This is The Loop, your quick catch-up for this morning's news as it happens.
Key events
Live updates
That's all for The Loop this morning
By Tom Williams
Thanks for joining me today. If you're catching up, here's a bit of what was covered (click the link to jump straight to the post):
- Aboriginal land rights champion Yunupingu dies in Arnhem Land
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Review ordered after F1 fans invade the track at the Australian Grand Prix
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New reports detail Australia's ongoing housing crisis
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Cafe explosion kills pro-war Russian military blogger
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Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer take acting gold at Olivier Awards
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Twitter removes The New York Times' blue verification tick
You can keep up-to-date with other news on the ABC's website, by subscribing to our mobile alerts, and by watching News Channel or listening to local radio here.
Another train derails in the US, with train cars falling into a river
By Tom Williams
About 25 train cars have derailed in the US state of Montana, with no injuries or evacuations reported.
The cars derailed near the town of Paradise along the Clark Fork River, authorities said.
Photos show some of the cars appearing to dip just into the river.
The train cars did not release any hazardous materials, Montana Rail Link said in a statement. The company said the cause of the derailment was being investigated.
US regulators and members of Congress are urging railroads to do more to prevent derailments after recent derailments involving hazardous chemicals in Ohio and Minnesota.
The truck driver involved in this morning's Geelong train collision has died
By Tom Williams
The truck driver involved in the collision with a train I mentioned earlier, has died.
Police say the man's vehicle was hit by a train (which wasn't carrying any passengers) in Geelong, south west of Melbourne earlier this morning.
Paramedics treated the truck driver, but he died at the scene.
Buses are still replacing trains on the line while police investigate the incident.
Malcolm Turnbull says the Liberal Party is facing 'electoral catastrophe'
By Tom Williams
After the Liberal Party's surprise loss in the Aston by-election in Melbourne, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says the party needs to change course.
The loss in Ascot was the first time a federal government has won a seat against an opposition party in a by-election since 1920.
Turnbull says increasingly right-wing policies are driving voters away from the Liberal Party.
"The difficulty is that (the Liberal Party) has seemed to be focused on that sort of right-wing culture war agenda," he told ABC Radio National this morning.
"It's clear the party has got to move back to the centre, it's got to get back to where the voters are."
Turnbull points to climate change denial and debate on transgender rights as part of this agenda which voters are rejecting.
"All of this craziness has been infecting the party for years, that I used to battle against, and now those chickens are coming home to roost and it is electoral catastrophe," he says.
You can listen to the full interview, below:
Aboriginal land rights champion Yunupingu dies in Arnhem Land
By Tom Williams
One of Australia's most influential Aboriginal leaders, the trailblazing land rights fighter Yunupingu, has died in the Northern Territory aged 74.
Note to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers: Yunupingu's last name and image are used here in accordance with the wishes of his family.
The Gumatj clan leader, who passed away in north-east Arnhem Land, was a powerful advocate for the interests of the Yolngu people and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across the country.
You can keep reading this breaking story here:
Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer take acting gold at Olivier Awards
By Tom Williams
Screen stars Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer have scored prizes at London's Olivier Awards for their first-ever West End stage roles, while a stage adaptation of Japanese animated classic My Neighbor Totoro won six trophies.
The Olivier Awards are the UK equivalent of Broadway's Tony Awards.
Irish actor Mescal — an Academy Award nominee this year for Aftersun — was named best actor in a play for his turn as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Mescal, 27, said his rapid success "doesn't feel real".
"But it's kind of happening at such a rate that there is no time to stop and think, 'This is a phenomenal feeling,'" he said.
Liverpool-born Comer, 30, won the best actress in a play award for the one-person show Prima Facie, which she is taking to Broadway later this month.
Comer, who shot to fame as star of TV spy series Killing Eve, gave a shoutout "to any kids who haven't been to drama school, who can't afford to go to drama school, who has been rejected from drama school — don't let anyone tell you that it isn't possible."
Mobile phones to be banned in NSW high schools
By Tom Williams
Mobile phones will be banned in New South Wales high school classrooms and lunchtimes from Term 4.
The state's new Labor government says it's delivering on a promise made during the election campaign to reduce distractions for high school students.
Many high schools already have bans in place, and require students to put them in lock boxes or pouches at the start of the day.
Premier Chris Minns has told ABC News Breakfast that it will be up to schools as to how it will be policed.
"We're going to talk with the school community and make sure that we can roll out programs to implement that ban," he says.
"It may be as simple as ensuring that mobile phones are in a student's bag and can't be taken out during the school day.
"For many schools, for many teachers, that's enough — so they know that the school ban is in place and there's no ambiguity if a kid does take out a mobile phone at recess or lunch."
Do you have kids who go to high school in NSW? Let me know your thoughts on the ban in the comments.
Driver hospitalised after train and truck collide near Melbourne
By Tom Williams
A driver has been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after a truck and train collided in Geelong, south-west of Melbourne this morning.
Police say there were no passengers on board the train when it hit the truck in South Geelong at about 6:30am this morning.
The train driver wasn't injured.
Buses are replacing trains between Waurn Ponds and Geelong.
Search to continue for plane missing in North Queensland
By Tom Williams
A search is expected to resume later today for a small plane, missing in North Queensland.
CQ Rescue searched the area last night around Lakeside Airpark in Bloomsbury, in the Mackay region, after the aircraft was reported overdue.
Two people were believed to be on board the plane.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is coordinating the search.
