Hanson’s gas policy flip-flop, homeless man shot with Taser, Trump rages at AI ‘conspiracy’

Theatre royal | Six years after the historian Jenny Hocking won her battle to release secret correspondence between Queen Elizabeth II, Malcolm Fraser and the governor general John Kerr, her fight to reveal the truth about Gough Whitlam’s dismissal is being adapted for the stage.

Gas price | One Nation has come under fire for quietly shelving support for a new domestic gas reservation policy in preference of a policy that favours the party’s billionaire patron, Gina Rinehart. Australia’s dependence on gas for power during the evening, when the grid is under the most pressure, has fallen by nearly 70% over the past year as batteries surged in, replacing the fossil fuel.

Exclusive | A homeless man was shot with a Taser by police in Brisbane after attempting to take his own life during a tent city clearance, sparking calls for mental health considerations when dealing with move-on orders amid Queensland’s homelessness crisis.

STI spike | Rates of reported gonorrhoea and infectious syphilis have increased by more than 50% across Australia over the past decade, with experts warning of concerning rises among women.

AI ‘attacks’ | One of Australia’s top intelligence agencies has warned that AI attacks could exploit the country’s old technology as the government negotiates its guardrails on artificial intelligence’s rapid development.

‘Sick conspiracy’ | Donald Trump has dismissed calls to increase controls on AI as a “sick conspiracy”, as stocks linked to the technology slumped after appeals from leading developers on the weekend for the industry to slow down. It came as US government borrowing costs rose to 5% for the first time since 2023 as soaring oil prices fuelled by the war in the Middle East triggered an intensifying sell-off in the global bond market.

Europe’s test | Europe needs to show it will not be “scared off” in supporting Ukraine, the EU’s chief diplomat said, after a Russian drone hit a passenger train on the country’s border with Poland shortly after a convoy of high-level diplomats and former leaders had passed through.

Striking it rich | The fortune of Africa’s richest person could swell by two-thirds to nearly US$60bn after his refinery in Nigeria listed publicly in the continent’s biggest-ever initial public offering.

Kuta deaths | Indonesian police are investigating the deaths of three Australians who died in Bali over the weekend, with initial reports suggesting a father killed his two young children before taking his own life.

Letby blow | Two leading experts have withdrawn from Lucy Letby’s defence team over concerns about the “scientific credibility” of some of its evidence as the former nurse tries to fight her conviction for killing seven babies.