Hastie threatens to quit over net zero, weight loss jab scam exposed, pole vault medal for Marschall
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Martin Farrer
Morning everyone. The unity of the Coalition – and its climate policy – will be in the spotlight again today after Andrew Hastie said last night that he would quit the frontbench team if Sussan Ley sticks to her policy of backing net zero emissions.
Kim Beazley has defended the Australian War Memorial’s decision to exclude a book about Ben Roberts-Smith from its literary prize; a scam weight-loss drug has been exposed as just watery saline solution; Gulf states are pleading with Donald Trump to rein in Israel; and pole vaulter Kurtis Marschall has opened Australia’s account in Tokyo.
Australia
Marschall medal | Armand Duplantis’s world record rightfully stole the spotlight at the pole vault in Tokyo last night, but Australia’s Kurtis Marschall (above) cheered on his rivals in the process of winning an excellent bronze medal with a new personal best.
Hastie threat | Andrew Hastie says he would quit the shadow frontbench if the Liberals remain committed to a net zero by 2050 policy, spelling more trouble for Sussan Ley as the opposition leader looks to steady a rocky ship. “I’ve nailed my colours to the mast,” he told ABC Radio Perth.
‘For emerging authors’ | Kim Beazley has defended the Australian War Memorial’s decision to not award a prestigious literary prize to journalist Chris Masters for a book about alleged war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith.
Exclusive | Youth crime has dropped in regional New South Wales by more than 12% over the past two years, according to new data, with even sharper falls in crime hotspots including the area that takes in Moree.
Exclusive | A scam weight-loss treatment marketed to Australians as an “oral solution” that mimics the effects of Ozempic contains nothing more than a watery saline solution similar to eye drops, analysis has revealed.
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World
Gulf plea | Gulf leaders meeting at an emergency summit in Qatar have called on the Trump administration to use its leverage to rein in Israel after the unprecedented Israeli attempt last Tuesday to assassinate Hamas negotiators in Doha. But the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, threw full US support behind Benjamin Netanyahu in a visit to Jerusalem and warned that the intended recognition of Palestine by US allies, including Australia, would make peace less likely.
Starmer blow | A senior adviser to Keir Starmer has resigned after it was revealed he sent inappropriate messages about the Labour MP Diane Abbott eight years ago. It’s yet another blow to the UK prime minister’s authority and came after Downing Street condemned Elon Musk for using “dangerous and inflammatory” language after the tech billionaire told far-right protesters in London that “violence is coming” and “you either fight back or you die”. Pope Leo meanwhile criticised Musk’s reported $1tn pay deal.
‘Tinder Swindler’ | A convicted con artist who was the focus of the Netflix documentary The Tinder Swindler has been arrested in Georgia on Interpol’s request, officials have said.
TikTok deal | The Trump administration has struck a framework agreement with China on transferring TikTok to US-controlled ownership.China’s economy showed further signs of weakness last month as it comes under strain from Trump trade wars, with factory output and consumer spending slowing.
Titanic match | Divers have retrieved a first batch of objects from the Titanic’s sister ship that sank off the coast of Greece in 1916.
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