You can stay up to date on this story, below:
Review ordered after F1 fans invade the track at the Australian Grand Prix
By Tom Williams
A comprehensive review will be conducted after fans at the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix in Melbourne breached security fences and made their way onto the track during the race yesterday.
Video shows people standing on the wrong side of a barrier near the start-finish line as race cars speed past just metres away.
An initial investigation by Formula One officials found safety measures were not enforced, causing danger to spectators and drivers.
The event promoter has admitted the situation was unacceptable and could have had disastrous consequences.
New reports detail Australia's ongoing housing crisis
By Tom Williams
A major new report on the state of housing in Australia has confirmed what many of us already know — there's a chronic housing supply squeeze and rising costs for buyers, renters and renovators.
The 'State of the Nation's Housing' report from the federal government's peak housing body has found rising interest rates are affecting the supply of new homes, leading to 28,000 new builds being delayed last year.
It estimates Australia is likely to face a shortfall of more than 100,000 dwellings over the next five years, as immigration and demographic changes fuel demand.
At the same time, property data released overnight by Core Logic confirms rental hikes in the cities, with double digit growth in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane in the past year.
Cafe explosion kills pro-war Russian military blogger
By Tom Williams
An explosion has torn through a cafe in Russia's second-largest city, killing a prominent military blogger who had supported the fighting in Ukraine.
Russian news reports said blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed in the explosion at the Street Food Bar No. 1 cafe in St Petersburg while speaking at a patriotic discussion event.
Twenty-five people were wounded, and 19 of them were hospitalised, according to regional governor Alexander Beglov.
Russian media and military bloggers said Tatarsky was meeting with members of the public at the time.
You can see footage from the scene, below.
Finnish PM Sanna Marin loses to conservatives in tight election race
By Tom Williams
Finland's centre-right National Coalition Party has claimed victory with more than 90 per cent of votes counted in a tight three-way parliamentary election.
Prime Minister Sanna Marin of the Social Democratic Party has conceded defeat.
The top three parties — The National Coalition Party, The Finns and the Social Democrats — are expected to each get around 20 per cent of the vote, meaning no party will be in position to form a government alone.
The National Coalition Party's leader Petteri Orpo says talks over forming a new government will be started under the leadership of his party.
Saudi Arabia and other oil giants announce surprise production cuts
By Tom Williams
Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers have announced surprise cuts of up to 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year — a move which could raise oil prices worldwide.
Even though the production cut is only about one per cent of the roughly 100 million barrels of oil the world uses per day, experts say it will still impact prices.
Saudi Arabia said it would reduce production by 500,000 barrels per day.
Iraq said it would reduce production by 211,000 barrels per day, the United Arab Emirates by 144,000, Kuwait by 128,000, Kazakhstan by 78,000, Algeria by 48,000 and Oman by 40,000.
Twitter removes The New York Times' blue verification tick
By Tom Williams
Twitter has removed the verification check mark on the main account of The New York Times — a media giant who Twitter CEO Elon Musk is not a fan of.
The removal comes as many of Twitter's high-profile users are bracing for the loss of the blue check marks which helped verify their identity and distinguish them from impostors on the social media platform.
Musk, who owns Twitter, set a deadline of Saturday for verified users to buy a premium Twitter subscription or lose the checks on their profiles.
The New York Times said in a story last week that it would not pay Twitter for verification of its institutional accounts.
On Sunday, Musk tweeted that the Times' check mark would be removed.
He later posted disparaging remarks about the news organisation, accusing it of creating "propaganda".
The New York Times has reported on Twitter and on some alleged flaws with partially automated driving systems at Tesla, the electric car company which Musk also runs.
Many other media organisations who had blue ticks before Musk's changes have been swapped onto yellow ticks, which verify official organisations.
Donald Trump is 'gearing up for a battle', lawyer says
By Tom Williams
A lawyer for Donald Trump says the former US president is "gearing up for a battle" ahead of a scheduled court hearing in New York City on Tuesday.
Trump is expected to fly to New York from Florida on Monday, local time, to face charges related to hush money payments made to a porn star.
Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
He is then expected to return to Florida after the court hearing, to address his supporters.
Joe Tacopina, a lawyer for Trump, promised that any charges against the former president will be fought vigorously.
"He's someone who's going to be ready for this fight," Trump lawyer Joe Tacopina has told the American ABC.
"We're ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him."
News Australia is searching for: Ryuichi Sakamoto
By Tom Williams
Ryuichi Sakamoto, the Oscar-winning Japanese composer famed for his scores for The Last Emperor, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, The Revenant and other films, has died aged 71.
Sakamoto passed away on March 28, his management team say in a statement.
The musician had been undergoing treatment for rectal cancer since mid 2020, following the successful treatment of his throat cancer several years earlier.
Tributes have been shared by fellow composers and collaborators. You can read some of them below.
One more thing: Filmmaker Sarah Polley shares her child's April Fools' Day prank
By Tom Williams
"The Oscar you received was given by mistake."
Those were the words Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley read during a "cruel" April Fools' joke which played on her by none other than her 11-year-old child.
The letter turned up supposedly asking her to "mail back" to California the best adapted screenplay Oscar she won last month for the film Women Talking.
It added that she could keep the award for one more week so she could "enjoy its presence" in her home but that it must be returned so "that the play with the real best adapted screenplay gets the Oscar".
Kids can be so cruel.
