Good morning, this is Eleanor Ainge Roy bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Monday 30 July.

Top stories

In attempts to win backing for the national energy guarantee in crunch talks next month, Josh Frydenberg has floated the idea of a two-stage process. State sources have told Guardian Australia that the federal energy minister is proposing that his state and territory counterparts sign off on the detailed design of the Neg mechanism at a Coag meeting scheduled for 10 August. A second meeting on 14 August would then examine the more controversial emissions reduction components of the guarantee, which are scheduled to be put to the Coalition party room in Canberra earlier in the day.



Guardian Australia understands the states and territories are seeking an assurance that the commonwealth legislation will reflect the details set out in a policy paper – and not be gainsaid by a noisy group of Neg sceptics in the Coalition party room.

Hours after saying he had a “very good meeting” with the publisher of the New York Times about his labelling the press the “enemy of the people”, Donald Trump launched a blistering attack on what he called “anti-Trump haters in the dying newspaper industry”.

“The failing New York Times and the Amazon Washington Post do nothing but write bad stories even on very positive achievements,” Trump wrote on Sunday afternoon. “And they will never change!



Hun Sen has been re-elected in a landslide victory in Cambodia, after a brutal, months-long crackdown on opposition parties that saw the election widely condemned as a sham by human rights groups and political observers. Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 33 years, was re-elected prime minister with an estimated 80% of the vote. Defying international consensus, he maintained that he had won in a free and fair election. “You have truly chosen the path of democracy,” he said. It was a preordained result, which surprised nobody and firmly established Cambodia as a de facto one-party state, writes the Guardian’s south-east Asia correspondent.

Geraint Thomas has sealed his maiden Tour de France title in another triumph for Team Sky. The 32-year-old Welshman promised a party that would go on for “two weeks or perhaps even a month”. This was a meticulously planned victory but also a slightly accidental one. Even after the Welshman motored away from Chris Froome up the Alpe d’Huez to win stage 12 he was honest about his place in the Team Sky pecking order, calling himself “maybe a bit more than a pawn”. Ten days later he rode along the Champs-Élysées like a conquering king.

Deaths inside Australia’s immigration detention regimes will be examined by coroners on opposite sides of the country this week. Today in Queensland Terry Ryan will deliver his findings from the inquest into the 2014 death of Hamid Kehazaei, who died after a routine infection, contracted inside Manus Island detention centre, was inadequately treated. In Perth, Sarah Linton will begin a two-week inquest into the 2015 death of Fazel Chegeni Nejad, who died on Christmas Island after escaping from the centre there.



Sport

88,000 fans turned up for the clash between Richmond and Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday – the largest home and away crowd between these clubs since the 1970s. Those present this weekend witnessed a tussle for the ages, including an incredible Jack Higgins goal. Without oversimplifying it, this weekend provided further evidence that the state of the game – so thoroughly dissected of late – might just be fine.

The NRL has hit a hurdle with its idea to take the Tonga v Australia Test to New York – namely cost, writes Matt Cleary. It is admirable for the league to crave international exposure but in reality it is unprepared to pay for it, nor will US audiences necessarily take to the game in the way the NRL hopes.

Thinking time

The Olivier-winning director who cast a black actor to play Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child hints that there are more surprises in store when the hit play opens in Melbourne. “I am really excited,” John Tiffany says. “There are some real treats in the principal cast for Australia. It’s going to cause a whole new controversy.” The Cursed Child picks up where Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows left off, 19 years after the battle of Hogwarts. Albus Severus Potter, Harry’s second son, is saying goodbye to his family on platform 9¾ before boarding the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Tickets for the Australian production go on sale next week. Preview shows begin in January.



Controversal director Spike Lee has been labelled a “provocateur”, an “angry black man”, a “genius”, and everything else in between. Lee’s award-winning new film is the story of a black detective who went undercover with the KKK – another deep dive into race relations in America from the master himself, who has nicknamed the current president “Agent Orange”. “This guy in the White House,” Lee says,“has given the green light for the Klan, for the alt-right, for the neo-Nazis to come out in the open.”

Parliament might be rugby league territory now but there was a time when MPs were preoccupied with Australian rules, writes George Megalogenis in an extract from his new book. Megalogenis first met Bob Hawke in 1989 when the prime minister wanted to discuss his footy tipping record. “Hawke’s was the last truly Victorian government of Australia, which means it was the last to be preoccupied with football,” Megalogenis writes. “His ministers and advisers were among the most zealous supporters that politics has seen.”

What’s he done now?

Donald Trump has threatened to shut down the government if the Democracts do not capitulate to Republican demands on the Mexican border wall and immigration. Read the full report from CNN here. “We need great people coming into our Country!” Trump tweeted on Sunday.

Media roundup

Malcolm Turnbull has been warned by senior cabinet members that the government must address the company tax issue and resolve the Catholic school funding debacle or face a wipeout at the next federal election, the Australian reports.

The Canberra Times splashes with the truth about living in a tiny house as the trend continues to gain popularity in the capital. “I’m still on the hunt for a square kettle.” says one tiny homeowner.

The Sydney Morning Herald delves into the last days of drug-dealer Jim Mavris, including frozen fish, missing cocaine and an urgent dash to Colombia.

Coming up

A research report titled Beyond the Pale: Cultural Diversity on ASX 100 Boards will be launched in Sydney, detailing how the Australia’s top boards fail to reflect the diversity of the country’s population and workforce.



The Matildas take on the US this morning in the Tournament of Nations, kick-off 9am. You can follow all the action with our live blog starting at 8.30am.

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