New AFP powers to target sex offenders, blueberry farming blues, Australia’s Nobel winner

Prize post | The former prime minister Julia Gillard has been named as chair of the UK’s Women’s prize for fiction in 2026 (formerly the Orange prize).

Exclusive | Federal police officers will get new protections to possess and share child sexual abuse material to target sex offenders online, with changes to national laws designed to ensure investigators are not themselves committing criminal offences.

Tropical storm | The global trade in marine aquarium fish relies heavily on fish sourced directly from wild populations, with many consumers unaware of the practice due to murky supply chains.

ABC ‘failings’ | The Antoinette Lattouf unlawful dismissal case had “many failings” and has already cost the ABC at least $2.5m, ABC’s managing director, Hugh Marks, told Senate estimates last night.

Nobel winner | A scientist at Melbourne University has won the Nobel chemistry prize with two colleagues for their work on creating revolutionary porous materials that can harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide from industrial facilities and remove toxins from water.

Lights out | The US government shutdown is starting to cause disruption across the country as the political deadlock deepens. There are likely to be escalating flight delays and the IRS has furloughed half its workers. Meanwhile, Ex-FBI director James Comy pleaded not guilty on federal charges, and Donald Trump called for the imprisonment of Chicago’s mayor and Illinois’s governor.

Bubble trouble | The Bank of England has warned there is a growing risk of a “sudden correction” in global markets as it raised concerns about soaring valuations of leading AI tech companies.

Myanmar bombing | A Myanmar military operation that used a motorised paraglider to drop bombs on a village this week killed at least 20 people including children and injured dozens more, according to witnesses and local media.

Synagogue terror | The Manchester synagogue terrorist rang 999 during his deadly attack pledging allegiance to the terror group Islamic State, police have said.

Hello Dolly | Dolly Parton has popped up on social media in a video to reassure fans she “ain’t dead yet” and, on the contrary, is back at work after health rumours swirled following her cancellation of a Vegas run.