Photograph: Jeff Chiu/AP
Good morning. Health experts say big tobacco companies are scaremongering around illicit tobacco in order to erode Australia’s health policies – and secure big cuts to taxes on their products.
We reveal new analysis of supermarket pricing, showing the prices of some products were switched on and off promotion at Coles and Woolworths largely in sync over the past two years. Plus we look at the problem of underquoting as hopeful homebuyers waste time, money, and emotions looking at properties they can’t afford.
And overseas, the United Arab Emirates has blamed a fire near its nuclear power plant on a drone launched by Iran.
Australia
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Chain reaction | Analysis has revealed how in some cases the switch from promotional to full price happens almost simultaneously in Australia’s two biggest supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths.
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Tobacco warning | Big tobacco is exploiting fears of the illicit market to unwind longstanding health policies, experts warn, after an MPs’ inquiry took secret evidence from Philip Morris.
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Underquoting rife | As Australian states attempt to tackle underquoting, new data has revealed that fewer than 4% of real estate agents are listing homes within 3% of the final sale price.
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‘Deeply regrettable’ | Farmers, environmentalists and communities have expressed shock and dismay over laws that will open up South Australia’s Limestone Coast for fracking and unconventional gas development.
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Analysis | The government has announced $3.2bn to store a billion more litres of diesel and jet fuel. But could powering trucks with electricity be a smarter way to reduce Australia’s risk of fuel shocks?
World
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Ebola fears | An Ebola outbreak that has caused scores of deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda is a “public health emergency of international concern”, the WHO has said; Africa’s health chief says he is in “panic mode” over the Ebola outbreak; what is Ebola and why is the WHO treating it as a global health emergency?
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Middle East crisis | The United Arab Emirates has blamed a fire near its nuclear power plant on a drone launched by Iran or one of its proxies in what the UAE called a “dangerous escalation”.
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Russia-Ukraine war | A retaliatory wave of almost 600 Ukrainian drones has struck sites across Russia’s regions, killing at least four people and wounding a dozen more, Russian authorities have said.
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Eurovision ecstasy | Bulgaria’s first ever win in the Eurovision song contest with the unexpected breakthrough party hit Bangaranga delivers a ray of hope after years of turmoil and political instability.
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‘Jim Crow 2.0’ | Republicans are moving to oust James Clyburn, South Carolina’s only Black congressman since 1897, via a bid to redraw the state’s political map and dismantle the district he represents.
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Catching Zzzzs? | UK police officers accused of being asleep when they were supposed to be protecting the royal family at Windsor Castle have been placed under investigation.
Full Story
Coles caught red-handed, so what next?
Australian retailers are on notice after the federal court handed down a landmark judgment against the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain. Coles was found to have misled shoppers by promoting discounts that were not real after the Australian consumer watchdog launched legal action in 2024. Jonathan Barrett tells Nour Haydar what the ruling means – and whether it will mean cheaper prices at the checkout.
In-depth
At the turn of last century, an ambitious young solicitor caused a scandal in a high-profile murder case. He set out on a 25-year quest to rehabilitate his name and rose to positions of power and influence, sat in the parliament, helped shepherd NSW into federation – and that scandal was rewritten to become part of his narrative. So how did Richard Denis Meagher do it?
Not the news
In the latest instalment of our Kindness of strangers series, we hear from a reader who once felt they were being watched while walking home in the dark after a night out clubbing. Then a taxi with a passenger in the back seat pulled up to warn her that the hunch was indeed correct: someone was following her. Like guardian angels, they offered her a lift home – and didn’t pull away until she was safely indoors.
Sport
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AFL | Gee, Melbourne are great to watch. Steven King saw the future and ran with it, Jonathan Horn writes.
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Football | Bruno Fernandes equalled the Premier League assist record as Manchester United held off a battling Nottingham Forest; Dominic Calvert-Lewin pounced late for Leeds to hit Brighton’s European ambitions; Will Osula bagged a double as Newcastle pushed brittle West Ham closer to the brink.
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Cycling | Jonas Vingegaard climbed away to take the stage 9 win in the Giro d’Italia while Afonso Eulálio stayed in pink.
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Golf | Australian Cameron Smith is in the mix as play continues on day four of the US PGA Championship.
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Basketball | Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is set to be named NBA MVP for second season in succession.
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Tennis | Jannik Sinner overpowered Casper Ruud to make history with the Italian Open title.
Media roundup
Sydney will receive its first electric ferry two years later than originally planned as ambitions for fleet of 40 vessels look dashed, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. There’s a push for Australia to extract helium gas as the Middle East war impacts global supply, ABC News reports. “Crisis talks” are set to take place over the turmoil surrounding NT private maternity services, NT News reports.
What’s happening today
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ACT | Hearings are scheduled in the parliamentary inquiry into Australia’s illegal tobacco crisis.
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NSW | A hearing is set to begin today as Asic sues REX and directors over alleged serious governance failures.
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NT | An inquest is scheduled to begin in Alice Springs into the death in care of Kumanjayi Rubuntja.
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Brain teaser
And finally, here are the Guardian’s crosswords to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow.
