Miles Herbert

Sydney airport experienced major delays and a near collision involving Jetstar and Qatar Airways aircraft, prompting Transport Minister Catherine King to meet Airservices Australia chief executive Rob Sharp and announce improved staff rostering. Police in New South Wales said a supposed body found in a suitcase near Goulburn was a lifelike doll rather than human remains. Other updates included negotiations over gambling inducements, Victorian waste-collection policy, evacuations in China after extreme rainfall, and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey surpassing $1.1bn at the box office. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull sharply criticised the AUKUS submarine agreement, warning Australia may receive no submarines.

Police have withdrawn charges against 125 climate protesters who blockaded Newcastle’s coal port, though campaigners say Australia’s aggressive prosecution of climate activists causes prolonged harm. Other major items include Pauline Hanson’s attack on media reporting, an inquiry into racism surrounding her political rise, alleged assaults involving Alan Jones, violence in Sydney and Yemen, and uncertainty around Iranian women footballers. Researchers warn that AI-designed viruses could enable medical breakthroughs while creating serious biosecurity risks. Australia’s assistant technology minister discusses proposed environmental and energy standards for data centres, while an advice column considers how to handle nostalgia.

The Australian government is expected to introduce measures aimed at reducing net overseas migration and encouraging temporary residents to leave, although Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke postponed a National Press Club speech on the migration system. The roundup also highlights the expanding threat of bird flu to nearly 400 Australian species, corruption and political controversies in New South Wales and Victoria, a High Court decision blocking a major desert groundwater-extraction plan, and rare snowfall in New Zealand. Other items cover David Pocock’s call for a housing correction, debate over Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, US Democratic politics, and the biological reversal abilities of the immortal jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii.

A parliamentary inquiry into Labor’s gambling legislation heard allegations that problem gamblers were supplied with cocaine, alcohol and sex workers, which Sportsbet and Tabcorp denied for lack of evidence. Senator David Pocock challenged the gambling industry over a promotion featuring children, while acting prime minister Richard Marles called the evidence shocking. The roundup also covers allegations against Alan Jones in an ongoing trial, pressure on Sydney hospitals, Victorian cabinet changes, an Australian swimmer’s resignation, US lawsuits over tariffs, migration tensions around Ceuta, Noel Pearson’s warning about Indigenous policy failures, and continuing scrutiny of Nigel Farage’s £5m gift and Reform UK funding.

The Guardian’s afternoon roundup leads with the opening of Alan Jones’s judge-only trial, where he faces 22 charges of alleged indecent assault and sexual touching and has pleaded not guilty. Court evidence included allegations that Jones gave a teenager cash, kissed him and increased his stipend, while his defence argued that media rivals encouraged complaints. Other major developments include Luke Bateman’s testimony that gambling companies supplied him with cocaine and alcohol, allegations about Liberal powerbrokers avoiding phone tracing during corruption discussions, and the identification of Melbourne businessman and entertainment figure Ralph Carr in a rape case. The roundup also covers rising electric-vehicle and hybrid sales, controversy over New Zealand’s proposed English-language legislation, Socceroos transfers, Indigenous leaders’ future-focused discussions at the Garma festival, and Pauline Hanson’s decision to exclude ABC and Guardian reporters from some press conferences.

Twenty-five years after British backpacker Peter Falconio disappeared on a remote Australian highway, police continue efforts to locate his body and provide closure for his family. The podcast examines the murder case involving Bradley John Murdoch and survivor Joanne Lees, including a former British government expert’s claim that he has identified the most likely burial location. Queensland correspondent Ben Smee joins Reged Ahmad to discuss the ongoing investigation.