Good morning. Madeleine Albright, the first woman to serve as US secretary of state, has died, aged 84. “We are heartbroken to announce that Dr Madeleine Albright, the 64th US secretary of state and the first woman to hold that position, passed away earlier today,” a statement posted on her Twitter account read. In Australia, prime minister Scott Morrison is set to visit Victoria, and defence minister Peter Dutton is due to make an announcement regarding funding for defence bases nationwide.
The US has concluded that Russian forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine based on its assessment of evidence that civilians have been deliberately targeted. “Russia’s forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centres, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said in a statement. Meanwhile, Nato countries are expected to agree to provide special kit to protect Ukraine against any chemical, biological or nuclear attacks launched by Russia.
The Morrison government has allocated $5.9bn to build two separate north Queensland dams without seeking any input from an advisory board it established less than two years ago to scrutinise major water projects. Commitments to fund the Hells Gates and the Urannah dams have been made in the past week, but Guardian Australia has confirmed that neither dam proposal was subjected to any formal scrutiny from the National Water Grid Advisory Body. Serious questions have been raised about the economic benefits of the Urannah project and the detailed business case for the Hells Gates project is still under development.
Regional movie events in 2019 that attracted just 137 viewers were set to feature then-deputy prime minister Michael McCormack spruiking infrastructure spending. But his message was scrapped after the finance department advised that his inclusion in the campaign “does raise some concerns”. Created for an “objective” infrastructure campaign, the videos featured a cheery McCormack spruiking federal government spending. They were to be played before free movies in a taxpayer-funded roadshow through regional cities to promote the Building our Future package in 2019, ahead of the May election. The roadshow cost taxpayers of $353,730 – about $2,500 per attendee. McCormack told Guardian Australia if “bureaucrats” canned the videos then “so be it” but there was “nothing untoward” and “nothing unusual” about his participation in them.
Australia
The largest refugee crisis since the second world war has prompted Australians to travel overseas and offer assistance to those fleeing Ukraine, offering help from translation services to van rides.
Politicians routinely dismiss allegations of bullying made by women by painting it as just the “cost of doing politics” or as something that happens to men just as much, new research has found.
A UN mission to see if the Great Barrier Reef should be put on an “in danger” list will not get “the whole picture” unless it visits reefs currently experiencing coral bleaching, conservationists and the government’s own reef envoy have said.
Renters in flood-affected Queensland properties have just days left to negotiate a lease break under laws that allow the move within one month of a natural disaster. But with rental properties in short supply, many tenants are facing the difficult decision of whether to stay or go.
Telstra has defended its flood response in NSW, saying large-scale and lengthy outages were inevitable once rivers cut off electricity or flooded base stations. But critics say Telstra should have done a better job of keeping the public informed about efforts to restore services.
The world
The Taliban are facing international condemnation after they announced that girls would not be allowed to attend secondary school, despite their previous assurances.
Everyone on the planet should be covered by an extreme weather early warning system against within five years as half of humanity was “in the danger zone” for climate breakdown, the UN secretary general has said.
One of the two black box flight recorders from the China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed on Monday has been recovered, regulators have said.
Recommended reads
Easter Monday will mark seven weeks since floods swept through much of the NSW’s northern rivers region. The question for thousands of potential holidaymakers to Byron Bay and beyond is now pressing: to go or not to go? While some areas of the northern rivers have been utterly devastated by the February flooding, others are crying out for tourist dollars – but logistics may be complicated.
The halfway point of the work week is over, which means it’s time for a chuckle. This week, it’s the Bear Pack improv duo, who live on opposite slides of the world – Carlo in Canberra and Steen in the Canberra of the north (London). “Funny videos arriving at ungodly hours of the morning has become a staple of our relationship,” they say. Here’s a selection of their favourite funnies from the internet, including Steve Martin, Stath Lets Flats and the Beach Boys.
Not many people are promoted in front of thousands of fans. For dancer Callum Linnane, becoming a principal artist at the Australian Ballet has been an ambition he’s held since he was 12 years old. “It has been kind of a life’s dream. But, for self-preservation, I always told myself tonight’s not the night,” he said. But one night it was.
Listen
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is testing the strength of Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s relationship. In today’s Full Story, Guardian leader writer Tania Branigan tells Nosheen Iqbal that although China and Russia share strategic interests, their economic interests diverge, and that this is where the Chinese president may have some leverage in swaying Putin – should China choose to exert it.
Full Story is Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or any other podcasting app.
Sport
Praise for Ash Barty’s actions on and off the court has flooded social media since news of the world No 1’s shock retirement. Former players, including Evonne Goolagong Cawley, have joined fans from Australia and around the globe in paying tribute to Barty after her decision to leave game. We have a wrap-up of moments that defined the tennis star’s career here.
“Nippon: Forever in our Shadows” read the banner draped in front of the Green & Gold Army’s stand at the MCG in 2009 as the Socceroos took on Japan in their final 2009 World Cup qualifier. Japanese fans have never forgotten the message.
Media roundup
Moderna will produce its mRNA vaccines in Australia after the federal government, Victorian government and vaccine manufacturer signed off on a final agreement, with construction on a new manufacturing plant expected to begin by the end of the year, reports the ABC. Protesters in NSW who shut down traffic on bridges and tunnels will face up to two years in jail and a $22,000 fine under tough new rules to stop traffic chaos, the Daily Telegraph reports. And preschool-aged children should be taught maths to avoid life-long difficulties in the subject, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Coming up
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas will unveil the state’s full cabinet.
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