‘Nice surprise’ | Prof Matthew Bailes (above), an astrophysicist at the Swinburne University of Technology, has won the top $250,000 honour at the prime minister’s prizes for science for his discovery of fast radio bursts.

Aviation crackdown | Airlines that strategically cancel flights to block competition at Sydney airport could face civil penalties as the Albanese government moves to counter the Qantas-Virgin duopoly.

Exclusive | Officials responsible for a regime to redetain people released from immigration detention have cast doubt on its effectiveness, warning the minimum nine-month timeframe to put cases together could make it harder for the government to win.

Target challenged | Scientists have challenged Tanya Plibersek’s claim that Australia is protecting more than half of its oceans and has “blitzed” a 30% target, arguing industrial longline fishing will still be allowed in some areas the government says it is conserving.

Driver data | A Choice analysis of carmaker privacy policies has found some of the biggest car sellers in Australia are able to harvest and share a range of driver-related data – especially from tech-heavy EVs – with third parties.

Florida warning | People on Florida’s western coast are bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton, with the mayor of Tampa warning residents they are “going to die” if they stay behind. The storm has intensified at a rapid rate, with the US president, Joe Biden, saying it could be the worst storm to hit Florida in 100 years. It comes as a group of the world’s most senior climate experts warn many of the Earth’s “vital signs” have hit record extremes, indicating that “the future of humanity hangs in the balance”.

Test case | Donald Trump secretly sent Covid-19 testing machines to Vladimir Putin in the early stages of the pandemic when such resources were in short supply, a new book reveals.

Invasion stepped up | Israel is expanding its ground operation in Lebanon with the deployment of a fourth division but Hezbollah, the target of its invasion, says its capability is intact despite two weeks of bombardment. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that Israeli forces have taken out the would-be successors of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Mexico horror | Mexico’s new government has been shaken by the murder of the mayor of Chilpancingo, the capital of the southern state of Guerrero, who was attacked and beheaded days after taking office.

AI ‘godfather’ | Two researchers who helped lay the foundations for modern artificial intelligence – although one later warned of its potential harms – have been awarded the 2024 Nobel prize in physics.

Tennis | The Spanish tennis star Paula Badosa (above) has apologised after she was accused of racism over a photo that appeared to show her pulling her eyes back with chopsticks while in China for a series of tournaments.

Cricket | England have reached 96-1 after the second day of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan after the hosts amassed 556 all out.

Football | Manchester City have accused the Premier League of “misleading” clubs over the legal case they fought over top-flight rules governing commercial deals.

Schools | The Australian Education Union is holding a press conference in Canberra at 9.15am to announce the next steps in their public school funding campaign.

Economy | The Reserve Bank’s assistant governor, Christopher Kent, is giving a speech in Sydney at 11am.

Canberra | Timor-Leste’s president, José Ramos-Horta, will address the National Press Club.

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