns this power could be used to discredit political opponents.
Both the Liberal and the Labor governments are being blamed after a new analysis found a third of single mothers are in financial hardship due to welfare policy decisions.
Australia has quietly dropped its recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, unwinding language adopted by Scott Morrison’s government after the US moved its own embassy from Tel Aviv.
The ABC has called for legislation to ensure it hosts and broadcasts at least one leaders’ debate during a federal election campaign.
Australia’s human rights commissioner has questioned why the New South Wales government was blocking officials from the UN inspecting its jails if it was confident about meeting minimum standards.
The world
Russia attacked Kyiv with nearly 30 “kamikaze” drones on Monday morning, killing four, including a pregnant woman and her partner, days after Vladimir Putin said there would be no more “massive strikes” on Ukraine.
One of the biggest pop bands in the world, South Korea’s BTS, has ended long speculation by announcing its members will do military service. Many fans had been hoping the band would win an exemption also granted to classical musicians and Olympic athletes.
Steve Bannon should be sentenced to six months in prison and a $200,000 fine for “his sustained, bad-faith contempt of Congress”, the justice department said in a legal filing on Monday.
French police have launched a murder investigation after the body of a 12-year-old girl was discovered in a suitcase outside her home.
Kanye West is buying the rightwing social network Parler for an undisclosed sum, the site has announced. “In a world where conservative opinions are considered to be controversial we have to make sure we have the right to freely express ourselves,” West said in a statement.
Recommended reads
“I’m turning 30 in a shabby share house in Fitzroy. And I’m fine with that,” writes Tim McGlone, as he ponders why there’s such a societal focus on housing when millennials are blessed with options their parents didn’t even have.
As we’re buffeted by changing weather, many people have been grappling with dry skin and chapped lips, writes Natalie Parletta. Thankfully there are some simple things you can do to help including turning your shower down a little.
The full brief: how to buy men’s underwear that will last the distance
Listen
In this episode of Ben Roberts-Smith v the media, Ben Doherty takes us through one of the key incidents under dispute in this extraordinary defamation trial – the raid of Darwan. And we hear evidence as presented in court by witnesses for Roberts-Smith and the newspapers in their defence, read by voice actors.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Australia and India finished off their T20 World Cup preparations in a warm-up match at an empty Gabba ground in Brisbane, won by India by six runs in a contest that lacked much intensity until the frantic final stages.
The World Cup itself has seen another early round upset, with Scotland thrashing the West Indies. It comes after Namibia stunned Sri Lanka in the tournament’s opening match.
Media roundup
King Charles or Prince William and Princess Kate – or perhaps all three – could be on the verge of locking in a visit to Sydney for a very special bicentenary, the Daily Telegraph reports. The Sydney Morning Herald has details of the literacy crisis among year 9 students. And according to The Age, Cricket Australia has confirmed it will not renew a sponsorship deal with energy company Alinta, worth almost $40m.
Coming up
It’s the second day of the royal commission into defence and veteran suicide hearings in Darwin.
Toyota faces a class action lawsuit over claims it used “defeat devices” to mask emissions.
It’s the final day of Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Australia.
And if you’ve read this far …
You can almost hear the tension being released as Stuart Heritage tells everyone what he really thought of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power now it’s finished.
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