Good morning, this is Helen Sullivan bringing you the main stories and must-reads on Tuesday 29 July.

Top stories

Poverty in Australia is increasing again after several years of decline, with changes to welfare policies cited as a possible contributor. The annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, released on Tuesday, found the proportion of people living below the relative poverty line – 50% of the median income – increased in 2017 from 9.6% to 10.4%. Researchers said one likely reason was that many Australians have been moved off higher pension benefits and on to the Newstart allowance. “Without a wages boost we face a lost decade of growth in living standards,” writes Greg Jericho of the report’s findings.

Donald Trump has faced a chorus of criticism over his racist attacks on Democratic congressman Elijah Cummings. Addressing a press conference in Baltimore, the Baptist minister and activist Al Sharpton accused Trump of attacking the city in “the most bigoted and racist way”, saying the president “has a particular venom for blacks and people of colour”. The president claimed on Saturday that Cummings’s congressional district, which covers much of Baltimore, was “a disgusting, rat- and rodent-infested mess” and alleged it was “the worst run and most dangerous [district] anywhere in the United States”.

One of Australia’s most contentious coalmines, New Acland, was caught drilling 27 illegal bores last year and fined $3,152 by the Queensland government, a figure an environment group has labelled “paltry”. Documents obtained under freedom of information laws show the state Department of Environment and Science believed the Darling Downs miner had committed a “major” breach of environmental laws. The memo showed the department believed the fine – 5% of the maximum fine for a single infringement – would serve as a deterrent. The company’s parent, New Hope Group, made $160m in after-tax profit in the six months to January 2019.

World

The British prime minister, Boris Johnson, and Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, meet in Edinburgh. Photograph: Stewart Attwood/EPA

Boris Johnson is pursuing a dangerous hardline strategy with the intention of forcing a no-deal Brexit, Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has said. Johnson is refusing to meet EU leaders until they agree to ditch the Irish backstop from the Brexit withdrawal agreement.

At least 52 people have been killed in a gruesome gang battle that broke out in a Brazilian prison on Monday. Officials said 16 prisoners were decapitated and dozens more asphyxiated after fires were started.

China has offered its full support to Hong Kong’s embattled leader and its police force, and said violent protesters must be swiftly punished, in rare remarks by the government office that oversees policy towards the territory.

About 350m trees have been planted in a single day in Ethiopia, according to a government minister. The planting is part of a national “green legacy” initiative to grow 4bn trees in the country this season.

An eight-year-old boy has died after he and his mother were deliberately pushed on to train tracks at Frankfurt’s main railway station, German police have said.

Opinion and analysis

‘After 12 years of not understanding each other, I started to see that he couldn’t help his behaviour.’ Photograph: Handout

There isn’t a figure for the number of adults diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum each year, but anecdotally it is on the rise, writes Emine Saner, looking at how autism diagnoses can bring couples closer together. “More than 1% of the population has autism, so there will be many adults who suspect or are unaware that they have the condition – and many who will be in relationships with people considered neurotypical. For many people, it is picked up if their child is diagnosed. But another common pathway is if their partner suspects ASD and encourages them to look into it. It is by no means a certainty that a relationship between someone with ASD and someone without will be difficult – every person with ASD is different, as is every relationship. But a diagnosis can come as a relief for both partners.”

American culture values the small, writes Richard Reeves. Small-town life is overrepresented and romanticised on the screen – a form of escapism in a country where 80% of people live in a city, but two in five say they would prefer a rural or small-town home. Likewise companies: US adults are three times as likely to have a “very favourable” view of small businesses as they are of large enterprises. But despite nostalgia for small-town life and “mom and pop” stores, from the moment Americans wake up to eat their cereal and brush their teeth, their consumer choices are dominated by a handful of large companies.

Sport

Australia could not have designed a better way to provoke English interest in the Ashes, writes Geoff Lemon, than Steve Smith and David Warner, the headliners of the sandpaper scandal last year, ending their bans and returning to the public eye through the World Cup, then Cameron Bancroft completing the triumvirate by joining the Test squad before the Ashes begin on Thursday.

Gareth Bale sees no way out of Real Madrid after the collapse of his move to China, with the forward concluding that Florentino Pérez, the president, could not care less that manager Zinedine Zidane does not want to play him.

Thinking time: All the targets of Trump’s racist attacks

Al Sharpton was in Baltimore on Monday to protest against Donald Trump’s remarks about the city. Photograph: Stephanie Keith/Reuters

Donald Trump is facing fresh accusations of racism after launching a Twitter tirade at the weekend against Elijah Cummings, a prominent minority Democratic congressman. The president’s comments ignited yet another firestorm over race in Washington, just weeks after he was widely condemned for attacking four congresswomen of colour, in what appears to be a deliberate strategy going into the 2020 election.

Trump, who rose to political prominence by falsely insisting Barack Obama was born in Kenya, has a long history of targeting minorities and people of colour. Some researchers have questioned if the divisive approach will work, particularly as polling finds that a growing majority of Americans believe Trump has made race relations worse. Sabrina Siddiqui looks at all the targets of Trump’s racist attacks.

Media roundup

The Sydney Morning Herald leads with the revelation that Home Affairs had an agreement to fast-track visa applications for Crown Resorts. The Australian reports that the artist John Olsen has taken his stepdaughter Karen Mentink to court over allegations she put pressure on her terminally ill mother to rewrite her will and siphon more than $3m from his estate. And the West Australian is excited that the fiasco over Sydney’s Allianz Stadium redevelopment may mean Perth has a chance to host the 2021 NRL grand final.

Coming up

The 2019 Miles Franklin award winner will be announced – here’s a guide to this year’s shortlist.



The bill to decriminalise abortion in NSW is expected to be introduced into the state’s lower house.

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