Albanese’s poll boost, child swimming skills slip, Trump prepares for Putin talks

Fish find | Fossil fish so exquisitely preserved that scientists have been able to reconstruct their final days from up to 16m years ago have been discovered in central New South Wales.

Exclusive | More Australians approve of Anthony Albanese as the country’s leader than disapprove of him for the first time since the voice referendum 18 months ago, our latest Essential poll shows. On a two-party preferred basis, the major parties are neck and neck at 47% each with 6% undecided.

Treasurer’s call | Jim Chalmers will warn Australia must focus on resilience over retaliation as the Trump administration overturns the rules that have governed the global economic order for four decades.

Exclusive | A small number of people in Melbourne have received anonymous letters purporting to offer a police bounty of A$203,000 if they inform on an Australian citizen and pro-democracy activist wanted for alleged national security crimes in Hong Kong, linking him to two nearby locations.

Water safety | Nearly half of all year 6 students are falling below Australian swimming and water safety benchmarks for their age group and their swimming skills are not improving in high school, new research shows.

Reliable allies? | As Donald Trump prepares to speak to Vladimir Putin in the next 24 hours about the Ukraine war, his government said it was withdrawing from an international body formed to investigate responsibility for the invasion. Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney (pictured), is in Europe where he is seeking to strengthen ties with “reliable allies” amid Trump’s attacks on his country.

Tariff trouble | Americans are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump’s effort to overhaul the US economy with sweeping tariffs on foreign goods, according to our exclusive poll, despite the US president’s efforts to downplay the risks of his strategy. It comes as the OECD downgraded its forecast for global growth in the wake of the US tariffs and China’s government announced plans to “vigorously boost consumption” to lift its struggling economy.

Pride’s fall | Hungary’s ruling coalition is continuing its crackdown on the country’s LGBTQ+ community with a bill to parliament that would ban the popular Budapest Pride event and allow authorities to use facial recognition software to identify people attending.

Letby call | Lucy Letby, the British nurse found guilty of murdering seven babies, has called for the public inquiry into her crimes to be halted, arguing there was now “overwhelming and compelling” evidence undermining her convictions.

Ice station claim | A member of a South African research team on a remote Antarctic base has accused a colleague of physical assault and making a death threat, pleading for “immediate action” to be taken.

Formula One | As Melbourne gets back to normal after the Grand Prix weekend, we look back at whether McLaren are the team to beat and four other things to think about.

Football | Liverpool have some thinking to do after chastening defeats in the Champions League to PSG and then yesterday in the Carabao Cup to Newcastle. But it’s the opposite feeling for fans of the north-east club, for whom it’s the culmination of a long wait.

Golf | Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrated St Patrick’s Day by winning a three-hole aggregate playoff against JJ Spaun to capture his second title at the Players Championship.

Politics | Treasurer Jim Chalmers speaks at the Queensland media club.

Environment | Judgment in the Active Super greenwashing action brought by Asic.

Sydney | Inquest into the death of St Andrew’s Cathedral school sports coach.

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