A Sydney man whose parents are missing in Nepal fears Australia is losing interest in the aftermath of the devastating flooding disaster and has pleaded for more help from the Albanese government. Akash Venkatraman, a student in Sydney, hopes to hear from his missing parents and four family friends. His uncle has travelled to Nepal to try to find out more, but Akash fears “Australian attention is falling away” and called for more government help.
Unfathomable suffering in Nepal
Our south Asia correspondent, Hannah Ellis-Petersen, has travelled to the disaster-hit districts of northern Nepal, where she has found suffering on an “unfathomable scale”. Family members of the Australians missing in Nepal are continuing their agonising wait for information, including Akash, who spoke to Kat Wong and Cait Kelly.
The flooding disaster has devastated large parts of Nepal, with rescue teams from the Nepalese Army working tirelessly. Police have been collecting DNA samples from relatives in Kathmandu to help identify victims, as the search for the missing continues.
Economic slowdown and AI concerns
Yesterday’s national accounts revealed three key points about the economy: growth is slowing but not collapsing, spending on new EVs increased rather than overseas holidays, and population growth is still driving GDP rather than productivity. Greg Jericho writes that, with growth so weak, the RBA must think hard before raising rates.
Chairs of key federal parliamentary committees have warned that an onslaught of AI-generated material is introducing “hallucinated” information into policymaking, cautioning MPs to be vigilant about the veracity of material. This comes as a Palestinian Australian man who alleges he was punched in the face when trying to stop police from harassing Muslim men praying during an anti-Isaac Herzog protest is suing New South Wales over “a series of [alleged] false accusations”.
Global tensions and domestic incidents
NSW police are investigating the death of a man who was shot dead in a home in Sydney’s west as a potential case of mistaken identity, marking the second fatal shooting incident in as many days. In the Middle East, Israel’s defence minister has said his country is seeking Donald Trump’s support to approve plans to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip in what has widely been condemned as a potential war crime. Iran has accused the US of a war crime after a missile blast killed at least four people and injured 68 who were attending a wedding at a private home in a coastal city of southern Iran.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia’s airspace is becoming unsafe for commercial airlines, as Vladimir Putin promised to step up strikes against Ukraine’s energy facilities in the run-up to winter. Our Berlin correspondent says the fallout of the Leipzig airport attack lays bare Germany’s polarisation on Russia. A social media post by Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defense, body-shaming female members of a Canadian youth development program has remained online despite a furious backlash.
Cultural and sporting updates
Rupert Murdoch is “very happy” that he’s being portrayed by Guy Pearce in a new film about the origins of British tabloid the Sun, the Australian actor has said. As a major new biography of Paul Keating goes on sale, the former prime minister talks about meeting the Queen and her then position in Australia (“banal, even sad”), Trump’s aims (“he wants to avoid world war three”), and why his big vision will never fade (“Timidity is a virus in the bloodstream”).
In sport, as they go into tonight’s qualifier against Hawthorn, the Dockers must beware of recent finals when the favourites were upset – or almost upset – by the less fancied side. Tiger Woods has pleaded no contest to reckless driving as part of an agreement with Florida prosecutors that reduced a DUI charge stemming from his rollover crash in March.
Victoria’s opposition is vowing to legalise vapes and cut tobacco tax, the Herald Sun claims. The Courier Mail leads on the “bizarre reasons” why the public is not allowed to see the designs for Olympic stadiums that have been rejected. The Age says that Alastair Clarkson did not expect the sack when two North Melbourne chiefs arrived for a meeting in his kitchen. A 15-year-old film-maker from the Gold Coast is taking Hollywood by storm after she won her second junior Oscar, the Bulletin reports.
Today’s events include a public hearing into intergenerational housing inequality, a sentence hearing for Molly Ticehurst’s murderer, and the Australian Museum Eureka Prize winners announced at 10.30pm. The Guardian’s crosswords are available to keep you entertained throughout the day.
