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Good morning. Lincoln Archer here with your morning NewsMail. We're bringing you up to date on what's happening in Israel and Iran, where a TV station has been bombed live on-air overnight.
We're also hearing about the aftermath of the Air India plane crash, learning who Donald Trump thinks should be with him at the G7, and celebrating the return of a $20,000 desk. Then there's just enough time to get some tips on gardening in space.
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Here's what's happening in Israel and Iran
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What's the latest: Missile strikes have continued between Israel and Iran for the fourth day. Iranian state television has been hit while broadcasting live. There's video of that moment in this morning's live blog, where we'll be tracking today's developments.
An eerie quiet: Our correspondent in Tel Aviv, Allyson Horn, says there is an
ominous feeling on deserted streets in Israel, evoking memories of the days after the October 7 attacks. Meanwhile, she's told ABC News Breakfast of a feeling of grief and panic in Tehran, where there are "massive lines of cars on the highways" as civilians flee.
Air defence: Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Israel has air superiority and an "open path" to Tehran. Inside Israel, residents rely on the Iron Dome for protection. This interactive feature unpacks how it, plus systems known as David's Sling and Arrow, actually work.
Money is moving: It's times like these that have always seen global investors rushing to the relative safety and predictability of funnelling cash into US bonds and the greenback. But times have changed, and, as our chief business correspondent Ian Verrender writes, now Australia is emerging as an unlikely target.
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The latest ABC exclusives, investigations and insights
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- Air India: We heard the miraculous survival story of the lone passenger to have emerged from the ill-fated flight’s wreckage last week. Now the relatives of a family also on board the plane have told 7.30 how they are clinging to the slightest sliver of hope.
- G7 meeting: The Israel-Iran conflict is dominating the summit at a Canadian resort, and there are signs of division on calls for de-escalation. There was also a moment in which
Donald Trump lamented the absence of Vladimir Putin.
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Expensive desk: A $20,000 sit-stand desk made (in)famous in Senate estimates is back in use in Parliament House after being rescued from early retirement. This story explains how it earned such a price tag, but what it can’t tell you is who is now using it.
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Here is what else you should know about this morning
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- Sunscreen tests: Choice is doubling down on its findings that 16 of 20 didn't meet the claimed SPF ratings on their own labels, in the face of methodology questions from the maker of the worst performing product. Its said it was so surprised by one result, it packed up a sample for testing in Europe.
- Tabcorp fined: The betting company must pay more than $4 million after the communications watchdog found it breached spam laws. ACMA found
Tabcorp sent thousands of text and WhatsApp messages
with no unsubscribe option, or with inadequate sender information.
- Body image: In this story we're hearing how sculpted, idealised physiques prized in bodybuilding might sell on social media, but they also feed into a worrying rise in steroid use among young women. That’s leading to warnings of side effects from acne and hair loss to permanent infertility and even heart failure.
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Quote of the day
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| "Lichens, for example, have been shown to survive outside the International Space Station."
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— Good for them, I guess? That’s mission lead Lauren Fell, who is hoping to grow plants on the Moon
using the prototype pictured above. Her team has been bombarding seeds and plants with the equivalent of years' worth of radiation to see if they can withstand life off-planet.
But that assumes the cargo even makes it there. First it will need to survive the trauma of take-off, wild variations in temperatures en route and the risk of water venting into space. The dream outcome? "A little sprout growing, that's what I'd love to see," one researcher told us.
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One more thing … from life far away to life long ago
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Stone tools and other artefacts found in a Blue Mountains cave are reshaping our understanding of when and how humans have lived in the area. The pieces are as much as 20,000 years old and make the cave known as the Dargan Shelter Australia's oldest site of human activity at high elevation.
The tools, including stones used to slice nuts and sharpen bones, and perhaps even make sewing needles, reflect a “pulse of activity” over 18,000 years. That’s challenging previous assumptions that people quickly passed through the Great Dividing Range; this was a “dreaming track” that brought communities together, rather than keeping them apart.
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That's it for this morning, we'll be back tomorrow with more.
Lincoln and the ABC News Digital team.
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Iran and Israel have continued to launch missiles, with the moment an Israeli strike hit a state media broadcaster caught on live television.
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