Morning everyone. Donald Trump has doubled down on his outlandish suggestion about taking over the Gaza Strip by telling reporters that “everybody loves” the idea. That doesn’t quite tally with our reporting. Sam Kerr has told a court in London that she was treated differently by police because of her skin colour, Labor is trying to toughen up anti-hate laws, and why Coles is going to dump 2,500 products.
Australia
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Kerr ‘terrified’ | Sam Kerr has told a court that she was treated differently by police “because of the colour of my skin” after they doubted her account of being locked in a taxi that was speeding and swerving, which she said left her “terrified” for her life. On trial in London accused of racially aggravated harassment, the Matildas star invoked the Claremont murders in Perth as a reason she felt uncomfortable in taxis.
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Aid ‘catastrophe’ | Australian overseas aid programs could shut because of Donald Trump’s decision to freeze foreign aid in what agency staff say is a “catastrophic” policy that will lead to “unnecessary deaths and suffering”.
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Hate speech laws | The Albanese government will attempt to pass minimum jail sentences of between one and six years for hate speech crimes in a bid to stave off opposition attacks on its response to antisemitism. In New South Wales, the premier, Chris Minns, has proposed legislation that could make certain types of protests outside places of worship a criminal offence.
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Shelving it | Coles plans to scrap about 2,500 products in an attempt to streamline its shelves. Reporter Catie McLeod asks why they’re doing it and what it means for consumers who will no longer be able to choose from 13 types of table salt.
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‘Really promising’ | Scientists have produced kangaroo embryos through in vitro fertilisation for the first time in a development they say could help conservation of endangered animals.
World
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Congo terror | Hundreds of women were raped and burned alive in a prison after a jailbreak by male inmates during the chaos sparked by the arrival of a Rwandan-backed rebel group in the Congolese city of Goma last week.
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‘We would rather die’ | Donald Trump says “everybody loves” his proposal for the US to take over the Gaza Strip despite worldwide rejection of the idea. Republicans have been muted in their response, with Rand Paul saying: “I thought we voted America first.” The US president’s idea to take over the territory was met with anger and defiance by Palestinians who say they would “rather die” than leave.
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Pushback | Meanwhile, in the US, concern is growing about Robert Kennedy Jr’s views about the immune systems of black Americans, federal workers are pushing back against Elon Musk’s cost-cutting plans, and the birthright citizen reform faces more judicial opposition.
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‘One-man operation’ | The gun attack that left 11 people dead in the Swedish city of Örebro was “a one-man operation”, police have said, as they worked to identify the victims of the country’s deadliest mass shooting.
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Rugby union | The class action being brought by hundreds of former rugby union and league players over the devastating effects of repetitive head injuries has taken a significant step forward at the high court in London.
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Mirror image | A badger captured glancing up at a graffiti version of itself has won the people’s vote in the wildlife photographer of the year contest run by Britain’s Natural History Museum.
Full Story
Parliament is back: how much for the long lunch?
Political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy tells Nour Haydar what’s on the government’s agenda leading into an election year.
Full Story
Parliament is back: how much for the long lunch?
In-depth
This year’s election will swing, just like so many others round the world last year, on the cost of living and whether people feel better off or not than they did when they last voted. It’s one of the reasons Labor are struggling in the polls but, as our columnist Greg Jericho argues today, the government has done much to tame the inflation demon without getting much credit.
Not the news
Five years after the black summer fires, Rachel Mounsey, a photographer and Mallacoota resident, revisits those who lost their homes and much more in the devastated Victorian town. One of them, Christy Bryar, pictured, says: “We are still talking about the fires every day and having to explain every day why we aren’t in our house yet. People move on at different rates but until we have a home, we can’t put the fires in the past.”
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Sport
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Cricket | Australia ticked so many boxes by winning the first Test in Galle that it’s hard to see how they can improve as the second Test begins later today, writes Geoff Lemon.
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Football | Newcastle United hold a 2-0 lead over Arsenal as they go into this morning’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg. Follow the action live from a feverish St James’ Park.
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Basketball | LeBron James says he spent two days in disbelief after the Los Angeles Lakers traded away Anthony Davis, his close friend and teammate, and brought in his “favourite player” of recent years, Luka Dončić.
A man’s body has been found after a fire on Chapel Street in Melbourne’s St Kilda, the ABC reports. Also on the ABC overnight, New South Wales rail workers are planning more industrial action from next Wednesday. The Financial Review says drivers are still sceptical about EVs despite steep price cuts. And a small team of Australian scientists will see their drug to treat river blindness go into action after they short-circuited the big pharma pathway, the Age reports.
What’s happening today
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Sydney | Antoinette Lattouf’s claim against the ABC continues at the federal court.
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Business | Woodside boss Meg O’Neill speaks at the Melbourne Mining Club at 12.30pm.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.