Good morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Friday 19 July.

Top stories

The federal agency that manages the Great Barrier Reef has made an unprecedented call for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, warning only the “strongest and fastest possible action” will reduce the risks to the natural wonder. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority has published a climate position statement that says the reef is already damaged from warming oceans and it is “critical” global temperature increases remain within 1.5 degrees. “Only the strongest and fastest possible action on climate change will reduce the risks and limit the impacts of climate change on the reef,” the authority said. “Further loss of coral is inevitable and can be minimised by limiting global temperature increase to the maximum extent possible.”

New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern will raise the deportation of Kiwis from Australia on character grounds when she meets Scott Morrison on Friday, saying the issue was having a “corrosive” effect on relations between the neighbouring countries. Ardern will hold talks with the Australian prime minister on Friday morning and the issue will be discussed alongside terrorism, trade and the Pacific step-up. “We have seen cases where there is also almost no connection of an individual to New Zealand who have been deported,” she told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday. “And it’s having a corrosive effect on our relationship.” The 2014 changes to Australian law mandated the automatic cancellation of a visa for anyone sentenced to 12 months or more in jail. In the past five years more than 4,000 people have been stripped of their Australian visa and returned to their country of birth, regardless of how long ago they left. New Zealanders have made up the vast bulk of the deportations.

The federal government is preparing to unveil “ambitious” new recycling targets to kickstart the waste market. The targets will require all states and territories to spend a portion of their procurement budgets on recycled materials for public projects. The move is aimed at kickstarting a domestic commercial market for Australian waste, responding to a growing crisis in the sector after China stopped importing plastic recyclables, and after other south-east Asian countries, including Indonesia, rejected shipments of Australian waste.

World

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The US military shot down an Iranian drone that came within 900 metres of one of its naval vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Photograph: Craig Z Rodarte/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump has said that a US warship destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, amid heightened tensions between the two countries. The US president said the USS Boxer took defensive action after the drone came within 900 metres of the warship and ignored multiple calls to stand down. Iran has meanwhile offered a deal with the US in which it would formally and permanently accept enhanced inspections of its nuclear programme, in return for the permanent lifting of US sanctions.

The European commission’s new president has said a hard Brexit would have “massively negative consequences” for both Britain and the EU, and said Brussels could provide emergency help for nations such as Ireland that bear the brunt of such an outcome. British MPs have given Boris Johnson a brutal preview of the scale of the challenge facing his premiership, as Conservative rebels voted to block any attempt to suspend parliament in order to force through a no-deal Brexit.

An arson attack on an anime studio in Japan has left at least 33 people dead and dozens injured in Japan’s worst mass murder in nearly two decades. The perpetrator, who was also injured, has been taken into police custody.

A court in Cyprus has remanded 12 Israeli youths in custody on suspicion of the alleged rape of a 19-year-old British tourist at a holiday resort on the island. The youths, aged between 16 and 18, are alleged to have raped the woman in a hotel room in Ayia Napa, a resort on the south-eastern coast.

Opinion and analysis

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Some women say we should celebrate our periods, but others feel trapped in a cycle that can be unpredictable, inconvenient and unpleasant. Illustration: Ellen Wishart/Getty

A recent drop in tampon sales has been linked to women using contraceptive methods that stop, or lighten their periods, writes Nicola Davis. “For some, it is about bringing an end to debilitating pain or dark thoughts. For others, it is as simple as being liberated from the sinking realisation that you need a tampon – but you left them in your other handbag. When a new wave of feminist authors and activists are calling on women to embrace their periods, the idea that some do not want a monthly bleed and are seeking to avoid having them altogether can seem radical.”

Nothing messes you up quite so royally as becoming Insta-famous, writes Verity Johnson. “It’s just as bad as genuine fame, only without the public fawning or free Fendi sports bras to soften your descent into self obsession, insecurity and casual bitchiness. Of course you don’t realise it. You’re busy preaching love, harmony and laxative tea. Plus you’re distracted by every brick wall or passing dog that you could drag in to your #candid shots of you laughing maniacally while holding a conveniently placed (and delicious!) protein shake.”

Sport

Caitlin Bassett has shot Australia to a narrow Netball World Cup win over New Zealand. The 193cm spearhead, who came into the sixth match of this tournament with 132 goals from 145 attempts at 91% accuracy, shot 37/41 at 90% and led the Diamonds to a heart-stopping 50-49 win.

The first day of women’s Test cricket in two years concluded with the series pendulum still firmly in favour of Australia, who clocked up 265 runs for the loss of only three wickets. “England were yet again undone by a patient effort from Ellyse Perry, who finished unbeaten on 84 after a century partnership with Rachael Haynes for the fourth wicket, in an innings that has already sparked comparisons to her 213 not out on the last occasion of this kind, at North Sydney in 2017,” writes Raf Nicholson.



The Wallabies will play South Africa in their opening Rugby Championship test in Johannesburg on Saturday (Sunday morning AEST). There, Michael Cheika will reveal the biggest secret of his coaching career. But how much of the new attacking strategy should the coach show and how much should he keep up his sleeve for the World Cup in Japan?

Thinking time: The little Australian dish that could

Play Video 5:14 How live images of the Apollo 11 moon landing came via Australia – video

Around the world more than 600 million people were glued to TV screens. Coordinated by Tom Reid, tracking stations at Australia’s Honeysuckle Creek, Tidbinbilla and Parkes, and their combined staff of almost 200, would be responsible for maintaining all communications with Apollo 11 during the crucial moon walk phase. These communications included the televising of Neil Armstrong’s first step and the monitoring of his heartbeat and respiration rate as he did so, while at the same time enabling him to give Mission Control a second-by-second description of his progress.

As Armstrong crawled backwards across the Eagle’s porch towards the top rung of the ladder, Reid realised that the TV broadcast from the moon would begin some minutes before it rose over the Parkes dish at its lowest angle of 30 degrees above the horizon. There was a chance that Parkes’ off-axis receiver might get a TV signal before that. But Tom knew that this signal would be unstable, possibly jerky, and prone to drop in and out. It would not be up to Mission Control’s broadcast standard.

Media roundup

The Australian’s splash this morning is Nothing to fear from ‘indigenous voice’, as former high court chief justice Murray Gleeson declares a “new Indigenous ‘voice to parliament’ could be created through legislation – with only minimal references in the constitution – without eroding the power of the nation’s politicians”. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that a fourth Sydney unit block has been abandoned. The NT News warns: Beware the crack-odiles, as it reveals: “The Territory’s Power and Water Corporation is monitoring crocs and other animals that frequent Darwin’s waste ponds to ensure they are not being affected by drugs and other substances flushed down the loo.”

Coming up

There will be a case management hearing for former Labor MP Emma Husar who is suing BuzzFeed for defamation over an article and two social media posts.

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